Commonwealth Bank & Trust

Broken Sidewalk Archives

Archive for the Sustainability Category

If you can't find what you are looking for, try searching for it below:


Category Archives: Sustainability

Below are listed the articles filed under Sustainability
  • 05 / Mar
    2010

Sustainable City Series To Cover Green Universities

Sustainable City Series (Courtesy Urban Design Studio)

Sustainable City Series (Courtesy Urban Design Studio)



The thirteenth Sustainable City Series event sponsored by the Urban Design Studio will take place on Tuesday, March 16 at 6:00pm at the Glassworks on West Market Street.  This time, the Series will discuss the role universities play in regional sustainability initiatives.  Representatives from the University of Louisville and the University of Kentucky will be part of the panel.  Here’s a bit of info from the Urban Design Studio:


“Universities play a key role in the promotion and implementation of sustainable practices in our communities. Not only do universities contribute to regional sustainability through fundamental research and an existing knowledge base, but also through education and training, community involvement and outreach, and the institutions’ own development of space, energy policy and environmental programming.


“Our guest speakers will be:


Justin Mog serves as the University of Louisville’s assistant to the provost for sustainability initiatives. He is the first to hold this position at UofL and has been working with the university’s Sustainability Council since August 2009 to integrate sustainability into everything the university does – from operations and facilities to administration and finances to education and research. Justin holds environmental studies degrees from Oberlin College (B.S.) and the University of Wisconsin-Madison (M.S., Ph.D.) and recently completed three years of service in the Peace Corps promoting sustainable development in Paraguay.


Larry Owsley has served as the University of Louisville’s vice president for business affairs since 1983. He has graduate degrees from the University of Virginia and the University of California, Berkeley in public administration and public policy analysis respectively. His undergraduate degree is in history from Centre College of Kentucky.


Brent Fryrear is the Director of the Partnership for a Green City – a collaboration of Louisville Metro Government, Jefferson County Public Schools and the University of Louisville – working together to address climate change and “green” institutional practices within the organizations themselves as well as working to achieve real results that will have long-term positive impacts on the health, education, and well-being of our citizens. Brent has been in the environmental arena for almost 25 years in industry, emergency response, consulting, government and higher education. He has a Masters degree in Higher Education Administration and Organizational Development and a Bachelors in Biology, both from UofL.


Shane Tedder was recently hired by the University of Kentucky to serve as their first Sustainability Coordinator and reports to the Vice President for Facilities Management. Prior to this appointment, Shane worked for 6 years as the recycling and sustainability coordinator for the Office of Residence Life at UK. During this time he created the Wildcat Wheels Bicycle Library (www.wildcatwheelsorg) and Earthdays in the Bluegrass (www.edbg.org).”


The event is free but seating is limited and the Urban Design Studio requests attendees to RSVP on their web site.  As usual, coffee will be provided by Heine Brothers and Ramsi’s Cafe will have snacks.  These events always fill up quickly, so I recommend reserving your spot as soon as possible.

  • 24 / Feb
    2010

Research Building A Green Model For The University of Louisville



Clinical & Translational Research Building (Photo courtesy UL)

Clinical & Translational Research Building (Photo courtesy UL)





While the Clinical & Translational Research Building has been open for about four months, the University of Louisville just announced that the high profile structure on Muhammad Ali Boulevard and Hancock Street has received LEED Gold certification for sustainable architecture.


The University originally hoped to secure LEED Silver for the 288,000 square foot, $143.1 million facility, but was bumped up up to the second highest level (behind Platinum) after achieving 41 LEED credits (of 39 required for Gold) ranging from use of natural light and ventilation, energy efficient lights, a reflective white roof, and on-site showers and bike racks.


The structure was designed by lead architects Arrasmith, Judd, Rapp, Chovan, Inc. of Louisville and design and lab consultants SmithGroup of Detroit.  Architect Arne Judd, principal and LEED AP with Arrasmith, says the CTR is the first LEED certified research building in Kentucky and is the largest new construction Gold certified research building in the country.  It’s one of only 33 LEED certified research buildings in the United States.


One of the most unique sustainable features of the building is its reuse of water condensate from air handling units.  All of those drops of water created by air conditioning add up in a building this large and a system has been installed to capture the extra water and use it for irrigation of landscaping areas.  (Check out some other sustainable credits in the building over here.)


News of the Gold certification level is certainly welcome and represents U of L’s stated commitment to green architecture.  There are only two other Gold certified projects in Louisville (the CMTA Building and the GBBN Offices) and Judd says the CTR is the first LEED certified building at the University, but U of L is currently pursuing certification of additional new projects.


