The 5-4-7 Arts Center in Greensburg, Kansas gets a LEED platinum designation- evidence that the town, which was 95% destroyed by a tornado in May, 2006, is making good on its sustainable rebuilding plan.
"Speaking Tuesday to a gathering at the newly finished 5-4-7 Arts Center, University of Kansas Professor and head of Studio 804, Dan Rockhill, and, former student, Jenny Kivett, announced that LEED Platinum certification is assured for the Center. With preliminary certification coming in at Silver, Kivett said a few clarifying statements would be added before resubmitting the application which both Rockhill and Kivett agreed would put the final assessment at Platinum.
Once accepted, the Arts Center would become the first LEED Platinum building in Kansas, the first student designed and constructed LEED Platinum building in history, and the first of what Rockhill hopes will be many sustainable projects in Greensburg.
Rockhill and Studio 804 have been working on community service projects for over a decade beginning in Lawrence. Although run as a business, Studio 804 is a not-for-profit organization that satisfies what Rockhill calls his students' hunger for life experiences. Although most architects "never get dirty," 804 requires that students work in all aspects of design and construction."
Read the full story: Arts Center about to achieve status of first LEED Platinum building in Kansas
A Sustainable City Rises From the Rubble
A year after a tornado destroyed the city of Greensburg, Kansas, the city and its residents are bounding back in an economically and environmentally sustainable way.
The Search for a New Green Building Standard
The need to slash emissions from buildings is increasingly urgent, and critics say LEED won't get us there.
Affordable Housing Industry Embraces Green Building Techniques
Affordable housing advocates find that green building techniques result in higher-quality construction -- and often with costs comparable to traditional building techniques.
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
Eastern Nebraska is running out of electricity
Data centers and electrification are straining eastern Nebraska’s grid, throttling economic development.
Malls are becoming the midtowns of the future
Mall and office park redevelopments are a generational opportunity to create new nodes of urbanity.
NYC breaks ground on anti-flooding infrastructure project
New York City's new system will reduce stormwater flows to local sewers by 90%.
One Kentucky town’s secret to affordable housing
The Smoketown Community Land Trust has already built seven affordable homes for community members.
Houston gains petal-shaped cooling infrastructure to make streets more ‘delightful’
The city has installed the pavilions along 15 blocks in Houston.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS)
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority