Green Buildings Sprouting Everywhere Thanks to LEED Certification

by angela on August 20th, 2008 in Articles, Green Building, Olympics, Solar Energy Tags: Green Building, los angeles, Olympics, Solar Energy.

photo credit: amfdesigner

Another ”green” building was introduced to Los Angelenos on Monday in the form of a renovated library in Exposition Park, earning a gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council’s The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System™.

Some of the changes to the library include the reduction of water use by 30%; the planting of additional trees; and the usage of recycled materials, such as bamboo flooring and cotton insulation. Furthermore, the Department of Water and Power donated Photovoltaic solar panels, which were installed on the south side of the building and on the roof to generate electricity.

Sustainable building practices in Los Angeles have accelerated since April 2008 on Earth Day, when Mayor Villaraigosa signed into law the Los Angeles Green Building Ordinance - touted as the most far reaching plan of any big city in America to promote green building practices in the private sector. The rest of the country is not far behind when you consider some of the statistics provided by the U.S. Green Building Council as of March 2008:

The market value for green building projects in 2008 is over 12 billion dollars.
1,325 commercial projects are LEED certified, with an additional 10,300 registered.
12,000+ residential units have registered under with LEED for Homes Pilots and additional 500+ have completed certification.
25 percent of LEED certified projects are owned by federal, state and local governments.

LEED certification has even penetrated the 2008 Olympics in China. The 160 acre Beijing Olympic Village was awarded the gold seal of approval from LEED last week. The Village’s residential high-rise complex, housing over 16,000 Olympic athletes, are 50 percent more energy efficient than most buildings in Beijing, utilizing solar panels for energy in addition to recycling wastewater for heating and cooling. Developers are planning to turn the Village into luxury apartments in 2009 - 80 percent of which have already been sold.

Additional Resources:

Los Angeles Times:

http://www.latimes.com/news/science/environment/la-me-library19-2008aug19,0,3020584.story?track=rss

Green Building USGBC and LEED report:

http://www.usgbc.org/ShowFile.aspx?DocumentID=1991

Boston Herald/Associated Press:

http://www.bostonherald.com/business/technology/general/view.bg?articleid=1112808

Los Angeles Mayor’s Office:

http://www.lacity.org/MAYOR/villaraigosaplan/EnergyandEnvironment/GreenBuilding/index.htm

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