Green
Architecture -
referred to in a broader context as
"sustainable" design is the outcome of creating
the most energy-efficient and environmentally-friendly
building possible, by using such things as double paned
windows, hay bale-insulated walls, advanced heat movement
and airflow design, low compact building location and
"sustainable" construction techniques, solar panels, garden
roofs, and renewable building materials.
SUSTAINABLE CHICAGO
This Fall, Chicago Architecture Today
is releasing its first film documentary Entitled
Sustainable Chicago, its premise is to add
clarity and stimulate discussion about the current "green"
movement occurring within the design/build industry.
This documentary seeks to highlight the impact, innovations and
inconsistencies of the "green" movement
particularly in Chicago as applicable in the public and
private, commercial and non-profit sectors of the city. The project
was executed by a talented group of architecture interns
from around the country over a period of 10 months. The
conclusion is the production of a 54
minute film as well as an entry-level education series
appropriate for public, primary and secondary venues.
Our hope for this documentary is not only to educate people about the
importance of building sustainably but also to inspire
people to actively pursue a more sustainable lifestyle.
With the buildings in Chicago accounting for 70% of
greenhouse gas emissions and transportation 21%, there is
much architecture and design can do to alleviate emissions
in the city.
With our current system of
economy, humans will continue to construct buildings and
require efficient means of transportation. Since buildings
and transportation account for such a large percentage of
greenhouse gas emissions in Chicago and the rest of the
world, we believe it is important that we proceed
responsibly and intelligently with regard to how we build
our world. Architects, designers and planners have such a
responsibility as what they do affects our world so
drastically. We feel the need to educate everyone about how
important this design philosophy is and to encourage further
critical thinking about what works and what doesn't in
practice.
WHY CHICAGO?
Because Chicago is at the
forefront of this movement, we want to highlight the
individuals and organizations here that are leading the way
so that others may learn and be inspired by what they are
doing. Living here in Chicago gives us the unique
opportunity to meet these individuals and organizations and
live among and see many of the works that have been
completed and are currently taking place. We also want to
interview Chicago citizens to see what they know about
and/or how they support Chicago's sustainable architecture.
We want to examine why Chicago and why now?
While currently in post
production, check back in the coming weeks on this website
to find scheduled showings and possible broadcasts.
Chicago LEED
Gold Hospital Project Biggest Ever EarthTechling
Designed by the Chicago
arm of the Perkins+Will green architecture empire, the
building earned its LEED points in the areas of water
conservation, energy conservation and materials use, among
other sustainable strategies. In terms of water conservation
...
A Peek
inside Chicago's new 'Green Exchange'
*
*
*
Chicago Home
To Greenest Home in America Chicagoist
The Yannell residence is just the latest in a long line of
local architectural marvels. As the birthplace of the
skyscraper and primary canvas for Frank Lloyd Wright's
extensive residential legacy, Chicago once again proves that
it remains at the ...
Preserve an
old building, live a green life
Medill Reports: Chicago
She says preserving old buildings is automatically green in
itself. by Yue Wang After meticulous work, the 1892
Richardsonian Romanesque-style house was infused with many
green technologies without damaging its historic value. It
was old. It was stout.
EcoGardens
earns green, landscapes the future Medill Reports: Chicago
by Meghan Schiller If you took a helicopter ride above the
Chicago skyline this summer, you'd see a lot of green--green
roofs to be exact. Part of a larger trend towards
sustainable architecture, green roofs are catching on in the
Windy City and are ...
Evanston
architect gets kudos for first North Shore LEED Platinum
house Crain's Chicago Business
(blog)
(The first one is on Chicago's North Side.) But the home, on
a corner lot in Glencoe, received that designation because
of the extensive green features adopted, both tried and
true, as well as newer technologies. They included a green
roof, ...
Interactive
Design Project Strikes Gold woodworkingnetwork.com
CHICAGO –– When IDEA (Interactive Design Architects, Inc.)
architects Paul Steinbrecher and Jeff Parfitt designed
Chicago's West Town Branch Library, they were required to
ensure that it would certify as LEED silver. However, as
construction proceeded, ...
