Net Zero Building: Reality or Wishful Thinking?

Commercial and industrial U.S. buildings accounted for 40 percent of overall energy consumption, which is a startling figure. Subsequently, design initiatives are quickly striving to achieve higher performance and some are striving for the highest possible achievement--net zero consumption.

Rivermark’s New Building Receives First Certification of its Kind!

Rivermark provides bike/walk-up teller access supporting alternative modes of transportation.

The new Rivermark Community Credit Union on SE Hawthorne has been certified!

Rivermark is at the top of our leadership list, since this is the first building to achieve certification under the Earth Advantage Commercial pilot program, and it was the first to enroll. In addition to numerous energy efficiency and green features that helped it meet certification, this building is just plain elegant! It is designed by Baysinger Partners and constructed by LMC Construction.

The building's energy efficiency measures include a high performance envelope, efficient HVAC with economizer cooling and night flush capabilities, and a lighting system that uses 35% less energy than code.  The project also adopted an acceptance testing protocol for all HVAC and lighting systems, and as a result, Rivermark was able to implement a number of post completion optimizations. 

The Scoop on LEED for Homes Mid-Rise

Design Team-Friendly, Family-Friendly

After several years as a pilot program, the LEED for Homes Mid-Rise rating system was officially launched by the USGBC near the end of 2010. We now have several projects that have been enrolled in the program and are now under construction.

The Mid-Rise program is designed for multifamily projects in the 4-6 story range, including those that may have a mixed-use component. It can be seen as a hybrid program between the LEED for Homes low-rise rating system and the LEED for New Construction program for commercial projects. Major differences in the Mid-Rise program from the standard LEED for Homes program include full unit-compartmentalization, measures that address the nature of larger multifamily projects such as bicycle parking, increased compact development, and tobacco smoke reduction. One other big difference is that the energy pathway for mid-rise projects will require the project’s energy performance to be at least 14% better than the ASHRAE 90.1 standard.