Parking garages are no longer just nondescript concrete slabs. Earlier this month, the Green Parking Council (GPC) announced the first seven parking facilities in the country to achieve Green Garage Certification.
The title is determined by a rating system that factors in 48 elements of garage operation, structure, and technology, and recognizes sustainable practices in parking structure management.
The seven garages are located throughout the U.S. and have various uses. Four of them are office buildings: Brookfield’s Bank of America Plaza in Los Angeles; BG Holdco LLC’s BG Group Place in Houston; and Brookfield’s Silver Spring Metro Plaza and JLL’s Westpark Corporate Center, both in the Metro Washington D.C. area.
Cornell University’s Forest Home Garage in Ithaca, N.Y., is the lone school represented on the list, while Charles Square Hotel’s garage in Cambridge, Mass., and Och Ziff Capital Management Group Parking Acquisition Ventures’ Canopy Airport Parking in Denver are the only lodging and transportation venues on the list.
A variety of factors can make a parking garage green, from enhanced ventilation and energy-efficient lighting to greywater reuse and rainwater harvesting. Some have guidance systems to help drivers find their cars, others have tire inflation and electric car fueling stations, as well as car sharing and bicycle parking options.
The advantages of green garages not only help drivers but they also serve to benefit building owners. Reduced energy from lighting, ventilation, controls, and commissioning measures can keep operational costs around 25% lower than the national average.
Related Stories
AEC Innovators | Mar 3, 2023
Meet BD+C's 2023 AEC Innovators
More than ever, AEC firms and their suppliers are wedding innovation with corporate responsibility. How they are addressing climate change usually gets the headlines. But as the following articles in our AEC Innovators package chronicle, companies are attempting to make an impact as well on the integrity of their supply chains, the reduction of construction waste, and answering calls for more affordable housing and homeless shelters. As often as not, these companies are partnering with municipalities and nonprofit interest groups to help guide their production.
Multifamily Housing | Mar 1, 2023
Multifamily construction startup Cassette takes a different approach to modular building
Prefabricated modular design and construction have made notable inroads into such sectors as industrial, residential, hospitality and, more recently, office and healthcare. But Dafna Kaplan thinks that what’s held back the modular building industry from even greater market penetration has been suppliers’ insistence that they do everything: design, manufacture, logistics, land prep, assembly, even onsite construction. Kaplan is CEO and Founder of Cassette, a Los Angeles-based modular building startup.
Sustainable Design and Construction | Feb 28, 2023
Architecture 2030 launches free carbon calculator for retrofit projects
Architecture 2030’s Carbon Avoided Retrofit Estimator (CARE) tool allows project teams and building owners to accurately quantify the carbon “savings” in retrofit or reuse projects versus new construction.
AEC Innovators | Feb 28, 2023
Meet the 'urban miner' who is rethinking how we deconstruct and reuse buildings
New Horizon Urban Mining, a demolition firm in the Netherlands, has hitched its business model to construction materials recycling. It's plan: deconstruct buildings and infrastructure and sell the building products for reuse in new construction. New Horizon and its Founder Michel Baars have been named 2023 AEC Innovators by Building Design+Construction editors.
Senior Living Design | Feb 15, 2023
Passive House affordable senior housing project opens in Boston
Work on Phase Three C of The Anne M. Lynch Homes at Old Colony, a 55-apartment midrise building in Boston that stands out for its use of Passive House design principles, was recently completed. Designed by The Architectural Team (TAT), the four-story structure was informed throughout by Passive House principles and standards.
Sustainability | Feb 9, 2023
New guide for planning, designing, and operating onsite water reuse systems
The Pacific Institute, a global nonpartisan water think tank, has released guidance for developers to plan, design, and operate onsite water reuse systems. The Guide for Developing Onsite Water Systems to Support Regional Water Resilience advances circular, localized approaches to managing water that reduce a site’s water footprint, improve its resilience to water shortage or other disruptions, and provide benefits for local communities and regional water systems.
Sustainability | Feb 9, 2023
University of Southern California's sustainability guidelines emphasize embodied carbon
A Buro Happold-led team recently completed work on the USC Sustainable Design & Construction Guidelines for the University of Southern California. The document sets out sustainable strategies for the design and construction of new buildings, renovations, and asset renewal projects.
Sustainability | Feb 8, 2023
A wind energy system—without the blades—can be placed on commercial building rooftops
Aeromine Technologies’ bladeless system captures and amplifies a building’s airflow like airfoils on a race car.
Codes and Standards | Feb 8, 2023
GSA releases draft of federal low embodied carbon material standards
The General Services Administration recently released a document that outlines standards for low embodied carbon materials and products to be used on federal construction projects.
Healthcare Facilities | Jan 31, 2023
How to solve humidity issues in hospitals and healthcare facilities
Humidity control is one of the top mechanical issues healthcare clients face. SSR's Lee Nordholm, PE, LEED AP, offers tips for handling humidity issues in hospitals and healthcare facilities.
