Chicago Green Roof Consultant Presents at EcoIntegration Session

2009-06-18

Being successful at green design requires a special commitment to continuing education. A2SO4’s EcoIntegration team holds monthly office-wide education sessions in which the latest and best green building practices are explored.

In May, A2SO4 hosted Molly Meyer, a Chicago green roof consultant specializing in the specification of intensive green roof designs. Molly presented on vegetated green roofs, which are systems above structure’s waterproofing membranes that support the growth of plants. After working for 15 months in the green roof industry in Germany, where green roofs are part of the mainstream building industry, Molly brought a unique perspective and a wealth of information to the topic. Attendees gained an understanding of the historical development of the German green roof market and knowledge of the technical design concepts that are critical to ensuring a vegetated green roof’s long-term success. There were group discussions about what the German experience means for the future of the U.S. green roof market, how modular and built-in place systems compare, and design issues on current A2SO4 green roof projects.

More Green Roof Information

A2SO4 New LEED AP’s

2009-06-15

Jason Barisano, RA,  Jim Cates, RA, and Kate Warpool have achieved their Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Accredited Professional certification. This brings the number of LEED AP’s at A2SO4 to six.

A2SO4 Project Manager Participates in Major Sustainability Workshop

Mark Darrall, LEED AP, an A2SO4 project manager and co-developer of A2SO4’s EcoIntegration green design initiatives, joined nearly three dozen colleagues in support of Indianapolis mayor Greg Ballard’s goal of making Indianapolis “the greenest city in the Midwest” by reimagining Indianapolis’s largest public building as an example of energy and water efficiency.

A two-day workshop entitled Greening of the City-County Building was created by the Indianapolis Office of Sustainability, the City-County Building Authority and Indiana University’s Director of Sustainability Bill Brown. It was inspired by 1993’s “Greening of the White House” project and was facilitated by the Built Environment Team of the Rocky Mountain Institute of Boulder, Colorado. Darrall said, “I’ve always admired the work of RMI; it’s an honor to be able to work alongside them. They’re our greatest minds in the areas of systems thinking and sustainability.”

The Indianapolis – Marion County City-County Building was constructed from 1960-1962. “The building is a good example of Modern design of that period,” Darrall says of the 28-story structure, “It’s actually fairly sophisticated, with insulated-glass windows and an interior partition system that allows easy reconfiguration.” However, like most buildings of that era, it uses much more energy and water than current building designs and much more again than a sustainably-designed building.

The group was encouraged by the Rocky Mountain Institute team to have “Big Audacious Ideas.” “We decided that when we had these ideas, they had to at least be technically feasible. It’s safe to say some were pretty big and pretty audacious!” Darrall said.

Other ideas discussed by the team exemplified integrated design, which A2SO4 has adopted as a proper model for design practice. “Under this model,” Darrall said, “we can leverage the cost of one design decision to actually help reduce the total cost of the project while improving performance.”

SustainIndy chose from nearly 100 applicants a diverse group of thirty-six designers, building technology experts, facility operators and finance and real estate specialists. Darrall said, “The diversity and size of the group allowed ideas to be aired out very rapidly. I’m confident that many of the measures we decided were feasible could eventually be realized in the building itself.”

More information on the project may be found at http://www.sustainindy.org

Smart Growth Program Staff Participates in the 2009 National Vacant Properties Campaign Conference

The National Vacant Properties Campaign held their 2nd Annual Conference on June 1-3 in Louisville, Kentucky.  The conference convened over 500 stakeholders from federal, state, and local government; the non-profit community; and private developers to identify solutions to the challenge of redeveloping vacant properties and helping communities addresses foreclosure.  Several EPA programs were involved in the conference including the Smart Growth Program and the Brownfields Program.

One of the conference sessions featured the topic “Deal Makers and Risk Takers:  Developers Who are Creating Value and Sustainability.”  The moderator for the session was Marc Morial, President and CEO of the National Urban League.  The Urban League is the nation’s oldest and largest community-based movement devoted to empowering African Americans to enter the economic mainstream.  The panelists for the session included Sanford Garner of the urban design firm A2SO4; Yusef Freeman of McCormick, Baron, and Salazar; as well as Representative Harold Mitchell of the South Carolina Legislature.  The session focused on the actions that top developers are taking to facilitate redevelopment of under-utilized properties, the challenges they face, and the opportunities for greater reuse of properties to prompt community revitalization.

AIA’s Sustainable Design Assessment Team To Study Blighted Area

2009-06-01

Sanford Garner, member of the steering committee for the AIA SDAT project, is quoted in the Indianapolis Business Journal article, Blighted Area Eyed For Revitalization, Saturday, May 30, 2009.

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Lucas Oil Named Sports Facility of The Year

May 29, 2009

INDIANAPOLIS – Lucas Oil Stadium has been named the Sports Facility of the Year by Street and Smith’s SportsBusiness Journal.

New, renovated or established sports facilities in North America whose primary function is hosting and staging sporting events were eligible for nomination. Among those sports venues in the running for this top national honor were Fenway Park (Boston Red Sox), Nationals Park (Washington Nationals) TD Banknorth Garden (Celtics and Bruins in Boston) and Wachovia Center, home of the Philadelphia 76ers.

According to the SportsBusiness Journal, Lucas Oil Stadium’s selling points include its multifunctional design for the NFL and the NCAA Final Four, its retractable roof, the world’s largest operable window that provides a view of downtown Indianapolis, its founding partner branding and its field-level suites in the end zone.

“We are honored to be selected for this award, and thanks to the wonderful design by HKS of Dallas, Texas, the Indianapolis skyline –and the image of Central Indiana — takes on a new prestigious status in the world of sports.” said John P. Klipsch, executive director of the Indiana Stadium and Convention Building Authority (ISCBA), the state agency responsible for constructing the stadium. The stadium is now managed by the Capitol Improvement Board of Managers of Marion County (CIB).

Lucas Oil Stadium is the home of the Indianapolis Colts NFL franchise, the site for the 2012 Super Bowl and is the host venue for NCAA basketball events, including the NCAA Men’s Final Four in 2010 and the NCAA Women’s Final Four in 2011. In addition, the stadium hosts IHSAA tournaments and myriad conventions, exhibitions and trade shows.

The announcement was made last night (Thursday, May 28, 2009) in New York during an awards ceremony represented by the ISCBA; HKS of Dallas, Texas, which served as the lead architect for the project; and the Indianapolis Colts.

“As a tenant of Lucas Oil Stadium, we are very pleased that this unique and outstanding multi-purpose facility was recognized in this way,” said Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay. “All along we’ve said the stadium is the jewel of sports facilities and now it has been confirmed independently by a prestigious nationally-known publication.”

Street & Smith’s SportsBusiness Journal is a national weekly trade magazine headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, and is the flagship publication for the Street & Smith’s Sports Group.

Recently, the engineering of Lucas Oil Stadium won a Grand Award from the American Council of Engineering Companies at a gala in Washington, D.C.

The ISCBA is responsible for financing, designing and constructing Lucas Oil Stadium and the Indiana Convention Center expansion. The expansion, which will be built at the RCA Dome site, is expected to be finished by late 2010. Like the stadium, it will be operated by the CIB.

Source: Indiana Stadium and Convention Building Authority