It's official: The Vento is North America's first multi-residential project to earn LEED Platinum. LEED is a rating system, a checklist including different categories, where you can earn points, most are voluntary, some are prerequesites (like the recycling room). The first step (LEED certified) can be done with little changes to current building practices. To earn LEED Platinum (which comes after Silver, and Gold), you have to be ahead of the game and show some leadership in sustainable practices, like they did in the Vento by using grey-water for flushing the toilet, low VOC paint, and using materials with high recycled content.
Sustainable buildings are high performance buildings. When they increase thermal insulation, to decrease heating costs, they also increase acoustical insulation, which adds to (my) quality of life and the quality of my neighbours, when I listen to music.
Also, in minus 40 degrees weather, a heated floor is pretty much as close to paradise, as you can be in a blizzard.
The Terrazzo sink countertop contains recycled glass, and is easy to clean, durable, inert, and, I think it's beautiful.
But LEED is about continuous improvement. LEED Platinum is not enough. In a few years, it might be standard construction. We got to be innovative and creative. Some ideas will flop, some will work out. The journey to live completely sustainable is still a long, windy road. Only when we live in healthy buildings that use only non-polluting, sustainable sources to heat and operate, only when we use our resources wisely and put them back into a closed-loop for reuse instead of let them rot in the landfill, only when our home supports a sustainable way of living, can we claim that we live sustainably.
Sustainable buildings are high performance buildings. When they increase thermal insulation, to decrease heating costs, they also increase acoustical insulation, which adds to (my) quality of life and the quality of my neighbours, when I listen to music.
Also, in minus 40 degrees weather, a heated floor is pretty much as close to paradise, as you can be in a blizzard.
The Terrazzo sink countertop contains recycled glass, and is easy to clean, durable, inert, and, I think it's beautiful.
But LEED is about continuous improvement. LEED Platinum is not enough. In a few years, it might be standard construction. We got to be innovative and creative. Some ideas will flop, some will work out. The journey to live completely sustainable is still a long, windy road. Only when we live in healthy buildings that use only non-polluting, sustainable sources to heat and operate, only when we use our resources wisely and put them back into a closed-loop for reuse instead of let them rot in the landfill, only when our home supports a sustainable way of living, can we claim that we live sustainably.
2 Kommentare:
Why am I not surprised that Eco-Annie is living at the only Platinum LEED certified multi-unit residential building in North America???...=-)
Anna, thank you for posting this as I did not know such developments were being made. I will now look for similar things here in E-Town.
merci!
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