Chicago Center for Green Technology, Illinois, USA

The Chicago Center for Green Technology is the first municipal building in the United States to be awarded LEED Platinum rating (2003), for its sustainable design and technology. This unique educational center tends to enhance the quality of urban life. Built in 1952, the Center, which then belonged to construction materials recycler Sacramento Crushing Corp., remained surrounded by piles of garbage until 1996, when the company closed and the government of Chicago, in the person of Mayor Richard M. Daley, decided to start its renovation. The building renovation project formed part of the Chicago Brownfield Initiative, which aimed to make use of hundreds of acres of brownfield in the USA. The city invested a total of $9 million in clean-up works. The renovation of the building cost $5.4 million. The building was designed by Farr Associates Architecture and Urban Design and the engineering solutions were developed by IBC Engineering. The main goal of the construction team was to achieve LEED Platinum Certification. The construction lasted from 1999 to 2002. The 2-story green building became home of 3 companies: Greencorps Chicago, WRD Enviromental, and the Chicago Center for Green Technology. The present owner of the building is the Chicago Department of Enviroment (DOE). The floor area is 3,720 sq meters.

The building meets all the requirements of green buildings concerning passive heating, ventilation effectiveness, air conditioning, water harvesting, rainwater absorption and drought-tolerant landscaping. The solar panels on the roof produce approximately 45% of the annual energy. Reclaimed stormwater is used for irrigating the landscape surrounding the building. The elevator uses canola oil. Throughout the whole process of construction, the team used only less harmful building materials.

By Astghik Atabekyan, www.biulding.am