Green Design

Green Design

Red-Hot Green Roofs a Hidden Green Building Risk for Owners and Insurers?

Mon

Sep

A number of commercial insurers- including Zurich- expressed concerns in a recent issue of Property Week over the increased installation of green roofs across the United Kingdom, believing that some installations have the potential to dry out and become flammable. Stuart Blackie, a risk management consultant for Zurich, argues that green roofs could become hazardous during drought conditions, identifying schools as particularly at an increased risk. “If roof access is easy, it could be quite an easy way to set fire to a school,” he said. Mr. Blackie recommends that green roofs include means for irrigation and that insurers assist their policyholders during the green roof design phase. Blackie also cautioned that Zurich was not implying that buildings with green roofs would not be insured, only that insurers should be consulted prior to construction in order to ensure that a proper maintenance schedule is established and overall risk assessment program executed.

Sales Proceed at Green SOM-Designed Toren Condos in Brooklyn

Tue

Jun

by Stephen Del Percio

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Designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, Toren (Dutch for "tower") opened its sales office back in April and is offering 241 condominium and affordable units at 150 Myrtle Avenue in Fort Greene. The 38-story, silver-blue aluminum and glass tower is being developed by BFC Partners and is selling at $750 per square foot. BFC head Don Capoccia told The Real Deal last week that the firm has 32 executed contracts and 11 out for Toren's 199 market-rate units, while a whopping 1300 applications have been submitted for the project's 42 affordable units. The Toren is aiming for a LEED Silver rating from USGBC and will feature its own cogeneration facility, rooftop gardens, and (presumably) the other LEED-standard green design features. Units range from 442 square-foot studios to 1967-square-foot, three-bedroom duplex penthouses.

2008 Portland Cement Association “Concrete Thinking for a Sustainable World” Student Design Competition

Mon

Jan

by Stephen Del Percio

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The Third Annual Portland Cement Association (“PCA”) Concrete Thinking for a Sustainable World Student Design Competition opened for registration in early December and will remain available for both domestic and international students to enter through February 8. The purpose of the competition is to encourage students to “investigate innovative uses of Portland cement-based material to achieve sustainable design objectives.” This year’s competition gives students a choice from two different concepts. The first asks for designs for an environmentally responsible recycling center, while the second seeks designs for “a single element of a building that provides a sustainable solution to real-world environmental challenges.” The competition is not restricted by site or building use, so students will have a great deal of flexibility in crafting their designs.

Last year’s competition winner was Henry Miller of Troy, New York-based Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, whose submission addressed two problems of local interest in neighboring Albany.

Monday LEEDoff: Syracuse Prof’s Skaneateles Home Earns New York’s First LEED-H Gold Rating

Mon

May

by Stephen Del Percio

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At the risk of stealing some of Paul’s thunder for next month’s Upstate New York Green Real Estate Report, the LEED-H Pilot Program has certified its fourth Gold-rated home in the country and the first here in New York State, just outside Syracuse in the town of Skaneateles. Elet Sangrey Callahan, a professor at the Syracuse Whitman School of Management, owns the three-bedroom home, which was built Kevin Stack, president of Northeast Natural Homes and a partner in the Syracuse Center of Excellence in Environmental and Energy Systems.