Wed night (11/18) the Emerging Green Builders helped Green Building Resource Center Program Director Steve Stelzer showcase the center. Stelzer walks the talk, with a resource center that educates by example. The interior is recycled materials and efficient lighting. Green vendors have provided samples and examples of using their products. Steve has displays to help both lay visitors and construction professionals understand the benefits of incorporating the latest ideas into their new spaces.
Volunteers work on their LEED certification by helping Steve complete the documentation needed to achieve LEED for Commercial Interiors status. Expanding beyond the interior, a rainwater collection tank sits directly outside the windows. A solar powered pump waters the plants on the veranda using the collected roof runoff. 
The center has efficient Dual Use Space. Housing a sustainable building display by day, the cases, scrounged from the Houston library’s store room, can be roll back out of the way to open a conference space that seats 70. A light table made obsolete by CAD has been covered with plywood to serve as a conference table.
Thirsty visitors can get cool water from a Culligan reverse osmosis filtering system that replaces wasteful plastic bottles while they study the nearby lighting display.
The Center is part of Bill White’s Green Houston Office of Environmental Programming, which includes Discovery Green and a building materials recycling center. Discovery Green achieved LEED Gold Certification in Oct, 2009, making it the first completed LEED Gold project in downtown Houston. To hear more about city programs, listen to Steve Inskeep’s NPR interview Mayor's Dilemma: Can Houston Grow And Be Green?
The City permitting department is already outgrowing this space at 3300 Main. Not to worry; they’ve found their next example project. The City has a space to renovate at 1002 Washington, near the old central Post Office. When you’re in the area over the next year, drive by to take a look at what emerges from Steve’s innovative approach. Watch for reports on their web site and in this column. With thinking like this, Houston can remain the world’s energy capital long after oil.
If you’re a building professional, get to know the U.S. Green Building Council (@USGBCHouston). Their offices are at 8 Greenway, 15th Floor. One of their most exciting programs is Emerging Green Builders, which is providing resources for students and young professionals to help them join the growing green building ranks.
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