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3 sustainable design decisions to make early

In her experience as an architect, Megan Valentine AIA, LEED AP, NCARB, WELL AP, Fitwel, Director of Sustainability, KTGY has found three impactful sustainable design decisions: site selection, massing and orientation, and proper window-to-wall ratios.




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Oct 13, 2010

Community center under way in NYC seeks LEED Platinum

A curving, 550-foot-long glass arcade dubbed the “Wall of Light” is the standout architectural and sustainable feature of the Battery Park City Community Center, a 60,000-sf complex located in a two-tower residential Lower Manhattan complex. Hanrahan Meyers Architects designed the glass arcade to act as a passive energy system, bringing natural light into all interior spaces.

Oct 13, 2010

Community college plans new campus building

Construction is moving along on Hudson County Community College’s North Hudson Campus Center in Union City, N.J. The seven-story, 92,000-sf building will be the first higher education facility in the city.

Oct 13, 2010

County building aims for the sun, shade

The 187,032-sf East County Hall of Justice in Dublin, Calif., will be oriented to take advantage of daylighting, with exterior sunshades preventing unwanted heat gain and glare. The building is targeting LEED Silver. Strong horizontal massing helps both buildings better match their low-rise and residential neighbors.

Oct 12, 2010

University of Toledo, Memorial Field House

27th Annual Reconstruction Awards—Silver Award. Memorial Field House, once the lovely Collegiate Gothic (ca. 1933) centerpiece (along with neighboring University Hall) of the University of Toledo campus, took its share of abuse after a new athletic arena made it redundant, in 1976. The ultimate insult occurred when the ROTC used it as a paintball venue.

Oct 6, 2010

Windows Keep Green Goals in View

The DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory has almost 600 window openings, and yet it's targeting LEED Platinum, net-zero energy use, and 50% improvement over ASHRAE 90.1. How the window ‘problem’ is part of the solution.

Oct 6, 2010

From grocery store to culinary school

A former West Philadelphia supermarket is moving up the food chain, transitioning from grocery store to the Center for Culinary Enterprise, a business culinary training school.

Sep 16, 2010

Green recreation/wellness center targets physical, environmental health

The 151,000-sf recreation and wellness center at California State University’s Sacramento campus, called the WELL (for “wellness, education, leisure, lifestyle”), has a fitness center, café, indoor track, gymnasium, racquetball courts, educational and counseling space, the largest rock climbing wall in the CSU system.

Sep 13, 2010

Triple-LEED for Engineering Firm's HQ

With more than 250 LEED projects in the works, Enermodal Engineering is Canada's most prolific green building consulting firm. In 2007, with the firm outgrowing its home office in Kitchener, Ont., the decision was made go all out with a new green building. The goal: triple Platinum for New Construction, Commercial Interiors, and Existing Buildings: O&M.

Sep 13, 2010

Committed to the Core

How a forward-looking city government, a growth-minded university, a developer with vision, and a determined Building Team are breathing life into downtown Phoenix.

Aug 11, 2010

New data shows low construction prices may soon be coming to an end

New federal data released recently shows sharp increases in the prices of key construction materials like diesel, copper and brass mill shapes likely foreshadow future increases in construction costs, the Associated General Contractors of America said. The new November producer price index (PPI) report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics provide the strongest indication yet that construction prices are heading up, the association noted.
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