September 12, 2008
  Students Drive Sustainable, Functional Design in Boulder
LEED Gold project thrives despite funding issues and four deans
A renovation and expansion of the Koelbel Building at the University of Colorado at Boulder was completed in October 2007 with a LEED® Gold certification and at a cost of $38 million. Although LEED Gold certainly is a laudable accomplishment, particularly since sustainability was not a design directive at the project outset, what is most remarkable about this project is that it has managed to survive the rotation of four college deans and tough economic conditions in the state and still deliver a functional, appealing, and sustainable facility for the students and faculty of the Leeds School of Business.

Pasadena Department of Water & Power Building Employs Sustainable Design
Pasadena, Calif.-based Gonzalez│Goodale Architects is seeking LEED® Gold certification for the 35,000-square-foot Pasadena Department of Water & Power Building, now under construction on a maintenance yard owned by the city. The $10 million facility will house the city’s water quality lab and utility network, as well as an emergency operations center. Gonzalez│Goodale’s design has received a Merit Award from the AIA Pasadena and Foothills chapter.

Sri Lankan Hospital Strives for True Sustainability
Perkins + Will-designed facility addresses social, economic, environmental sustainability
Perkins + Will is designing the Embassy Medical Center in Colombo, Sri Lanka, to stem the loss of educated citizens, provide a truly self-sustaining and sustainable facility, and offer a world-class hospital that will serve an international clientele. The facility will include a number of important firsts: the first medical bio-anaerobic incinerator, the first community energy resource, the first modern use of open air terraces off patient rooms, and the first incorporation of an eight-story, open air, cooling and dehumidifying waterfall. The design goal is to create the “model” LEED®/GGHC (Green Guide for Health Care) medical center and to achieve “living building” status.

  

Copyright 2008 The American Institute of Architects. All rights reserved. Home Page
home
news headlines
practice
business
design
Welcome to the Design Zone
Here is where you will find our weekly Project Watch, short vignettes on notable projects in this country and abroad. The Design Zone is also where you will find coverage of awards programs, including the national Honor Awards as well as state and local component awards.