CoolTown Studios has been looking at "building green" the past few days and looks into our SoCal hood for some inspiration. So where might the nation's greenest (enviro-friendly) building be found? Look no further than Santa Monica. The Robert Redford Building, named for the actor, natch, has earned a "PLATINUM" LEED rating from the U.S. Green Building Council, according to CoolTown. That's the highest rating possible and can only be claimed by a select few buildings in the entire world. So what makes the Redford Building so gosh darn green? Let us quote the ways:
The building, home to the Natural Resources Defense Council, is a national model for green building features: Passive water and energy conservation
· uses 60-75% less energy than buildings its size
· large operable windows, skylights and lightwells bring daylight deep into the building
· sea breezes augment the air conditioning
· special towers vent off heat in the summerAdvanced technologies for energy production and water recycling
· uses 60% less water than most buildings, as low-flow toilets flush themselves with rainwater and wastewater from showers and sinks
· its widely-accepted waterless urinals use no water at all, each one saving 40,000 gallons a year.
· solar cells provide a fifth of the energy used
There's more of course, including the use of sustainable materials in construction and its location in a mixed-use, neighborhood adjacent to transit. And then, as CNN reported in 2003, there are the toilets that flush thanks to rainwater. That must be something to see.
· Robert Redford's ultra green building [CoolTown Studios]
· Who's the Greenest of Them All? [Grist Magazine]