First 'green' builders receive leadership awards.

Citing green building benefits ranging from the satisfaction of knowing that children were no longer suffering from asthma as a result of living in a building constructed to LEED requirements, to the business benefits of lower energy costs and the increased value of the building itself, the winners of the Irish American Building Society's (IABS) First Annual Leadership Awards: The Greening of New York shared their experiences of building's New York's first green buildings with an awards ceremony audience of 150 on November 17.

The IABS awards are the first "all green" real estate awards and were created to honor professionals who have proven that green practices are practical.

With the award presentation kicked off by President Gerard McCabe and Tim Carey of Battery Park City Development corp., which built New York's first green building of any type, the IABS honored Turner Construction for being at the forefront of green practices in the construction industry as contractor for the first residential (Solaris at Battery Park City) and commercial green building (Hearst Corporation headquarters) in New York; and the Hearst Corporation as the builder of New York's first green commercial building.

Accepting the Award on behalf of Turner, Senior Vice President and General Manager Jim McKenna noted that Turner was making green practices standard operating procedure on all its buildings--"because it's better for the building, its occupants and overall operations."

He pointed to the financial success of the green building as well--four years ago, costs were roughly 15% higher to build green. Now "we've got the cost down to a single digit, and prices are still coming down as green becomes more practical and popular." Above all, he stated, we must educate our colleagues and this industry about building green. It is essential for our health, it is the right thing to do, and there is a lot of talent in out industry that is making this an easier thing to do."

Brian Schwagerl, Senior Facilities Manager and Project Manager for Hearts's new 856,000-square-foot headquarters, shared McKenna's view on education. When he first proposed that the new Hearst project be "green", some assumed that meant "recycled carpet."

But Hearst's mission "was and is about partnerships, and by working with the best talent available and by building a team that kept asking how to do the project better," they were able to accomplish such unusual goals as creating a 3-story interior waterfall that would provide cooling in summertime and help with humidification, a vast atrium with a cafeteria and auditorium that features an unusual abundance of natural light for a New York City tower, and innovative HVAC design. And with a working population that is 75% women, Hearst also employed an architect to create interiors sensitive to women's needs in the workplace. Within the industry, expectations are that the project is expected to garner the first LEED gold rating for a commercial office tower in New York State.