Monday LEEDoff

ML: BNIM Architects' Omega Center for Sustainable Living Seeks Platinum, Living Building Challenge Certification in Rhinebeck

Mon

Jan

The Rhinebeck, New York-based Omega Institute for Holistic Studies announced last week that it has broken ground on its Omega Center for Sustainable Living. The OCSL is aiming for a LEED Platinum rating and was designed by Kansas City-based BNIM Architects, the firm responsible for the new master plan for Greensburg, Kansas. During Greenbuild 2007, Omega won a Living Building Challenge "On the Boards Award" for the OCSL and, once completed, the Center will be the first Living Building on the East Coast. (Note that the Living Building Challenge is sponsored by the Cascadia Region Green Building Council, was introduced during Greenbuild 2006 in Denver, and BNIM has been involved with the program from its inception).

ML: Richmond County Supreme Court Building by Polshek Partnership Architects

Mon

Dec

by Stephen Del Percio

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It’s not the type of green building legal news we’ve been reporting over at GRELJ recently, but New York City, DASNY, and the borough of Staten Island broke ground last week on a new five-story state Supreme Court building for Richmond County. The $220 million project will rise in the St. George section on the site of a former municipal parking lot and should be completed sometime in 2012. As an attorney who has appeared out on Staten Island, I can attest that the project is sorely needed to consolidate the borough’s outdated court facilities that are currently spread out across separate buildings; the new courthouse will include Supreme Court, criminal court, and jury assembly space.

ML: Crandall Public Library, Glens Falls, New York

Tue

Dec

by Stephen Del Percio

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It looks like we’re back in business here at gbNYC after a technical battle last week on our back end- thanks to all of your for your patience. Boston-based Ann Beha Architects (Princeton’s Carl A. Fields Center) designed an $18 million renovation and expansion to the Crandall Public Library in Glens Falls, New York that recently opened to the public and is in pursuit of an unspecified level of LEED certification. The scope of the project included a renovation of the library’s three-story main building, which dates from 1931 and was designed by Charles Platt , as well as a 39,400-square-foot, canopied glass addition. Green design features emphasize building system performance and natural daylighting in addition to incorporating recycled-content and locally-sourced construction materials. The project team also featured Glens Falls-based JMZ Architects and Planners as associate architects. The Crandall Public Library is located at 251 Glen Street in Glen Falls’ Three Squares Historic District.

ML: Jacob Burns Film Center Media Arts Lab, Pleasantville, New York

Mon

Dec

by Stephen Del Percio

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The $15 million Media Arts Lab at the Jacob Burns Film Center is on track for one of Westchester County’s first LEED Gold ratings from USGBC. Designed by Mount Kisco-based Kaeyer, Garment & Davidson Architects & Engineers, the 27,000-square-foot Media Arts Lab will provide hands-on education for both the public and fellows, expanding on the numerous classroom offerings at the Film Center.

The project broke ground approximately 18 months ago and includes a number of green design features, including a geothermal heating and cooling system, radiant heating, natural daylighting, a green roof, and recycled-content structural materials. The Jacob Burns Film Center has operated since 2001, screens both independent and international films, and hosts industry guest speakers, including directors, actors, and authors.

The Media Arts Lab is located across the street from Metro North and is just a block down from the Film Center itself.

ML: Garito Manor at Union Square Brings Affordable Green Housing to Westchester Seniors

Mon

Dec

by Stephen Del Percio

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NDR Group recently completed construction on Garito Manor at Union Square . The 102-unit, $30 million facility will accommodate seniors over the age of 62 with lower incomes. While funding for the project came from many sources, NYSERDA provided a $399,000 grant for the project’s green features, which include five geothermal wells, energy efficient lighting, windows, and insulation, and locally-sourced materials. Perkins Eastman Architects designed the project with construction management services from Andon Construction Company . Garito Manor is seeking an unspecified level of LEED certification; for monthly rents ranging from $2200-$2800 residents will enjoy two daily meals, 24-hour security and concierge, housekeeping, and transportation services. The complex opened today for residents to begin moving in and is named for former New Rochelle mayor Frank Garito, who had pushed during his administration for the redevelopment of New Rochelle’s downtown historic district.