Nearby, the Dental School addition and renovation, the Biosafety Lab at ShelbuHurst, and the Duthie Center for Engineering are all seeking certification.  The U of L web site also says a new parking garage adjacent to the CTR is also implementing green concepts although LEED does not apply to parking garages.

  • 29 / Jan
    2010

Don’t Take The Elevator In A Green Building


Burn Calories, Not Electricity

Burn Calories, Not Electricity



[ UPDATE:  Added tipster submitted signs below and updated the article accordingly. ]


I came across this sign at the AIA New York’s Center for Architecture (which seems to function like our Urban Design Studio) last week.  The photo is a little blurry but the sign reads, “Burn Calories, Not Electricity: Take the Stairs!”  Followed by:


“Walking up the stairs just 2 minutes a day helps prevent weight gain.  It also helps the environment.”


Similar signs could be are handy around Louisville.  A tipster submitted the signs below found at Kindred Healthcare’s Support Center at Fourth Street and Broadway (click photo to enlarge).  Anyone know of similar signs across Louisville?



Take the Stairs signs at Kindred Healthcare (courtesy tipster)

Take the Stairs signs at Kindred Healthcare (courtesy tipster)



  • 22 / Jan
    2010

UK Builds Eco-House At National Solar Decathlon



Sky Blue solar house (Photo by DOE Solar Decathlon)

Sky Blue solar house (Photo by DOE Solar Decathlon)





Last fall, University of Kentucky students designed and built a top-ten solar house on the National Mall in Washington, DC showcasing the latest in sustainable technologies.  Named Sky Blue, the house represents the Commonwealth in the Department of Energy’s Solar Decathlon and was designed to exceed the USGBC’s highest LEED Platinum level for homes.


Student and faculty team members represent the Colleges of Agriculture, Design, Engineering, and Communications at the University of Kentucky and describe their house as “eclectic, historic, and modern at the same time.”  References to Kentucky vernacular architecture were used throughout the design:


“The s•ky blue house embodies Kentucky’s historic and indigenous breezeway house design—a rectangular building with a central open space that naturally ventilates the house on sultry summer days. With photographic images of Kentucky landscapes integrated into a series of perforated screens on its exterior walls, a sky-viewing ribbon of continuous clerestory windows around the top of each wall, and a selection of native plants, the house has a light and spacious feel that captures the beauty and spirit of Kentucky’s land and people.”


Sustainability is the focus, however, and a multitude of technologies are on display in the house.  A dynamic, location-specific computer communicates with a University-designed weather monitoring system to constantly calculate an energy model to operate the house’s various components including lighting and HVAC.  Occupants can view energy usage statistics and maintain full control over the house’s environment.


Solar panels cover nearly every viable surface on the house including arrays on the roof and south facades.  The photovoltaic system was designed to produce as much energy as the house consumes annually, effectively making the structure a net-zero dwelling.


More simple technologies also play a key role.  Natural lighting and ventilation are as old as humanity but still factor into high-tech sustainable buildings.  A combination of natural materials including locally based woods and synthetic materials like fiber-cement board were used in the construction process.  For more information, check out the project’s web site.


Team Kentucky placed 9th overall just behind Cornell and Rice Universities.  A team from Germany won the overall prize followed by the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and Team California.  The Sky Blue house will be on display at various venues including the World Equestrian Games later this year.


The Solar Decathlon is a competition among 20 colleges in October where student teams design, build, and operate a solar powered house.  Houses are graded in ten contests including architecture, engineering, market viability, and lighting design.  The competition is meant to draw attention to the challenges inherent in an “ever-increasing need for energy” and how efficiency and sustainability can help solve the problems of the present and future.


Click through for more photos and a floor plan.

  • 08 / Dec
    2009

Norton Commons Building Awarded LEED Gold Certification

CMTA Building Awarded LEED Gold (Courtesy CMTA)

CMTA Building Awarded LEED Gold (Courtesy CMTA)



An office building in Norton Commons has been awarded LEED Gold certification indicating the building has achieved the second highest level of sustainability as tracked by the United States Green Building Council.  Located at 10411 Meeting Street, CMTA Engineering Consultants has been a leader in sustainable design and now has an exemplary building to demonstrate their commitment to green design.


CMTA’s building achieved certification in late October and received 50 LEED points, only two shy of the highest Platinum level.  After going through the certification process, CMTA says they have the experience and knowledge to achieve Platinum status on future projects.


