March 21, 2008
  PROJECT WATCH
HOK-Designed “The Wild Center” Earns USGBC LEED Silver
Complex in the Adirondacks is the first museum in New York State to receive certification
The Wild Center/Natural History Museum of the Adirondacks, a new complex in Tupper Lake, N.Y., expected to save 20–30 percent of normal operating costs, has earned a LEED® Silver certification from the U.S. Green Buildings Council. The center collaborated with HOK on LEED criteria for the 54,000-square-foot museum’s main building and its overall campus design; and with HOK, the Office of Charles P. Reay, and Phinney Design Group for its new photovoltaics array-sporting BioBuilding administrative offices. The 31-acre site was an open-cut sand quarry in its previous incarnation, enabling the architects to minimize disturbance of the existing natural habitat. A three-acre pond creates an indigenous wetland that invites critters close to the museum and also aids in the site’s stormwater management. Composting toilets reduce water consumption, while a well-insulated envelope, low VOC materials, efficient air filtration, air-quality monitoring, and digitally controlled building management all combine to create a healthy indoor environment. The museum, designed in indigenous Adirondacks style with locally available materials, is developing exhibit-style labels so that visitors can learn about its environmental strategies. The Wild Center represents HOK’s 23rd project to earn LEED recognition.

IBM Building 25 Burns
In a sad footnote to the preservation of Modern buildings issue of AIArchitect two weeks ago, IBM Building 25, which was already threatened with demolition to make room for a Lowe’s Home Improvement Store, was gutted by fire March 8. The fire is still under investigation, and arson is a possibility. The seminal Silicon Valley research facility, built in 1957 and designed by John Savage Bolles, was abandoned after 40 years of use and had already been vandalized in the decade since. The Preservation Action Council of San Jose (PAC-SJ) has been working with Lowe’s to save at least some of the building as part of the home-improvement company’s development of the 18-acre property and is currently working toward a possible restoration of what remains.

Candidates for 2008 AIA National Office Issue Statements
Meet the candidates for AIA national office, who have issued the following 400-word statements. Click on any name to read that candidate’s statement or watch a video of the candidate speaking at the Grassroots Leadership and Legislative Conference.

Be Part of “We the People” in Boston
Register for the convention before April 4 and save $50
“We the People” and all the empowerment those mighty words convey form the theme of the AIA 2008 National Convention and Design Expo, to take place May 15–17 in Boston. Everyone connected to the building and design community will benefit. Take advantage of more than 250 continuing-education seminars and some fabulous tours, through which you can bask in our nation’s history, examine the Big Dig, or even boo at the Red Sox. Visit the AIA Convention Web site for more information and register now. Advance registration (before April 4) saves AIA members $50 on the registration fee. See you there! (Photo courtesy of the Greater Boston Convention & Visitors Bureau.)

REGREEN Guidelines for Green Home Remodeling Projects Now Available Online
The U.S. Green Buildings Council and the American Society of Interior Designers Foundation on March 14 launched REGREEN, the nation’s first set of resources and tools specifically for green home remodeling projects, at the ASID Interiors08 Conference on Design in New Orleans. The free guidelines cover all aspects of renovations, from installing a new dishwasher and remodeling your master bathroom to refurbishing an entire home interior. Although it is not a LEED®-branded rating system with certification thresholds and recognition levels, REGREEN, like LEED, addresses the major elements of any green renovation project: building site, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, material and resources, and indoor environmental quality. For more information, visit the REGREEN for Professionals Web site.

 

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This is where you will find the latest happenings in the Institute, the profession, and the wider world of building design and construction. The News Zone also carries commentary from AIA elected representatives as well as major new commissions, completions, and openings.