ML: GreenbergFarrow & IKEA Seeking Silver, Testing Green Technology in Red Hook

Mon

Nov

by Stephen Del Percio

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Manhattan-based GreenbergFarrow Architects recently completed the 346,000-square-foot IKEA in Red Hook, Brooklyn; it’s the tenth such store that the firm has designed. Lost in the hoopla surrounding the Swedish giant’s first New York City retail outlet is that the Red Hook iteration is applying for a LEED Silver rating predicated on a number of green design elements. GreenbergFarrow’s John Bemben recently spoke with us and described some of the building’s extensive green and energy efficient features.

ML: Silver Expansion of Mamaroneck Public Library by BKSK Architects

Mon

Nov

by Stephen Del Percio

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Another LEED project by BKSK Architects (Queens Botanical Gardens, Harsen House, and 124 West 23rd Street) just broke ground last week in Mamaroneck, New York. Designed to achieve a Silver level of certification from USGBC, the Mamaroneck Public Library renovation and expansion project will contemplate a 13,000-square-foot addition to an existing 21,000-square-foot facility, which dates from 1927. BKSK's design charge was to maintain the historic appeal of the existing structure; the Library's original reading room wiill be restored and its columns and box pattern facade details replicated. Green features are LEED-standard; energy efficient building systems, extensive daylighting, and recycled-content materials, in addition to a green roof. The project should wrap up sometime in early 2010.

ML: Richard Meier's Weill Hall at Cornell Earns LEED Gold

Mon

Oct

by Stephen Del Percio

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Designed by Richard Meier and Partners Architects, the $65 million Weill Hall at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York recently earned just the sixth LEED Gold certification for a university laboratory building in the country. Energy consumption is obviously a huge consideration for science buildings, and Weill Hall is projected to use 30 percent less energy than a comparable building. This allowed the design team to push for LEED Gold during the construction phase rather than the original goal of Silver.

The building includes a green roof and graywater reclamation system that should reduce stormwater runoff by 41 percent, and 60 percent of all timber used on the project was sourced from sustainable forests. In addition, during the construction phase, 65 percent of construction debris was recycled. Other green features include reflective sidewalks; Weill Hall is also part of Cornell's Lake Source Cooling Project, which eliminates the need for campus refrigeration systems by drawing upon the cold waters of nearby Cayuga Lake.

ML: Platinum Mercy Corps Action Center Set to Open in Battery Park City's Riverhouse

Mon

Oct

by Stephen Del Percio

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We wrote about the Mercy Corps Action Center to End World Hunger earlier this year; the $5.4 million, 4000-square-foot interactive education facility is set to open this Thursday, October 16 (which is World Food Day) within community space at the Sheldrake Organization's Riverhouse condominiums. Designed by Edwin Schlossberg’s ESI Design, the Center is seeking a LEED Platinum rating from USGBC.

The Center's mission is to both educate and inspire visitors to take action against poverty and hunger. Four "training towers" provide case studies from different countries- conflict in Afghanistan, government in Indonesia, global warming in Niger, and land use in Guatemala. Benches made from wood reclaimed from houses destroyed during Hurricane Katrina lace the Center's interiors, while a Tina Fey-hosted video provides an overview of the Center's offerings. Visitors are encouraged to take action that requires either one minute (emailing themselves information about how to get involved) or one day (hosting a dinner fundraiser).

ML: First Green Hotel in Queens Proposed by Architect Gerald Caliendo

Mon

Oct

by Stephen Del Percio

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A proposed Best Western hotel in East Elmhurst could become the first green hotel in Queens. The project, to be located at 112th Place and Astoria Boulevard, adjacent to the Grand Central Parkway, LaGuardia Airport, and the Mets' new CitiField, will pursue an unspecified level of LEED certification, according to architect Gerald Caliendo (though note Mr. Caliendo's quote about "bronze" certification in the context of recent posts here at gbNYC regarding the importance of accurately describing green projects and qualifications from a legal perspective). Community Board 3 granted the six-story, 100-unit project a zoning waiver at a recent meeting, despite local residents' concerns about increased traffic. Details on specific green features are not available yet.