a reblog covering NYC’s sustainability scene
Posted in Design, Green Building on Apr 9th, 2008
[We would’ve put a pic of Leo here, but we think the building is a little sexier. Image: Riverhouse.]
We generally don’t care much about what celebrities are doing (do you? let us know), but will pick up on this item since it involves one we actually respect a bunch and also a building that we’re […]
Posted in Design, Events, Green Building on Mar 19th, 2008
From Eyebeam:
March 29: Sustainability + Architecture: A Feedback event
Sustainability + Architecture: A Feedback event
Saturday, March 29
3 – 6PM
Location: Eyebeam, 540 W. 21st St., NYC
Cost: Free
The Living (architects David Benjamin and Soo-in Yang) lead a review of projects by graduate students in their Columbia University class, with guest critics including Chris Garvin, AIA LEED AP of […]
Posted in Green Building on Feb 26th, 2008
After a recent facelift to the blog itself, gbNYC is now offering audiocasts for download from their site.
Posted in Green Building, Parks and Open Space, Politics on Feb 19th, 2008
GreenOptions has the scoop on the city’s new ban on tropical hardwoods.
The city of New York will phase out the use of tropical hardwoods in construction and maintenance projects, and will focus on more sustainable alternatives.
New York City mayor, Michael Bloomberg, made the announcement last week during a UN conference on climate change. The […]
Posted in Business, Energy, Green Building on Feb 13th, 2008
An owner of a Bronx business called New York Beverage decided that he was going to take his warehouse off the electric grid. At first he was reasoning with wind power but opted for solar instead. He is in a low-rise zoning area where it would be perfect for maximum exposure to sunlight.
Posted in Business, Climate Change, Community, Design, Energy, Environmental Justice, Food, Green Building, Health, Lifestyle, Livable Streets, Parks and Open Space, Politics, Technology, Transportation, Waste, Water on Feb 13th, 2008
Popular Science ranks the country’s 50 Greenest Cities in its latest issue and New York comes in at a respectable #20, despite being beaten out by Boston and Chicago. The magazine used raw data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the National Geographic Society’s Green Guide, which collected government statics and survey data across 30 different sustainability categories. Pop Sci then distributed these statistics across four broad categories: electricity, transportation, green living, and recycling and green perspective. Cities earned points for items such as their number of LEED-certified buildings, how much energy they draw from renewable sources, how many commuters use public transportation or carpool, and how much land they devote to public green space.
Posted in Climate Change, Green Building on Feb 8th, 2008
[Design by João Sequeira, with Ana Figueiredo, Marta Moreira, and Pedro Ferreira, of Lisbon, Portugal]
Not so much fun to consider, but what if NYC was rocked by a Category 3 hurricane? A competition thrown together by Mayor Bloomberg and the Office of Emergency Management addressed just that.
From the Times’ City Room blog:
What if a […]
Posted in Green Building on Feb 1st, 2008
Last month, the New York Times announced that the lagging $85 million redevelopment of the Brooklyn Academy of Music (“BAM”) Cultural District near Ft. Greene looks like it’s finally moving forward. Something that wasn’t highlighted in Times, though, is that the Theater for a New Audience, one of the cultural institutions relocating into the District, will be seeking LEED Silver certification for its new Frank Gehry-designed headquarters. The theater recently posted an update on its blog outlining some of the reasons it’s decided to make the up-front investment required to achieve a Silver rating. Among the sustainable features that will be incorporated into the new space are a stormwater filtration system, a white roof and landscaping, a mechanism to reduce water use by 30 percent, the use of recycled steel and recycling and salvage of waste during the building’s construction, and a green cleaning program.
Posted in Green Building on Jan 30th, 2008
Helder Design announced today that it will seek Gotham’s first LEED Platinum rating for a mixed-used project at 439 Metropolitan Avenue in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The development broke ground back in August and should wrap up sometime this summer. It will house Helder’s architecture studio, as well as two duplex condominium residences and a ground-floor art gallery. Designed by Netherlands native Mark Helder, who moved his firm to New York back in 2002, the south-facing green building will feature passive solar design, radiant flooring, photovoltaics, and efficient ventilation and insulation systems.