"How Green is Your City?"
by Martin C. Pedersen, Lisa Chamberlain, Alec Appelbaum, Michael Silverberg & Sierra Gonzalezpublished in Metropolis, September 2006
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The green roof is a simple strategy in the battle against pollution and global warming. But while the trend is growing, too few are aware of its measurable positive effects. Whether the roof is a landscaped garden of carefully selected native plants or patches of industrial grass modules, the impact on interior temperature is profound. As interior designers consider the healthfulness of their projects from indoor air quality to daylighting, a general knowledge of green roofs is a critical part of the overall design equation. This highly informative article is comprehensively illustrated with photos, renderings, schematics, maps, and timelines.
"Carbon Neutral U"
By Andrew BlumPublished in digital Metropolis, February 2008
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In the age of global warming, the greening of the American college campus is a largely grassroots effort driven by students, faculty, and in-house staff dedicated to sustainable thinking.....What's changed, Cortese believes, is the realization by universities that global warming can no longer be considered an independent issue but is actually germane to their core functions. "The presidents who have led this effort see that one of the most important roles, and the purpose of higher education, is to provide the knowledge necessary for a thriving civil society. That's our function. But to do that, to fulfill that mission, we have to deal with the unhealthy, unsustainable, and ineffable challenges that are occurring in the world today."
"A Garden Blooms in Queens"
By Fred A. BernsteinPublished in digital Metropolis, February 2008
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(T)he newly opened $14 million visitors' center and administration building, designed by BKSK Architects, is on deck to receive a Platinum LEED rating, making it one of the city's first structures in that exalted category. Moreover, two years after the passage of local law 86, which requires many new city buildings to receive Silver, Gold, or Platinum ratings, the 16,000-square-foot Queens structure "is showing people that it can be done," says John Krieble, who heads the Department of Design and Construction's sustainable-design unit. "It's one thing to talk about it; it's another thing to see it here in three dimensions, working."
Going Green: Designing Eco-Friendly Schools
By Evantheia SchibstedPublished by Edutopia, a website produced by the George Lucas Educational Foundation
Credit: JJ Sulin Photography
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Tarkington is not the only school that, well, has seen the light when it comes to going green. In November 2002, Goodwillie Environmental School, in Ada Township, Michigan, and Third Creek Elementary School, in Statesville, North Carolina, both suburban public schools, became the first LEED-certified educational facilities. Since then, 14 others located from Massachusetts to Oregon have followed suit. Now, 145 K-12 schools are registered to earn the green seal of approval. Most, like the pioneering schools in Michigan and North Carolina, are in the suburbs, where construction of new buildings is more likely. That's what makes Tarkington -- located in an urban neighborhood with its fair share of fast food joints and convenience stores -- all the more unique and meaningful.
"Greening the Past: Inner City School Gets State-of-the-Art Retrofit"
By Owen EdwardsPublished by Edutopia, a website produced by the George Lucas Educational Foundation
Credit: Michael Moran
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The Gensler renovation -- a 55,000-square-foot facility and new 15,000-square-foot gymnasium -- is a near-seamless merging of the architectural substantiality of an earlier industrial age with the light-filled, spatially fluid design of our modern era, along with the increasingly sophisticated design approaches to sustainability and efficient energy use. (The old-to-new building was designed to meet Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design criteria for sustainability.)