A Green
Revolution in Chicago The Atlantic Cities
The leading candidate is a bold, brilliant park and lagoon
design by Gang's firm, Studio Gang, and JJR, a landscape
architecture firm, which has been given a thumbs-up from the
Chicago Park District. The "framework plan" (which is little
more than a ...
costar.com
The 35-story,
896502-square-foot office building was constructed in 1987
and is recognized as a gem of Chicago's modern architectural
legacy. The property earned its fourth Energy Star rating
this year. The tower is 76 percent occupied and its tenants
...
Seniors Get
Hip To Green In Chi-Town EarthTechling
The Kenmore – once a
griffitti-riddled building – underwent a gut rehab in 2010
and was rebuilt according to a new concept of the space
developed by the Chicago architecture firm Holabird & Root.
The firm said [PDF] its design for the 90000-square-foot ...
Apartments
North Side town house going for the platinum Chicago Tribune
"In Chicago and in
America, there is a lot of sustainable focus on new
construction, but the question is, what to do with the 100
million or so units that exist," said the Howes' architect,
William Scholtens of Elements Architectural Group in Oak
Park. ...
Transforming
the Chicago River with green design SmartPlanet.com (blog)
In a new book, entitled
Reverse Effect, Chicago-based architect and recent MacArthur
Genius grant winner Jeanne Gang looks to transform the still
filthy stretch of water into an urban destination. “We're a
city that has these waterways, ...
Global warming
and green architecture
Jakarta Post
Sears Tower in Chicago
and the Empire State Building in New York are two examples
of great works of modern architecture which should be
renovated, as they require tremendous energy. The Sears
Tower in Chicago, with 108 floors, is the tallest building
...
High-rise's
park a radical idea in '68
Chicago
Tribune
Significant for its
prairie-style design, the space personifies one of Chicago's
signature contributions to the greater architecture
community. Robert Bruegmann, an architecture, landscape and
built-environment historian, believes the oasis ranks up ...
Rare
Solar-Powered Chicago Home Listed by Dream Town
MarketWatch
(press release)
It will be showcased in
a temporary exhibit in the Lecture Hall of the Chicago
Architecture Foundation this fall. Presented by the US Green
Building Council, Neighborhoods Go Green! focuses on
"scaling up sustainability" in the local community. ...
Couple
collaborate on green Venice home
Sarasota
Herald-Tribune
Chicago architect Joe
Valerio designed this LEED-Platinum certified green home at
1164 Seneca Road in South Venice. COURTESY PHOTOS By Harold
Bubil We have heard this story before: New resident lands on
Gulf Coast after vacationing here during ...
Green Design
Curbed
National
New-construction homes
in Chicago are expensive. 'Green' single-families are often
even more expensive. With this in mind, Jeff Sommers of
Square Root Architecture (the architect behind that new
prefab house in West Town) and Avi Ron from Dream Town ...
Jeanne Gang,
Architect
Slate Magazine
In the Aqua Tower in
Chicago, designed by Jeanne Gang and completed in 2010, each
curvy concrete floor slab has a slightly different shape.
Gang is the head of Studio Gang Architects, which has
completed buildings ranging from an amphitheater with a ...
ELPC’s NEW
GREEN OFFICE AWARDED LEED® PLATINUM
IN HISTORIC
LANDMARK BUILDING
Chicago - The
Environmental Law & Policy Center (ELPC) announced today
that its office has been awarded LEED Platinum
certification established by U.S. Green Building Council
(USGBC) and verified by the Green Building Certification
Institute for its office. ELPC’s office is located in
the “Old Jeweler’s Building,” a Historic Landmark in
downtown Chicago. Platinum is the highest certification
possible through LEED, the USGBC’s leading rating system
for the design, construction and operation of high
performance green buildings.
ELPC has the first LEED
Platinum office in a Historic Landmark building in
Chicago, creating a model they hope others will follow.
“We’ve transformed space in a historic building into a
cutting-edge green modern office with high environmental
performance that makes economic sense.” said Howard
Learner, Executive Director of ELPC. “With smart design,
this downtown office space saves money with
state-of-the-art energy efficiency technology, uses
local, recycled materials, reduces waste and is an
attractive, great place to work.”
C3 Modular Home Complete in Chicago
Jetson Green
... Prefab | View Comments I recently noticed this
time-lapse video of C3, the first prefab home in Chicago,
so I decided it was time to update our coverage of the
project. The five-module home was designed by Square Root
Architecture + Design, ...
River gyms and
stackable cars: The future for sustainable design
Medill
Reports: Chicago
The Chicago partnership
of Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture is doing just
that. In a planned retrofit of Chicago's Willis Tower
(formerly known as the Sears Tower), the partners propose to
reduce electricity use by 80 percent, the equivalent of ...
Green energy
from city skylines
Medill
Reports: Chicago
Companies vying to
create urban-friendly technology have also been emerging in
Chicago. Balanced Wind LLC plans to install 18 wind turbines
on buildings around Chicago by next month. “I think Chicago
is a hub of innovation, in a sense, ...
Swimming in the Chicago River: not a swan dive off
the Trump Tower
Natural Resources Defense Council (blog)
When one hears the words “swimming” and “Chicago
River” in the same sentence, a mental picture may well pop
up of someone taking a swan dive off the Trump Tower into
the River's main stem, perhaps narrowly missing the
architectural tour boat going by. ...
GPW: Aqua
Greenroofs.com
(blog)
Already considered
Chicago's newest architectural landmark, equally imposing is
an amenities package, known as The Shore Club, which is
comparable to a world-class resort. It includes the
distinctive 80000 sf living roof deck – the largest in the
city ...
The Winner of
our 2011 “Love the Earth, Plant a Roof!” Earth Day Photo
Contest ...
Greenroofs.com
(blog)
The 82-story mixed-use
residential skyscraper is located in the Lakeshore East
development in downtown Chicago designed in the Modern
architectural style. The beautiful terrace gardens comes
complete with gazebos, pools, hot tubs, a walking/running
...
Introducing
WORKING TOWARD
SUSTAINABILITY
Fundamental
Exercises in Green Building Design
Bringing Our Research and
Today's Industry Experts Into Your Classrooms and
Organizational Meetings!
A new instructional
video series on sustainable design. Titles in this 5-disk
video curriculum include:
Sustainability in Focus
Sustainability Diversified
and Applied
Sustainable Systems
Sustainable Building and
Lifestyle Products
Accompanying the 4 DVD's is a
data CD which contains the following:
A multi-question file
which can be used as an exam or series quiz
LEED Design situations for
cad programs
Case Studies of successful
green projects
Images of green-related
subjects
Additionally, a 46-page
workbook of assignments and resources compliments the video
series with ...
Discussion, Group & Design
Questions & Projects
A Green Glossary &
Statistics
LEED Charts
Important Standards in
Sustainability
Online Resources
Based on the documentary
Sustainable Chicago
Produced & Published by
Chicago Architecture Today LLC
Full refunds are available for
the return of any unopened materials (video and workbook)
for up to 10 days after receiving purchase. Return shipping
costs will be the responsibility of the customer. Cancelled
purchases will be honored if the material has not yet been
shipped and if shipped, will be fulfilled after items are
returned. There is a non-return policy if any part of the
purchased and shipped material has been opened or used.
Green
Architecture for Houses of Worship: Building the Sacred
Inside and Out
Huffington
Post (blog)
Similarly, the secular
ritual of spring cleaning separates my experience of
Chicago's long winter from the possibilities of warmth and
growth yet to come. In connecting to these ritual acts of
separation, I find myself connected to a greater sense of
...
YouthBuild's
green home an energy saver
Chicago
Sun-Times
The estimated $200000
cost of construction was supported by a $117000 federal HUD
grant and $86000 in in-kind donations — architectural
drawings, building materials, landscaping — from
approximately 40 companies. “They say it takes a village,”
said ...
Chicago's
Solar Spiral
GreenMuze
The Chicago Solar
Spiral was created as part of a larger project from the
Chicago Architectural Club to help architects find work and
continue to create during the collapse of the real estate
bubble. “Despite the apparent desperation of the moment, ...
chicago.curbed.com
The Concept The recent winner of MAS Context and the Chicago
Architectural Club's NETWORK RESET competition the plan
calls for reconditioning abandoned ...
Grass Roots:
Is rainmaking potential of library rooftop garden being
overlooked?
