NEWS

Shades of Green Leadership Award Winners Selected


The Green Building Alliance is pleased to announce the following four winners of this year’s Shades of Green Leadership Awards in the following categories:

• Business – jim lampl, director of conservation, Giant Eagle
• Government – William Peduto, Pittsburgh City Councilman
• Nonprofit – Richard Piacentini, executive director, Phipps Conservatory; AND Jane Werner, executive director, Pittsburgh’s Children’s Museum

Each of these individuals demonstrates attributes such as vision, leadership and innovation, while working collaboratively with others to achieve success and exerting influence to effect broad-based change. They were selected by a peer jury and recieved their awards at a luncheon April 21, 2006 at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center. More information.
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GBA Launches Membership Campaign
Make a statement about your commitment to sustainability. Look for your membership brochure in the mail and become a supporting member of GBA! By advancing resource-efficient, healthy and high-performance buildings throughout Western Pennsylvania, GBA is transforming the building industry for optimal benefit to our economy and lives.

GBA’s annual calendar is packed with thought-provoking educational programs. Members receive discounts to the annual Green$ense conference, tours and lectures, as well as invitations to special “members only” events. You will also receive our monthly E-Updates, The Cornerstone quarterly educational journal, and Shades of Green, GBA’s annual report and resource directory that chronicles the region’s environmental transformation. Click here for more information.
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Carriage House Awarded Kresge Green Planning Grant
Carriage House Children's Center, an affiliate of Magee-Womens Hospital, was recently awarded a Kresge Green Planning Grant. The Center is located at 327 Craft Avenue in Oakland and provides care for children ages six weeks to six years. Funding will assist the Carriage House in becoming a green building and help cover activities associated with being a regional and national case-study.
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LEED-Online
The LEED process has gone paperless: instead of turning in binders full of paper documentation to USGBC for review, projects now have the option of submitting 100% of their documentation online in an easy-to-use format. Powered by Adobe LiveCycle technology, LEED-Online is a user-friendly interface that enables project team members to upload credit templates, track Credit Interpretation Requests (CIRs), manage key project details, contact customer service, and communicate with reviewers throughout the design and construction reviews. With LEED-Online, all LEED information, resources and support are accessible in a centralized location.
Click for more information.
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Regionalism Kicks Off with the USGBC
A reorganization of U.S. Green Building Council Affiliates and Chapters is underway with the cross-country formation of Regional Councils. Kick-off meetings were held to identify regional priorities and to elect two representatives to serve on the Chapter Steering Committee (CSC). Green Building Alliance Board Member Linda Metropulos of Artemis and Ryan Snow, GBA’s Director of Education & Special Projects, represented Western Pennsylvania at the meetings in Chicago last month. GBA is the Western Pennsylvania Affiliate of the USGBC and currently part of the Heartland Region. For more information on USGBC Affiliates and Chapters, visit www.usgbc.org/Chapters.
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Clearview Project Services Co. Advising $6 Billion “Green Las Vegas” Project
CityCenter by MGM Mirage in Las Vegas hopes to be the largest LEED-certified development in the United States . North Hills-based Clearview Project Services Company has been serving as “green build” advisor to the project, assisting lead contractor Perini Building Company on LEED certification. With a $6 billion budget and an anticipated 18 million square feet, Project CityCenter is the largest privately financed development--green or otherwise--in the United States. Among the development's green features are garden roofs, water reclamation systems, and energy-efficient heating and cooling. Click for more details.
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April 26 & 27 - AIA Build Pittsburgh 2006
AIA Pittsburgh's annual continuing education conference will be held Wednesday, April 26th and Thursday, April 27th. The keynote address is Wednesday evening at the Heinz History Center, featuring Pulitzer Prize Winner Michael Gartner. This is followed by a full day of seminars on Thursday at The Koppers Building, including a track of seminars on regional issues. For more information on either event, or to register, go to www.aiapgh.org/news.html or call the AIA Pittsburgh office at 412-471-9548.
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May 2 - Robert J. Kobet: Green without Borders
Bob Kobet, principal of Sustainaissance International Inc., has had a variety of experiences working with residents of developing, war-torn and disaster-stricken areas around the world and helping them to rebuild their homes and communities. Most recently, Mr. Kobet has been involved with the sustainable redevelopment of New Orleans. He will discuss his encounters there and elsewhere and the relevance these situations have both locally and abroad.[back to top]

May 17 - Commissioning LEED-NC Projects
This half-day session for building owners and designers will explain the building commissioning process as required by LEED and provide information on commissioning benefits, costs and resources available to projects. The workshop will address the commissioning agent's role as it applies to a project's design strategies and documentation for LEED certification. To register, visit here. [back to top]

May 25 - Emerging Green Builders Meeting
Grow This! Emerging Green Builders in Pittsburgh - The USGBC's Emerging Green Builders represents a coalition of students and young professionals intent on promoting the integration of future leaders into the green building movement. Get involved Pittsburgh’s Emerging Green Builders at Artemis on May 25th. For more information.
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June 15 - LEED ver 2.2 New Construction Technical Review
This intensive, full-day workshop delivers an in-depth review of the technical requirements of the latest LEED Rating System for New Construction version 2.2 and the tools and information needed to incorporate green building practices into your projects. Each course provides case studies of successful strategies for earning LEED credits and achieving project certification. The Technical Review Workshops are highly recommended for those preparing for the LEED Professional Accreditation Exam. Click here to register.
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June 16 - Green Building Tour: CMU Collaborative Innovation Center
The four-story, 260,600-square-foot Collaborative Innovation Center (Co-Lab) designed by dggp Architecture,  features large open spaces that provide its tenants with one of the most energy-efficient, cost-effective, healthy, flexible and adaptable work environments in existence. The Co-Lab, which accommodates over 400 employees, employs green design principles--some developed at Carnegie Mellon's Center for Building Performance and Diagnostics--and building materials that will ensure sustainability and maximize employee productivity. To Register.
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