Healthy senior living campus ‘redefines the experience of aging’

MBH Architects, in collaboration with Eden Housing and Van Meter Williams Pollack LLP, announces the completion of Vivalon’s Healthy Aging Campus, a forward-looking project designed to redefine the experience of aging in Marin County.

Sustainable Development

Nature as the city: Why it’s time for a new framework to guide development

NBBJ leaders Jonathan Ward and Margaret Montgomery explore five inspirational ideas they are actively integrating into projects to ensure more healthy, natural cities.

K-12 Schools

World's first K-12 school to achieve both LEED for Schools Platinum and WELL Platinum

A new K-12 school in Washington, D.C., is the first school in the world to achieve both LEED for Schools Platinum and WELL Platinum, according to its architect, Perkins Eastman. The John Lewis Elementary School is also the first school in the District of Columbia designed to achieve net-zero energy (NZE).

K-12 Schools

Fully electric Oregon elementary school aims for resilience with microgrid design

The River Grove Elementary School in Oregon was designed for net-zero carbon and resiliency to seismic events, storms, and wildfire. The roughly 82,000-sf school in a Portland suburb will feature a microgrid—a small-scale power grid that operates independently from the area’s electric grid.

Aug 11, 2010

City offices to up daylight, reduce water use

Breaking ground this month and scheduled for completion in November, the Palmetto Bay Village Hall in Miami-Dade County, Fla., will become the operating center for the mayor, village commissioners, government departments, the police department, and commission chambers. The two-story facility has been designed by JMWA Architects to win LEED Gold certification.

Aug 11, 2010

Replacement school puts old school's materials to good use

Replacing an existing school in the University School District near St. Louis, Mo., the new Barbara C. Jordan Elementary School will accommodate up to 500 students in 24 classrooms. The $13 million school spans 64,834 sf and will use recycled elements from the old building, including mosaic tiles from water fountains, an entryway tile mural, and a freestanding masonry bench.

Aug 11, 2010

Cherokee Nation center employs eco-friendly features

Three new schools for K-12 students are the focus of a $108 million, 473,000-sf Cherokee Nation multipurpose complex based in Cherokee, N.C. Designed by Padgett & Freeman Architects and built by BE&K Building Group, the center was designed to reflect the art and heritage of the Cherokee people, evidenced by the seven-sided shape of the two courtyard areas and traditional basketweave pat...

Aug 11, 2010

Wood chips to heat school district buildings

An alternative energy plant for the Hartford Central School District in Hartford, N.Y., will be a first for the state's public school systems. Designed by Albany, N.Y.-based CSArch Architecture/Construction Management, the $1.9 million plant will provide heat and hot water to the district's elementary and high school complex, as well as to an adjacent technical school.

Aug 11, 2010

High-tech tower targets LEED Platinum

Construction is slated to begin on the new $38 million AI Tech Center in Hartford, Conn., in spring 2010. The Building Team, which includes Suffolk Construction Co., CBT Architects, and Jones Lang LaSalle, planned the high-tech 13-story, 259,000-sf tower to meet LEED Platinum certification. Green features include photovoltaic power, a fuel cell power plant, abundant natural lighting, and a roof...

Aug 11, 2010

And the world's tallest building is…

At more than 2,600 feet high, the Burj Dubai (right) can still lay claim to the title of world's tallest building—although like all other super-tall buildings, its exact height will have to be recalculated now that the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) announced a change to its height criteria.

Aug 11, 2010

Firm goes for Gold with office design

DLR Group is designing its new Omaha, Neb., headquarters to achieve LEED Gold. Sustainable features being incorporated into the three-story, 39,000-sf building, which is part of the city’s new Aksarben Village mixed-use development, include daylighting, outdoor workspaces, native landscaping, a green roof, and the pursuit of renewable energy credits.

Aug 11, 2010

Corporate campus gets LEED stamp of Gold

The new 100,000-sf corporate headquarters for The Thornburg Companies in Santa Fe, N.M., earned LEED Gold. Designed in the “new-old Santa Fe style” by Legorreta + Legorreta, with local firms Dekker/Perich/Sabatini and Klinger Constructors on the Building Team, the green building sits on seven acres and features three distinct but interconnected office spaces with two courtyards and ...

Aug 11, 2010

CityCenter projects get LEED Gold

MGM Mirage and Infinity World Development have received LEED Gold certification for the first three CityCenter projects: the ARIA Resort hotel tower, ARIA Resort convention center and theater, and the Vdara Hotel (above). The CityCenter developers anticipate Gold or Silver LEED certification for the project's remaining developments, which include a Mandarin Oriental hotel, a 500,000-sf retail a...

Aug 11, 2010

School district plans net-zero building

Camas (Wash.) School District is planning to utilize one of three energy sources—photovoltaics, wind turbine, or geothermal—to help take its new community high school completely off the grid. The school district commissioned Interface Engineering to explore all three options for the project, which is scheduled to break ground in August.