Gallery: Vintage Breweries, Salvaged Wood: This Year's 'Greenest' Buildings Are Surprisingly Hip
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Some celebrate Earth Day by planting a tree, others just make sure their Starbucks cup hits the recycling bin instead of the trash can, but for nearly two decades the American Institute of Architects (AIA) has marked the occasion by celebrating the top ten "green" projects built over the previous year. Architect [Lance Hosey](http://www.lancehosey.com/) was a juror for the competition this year and came away encouraged by the diversity of the entries. According to Hosey, a decade ago most green buildings were built for organizations dedicated to protecting the environment and the building became a symbol of their cause. Nowadays, that's expanded, and greatly so — everything from tract houses to breweries have gone green. While [LEED ratings](http://www.usgbc.org/leed) are the industry's main metric for environmental impact, Hosey says the process that group uses is similar to a [Scantron](http://www.scantron.com/) test, like the SAT. He describes the AIA competition and the standards established by the its Committee on the Environment as closer to an essay test. "Our goal is to promote a way of thinking that creates a culture of design," he says. "Unlike LEED, which is a useful baseline standard, but more the equivalent of a building code." He compares it to the world of cars where hybrids get most of the credit for being environmentally friendly while products that approach the problem from a new design direction, like the Smart Car, are actually more energy efficient. Hosey points to a brewery that was retrofitted into a [commercial and community space](http://atpearl.com/) as an example of this approach. "There is a resistance in the industry of thinking of historic preservation and sustainability as the same thing," says Hosey. "The most sustainable thing you can do is not build, but we're accustomed to thinking that energy efficiency lives in a technical manual." The only major critique of the entries Hosey could muster was that he'd like to see more experimentation, especially in a world where [skyscrapers are now being powered by algae](http://stag-komodo.wired.com/design/2013/04/algae-powered-building/). "If the 50 entries we received are indicative of what's happening, there's a lot of traction in the field, but I didn't see anything that made my socks roll up and down." He was also a disappointed with the lack of ambition, noting that fewer than half of the entries attempted to meet the aggressive [AIA 2030](http://www.aia.org/about/initiatives/aiab079458) [Commitment](http://www.aia.org/about/initiatives/aiab079458) that calls for dramatically reduced energy use. The jury was also excited by the cross pollination of ideas as more architects take up the environmental cause. Urban architects are incorporating water storage features more common in rural projects while designers building outside of major cities are adopting avante garde aesthetics. Hosey also notes that the the solar panels and novel materials that used to mark a building as green, are now fading into the background. "These features are being seamlessly integrated into the design and not being treated like gizmos," says Hosey. "They don't jump out because they're being folded into the design." An example of that is the [New Norris House](http://www.thenewnorrishouse.com/) which was constructed from wood reclaimed from a hundred-year-old barn and fitted out with super efficient heating systems, but just looks like a modern home, which might be the biggest win green design has enjoyed so far. __Above:__ Federal Center South Building 1202 ---------------------------------- __Seattle, Washington__ This building has a lot of green bona fides: It's will earn a perfect 100 rating from Energy Star, complies with the AIA'a 2030 Challenge goals, and cleverly uses its structural piles for geothermal heating and cooling. The designers even developed and manufactured new HVAC and lighting products to help meet the aggressive energy targets. However, all these features pale in comparison to the fact that it has a mini Shire in its main courtyard. Government work has never looked so good. http://www.youtube.com/embed/yn5fI9vr-QE *Design/Photo: [ZGF Architects](http://www.zgf.com/)*
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Clock Shadow Building --------------------- __Milwaukee, Wisconsin__ Reclaimed timbers are this building's most obvious nod towards sustainability, but it was built on a remediated brown-field and features a geothermal heating and cooling system buried deep beneath the building's foundation. *Design: [Continuum Architects + Planners](http://www.continuumarchitects.com/)* *Photo: [Tricia Shay](http://www.shayphoto.com/)*
