Showing Tag: "sustainable building" (Show all posts)

Aquascape Green Roof Failure

Posted by John Noriega on Saturday, April 2, 2011,

--Speculating on why the green roof collapsed in St. Charles, Illinois and who is at fault.

A little over a month ago, the largest sloped green roof in North America collapsed. There has been speculation as to why this roof collapsed, but no firm conclusions have been made as the investigation continues. The president of Aquascape, commented on the incident in a press release saying that the snow had melted on the roof but could not drain because of ice blocking the drainage system. It has...
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5 questions with ZamRay.com

Posted by John Noriega on Wednesday, March 16, 2011,

ZamRay.com is quickly becoming a popular name within the sustainable construction industry and for good reason. ZamRay offers unique services in one convenient location that can effectively connect the construction industry. While the main purpose of this internet start up is to allow its users to buy and sell surplus and reclaimed material, there are many other components of the website that make it a useful source to improve construction projects across the nation.

Earlier this week I had ...
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London provides the first sustainable Olympics ...and more

Posted by John Noriega on Tuesday, July 20, 2010,

Being the host of the Summer Olympic Games is a privilege and an opportunity for a city and a nation to spark economic growth. London, the host of the 2012 Olympic Games, plans to do more than just that. The London Organizing Committee of the Olympic Games is a company that is in charge of handling private sector investments and public sector funding. The public funding is provided by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. They are using this opportunity to develop a struggling pa...

Sheldon Crossing: A luxurious sustainable community

Posted by John Noriega on Sunday, July 4, 2010,

For those who don’t know, Manayunk is a unique urban neighborhood just outside of Philadelphia. Main St., along the Schuylkill River is a popular area that is home to many high end restaurants and shopping. When I heard about a green community in Manayunk I had to check it out.

At first instinct I kind of chuckled to myself; wondering how anyone could actually make a successful sustainable community in Manayunk and actually sell the properties. After touring a model home I learned tha...

ARRA Projects: Energy funding for sustainable buildings

Posted by John Noriega on Monday, June 28, 2010,

On June 17, 2010, U.S. Department of Energy secretary, Steven Chu, announced that $76 million dollars of energy funding would be awarded to 58 selected projects for the advancement of sustainable buildings. As part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), these task specific projects cover many aspects to advance the energy efficiency in the sustainable construction and operation of buildings in the United States. Proprietors of these projects include universities, research gr...

Architecture 2030 for sustainable building codes

Posted by John Noriega on Thursday, June 24, 2010,

Building codes and standards are undoubtedly the answer to overall sustainability in the commercial and private building sectors. While sustainable construction projects are becoming more popular, incentive to build sustainably only convinces some of the population of business owners, and homeowners. For now, building standards not affiliated with mandated building codes offer no official financial incentive. Sustainable construction is left to those who understand the necessity to build...

The sustainable classroom: Project FROG

Posted by John Noriega on Tuesday, June 22, 2010,

Project FROG is a company based out of San Francisco, California that has developed and produced a complete line of prefabricated modular classroom buildings. These state of the art structures achieve net zero energy standards and provide an optimal learning environment. The company was founded in 2006, when co-founder Mark Miller set out to design “the most technologically advanced, energy efficient building system on the planet.” As it states on their website, they claim they have ...

A sustainable building joins the Charlotte skyline

Posted by John Noriega on Sunday, June 13, 2010,

On June 7^th, 2010, Wells Fargo & Company announced that their recently constructed Duke Energy Center in Charlotte, NC has achieved Platinum certification under the USGBC’s LEED for Core & Shell version 2.0. LEED for Core & Shell is a very compelling category that proves a skyscraper to be sustainable. Duke Energy announced its long term leasing agreement with Wells Fargo back in February 2009. Duke Energy supplies and delivers electric and natural gas to customers all over the United ...