Green Build Blog

Greenbelt is a new LEED-certified apartment building in Brooklyn, the first in this borough. Greenbelt is also the first LEED-certified performance space in all of NYC. To promote its opening, the following events are scheduled:

GreenHouse Party
February 20, 2008 – 7:00-9:00pm

GreenHouse Effect
February 23, 24 and March 1, 2, 2008, 11:00am-6:00pm

The exhibition will raise awareness of the environmental effects of our personal choices. Visitors will be invited to explore a “home of the future” – a model apartment that has been transformed to showcase green products, services, and lifestyle choices.

GreenHouse Conversations
February 28, 2008 – 7:00-9:00pm

Moderator Gita Nandan, founder of GreenHomeNYC, will lead a lively discussion entitled “Green, Greener, Greenest: Approaches to Living Green in NYC.” The event will offer attendees a wide spectrum of perspectives on sustainable life choices for city residents – from the simple fix to the radical off-the-grid leap. Panelists will include Mark Caserta, Owner, 3R Living, a stylish green products boutique; Ben Jervey, Author, Big Green Apple Guide; Emily Main, Editor, The Green Guide, a consumer resource for green choices; No Impact Man, a New Yorker who has explored minimizing his carbon footprint for the last year; and a representative from Just Food, an organization that promotes local agriculture and organic foods for urbanites. These events are free and open to the public.

Displacement @ greenbelt
Performance + Art Opening: March 8, 2008 – 7:00-11:00pm
Art Gallery Hours: March 8 – 30, 2008 on Saturdays and Sundays from 11:00am-6:00pm

The evening will feature performances of new dance works in conjunction with an exhibition of work by internationally recognized artists Alejandro Almanza Pereda, Irit Batsry, Andy Graydon, Daniel Rozin, Raphaele Shirley, and Eugenie Tung.

More information at greenbeltbrooklyn.com

A reader asks for some advice,

We are building a retreat on 160 acres in Arkansas and desire to go all green. I see everyone saying that they want to get rid of the myth that building green costs too much, yet my research has me staggering at the costs to equip our many buildings with:solar, wind, water filters, softeners, hot water heaters, and so on.

I am becoming increasingly frustrated with my quest to go all green. Building green seems limited to large corporations and people loaded with money. I need input and help.

Thank you in advance for your response.

Thank you for your question! Let’s see what other readers suggest.

Previously: Green Buildings and the Bottom Line

Here is an opinion article published in the Chico Enterprise Record. It is probably a typical first reaction many advocates of green building run into when pitching a project. What arguments would you use to counter it?

Titles and “gold certificates” are well and good, but really, 20,000 square feet at a cost of $46 million? I spent a year in Saudi Arabia overseeing construction projects, and princes’ palaces didn’t cost $2,300 per square foot.

I don’t think this is something to be proud of — I’d be rather embarrassed.

As a semi-retired architect, I despise the waste of money. Cost efficiency is every bit as important as energy efficiency, and with today’s advances in artificial lighting, natural light can be cost-efficiently emulated without the burdensome solar heat gain.

I welcome a response from any university official involved with this project, or a representative of the design team in a position to allay the concerns of an interested local citizen.

– Rudy P. Paolini, Paradise

In general, green building costs more at the outset, but cuts operating costs through energy conservation. It also reduces the environmental impact of both construction and maintenance.

How would you respond to this particular article?