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Swenson Civil Engineering Building ---------------------------------- __Duluth, Minnesota__ This building looks like something out of a [Brutalist's](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brutalist_architecture) daydream; its most impressive environmental attributes are related to the dynamic flow of water. A green roof covers a fifth of the building's top surface and collects and filters water from rain into an underground system for storage. *Design/Photo:*[Ross Barney Architects](http://www.r-barc.com/)/[SJA Architects](http://www.tkda.com/index.php)
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San Francisco Public Utilities Commission Headquarters ------------------------------------------------------ __San Francisco, California__ This new building will produce about 7% of its energy from solar panels, reduces energy use through "daylight harvesting," and can even process gray and black water on site. It does all this while saving the city of San Francisco $118 million over 75 years. Plus the panels' incorporation adds to cool design of the structure. *Design:[KMD Architects](http://www.kmdarchitects.com/)/[Stevens & Associates](http://www.stevens-assoc.com/)* *Photo: [Bruce Damonte](http://www.brucedamonte.com/)*
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Yin Yang House -------------- __Venice, California__ According to the AIA, since being completed last year, this house has never received an electric bill. A broad roof, which is largely covered with vegetation, overhangs the main rooms protecting them from direct sunlight keeping things bright and airy. Cross ventilation and a thermal chimney also keep the temperature regulated, but being located in Venice doesn't hurt. *Design/Photo: [Brooks + Scarpa](http://www.pugh-scarpa.com/)*
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Pearl Brewery/Full Goods Warehouse ---------------------------------- __San Antonio, Texas__ The Pearl Brewery opened in 1881 and capped its last bottle in 2001, but the 67,000 square foot, LEED Gold structure has been retrofitted to provide professional offices and meeting spaces for the residents of San Antonio. Open air breezeways passively cool the space while ceiling fans and a customized heating system allow each room to be cooled independently. A building that used to be famous for producing liquids is now known for reusing them. Rainwater captured from the roof combined with grey water from the building and is used to water the plants on site. *Design/Photo: [Lake Flato Architects](http://www.lakeflato.com/)*
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Charles David Keeling Apartments -------------------------------- __La Jolla, California__ This design checks off boxes for environmentally friendly heating, cooling, and water usage systems, but lacks an ostentatious symbol of "greenness". While that makes it tough to point out its benefits, it also shows how far green design has come that it can now look inconspicuous and, yes, kind of boring. *Design: [KieranTimberlake](http://kierantimberlake.com/home/index.html)* *Photo: [Tim Griffith](http://www.timgriffith.com/)*
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New Norris House ---------------- __Norris, Tennessee__ Measuring a tight 1008 square feet, this house is 50% smaller than most modern homes, but a diminished footprint leaves budget for better systems. The house is beautifully lit using natural light, the exposed timbers were reclaimed from truck beds and barns, and is filled with energy efficient and low flow water systems. *Design[College of Architecture & Design, University of Tennessee](http://archdesign.utk.edu/)* *Photo: [Ken McKown](http://www.flickr.com/photos/kenmccown/)*
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Marin Country Day School Learning Resource Center and Step 2 ------------------------------------------------------------ __Corte Madera, California__ If green architects have their way, the days of cinderblock school houses will be over soon. Nearly 95 percent of spaces in this school are daylit, naturally ventilated, and are cooled by an underwater thermal storage tank. *Design: [EHDD](http://www.ehdd.com/)* *Photo: [Josh Partee](http://www.joshpartee.com/)*
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Merritt Crossing Senior Apartments ---------------------------------- __Oakland, California__ These senior friendly apartments have both photovoltaic and water panels, state of the art HVAC systems, but Hosey points out that often green design is about fitting a project into the community. This site has a rating of 94 from the site [Walk Score](http://www.walkscore.com/), making it an ideal place to spend the golden years without the stress of car ownership. *Design: [Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects](http://www.lmsarch.com/intro/intro.html)* *Photo: [Tim Griffith](http://www.timgriffith.com/)*
