AIA's Winner Circle: Top Ten US Green Building Projects

Emphasizing that the technology to be green does exist, the American Institute of Architects announced their top ten U.S. green building projects of 2008, highlighting a wide range of creative green building strategies.

For example, the Macallen Condos (pictured) in Boston incorporated the location of its site into its LEED certification, building the 140 unit complex at a hub of transportation options, including subway, bus and air. The Macallen condos boast an innovative green roof, two feet of greenery that filter air, control runoff, and help to insulate the building. The Cesar Chavez Library, located in Laveen Arizona, used earthen mounds to insulate the building and stabilize temperatures. Additionally, the roof is designed to collect rainwater and long overhangs shade the building. The Lavin-Bernick University Center’s renovation, at Tulane in Louisiana, though interrupted by Hurricane Katrina, won a spot on the AIA’s list this year, boasting a passive cooling system sufficient for all the cooling needs for half the year.

The projects honored by the AIA are important to show builders (like those recently studied by Calvert) that there are manageable, cost effective ways to implement green building techniques. Further, those techniques can be as simple and passive as extending eves and landscaping berms near buildings. To read more, visit Building Green.