 Putting the “Green” in Greensburg, Kans.
Tornado-struck city votes to require LEED Platinum certification for new buildings
Seven months after it was ravaged by a monster tornado, the city council of Greensburg, Kans., voted on December 17 to adopt a resolution that all city buildings greater than 4,000 square feet will be certified LEED® Platinum by the U.S. Green Building Council. Additionally, the council resolved that all new buildings will be required to meet LEED “points” requirements calculated to reduce energy use by 42 percent over current code requirements. Platinum is LEED’s highest rating, and Greensburg becomes the first city in the U.S. to require Platinum certification. 
 A Tribute to George M. Notter, 1933–2007
AIA loses a great friend and leader
George M. Notter Jr., FAIA, the 60th president of the AIA, died December 26. He was 74. A founding principal of the firm Anderson Notter Finegold, which later became Notter Finegold & Alexander, he was a leader in planning related to urban areas, the design of new structures in urban areas, and the adaptive use and preservation of historic buildings and districts. Nationally known as a pioneering preservationist and creative enthusiast of adaptive use, Notter is also recognized as an early advocate of sustainability and urban regeneration.
 UBC Okanagan’s Fipke Centre Earns Five Green Globes
The University of British Columbia/Okanagan’s new Fipke Center for Innovative Research, designed by Kasian Architecture Interior Design and Planning Ltd., and being built by UBC Properties Trust, has earned Five Green Globes, a designation reserved for “designs serving as national or world leaders in energy and environmental performance” by the Green Globes rating system. The 68,000-square-foot building, which houses lecture halls, classrooms, and wet and dry labs, is naturally heated and cooled by a campus-wide groundwater energy system and naturally ventilated with a wind tower that permits 100 percent fresh air all of the time. Green Globes is one of two national green building rating systems used in Canada, along with Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®); it also is available for buildings in the U.S. Construction of the Fipke Center began in the fall of 2006 and is slated for completion in May 2008. To learn more about the project or the rating system, visit the Green Globes Web site. Photo courtesy of the architect.
 Calling All Green Buildings!
Online submission site for 2008 AIA/COTE Top Ten Green Projects open until January 31
The AIA Committee on the Environment (COTE) is now accepting online submissions for the 2008 COTE Top Ten Green Projects [http://www.aiatopten.org/] awards program. Since 1996, this juried recognition program has celebrated the best in sustainable design. The program requirements are unique and require narrative descriptions as well as performance metrics. This unusual set of requirements is part of the program’s recognition of the importance of qualitative and quantitative elements of sustainable design. These COTE measures and metrics of sustainable design are a framework for a holistic understanding of sustainable design. The 2008 jury for the AIA/COTE Top Ten Green Projects awards program includes architects, educators, and a student. The deadline to submit projects is January 31, 2008. For more information about the Top Ten Green Projects and to submit a project for consideration, visit the COTE Web site. [http://www.aiatopten.org/] Pictured is the Government Canyon Visitor Center, Helotes, Tex., by Lake/Flato Architects, a 2007 COTE Top Ten Green Project. Photo courtesy of the architect.
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