A concrete block, also known as a cinder block in North American English, breeze block in British English, concrete masonry unit (CMU), or by various other terms, is a standard-size rectangular block used in building construction. The use of blockwork allows structures to be built in the traditional masonry style with layers of staggered blocks.
Green building refers to both a structure and the application of processes that are environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a building's life-cycle: from planning to design, construction, operation, maintenance, renovation, and demolition. This requires close cooperation of the contractor, the architects, the engineers, and the client at all project stages. The Green Building practice expands and complements the classical building design concerns of economy, utility, durability, and comfort. Green building also refers to saving resources to the maximum extent, including energy saving, land saving, water saving, material saving, etc., during the whole life cycle of the building, protecting the environment and reducing pollution, providing people with healthy, comfortable and efficient use of space, and being in harmony with nature. Buildings that live in harmony; green building technology focuses on low consumption, high efficiency, economy, environmental protection, integration and optimization.’
Sustainable architecture is architecture that seeks to minimize the negative environmental impact of buildings through improved efficiency and moderation in the use of materials, energy, development space and the ecosystem at large. Sustainable architecture uses a conscious approach to energy and ecological conservation in the design of the built environment.
Phoenix Hill is a neighborhood of Louisville, Kentucky just east of Downtown. Its boundaries are Market Street to the North, Preston Street to the West, Broadway to the South, and Baxter Avenue to the East. The Phoenix Hill neighborhood, settled before 1850 by German immigrants, is now a rich tapestry of people and a diverse mix of business, industry and residences.
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a green building certification program used worldwide. Developed by the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), it includes a set of rating systems for the design, construction, operation, and maintenance of green buildings, homes, and neighborhoods, which aims to help building owners and operators be environmentally responsible and use resources efficiently.
A Zero-Energy Building (ZEB), also known as a Net Zero-Energy (NZE) building, is a building with net zero energy consumption, meaning the total amount of energy used by the building on an annual basis is equal to the amount of renewable energy created on the site or in other definitions by renewable energy sources offsite, using technology such as heat pumps, high efficiency windows and insulation, and solar panels.
Renewable heat is an application of renewable energy referring to the generation of heat from renewable sources; for example, feeding radiators with water warmed by focused solar radiation rather than by a fossil fuel boiler. Renewable heat technologies include renewable biofuels, solar heating, geothermal heating, heat pumps and heat exchangers. Insulation is almost always an important factor in how renewable heating is implemented.
The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), founded in 1993, is a private 501(c)3, membership-based non-profit organization that promotes sustainability in building design, construction, and operation. USGBC is best known for its development of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) green building rating systems and its annual Greenbuild International Conference and Expo, the world's largest conference and expo dedicated to green building. USGBC was one of eight national councils that helped found the World Green Building Council (WorldGBC).
John Gill Holland Jr. is an American film producer and co-developer of The Green Building in Louisville, Kentucky.
The Green Exchange is a sustainable and green retail and office development project in the Logan Square community area of Chicago, Illinois that is designed to house eco-friendly businesses and organizations. Developers of the building have been awarded LEED Platinum status for their rehabilitation of a historic landmark four-story manufacturing facility originally built in 1914. The retail and office space is open to the public and is intended to serve as an important Midwest destination for green consumers.
The East Market District, colloquially referred to as NuLu, is an unofficial district of Louisville, Kentucky, situated along Market Street between downtown to the west, Butchertown to the north, Phoenix Hill to the south, and Irish Hill to the east. The area is home to schools, churches, large and small businesses and some of the city's oldest homes and businesses. A destination since Louisville's founding, Market Street has played host to a variety of businesses throughout the city's history that have drawn Louisvillians for generations to its addresses.
The Proximity Hotel, located in Greensboro, North Carolina, is the first Platinum LEED certified green hotel in the United States. Opened in 2007, this 147-room luxury boutique hotel has over 5,000 square feet (460 m2) of meeting and event space as well as a full-service restaurant. The hotel utilized more than 70 sustainable practices during construction and is a model for green hotel construction.
The Chicago Center for Green Technology was a 34,000-square-foot (3,200 m2) US Green Building Council LEED Platinum certified building located on a plot of 17 acres (69,000 m2) in Chicago's East Garfield Park Community built to showcase green technologies. This was the first municipal and brownfield site to win a LEED Platinum award. This project was completed as part of Mayor Richard M. Daley's Chicago Brownfield Initiative (CBI). The center offered workshops focusing on green technology and sustainable design, a green building resource center, and self-guided or guided tours to visitors.
Green building on college campuses is the purposeful construction of buildings on college campuses that decreases resource usage in both the building process and also the future use of the building. The goal is to reduce CO2 emissions, energy use, and water use, while creating an atmosphere where students can be healthy and learn.
LEED for Neighborhood Development (LEED-ND), where "LEED" stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is a United States-based rating system that integrates the principles of smart growth, urbanism, and green building into a national system for neighborhood design. LEED certification provides independent, third-party verification that a development's location and design meet accepted high levels of environmentally responsible, sustainable development.
The Tower at PNC Plaza is a 33-story skyscraper in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is the corporate headquarters of the PNC Financial Services Group and has approximately 800,000 square feet (74,000 m2), standing 33 stories tall. Nearby buildings totaling 37,000 square feet (3,400 m2), were purchased by PNC and deconstructed to make space for the Tower at PNC Plaza. It is located at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and Wood Street, where PNC and its predecessors have been based since 1858.
"Sustainability," was defined as “development which implies meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”as defined by the 1983 Brundtland Commission. As sustainability gains support and momentum worldwide, universities across the United States have expanded initiatives towards more sustainable campuses, commitments, academic offerings, and student engagement.
NASA Sustainability Base is located on the campus of NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California. It was named in recognition of the first human outpost on the moon, Tranquility Base. It was designed to exhibit and test the latest energy-saving technologies as part of the federal government's drive to eliminate fossil-fuel consumption in all new government buildings by 2030. The building was not initially conceived as a "sustainability base", but associate director Steven Zornestzer worked with architect William McDonough to create an energy-efficient building for the 21st century. McDonough, previously published "Cradle to Cradle", which argued for building architecture to move out of the "life cycle" model and become a more circular system, lasting for indefinite periods of time. This belief, along with other influences from looking at urban design and architecture through a biological perspective, provided inspiration for the NASA Sustainability Base. Energy-saving features include water recycling, fuel cell electricity generation, natural lighting, solar panels, and a geothermal well system. The building takes advantage of the sun's arc and winds from San Francisco Bay in addition to being able to adjust to changes in sunlight, temperature, wind, and occupancy. Also, the building had normal budget and actually a shorter than normal production time. One of the nation's greenest buildings, the NASA Sustainability Base was awarded the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum status. It was completed in December 2012 and cost $27.8 million.
The Vale Living with Lakes Centre is a research center for The Cooperative Freshwater Ecology Unit in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. The centre consists of 2 buildings totalling 2,643m². The 2 storey main building contains offices, laboratories, and teaching/meeting spaces. The second building also known as the Watershed Centre contains field crew operations, storage, and specialized facilities.