Madison.com
This 8600-square foot organic garden produces vegetables on
the roof of the architectural award winning Gary Comer Youth
Center in Chicago. John Ronan Architects/Steve Hall (c)
Hedrich Blessing For more than a decade, Pat has reported on
the ...
The green
scene
Chicago
Tribune
Still, as far as arts,
culture and entertainment are concerned, Chicago is making
progress — not always easy in a city whose architecture and
infrastructure date to the 19th century. The Art Institute
of Chicago, for example, was one of the first ...
MERCHANDISE
MART HOME TO HUGE RECYCLING CENTER
Chicago's
Sears Tower Goes Green
Opposing Views
The transformation is
being designed by Chicago-based Adrian Smith and Gordon Gill
Architecture. The project will cost $350 million, resulting
in 80 percent less electricity consumption. There will be
changes involving its exterior walls, ...
Fun With Urban
Planning Curbed
National
Earlier this winter,
the design journal MAS Studio and the Chicago Architectural
Club launched the NETWORK RESET competition, instructing
contestants to dream up a scheme to "reactivate and reset
the Boulevard System of Chicago. ...
chicagomag.com
Chicago and Northshore
architect, Nathan Kipnis, has been named one of the six
recipients of Chicago Magazine's fifth annual Green Awards.Â
He will be.
Recycling from
the roof down Medill
Reports: Chicago
Deconstruction takes
traditional architectural salvage a step further by saving
insulation and lumber along with lintels and fixtures.
Although deconstruction can cost up to three times what
traditional demolition does, auctioning off materials or ...
City with a
Plan Reed
Construction Data
Last month, the firm
Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture LLP were honored
with a 2011 American Institute of Architects (AIA) Institute
Honors Award, garnering the esteemed honor for an innovative
plan to reduce Chicago's carbon emissions in the ...
A largely D.I.Y. project, this
Chicago house is now one of the highest-scoring (but
least-expensive) LEED homes ever, reports ECOHOME.
Prefabulous
Chicago
Tribune
The new C3 prefab
modular house from Square Root Architecture has been in the
planning stages for several years, yet took only three
months to construct and ...
A Prefab Home
That's…Fabulous?
Earth911.com
Workers assembly the
LEED-certified pre-hab home in Chicago. Photo: Square Root
Architecture and Design “This fit with both of our
philosophies,” Cathy ...
www.multihousingnews.com
Chicago--200 Squared, a
42-story apartment property, was developed to be one of the
greenest residential high-rises in the Loop.
archrecord.construction.com Their
plan aims to help the Loop far exceed the goals of the
Chicago Climate ... Architecture buffs typically look at the
Loop through an aesthetic lens ...
Award-Winning
Environmentally Sustainable Home In Chicago
Photo courtesy of Koenig &
Strey Real Living
Chicago -- Dec 26, 2010 - A
modern, environmentally friendly home known as the Claremont
House on Chicago's North Side has won multiple design
excellence awards and is now looking for new owners.
The home received the 2010
residential architect Custom Home Design Award, 2009
Builder's Choice Award and was named one of the "World's
Greenest Homes" by Planet Green of the Discovery Network and
HGTV. The Claremont House was built for Brad Lynch, one of
the directors at the Chicago-based architecture firm
Brininstool and Lynch.
The sustainable 4 bedroom and 3.5 bath home includes 4,320
square feet of living space and features a top notch
kitchen, spa baths, cozy patio, custom millwork and more.
The home at 3909 N. Claremont Ave. is listed for $2.6
million
New Design of
FEEDER Highway Farm in Chicago
Architecture View
FEEDER offers a useful
and productive gateway architecture that reinvigorates
Chicago as an urban habitat. feeder-highway-farm-city-map.
In addition to filtering the polluted highway air, the farms
will educate the public and students, ...
chicago.curbed.com
LUMENHAUS in Chicago! A group
from Virginia Tech have quietly ... set up this prefab house
in the South Promenade of Millennium Park for the past
couple of days. The roughly 800 square-foot, zero-energy
home is now open for viewing through Sat Nov. 20
Building and energy industry
analysts are widely predicting a green retrofit boom.
