Feb 21, 2013

A Remarkable and Beautiful Sustainable Building

It's obvious that this building is neither small scale nor a home, but it is a great showplace for many elements of sustainable energy and building practices.  That interests me a lot and hopefully it interests you at least a little bit too.  Let me show you around this living laboratory of sustainability. 

Canopy over the main entrance to Sustainability Hall
South side of Sustainability Hall  (photo taken autumn 2012)
North side of Sustainability Hall (photo taken February 2013)


 Just to quickly sum-up some of this building's cool features, here's a partial list...

1. 170 photovoltaic solar panels (w/ space to add 144 more)
2. Three wind turbines
3. A 400 kW fuel cell
4. "Green" roof 
5. Radiant slab floor heated and/or cooled by geothermal heat pumps
6. Rainwater management/reuse system
7. Four electric vehicle charging stations
8. Efficient LED dark-sky-friendly outdoor safety and security lighting
9. High performance building envelope
10. "Green" wall 

That's not a complete list, but it's some of the highlights.