Most everybody wants to do the right thing if they can. This includes professionals in the built environment – developers, builders, interior designers, and architects. But it’s not always easy to know where to go or how to do it. Connecting That’s where the genius of Monmade comes in. Originally a nonprofit program of […]
As the hillsides celebrate spring, Green Building Alliance is thrilled to honor the Frick Environmental Center with our new Leadership Award at the 2017 Emerald Evening gala. The Frick Environmental Center is the world’s first free-to-the-public building engineered to meet the Living Building Challenge, and achieve LEED Platinum standards for energy efficiency. This municipal treasure […]
In the business of energy efficiency, one type of structure that uses a great deal of energy might not come to mind first – a parking garage. In many cases, parking garage lights are on 24 hours a day, seven days a week – even when the buildings are totally unoccupied. As a result, garages’ […]
Over the last decade, The Tower at PNC Plaza has been one of the Pittsburgh region’s most anticipated developments, but its origins stretch back to the late 1990s when The PNC Financial Services started its green building journey. In 2000, PNC opened PNC Firstside Center, then the largest LEED certified building in the world. Later, […]
Construction at the Frick Environmental Center is nearing completion, and GBA recently received an updated sneak peek tour of Pittsburgh’s newest Living Building. (It will be Pittsburgh’s second Living Building and one of only twelve in the world!) Its design is focused on 7 key performance areas, or “petals,” as per the Living Building Challenge certification program: site, water, energy, […]
Nestled in Pittsburgh’s burgeoning East Liberty neighborhood, Pittsburgh’s latest boutique hotel, Hotel Indigo, demonstrates the renewal and restoration happening nearby, with an eye on sustainability and efficiency. Comprised of 3 renovated buildings and 1 new addition, the hotel is pursuing LEED Silver certification, preserves local heritage, conserves energy, reuses water, and recycles materials. We’re excited to […]
When Richard Piacentini and the board of Phipps began planning for the conversion of the former public works garage into an exhibit staging center, there was no discussion of delivering the project in a manner other than to the most rigorous environmental standards. Rather than viewing the Center for Sustainable Landscapes as a one-off demonstration […]
Well folks, now that we’re back from our trip and adjusting to the time change, we’ve been doing a lot of reflecting. Check out the Leaflet for all my city summaries (Moscow, Perm, Yekaterinburg, and Chelyabinsk) and for wonderful, insightful thoughts from Deanna. Below, I offer our final report from all that we accomplished on our […]
Pittsburgh, Pa. — A world leader in sustainable innovation, Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens has achieved the Living Building Challenge™ for its Center for Sustainable Landscapes (CSL), a facility that houses groundbreaking sustainability research and science education programs, and serves as a key part of the public garden’s immersive visitor experience. In producing all of […]
