Beyond the call of green: Colorado sustainable awards recognize outstanding design in residential and commercial properties and master-planned.It's a fine achievement if you build a structure that meets a set of established guidelines guidelines, n.pl a set of standards, criteria, or specifications to be used or followed in the performance of certain tasks. for saving energy and reducing your carbon footprint A carbon footprint is the total amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases emitted over the full life cycle of a product or service. . The goal of the Colorado Sustainable Design Awards, however, is to shine some solar light on the architects, builders and their clients who strive to exceed what once sounded like lofty expectations. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Case in point: The winning entry in the residential category--which required lobbying the city of Boulder Boulder, city, United States Boulder, city (1990 pop. 83,312), seat of Boulder co., N central Colo.; inc. 1871. A Rocky Mountain resort and a suburb of Denver, it is the seat of the Univ. of Colorado (1876). to allow recycling recycling, the process of recovering and reusing waste products—from household use, manufacturing, agriculture, and business—and thereby reducing their burden on the environment. of gray water--was commissioned by a homeowner who scoffed at the city's new "green build" guidelines. The sustainable features he had in mind for his home, he told his architect, would trump anything the city required. And he was willing to spend a lot of money to include them. As our judges reviewed the finalists, what attracted them was not just buildings with smart designs and imaginative ways to save energy but those that could serve as models for future projects: prototypes for civic and commercial buildings, homes and master-planned developments that could be replicated--and truly represent the spirit of sustainability. In the case of the Douglas County middle school project, the winning civic entry, that is already happening, with those plans used for six similar buildings. ColoradoBiz partnered with the Colorado chapter of the American Institute of Architects, Urban Land Institute Colorado and the U.S. Green Building Council Colorado to organize the statewide awards program. Although we were impressed im·press 1 tr.v. im·pressed, im·press·ing, im·press·es 1. To affect strongly, often favorably: with the quality of this year's nominations, we hope the best is yet to come as architects and builders embrace the triple bottom line of economic, social and environmental sustainability--beyond the call of green. --Mike Cote, ColoradoBiz editor |
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