California’s Green Building Super Heroes

Photo courtesy of The David Brower Center

It’s a bird, it’s a plane, no, it's a Green Building Super Hero. On Friday night, green building leaders descended upon the LEED Platinum certified California Academy of Sciences to honor the recipients of the Northern California Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council’s Green Building Super Hero Awards.

 

Super Heroes in four different green building categories were named:

StopWaste is an organization comprised of the Alameda County Waste Management Authority and the Alameda County Source Reduction and Recycling Board. The organization provides a variety of services to residents and businesses in Alameda County but its green building program was specifically recognized during the Green Building Super Heroes Awards Gala.

 

The organization operates out of a LEED Platinum certified building in downtown Oakland and the green building program is comprised of several key components including green building standards and guidelines for both residential and commercial projects, green building education, fostering partnerships, the development of green building policies, maintaining a green materials database, and providing technical assistance and grants to local green building projects.

 

Anthony Bernheim is the winner of this year’s David Gottfried Special Achievement Award, named after the founder of both the USGBC and the World Green Building Council.

 

Bernheim “is a pioneer in sustainable, green, and high performance building practices and the Sustainability Principal for AECOM Design, one of the world's largest architecture and engineering firms, with operations in 100 countries. A specialist in integrated building practices and indoor air quality, his work has profoundly influenced the design profession and the building industry.” Source: USGBC-NCC

 

The tagline on The David Brower Center website states “a new home for environmental and social action.” The organization’s building, which is expected to receive a LEED Platinum rating, houses environmentally conscious art exhibits, conference room and event rental spaces, and 24,000 square feet of office space filled with environmental and social advocacy groups.

 

IDeAs is an award-winning sustainable design firm. The firm has worked on several LEED certified projects including the Platinum certified Aquarium of the Pacific, the Camden Community Center, and the Gish Apartments. Additionally, the firm was the creative genius behind two of the American Institute of Architect’s top 10 green design projects of 2009: Gish Apartments and the Portola Valley Town Center.

 

When it comes to anything environmentally focused, California is at or near the front of the pack. The recipients chosen for the 2009 Green Building Super Heroes Awards are just a few of the exemplary green building projects, organizations, and people that call California home.