Some of the green features of the two-story, 20,000 square foot building include sun shades on the buildings facade, flat fabric thin film solar panels on the building’s white roof (see photo after the click), and Solar Tube interior lighting devices.  Solar power is expected to account for 10 to 15 percent of the structure’s annual energy usage.  The structure was built with insulated concrete forms (ICFs) in which concrete is poured into insulating Styrofoam forms.  Geothermal heating and cooling has been incorporated as well as a custom designed LED lighting scheme, although most of the light used in the building is natural light.


The structure is located near the Norton Commons town center and has been designed to reflect local architecture from the 19th century.  Broken into three differentiated components, the building contains three facades reflecting two townhouses and a commercial building and represents the first commercial building in Norton Commons to include sustainable concepts.


CMTA hopes to use the building to test the efficiency and effectiveness of many of the systems installed in the building to create better sustainable buildings in the future.


[ Editor's Note:  Updated the total number of LEED v2.2 points earned by the project (12.9.2009). ]


Click through for a couple more photos.

  • 24 / Nov
    2009

Retrofitting The Suburbs Of Bardstown Road

Bardstown Road at the Gene Snyder (via Lojic)

Bardstown Road at the Gene Snyder (via Lojic)



Suburban Louisville is headed back to the drawing boards.  Metro Louisville is trying to figure out how to retrofit the suburban fringe of Jefferson County along the Gene Snyder Beltway to “create a more vibrant center where walking, bicycling and public transportation are real options for residents.”


Louisville has been selected as one of four communities from a pool of over 100 applicants to receive technical assistance on growth and development-related issues from the Federal Interagency Partnership for Sustainable Communities which represents the first-ever joint effort between the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Department of Transportation (DOT), and Housing & Urban Development (HUD).


“For years EPA has provided technical assistance to communities working to become both environmentally and economically sustainable,” says EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson.  ”This year, for the first time ever, HUD and DOT will join EPA to coordinate transportation and housing issues with our environmental work.  Local governments and developers will have more of the support they need to build communities with affordable housing, low-cost transportation options, maximum environmental benefits and minimum environmental impacts.”


Click through to learn about Louisville’s suburban retrofitting project.

  • 20 / Nov
    2009

Green Roof At The American Life Building

Green roof at the American Life building

Green roof at the American Life building



You probably won’t notice from the sidewalk, but there’s a new green roof installed at the American Life building at Fifth and Main Streets.  The 17,000 square foot roof atop Mies van der Rohe’s 1973, five-story jewel of the Belvedere cost more than a traditional roof, but savings are expected in the long run.  The roof also serves as a green reminder to Louisvillians peering out from surrounding Downtown towers, in this case, One Riverfront Plaza.


A green roof helps to keep a building and the surrounding city cool in the summer by reducing heat gain, stores water in succulent sedum plants and releases it slowly in the event of heavy rain, provides wildlife habitat, extends the life of the roof by protecting the membrane from exposure to UV rays, provides sound insulation due to the built up nature of the planting material, and is aesthetically pleasing to look at and occupy compared to traditional roofs.


Many green roofs have been built or are planned in Louisville including at the Metro Development Center, Metro Archives, Green Building, Louisville Zoo, and a TARC maintenance shed among others.




Green roof at the American Life building

Green roof at the American Life building

  • 04 / Nov
    2009

Korean Pavilion Shows Real-Time Air Quality Information



This pavilion in Seoul, Korea displays dynamic information about air quality in the city and responds to user input via social media.  I first heard news of the project in May when I posted a link to the news roundup, but now it’s finally built and quite impressive.


Designed by David Benjamin and Soo-in Yang of New York, the permanent installation called “Living Light” depicts a large map of Seoul divided up into 27 neighborhood regions corresponding to existing air monitoring stations that glow or flicker to reflect air quality information.  A panel is lit if its air quality has improved from the previous year or if someone requests air quality information about a segment via SMS.  Additionally, every 15 minutes, the entire display goes dark and illuminates sequentially by neighborhood air quality from best to worst.


The installation seeks to explore the dynamic building facade of the future, but its shape also brings to mind a bus stop.  Imagine the possibilities for real-time information display built into the architecture of transit stops based on this model.


For more on how the project was designed, built, and functions, make sure you check out the Living Light web site which acts as a slide show using the Next button on the top of the page.  (via Information Aesthetics)



Page 1 of 3123

ADVERTISEMENT

  • Archives

  • Categories