Green Buildings

[amykhar]

Today, I have a pretty cool assignment. I am learning about LEED certified "green buildings"

One is probably going to be built in downtown Reading and I am writing about the land purchase and explaining what green buildings are.

One of the best things about this little job of mine is that I get to sit down and learn about interesting things and then explain it to readers. I've studied urban blight, marbles, bog turtles, Mexican artists, national art grants and even topless massage parlors.

I'm waiting for a call from my favorite area architect so he can tell me some of the things I already know. That way, he gets his name in the paper and I get a voice explaining some of this stuff.

So, while I'm waiting, I get to goof off here and bore you with my work stories

[theworm[$]]

That's not boring!! A lot more interesting than what I'm doing today!
I'd love a job where I could learn new things all the time! That's great!

[pippadaisy[$]]

That's cool! Find out why it costs so darn much money to do the right thing, will you Amy?

[amykhar]

pippadaisy said

That's cool! Find out why it costs so darn much money to do the right thing, will you Amy?

good question.

[hadassahchana[$]]

That is so cool! One thing I'm really interested in, besides indoor air quality, is the use of 'green' roofs- using various plants on top of buildings to help with waste water management, heating/cooling, reducing street temperatures, etc. Do you think this buidling will have a green roof?


Cindy

[amykhar]

The roofs of Reading may soon feature a grass one.
The Berks County Community Foundation may be building the county’s first certified environmentally-friendly, “green” building in downtown Reading.
The Reading Redevelopment Authority voted 3-0 Wednesday to sell about an acre of land near the proposed GoggleWorks Center for the Arts on the corner of North Second and Washington streets to the foundation.
The authority will determine the land’s price by averaging two independent appraisals, board solicitor Keith Mooney said.
Foundation president Kevin K. Murphy said later, “We know this will be the first green building in Berks County. We hope it will be the first of many, many green buildings.”
According to the U.S. Green Building Council’s web site, “Green buildings are buildings that are environmentally responsible, profitable and healthy places to live and work.”

“I hope this building will be an example to other developers that it is possible to build environmentally friendly buildings in an urban setting,” Murphy said.
The $1.5 million, two-story building will feature geothermal heat pumps, water recycling, solar power and a grass roof, he said.
The grass roof will help reduce energy use by keeping the building cooler, he said.
It will also help reduce “heat-islands”, differences in temperature between developed and undeveloped areas, in the city, he said.
Murphy said the building, which will serve as the foundation’s administrative offices and as public conference rooms for non-profit and community organizations, will make extensive use of technology.
Computers will monitor the building’s internal systems, he said.
And, he said, the conference center would be equivalent to meeting rooms owned by Fortune 500 companies.
“It will offer telecommunications and presentation technology that no single non-profit organization could afford to buy,” he said.
Part of the building’s cost may be covered by the Metropolitan Edison Sustainable Energy Fund, which invests in projects that use renewable energy, Murphy said. He said the remainder will come from the foundation’s funds and from fund-raising campaigns.
The foundation manages over 200 different charitable-gift funds that are used to support Berks communities.
Mayor Tom McMahon said later that he believes the building would be complimentary to the GoggleWorks area.
“If it’s done right, it could be a national attraction,” McMahon said.
“This doesn’t mean that the average family, instead of packing up and going to Disney World will come to this,” Murphy said in response to the mayor’s comments.
“But, it will have somewhat of a tourism element for people interested in the technology,” he said.
An architectural design contest or teaming a firm experienced with green development with a local architect may determine the building’s design, Murphy said.
Murphy said he hopes the building will open by early 2008.
====================
Green Buildings feature construction that:
·Encourages urban redevelopment.
·Is accessible by public transportation.
·Uses landscape and building design to reduce heat islands.
·Reduces water usage by 20 to 30 percent.
·Optimizes energy conservation and use renewable energy sources.
·Uses local / regional materials or recycled materials in their construction.
·Maintains indoor environmental quality.
·Uses innovative design

[hadassahchana[$]]

OMG! Amy, that is just so cool! Great article- I loved it.



Cindy