As the G-20 Summit approaches there’s been a lot of talk of Pittsburgh being one of the greenest cities in the country, a claim not unfounded. The city of Pittsburgh is home to 39 LEED-certified buildings, ranking it eighth in the country for number of LEED-certified buildings. And there are 11,327,045 square feet of space in Pennsylvania's LEED-certified buildings, ranking it ninth among all 50 states. (http://bit.ly/A look at green Pittsburgh: the Children's Museum)
Completed in 1998, the Conservation Consultants Inc. building was the result of the renovation of a former soap factory on Pittsburgh’s South Side. The building is one of only four structures in Pittsburgh to have earned the coveted LEED Gold rating. The LEED system was developed by the US Green Building Council and ensures that a building is designed to minimize its environmental impact.
Working with low-income families, Conservation Consultants works to educate home-owners on ways to reduce their energy use and ultimately save money on their utilities. Last year they were able to help nearly 5,000 local families.
Of course the center practices what it preaches. The CCI Center works to reduce its environmental impact in a number of ways by doing things such as using low-flow faucets and providing showers for employees who choose to bike to work. The center also has two solar panel arrays on top of the building.
Some of the measures taken by the center are simple such as a installing a gravel parking lot as opposed to black top. The gravel allows water to soak into the ground instead of entering the sewers. The green roof serves the same purpose. Perhaps the most novel fixture is the strategic placement of windows. Virtually every workspace in the building has access to a window thereby reducing the need for artificial light. Much of the time the lights don’t even get turned on, resulting in a soothing atmosphere.
Check out the slideshow below for more images of the CCI Center.
For more info: www.ccicenter.org/, www.usgbc.org/LEED, http://bit.ly/A look at green Pittsburgh: the Children's Museum
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Another great job, Nick.
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