Sustainable Building and BIM: Massive Government Office One of Best in Nation

By Zach Mortice

Commissioned in the depths of the Great Recession, Federal Center South, the Army Corp of Engineers’ regional headquarters in Seattle, was funded by the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. But stimulus money came with big strings attached—namely strenuous requirements that it had to be built very, very quickly and very, very sustainably.

Net-Zero U.S. Cities and Communities are Here Already

By Jonathan Rowe

Today, more than half of the world’s population calls a city home. And over the next few decades, that number is projected to rise.

From an environmental perspective, cities are already responsible for the majority of the planet’s energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. To meaningfully battle climate change and stay within our carbon budget, getting things right at the urban scale is critical.

Green Building Gets Easier with New Tools

When the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) wanted to renovate the Martin Luther King, Jr., federal building (MLK) in downtown Atlanta, a Depression-era building that originally served as the central postal facility for the Southeast, sustainability was an important part of the process. The $62 million renovation and rehabilitation of the MLK building, overseen by architecture firm Lord, Aeck & Sargent, was completed in 2011 and achieved LEED Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.

Improving Air Quality in Pohnpei – Volunteers and Civil 3D Fix an Environmental Need

This is the third in a series of blogs that shares the extraordinary and sometimes life-changing stories and experiences of a group of CAD, AEC, GIS and BIM experts who have chosen to share their knowledge with under-served communities and nations. These volunteers work hand-in-hand with KnowledgeWell, a non-profit organization whose goal is to transform the barriers faced by under-resourced nations into opportunities for successful business enterprise and public sector programs. From Moscow to Micronesia and beyond, KnowledgeWell helps these communities to become more self-sufficient, increase their visibility in the global marketplace and create awareness of sustainable, environmentally friendly business practices.

3 Free Online Workshops that Explain the Fundamental Elements of Sustainable Design

Almost 10 years ago now, Jason McLennan writing in his book “The Philosophy of Sustainable Design” laid out a compelling vision of sustainable design with the goal of eliminating “negative environmental impact completely through skilful, sensitive design”. In the abstract, sustainable design has a poetic feel to it. But the essential component parts are very real and very impactful not only to the environment but to society at large, and to our collective pocket books. The General Services Administration (GSA), for example, oversees 500,000 government buildings, spends $30 billion per year on federal construction and has energy costs totaling approximately $7 billion per year. That’s a lot of tax payer money and represents an enormous opportunity to transfer sustainable technologies and practices on a large scale which GSA is currently undertaking.

Arlington County to Put Energy Labels on Buildings.

Arlington County is at the forefront of an environmental trend that puts energy labels on county buildings. The Department of Environmental Services plans to label each building with energy efficiency information. The labels will be part of the county’s Community Energy Plan which hopes to make Arlington one of the leading counties in the reduction of greenhouse gasses. Arlington may have gotten the idea from the 2009 American Clean Energy and Security Act which included suggestions for building labeling, but died in the Senate. The plan will likely be implemented sometime this year but the details about what the label will look like and the information to be displayed are still undetermined. The goal of this program is to raise awareness about energy use and how to implement conservation. They also hope it will inspire private owners to apply energy labels on their own buildings. The labels may be similar to what the Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Energy, or the "Building EQ" label the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers produces. Arlington may also be taking cue from the practices Europe has put into place.

Improving Federal Energy Performance: Two Webcasts to Look out for this Month:

If you’ve got time to take a break from those never ending holiday pot luck lunches this month, why not join two live webcasts on the topic of Improving Federal Energy Performance. Hosted by DLT Solutions and Autodesk, Industry experts John Sullivan and Angela Chan will discuss how Autodesk BIM Solutions inform energy-efficiency improvement decisions by enabling you to rapidly create and analyze models of new and existing buildings and systems.

Green Building Retrofit & Renovation SmartMarket Report - Building a Case for the Benefits of “Green” Construction

Green building has been a hot topic for a while, but new building projects aren’t the only thing getting attention. In fact, according to the Green Building Retrofit & Renovation SmartMarket Report, only 1.5% - 2.5% of building stock in the U.S. is new each year. To add to that, green building comprises 5-9% of current building projects and that number is expected to increase to 25% -30% in the next five years. The report, found here, details data collected from market research and qualitative case studies (there are 20 highlighted in this report) showing the highly positive trend of green building projects, even in the government sector.