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Sripadanna Residence Receives First LEED for Homes Gold in Silicon Valley
Congratulations to Mr. Hari Sripadanna on receiving LEED for Homes Gold certification for his residence in Saratoga, California. The Sripadanna Residence is the first detached single custom home in Santa Clara County and Silicon Valley to receive LEED-H Gold certification and has set the high standard for the community. I recently had the opportunity to…
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Affordable Housing Project Incorporates Largest Residential Solar Photovoltaic System in San Francisco
What do you do when your project has close to 40,000 square foot of roof space in one city block, good sun exposure, and no shading impediments? Go solar, of course, and generate your own electricity with a renewable energy source. Mosaica, one of the largest green, mixed-use projects located in San Francisco, California, boasts…
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Kevin Roche’s Landmark Oakland Museum Undergoes Transformation
Cahill Contractors is nearing completion of the first of several phases of construction at the Oakland Museum of California. The first phase of the renovation is scheduled to complete around the middle of June 2009. The renovation project was designed by architecture firm Mark Cavagnero Associates. Other members of the project team include ProPM (construction…
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Urban Landscape Moves Up 15′ and Targets LEED-CI
On my recent trip to Calgary, Canada, I came upon the “+15”, an intricate network of more than 57 enclosed bridges elevated approximately 15 feet above street level that connect at least 100 buildings in downtown. My exploration led me into an active construction site of four stories of scaffolding within a shopping mall dotted…
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Endless Suburbs, Abundant Resources, and Sustainable Design?
Hiking around Lake Louise on a recent trip to Calgary, Alberta, I took in breathtaking views of big blue skies and the Canadian Rockies and felt grateful of the precious natural resources that this land offered. Upon my return to the reality of the urban city and endless suburbs, I had the opportunity to experience…
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Maximizing the Green Footprint: How Much Green Impact Can You Make?
In our article The Story of the Fireside: Seeing the Green in Value Engineering, we discussed how value engineering helps one take a systematic approach to evaluating a building system or product from different perspectives. This feature takes a closer look at the three types of green product categories and how you can evaluate them.…
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Simplify Solar with the First Curved Solar Roofing Tile
After two long days of non-stop hustling between seminars and product exhibits at the AIA (American Institute of Architects) 2009 National Convention and Expo, I was on my last stretch of speed walking through 800 plus vendor stalls. Fatigued and with a growling stomach, I was about to call it a day until I saw…
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Protect the environment through energy efficient products and practices
The Energy Star website is a terrific source for energy information covering everything from appliances to buildings and IT equipment. Tools and resources range from advice on energy efficiency in home improvements to energy management guidelines to various financial calculators. ENERGY STAR is a joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S.…
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Gallery of LEED Platinum certified buildings
There are at least 114 LEED Platinum certified buildings in the world. View a gallery of these projects at Cyan PDX. Let’s keep the momentum going! What do the greenest buildings in the world look like? Where are they and what makes them special? We hear these questions all the time and until now, we’ve…
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Can we meet the 2030 Challenge of being carbon-neutral by 2030?
Edward Mazria’s non-profit organization Architecture 2030 challenges the global architecture and building community, asking them to adopt design goals of reducing fossil fuel, GHG-emissions, and energy consumption in all new construction and renovation projects. Buildings are the major source of global demand for energy and materials that produce by-product greenhouse gases (GHG). Slowing the growth…
