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Ralph DiNola of Green Building Services in Portland, Oregon, talked about Portland's Gerding Theater, created by GBD Architects in a renovated turn-of-the-20th-century armory. It was the first building listed on the National Register of Historic Places to receive LEED Platinum certification.

"There's a recognition that, with the economy, there's not a lot of new construction happening, but also that there's a focus on the existing built environment," said DiNola. "Historic preservationists can really teach the rest of the existing building community how to rehabilitate buildings well."

DiNola added, "Historic buildings often address green concerns with passive strategies. That's how they were built originally. We can learn from that in new construction."

Greenbuild featured an exhibit floor of more than 1,800 booths and hosted more than 27,000 attendees, down slightly from the 30,000 who attended last year's conference in Boston.

Next year's Greenbuild is scheduled to be held in Chicago, which previously hosted the conference in 2007 as part of a last-minute switch from Los Angeles. The 2011 Greenbuild will be held for the first time outside the United States, in Toronto, Canada.

Greenbuild 2009 was held November 11 to 13 in Phoenix, Arizona.

Brian Libby is a Portland, Oregon-based freelance writer who has also published in Metropolis, Architectural Record, the Christian Science Monitor, and the New York Times.   More by Brian Libby

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SUBSCRIPTION SAMPLE Singer Cheryl Crow performed for attendees of the Greenbuild opening event. Photo: Bluebeam Software Extra Large Image The Greenbuild conference included dozens of topically focused professional sessions. Photo: Jimmy Baikovicius Extra Large Image SUBSCRIPTION SAMPLE The theme of the Greenbuild 2009 was "Main Street Green: Connect to the Conversation." Photo: Jimmy Baikovicius Extra Large Image   Click on thumbnail images to view full-size pictures.