TJPA Unveils Final Design for New Transbay Transit Center

The Transbay Joint Powers Authority (TJPA) Board today heard a final design report prepared by Pelli Clarke Pelli, the project architect, for the new Transbay Transit Center and Park. The completion of the design will permit construction of this landmark facility to start in August of this year. The TJPA staff also presented a $1.589 billion budget for the first phase of the project, updated to include the cost of building the below ground train box.... 

Modern Beach House in Truro by ZeroEnergy Design

Planning for the extreme variation in occupancy was an issue the designers dealt with from the start. The home is split into a ˜Living Bar’ and a ˜Sleeping Bar.’ The Sleeping Bar is the expansion module with numerous bedrooms & bathrooms to accommodate the entire family. The Living Bar includes the living and dining areas, as well as a secondary master bedroom – all that the couple needs when the children are away. This programmatic... 

Constellation Energy’s Projects & Services Group to construct solar power system at Patriot Place

Constellation Energy (NYSE:CEG) today announced that its subsidiary, Constellation Energy’s Projects & Services Group, will construct a photovoltaic power system that will generate approximately 525 kilowatts of clean, renewable solar power at Patriot Place, the 1.3-million-square-foot entertainment, retail and dining destination adjacent to Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass. The system will supply approximately 30 percent of Patriot Place’s... 

CertainTeed WeatherBoards FiberCement Siding for Mid-Atlantic’s First Carbon-Neutral Home

Carbon-neutral home building is a new and growing trend in sustainability, where more efficient building design, innovative technology and strategic locations can be combined to reduce carbon emissions — the leading cause of greenhouse gases. A significant part of achieving this goal in the construction of such homes is ensuring that each building product installed has the maximum amount of sustainable attributes. Such is the case with the Carbon... 

Napa Valley’s Historic Bardessono Farmstead Morphs Into America’s Greenest Luxury Hotel

Phil Sherburne, a pioneer in modern green development, will open his long-awaited Bardessono hotel, restaurant and spa in California’s famed Napa Valley during the first week of February. The 62-room luxury hotel with its 92-seat restaurant and bar is situated on the Bardessono family farmstead in the heart of historic Yountville. Sherburne, who was hand-picked by the Bardessonos to develop their six-acre property, promised an ecologically-friendly... 

New Orleans Houses, Lower Ninth Ward by Graftlab

Graft’s proposal for housing in the Lower Ninth merges metaphorical abstractions of traditional and modern architecture, driven with the purpose of capitalizing on the more successful components within each as a means with which to generate a more robust whole. Sustainable features include: Solar panels, Water Catchments system, Geothermal system, With Heat pump, thankless water heater, high ceilings for stack ventilation, operable windows which... 

Congressional Solar Energy Tax Credit Bill Creates Affordable Renewable Energy Systems for Homeowners

A part of the bailout package recently passed by the U.S. government included a generous solar energy tax credit bill which will dramatically reduce the cost and hasten the payback to homeowners for installing residential solar energy systems. A full 30% federal tax credit is now available for solar PV and thermal installations starting January 1, 2009. The Renewable Energy Division of S+H Construction, Inc. of Cambridge, Massachusetts, one of the... 

Zero Energy Home Participates in Green Buildings Open House

ZeroEnergy Design, an architectural design and mechanical engineering firm, will be showcasing their newly completed net zero energy home as part of both the 2008 Green Buildings Open House held annually by the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (NESEA) and the National Solar Energy Tour held annually by the American Solar Energy Association (ASEA) as sponsored by the US Department Of Energy. Zero Energy Home The modern Cape Cod residence utilizes... 

A3C – Collaborative Architecture’s LEED-CI Gold Learning Lab and UrbEn Retreat

The building is the first in downtown Ann Arbor to be registered with the USGBC and designed to LEED-CI Gold Certification standards. It is also the first building with a Green Roof, the first to use a Geothermal Energy system, the first to meet the Mayors 2030 Challenge and the first winner of the Ann Arbor Energy Challenge for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency.

Colin Powell Middle School follows LEED green building guidelines

The 122,000 square foot Colin Powell Middle School follows LEED green building guidelines. High-performance technologies include a daylight harvesting system, pond-based geothermal system, and passive security system. Visitors approaching the school at the main entry can see through several building “layers” to the 3-acre pond at the back of the facility.