BRICK AWARDS 2008 The Durham County Regional Public Library in Durham, North Carolina, takes advantage of brick for environmental benefit. Brick's thermal mass improves the energy efficiency of the LEED Silver-certified facility, helping to keep energy use 35 percent lower than that of comparable conventionally designed buildings. The brick was procured locally, and made from raw materials extracted regionally. — Published 2008.1001
	DESERT MUSEUMS IN PLATINUM Another building type shattered the dual-glazed, low-e glass ceiling in April 2008 when the U.S. Green Building Council first awarded LEED Platinum certification to a museum complex. — Published 2008.0813
	APPALACHIAN SUNCATCHER Nestled into a hillside near Asheville, North Carolina, the Blue Ridge Parkway Destination Center is projected to use 75 percent less energy than a comparable conventionally designed facility. Trombe walls, a planted roof, bioswales, daylighting, a high-efficiency mechanical energy-recovery system, and other "green" features add up to make this National Park Service facility a contender for LEED Gold certification. — Published 2008.0521
	AIA GREEN BUILDING AWARDS 2008 Each project in the 2008 "Top Ten Green Projects" awards by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Committee on the Environment (COTE) was evaluated on ten measures, documented extensively on the COTE web site. These include design innovation, community context and land use, longevity, bioclimatic design, water and energy conservation, materials, and indoor environment. The ten winners — plus one honorable mention — approach sustainable design through an exemplary integration of architecture, technology, and natural systems. — Published 2008.0514
	LIVABLE BUILDINGS AWARDS The inaugural Livable Buildings Awards spotlight buildings that excel not only in design and resource efficiency, but also in user satisfaction. Initiated in 2007 by the Center for the Built Environment (CBE) at the University of California, Berkeley, the awards program recognizes buildings that have been evaluated using CBE's Occupant Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) Survey and received one of the topmost scores. — Published 2008.0312
	LEED GOLD RESURRECTION To visit the RiverEast Center in Portland, Oregon, is to stand at a major crossroads. The newly renovated former warehouse building sits along the Willamette River, just across from downtown, at the base of the Hawthorne Bridge. This location affords unobstructed views of boats and cars streaming by in the foreground with the classic downtown Portland skyline behind. The RiverEast Center also sits beside a massive freeway bridge and overpass to the west and a railroad track busy with freight and occasional passenger trains to the east. — Published 2008.0109
	ALDO LEOPOLD LEGACY CENTER "That land is a community is the basic concept of ecology, but that land is to be loved and respected is an extension of ethics." — Aldo Leopold, A Sand County Almanac, 1949 — Published 2007.1003
	PLATINUM B-SIDE Natural daylight, cooling and ventilating efficiencies, and low-impact material selections helped add up to a USGBC LEED Platinum certification for Building B of the new Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University (ASU). The first LEED Platinum building in Arizona joined the elite green ranks of fewer than 60 LEED Platinum-certified buildings worldwide. — Published 2007.0919
	HEARST TOWER Pritzker Prize laureate Norman Foster is a master of levitating buildings of dubious design, treatment, or association to the pantheon of architectural icons. The Hearst Tower in Manhattan, which he designed in collaboration with architects Adamson Associates and Gensler, is the most recent example of this resuscitation. The 42-story glass- and metal-skinned tower is characterized by a large diagonal grid, emphasized by vertically alternating recessed and projecting multistory corner triangles. — Published 2007.0523
	HOK STRAW BALE For over a decade, straw-bale construction has been growing in popularity among "alternative" house builders. The durable, low-cost, nontoxic, highly insulating, pest-resistant, and potentially structural material is especially practical in hot arid climates. It was used extensively in the treeless grasslands of the U.S. Midwest early in the 20th century. — Published 2007.0516

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