Green ArchiTEXT

Moving Beyond Zero Impact

The Oregon Environmental Council is sponsoring what looks like a very interesting panel discussion: "Forum for Business and the Environment:The Next Green Building Revolution: Moving Beyond Zero Impact". The focus is on how the green building market can move above and beyond LEED:

"Our panel will address critical questions: Will the next target be zero-impact buildings or an even more aggressive goal? What does a “living building” look like and how can development actually help restore watersheds and slow global warming? How will the new LEED Neighborhood Development standard shape sustainable communities in the short term? Where is the green building industry headed?"

Speakers: Gina Franzosa, Director, Oregon Chapter, Cascadia Region Green Building Council and Scott Lewis, Founder and Principal, Brightworks.

To be held June 3, 2008 from 07:30 to 09:30 a.m. at the Doubletree Hotel and Executive Meeting Center, Lloyd Center, Portland, OR. For more information, visit http://www.oeconline.org.

Re-Thinking Platinum

This from the U.K.'s Building Sustainability blog, "US to revise LEED green assessment system":

"The main environmental assessment method used in the US and Dubai is to be revised after criticism that it allows energy-guzzling buildings to get a top rating.

It is understood that the US Green Building Council, which runs the LEED scheme, will announce proposals in the next few weeks with the aim of finalising the changes by November.

The main change to LEED is understood to be the introduction of minimum standards for energy and water use.

Douglas Crawford-Brown, senior sustainability adviser at engineer Pell Frischmann has carried out research showing that 30% of buildings awarded the top platinum rating used more energy than buildings with a silver rating, two bands below."

Read the full post here.

Charlie Rose: "Design and the Elastic Mind"

Charlie Rose, without question the best interviewer on TV, spoke last night with Paola Antonelli, senior curator of New York's Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) about the incredible "Design and the Elastic Mind". Running through May 12, this major exhibition at MoMA explores the relationship between design, science and innovation and was featured here in an earlier post.

Greensburg: Re-Emerging Green

In the year since an F-5 tornado tore through and leveled the small Kansas town, Greensburg has gained the world’s attention for its plans to rebuild green – very green. On this, the one-year anniversary of the event, the town has attracted major media, documentary filmmakers, photographers, universities and some of the top sustainable design firms in the country. Greensburg, the Series, with Leo DiCaprio will even debut next month on the Discovery Channel’s new “Planet Green”.

There are a growing number of Web sites and other resources devoted to the green rebuilding efforts there. Here are a few:

Greensburg GreenTown, a nonprofit organization established after the tornado to funnel resources and expertise into creating a model green community.

Discovery’s new Planet Green channel begins its 13-part series in June, documentating the daily struggles of a community and its citizens through this massive reconstruction effort.

Kansas City’s BNIM was selected as the city’s master planner, to rebuild Greensburg around the principles of economic, social and environmental sustainability. Since then, BNIM has been retained to design the City Hall and Big Well Museum.

City of Greensburg, Kansas, which recently approved a resolution that all city building projects will be built to LEED Platinum level standards.

Studio 804, a design/build program at the University of Kansas School of Architecture and Urban Planning, is building a “Sustainable Prototype for Greensburg, KS”.

Greensburg Cubed is a project of Design + Build @ Kansas State University, College of Architecture, Planning, and Design to build several small-scale modules demonstrating sustainable structures, systems and materials.

Montgomery County, Maryland Sees Green

Montgomery County, Maryland has just passed an ambitious plan requiring that all new-home construction meet the EPA's Energy Star standards. The county is just northwest of Washington, D.C. An editorial in today's Washington Post, "The Greening of Montgomery", explains how and why they got there:

"MONTGOMERY COUNTY is part of a merry and growing band of localities and states tired of waiting for federal leadership on climate change. It has pledged to cut greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent by 2050. To help meet that ambitious target, the County Council passed seven global-warming bills last month. One of them requires that new-home construction meet the Environmental Protection Agency's Energy Star standards. This will add to the price of a house, but the long-term savings and positive environmental impact will be worth it."