Environmental Design + Construction - December 2008 - (Page 28)

NEWSLINE First LEED Platinum Hotel GREENSBORO, N.C. — QuaintanceWeaver Restaurants and Hotels announced that The Proximity Hotel and Print Works Bistro have been awarded LEED Platinum by the U.S. Green Building Council. Opened in late 2007, the Proximity is the first hotel to obtain the USGBC’s top level of certification. “When we started the design process four years ago, I would have never believed that we could use 41 percent less energy and 33 percent less water without one iota of compromise in comfort or luxury and with minimal additional construction costs,” said Dennis Quaintance, the CEO and CDO (Chief Design Officer) of Quaintance-Weaver. The hotel and restaurant is on track to use two million gallons less water during the first year, saving more than $13,000 by spending less than $7,000 in additional construction costs. Other sustainable efforts involved with the hotel and bistro include: ■ Recycled 87 percent of the construction debris (1,535 tons) ■ More than 40 percent of the building materials were locally sourced ■ Used more than 20 percent recycled content ■ Restored 700 feet of an adjacent stream ■ Installed the first regenerative drive elevators in North America ■ Provided natural lighting to 97 percent of occupied space ■ Energy recovery systems provide large amounts of fresh air to all guests ■ Ninety percent of the furniture locally sourced “I’ve come to believe that it is an urban legend that employing sustainable practices with new construction is too expensive,” concludes Quaintance. “We are very happy with the results, including the costs and returns, of everything that we did. It’s not easy — but it’s not hard. And it’s definitely worth it.” Visit www.proximityhotel.com for more information. DOE Solar Codes Board Releases Three New Reports WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Solar America Board for Codes and Standards (Solar ABCs), funded by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), has released three new reports of importance to the solar industry on the topics of interconnection and net metering, solar access laws, and utility external disconnect switches. The first report, A Comprehensive Review of Solar Access Law in the United States, documents legal issues for solar access and solar rights and recommends language for model statutes that can be used by state and local governments to protect access to solar resources for new and existing buildings. The second report, Comparison of the Four Leading Small Generator Interconnection Procedures, reviews and compares four sets of interconnection procedures that regulators commonly consider when developing their own state and local procedures. Effective interconnection procedures will encourage solar projects. The third report, Utility External Disconnect Switch: Practical, Legal, & Technical Reasons to Eliminate the Requirement, documents the safe operation of photovoltaic (PV) systems without a utility external disconnect switch (UEDS) in several large jurisdictions. It explains the rationale for eliminating UEDS. Among the reasons presented are: its functionality is redundant, it fails to provide expected protections, and it adds unnecessary cost to a PV system. Solar ABCs is a collaborative effort among experts to formally gather and prioritize input from the broad spectrum of solar photovoltaic stakeholders including policy makers, manufacturers, installers, and consumers resulting in coordinated recommendations to codes and standards making bodies for existing and new solar technologies. The U.S. Department of Energy funds Solar ABCs as part of its commitment to facilitate widespread adoption of safe, reliable, and cost-effective solar technologies. Solar ABCs produces studies and reports on issues critical to the solar industry, facilitates dialogue among solar stakeholders, and catalyzes the development of codes and standards that foster the safe use of PV systems. All three of the new reports are available on the Solar ABCs website. For more information, visit www.solarabcs.org. Partnership Provides Solutions for Old Ofﬁce Furniture MUSCATINE, IOWA — Allsteel Inc. has become the first U.S. manufacturer to partner with Green Solutions North America, Inc. The newly formed alliance allows Allsteel to connect its clients with Green Solutions’ Revive program, which removes unwanted assets — including office furnishings and equipment — and repurposes the usable materials, either donating them to nonprofit organizations, schools and healthcare facilities, or else recycling them locally. “The Green Solutions Revive concept is simple yet brilliant, and we are enormously proud to be a partner because it offers our clients a cost-effective and environmentally responsible solution for disposing of everything from unwanted desks and carpeting to computers and copy machines,” said Mike Veal, Allsteel’s Vice President of Sustainability and Alliance Partnerships. “It has the potential to reduce tons of waste from landfills as renovated or new facilities are developed. And, in managing the entire divestiture process, Green Solutions also provides us with a complete stream analysis, ensuring accountability on each project.” Visit www.allsteeloffice.com and www.revive-d.com for more information. Note from the Editor: We Heard You! According to ED+C readers, energy efficiency products are hot. By way of reader service number requests, you’ve voted for ED+C’s 2008 Top Products. Solar and lighting products garnered the most attention this year. In case you missed them the first time around, we’ve highlighted the most requested products on pages 106 – 108. Election results for the ED+C Readers’ Choice Awards were also recently unveiled (at Greenbuild) and will be further highlighted in the January issue of ED+C (and the February issue of Sustainable Facility). Finally, if you’re really into competition, you might also want to check out our annual Excellence in Design Awards for your chance to get some well-deserved attention. The application for green building projects completed in 2008 is now available online at eid.edcmag.com. Michelle Hucal, LEED AP Editor, ED+C 28 ed+c D E C E MBE R 08 http://www.proximityhotel.com http://www.allsteeloffice.com http://www.revive-d.com http://eid.edcmag.com http://www.solarabcs.org

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Environmental Design + Construction - December 2008

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