“Smart” sewers, reuse, and cluster systems gaining traction—and LEED points—for developers

As you know, LEED points can help financially by increasing sales with customers who are keen on the environmental building movement and create positive exposure for environmentally focused and/or LEED certified projects.

However, the general public often views new development in their community as a problem that results in increased traffic, overcrowded schools, pollution, noise and less recreational open space. They believe these issues can result in higher tax burdens for the existing residents, while they perceive that builders and developers reap the financial benefits with little long-term commitment to the places in which they build.

To combat this, smart-growth developments have started to offer some relief and advantages to the communities they build and inhabit, including added greenspace. This idea is taken further via a new LEED for Neighborhood Development (LEED-ND) rating system focused on entire communities, not just individual structures.

Elements of a successful project

Mixed-use development has been around since Roman times, where villages featured central plazas surrounded by retail, entertainment, religious and residential uses. Everything of importance was within walking distance of the plaza. Consider the Old West town with a saloon on the ground floor, residences above, and a pedestrianfriendly main street (except for the occasional gunfight!) that included a variety of retail and lifestyle storefronts. Even Star Wars Episode II featured a town center with a saloon (and a few aliens), peppered with pedestrian-friendly activities and surrounded by transitoriented development.

Mixed-use development is about improving the way people get together and spend their time. Successful mixed-use projects enrich people’s lives and leave them feeling fulfilled and satisfied. In the words of one Texas developer, “no more corridors of crap.” We should design and build spaces close to home that touch people’s hearts, minds and souls. Att ributes of Successful Mixed-Use Projects.

Twelve | West renews energy…and a neighborhood

Twelve | West, in Portland, OR, features street level retail space, four floors of office space for ZGF Architects LL P, 17 floors of apartments and five levels of below-grade parking. Four wind turbines sit prominently atop the building representing the first U.S. installation of a wind turbine array on an urban, high-rise. “The building is expected to serve as a catalyst for redevelopment of the West End neighborhood, building upon the successes of the Pearl District to the north and the Museum District to the south, effectively bridging the two,” says Peter van der Meulen, associate partner at ZGF and project manager on the Twelve | West building. “It takes a significant step across the busy fourlane Burnside Street, bringing renewed vitality into the neighborhood with high-quality apartments, office space, parking and retail. Twelve |West offers large, transparent retail facades that feature double-story windows and the anticipation of European-style café dinning, where residents, visitors and office workers can spill onto the street.”

New advances cut energy costs and improve performance

The building envelope has seen many advances in recent years, mostly in response to the swelling demand for green, energy-efficient homes. For builders of multifamily projects, the advances being made suggest immense possibilities to create projects that are more energy-efficient and economically viable than ever before.