Green in Foggy Bottom
25 08 2009Though it may not look like it from the outside, part of the renovation of this row house in Foggy Bottom by Sigal Construction was a complete green makeover. Most of the time people think of modern glass buildings as the face of sustainable development, but really it’s about how builders can use what they have and make it sustainable.
Interestingly, it’s with older buildings that you are really able to show the improvements in things like energy use and environmental impact because you have a baseline, unlike when you develop a building from the ground up. This is clearly the direction the movement is headed where you don’t have to scream “this is a green building” and it can just be a building that is green. What do you think about how the public perceives what a green building looks like?
[Photo: DCMetrocentric]
This work is taking place on a site immediately east of the new residence building at George Washington University, South Hall, 2135 F Street, NW.
Like you said, its not about the look, its about the functionality. As a LEED AP, and more importantly a construction project manager, its about mechanical, electrical, and plumbing design, not the architectural flavor. And reuse of old material is always greener than new. This especially goes for structural components rather than things like windows, which have been made much more efficient in the last decade or so.
More green: the vacant lot to the right of the rowhouses in the picture will soon be a landscaped pedestrian entrance to the middle of the block, which is being transformed from a paved parking lot to a planted green space, with shade trees, benches and improved ADA access to the rear of the buildings surrounding the space.
There is nothing more environmental than reusing a building!