Chicago, a city of some 2.85 million and a selected
participant in the Green Capital Global Challenge, provides
some great examples—from single-family houses, through major
commercial and institutional buildings, to the city
itself—of what’s possible and what’s needed to meet these
emerging imperatives..
Eco-Toupees
and Plastic Alleys
Green Source
“I'm not sure it's
significant yet.” Blair Kamin is Chicago Tribune's
architecture critic and author of Terror and Wonder:
Architecture in a Tumultuous Age.
Square Root Architecture +
Design just began construction of its first prefab home in
Chicago. The C3 Modular Home is participating in the
Chicago Green Homes program and will shoot for LEED Platinum
certification with green elements such as Energy Star
appliances, WaterSense fixtures, a mini-split HVAC system,
multiple layers of insulation, high performance windows, and
a solar thermal system. The exterior will feature a
rainscreen application covered in reclaimed barn wood,
fiber cement board, and painted metal siding. The 2,000
square-foot home will have four bedrooms and a private
interior courtyard, which will draw natural light into the
interior.
Student Design for
"Gateway" for Dormant Spire Location
Envisioned by a student at the
Illinois Institute of Technology, the project is located
over Lake Shore Drive and was designed specifically for the
location of the dormant Chicago Spire site, otherwise known
as the “Giant Hole in the Ground”. It was eco tower with
large vertical farm, mixed-use towers, and a residential
tower all tied together by a series of sky bridges. The
Chicago Gateway is composed of two vertical mixed-use towers
supported by a leaning tower covered in a green roof.
Offices and commercial space would reside in the vertical
towers and residences in the leaning tower, which bridges
over Lake Shore Drive. All of the structures are connected
together via a vertical farm podium, and a network of sky
bridges connects the towers and provides access to other
nearby buildings.
The Green
Skyscraper
Energy
Collective
... that its iconic
image could be radically altered in the name of
environmentalism sent shockwaves coursing throughout
Chicago's architectural community. ...
GreenWerks Blog By Chris Campbell
Built to honor
Chicago's traditions on architecture, landscaping, protected
parklands, music and the arts, the Millennium Park covers
24.5 acres of green attractions, effectively making it a
showcase of postmodern (and ...
Future Chicago
Store Has One Last Surprise By Gary
Allen
Besides the Chicago's
formal grant program, in late 2008 a Chicago architect
proposed the Red Line Green Roofs Initiative, named after
the Chicago Transit Authority rail line that bisects the
city north-to-south. ...
One of the city's latest green
projects was designed by Josh Pincus and Claudia Mendelson
of Chicago-based
MPink Design LLC, a a full range design
architectural service. The owners of a dilapidated two-car
garage needed to remove the existing building and wanted to
downsize. The current garage took up too much of the yard
needed for organic gardening.
All project decisions are
based on ecological and environmental principles. This
includes the construction and material selections of the new
garage as well as the disposal of the old. The new one-car
green garage consists of a roof deck with deep planters for
growing vegetables, and the green roof is planted with
sedum. Vines will grow up cables on the garage walls. Water
collection will occur with specific placement of rain
barrels and rain chains.
This green garage embodies a
consciousness that MPink strives to achieve in all of their
projects.
UIC's latest major
construction project, the renovation of Lincoln Hall, was
expected to earn Silver certification under the US Green
Building Council's LEED-NC rating system. Due to factors
like the building's energy- and resource-efficient design,
use of environmentally friendly materials, and the
surrounding landscape's water conservation program, the
project was able to earn a Gold certification, making it one
of only ten Gold projects in Chicago under the same LEED-NC
(New Construction) rating system. Read more about Lincoln
Hall's Green Features at
http://sustainability.uic.edu/initiatives/buildings.html.
Architectural
Record
A newly formed company thinks
the beacon that will attract homebuyers to its patch of dirt
in New Lenox isn't a clubhouse or walking paths, the extras
that ...
Chicago
Following a Greener Path By Sarah
| Powered Green's Blog
This includes the development of land conservation, efforts
driven by the Chicago Department of Environment, and many
more environmentally friendly projects. Amongst these are
the significant advances in green space and architecture ..
ENERGY SMART
HOME BUILDERS JOINS THE LEED FOR HOMES
GREEN
CERTIFICATION PROGRAM
Local home
builder to bring net zero energy production homes
Press Release, April 22, 2010
– New Lenox, Ill. The Alliance for Environmental
Sustainability (AES) is proud to welcome Energy Smart Home
Builders of New Lenox, IL as a participant in LEED for
Homes. LEED for Homes is a national third-party
certification system for energy efficient, healthy, green
homes. Energy Smart Home Builders, founded by Phil and Jim
Regan, are planning to develop Prairie Ridge Estates, a
community of 132 net zero energy homes using solar panels,
geothermal power, wind turbines and other technologies.
AES will be providing support
and the third-party testing and verification for the green
homes.
While net zero energy homes
have been constructed previously, this is the first planned
community of custom-designed net-zero energy single-family
homes. More importantly, it marks the first time that
thecost to develop a home of this type is comparable to
traditional construction costs. “These homes have been built
before, but at a cost of three to five times higher than
traditional construction. That is not something the average
home-buyer can afford,” said Jim Regan, president of Energy
Smart Home
Builders. “We’ve pushed the
boundaries of construction and energy efficiency and, with
our partners, are proud to have created plans for the
country’s first community of affordable sustainable homes.”
Designed by architect John
Stanton, these homes are quite different than traditional
homes and, as a result, consume energy differently and more
efficiently. “This is an incredible opportunity,” says
Stanton, “to lower – or even eliminate – utility costs for
future homeowners and reduce the impact on the environment
through smart design and construction. These homes have been
in the planning process for more than a year and we’re
excited about getting started.”
Prairie Ridge Estates will
consist of 132 LEED‐certified homes, starting at
approximately 2600 Sq ft in size, all including Energy Star
appliances, individually custom‐designed to account for
passive and active solar energy, wind directions and
enclosure issues such as window placement.
A participant in the Department of Energy
Builders Challenge and the Energy Star Program; Energy Smart
Home Builders are proposing to break ground next month and
expect construction of model homes to be completed later
this year.
For more information about Energy Smart Home
Builders or Prairie Ridge Estates of New Lenox, please visit
Harold
Washington College Architecture Students Design Green Roof,
Establish
Legacy for Future Generations
(Press Release Chicago, March
16, 2010, IL) -- As scientists, pundits and politicians
argue over whether global warming really is something to
worry about, Architecture students at Harold Washington
College are taking steps to clear the air. They’ve designed
a Green Roof for their college. “I think it’s the right
project at the right time,” said John Madsen, Architecture
Instructor at the college. The students have 30,000 square
feet of open space to work with, creating one of the largest
green roofs in downtown Chicago.
The students’ design includes
a greenhouse, native grasses, trees, outdoor classrooms, a
composting system and a weather station. But, this project
is more about passion than architecture. “These students are
environmentally aware,” said Madsen. “They want to sow the
seeds for the next generation of students.”
The Architecture students had
just three weeks to come up with designs and plans. They
came early in the morning before classes began and gave up
their weekends to work on the project. “I’ve set the bar
really high and told them they had to perform at a
professional level,” said Madsen. “They are challenging each
other to do better.”
The students built a wooden
scale model of Harold Washington College and the surrounding
skyscrapers. They did a digital sun analysis of the rooftop,
determined how much rainfall can be expected, calculated
wind conditions, studied bird habitats and determined the
urban “heat island” effect would be greatly reduced by a
green roof. “We have a chance to reconstruct our natural
environment in Chicago,” said Eliza Bober, Architecture
Tutor at Harold Washington College.
For more information contact
Greg King, Director of Public Relations at Harold Washington
College: (312) 553-6093 or
gking20@ccc.edu
WHAT DOES LEED
STAND FOR AND WHAT ARE THE LEVELS OF CERTIFICATION?
Leadership
in
Energy
and
Environmental
Design
LEED
is a third-party
certification program and the nationally accepted benchmark
for the design, construction and operation of high
performance green buildings. LEED gives building owners and
operators the tools they need to have an immediate and
measurable impact on their buildings’ performance. LEED
promotes a whole-building approach to sustainability by
recognizing performance in five key areas of human and
environmental health: sustainable site development, water
savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor
environmental quality.
