Every passing day, being introduced to new people, I am amazed each time as I find something new to explore about our changing environment. Of course, some of the news and renovations are not best for our environment, but the majority of my encounters throughout my summer vacation have been optimistically terrific changes.  

 

One stop during my vacation was to NYC. I just knew something great had to be occurring within the Big Apple, the city that never sleeps!

 

 

Arriving right around the corner from Times Square, almost directly in front of the One Bryant Park -- one of New York’s most popular parks which introduces its diverse communities -- there are festivals, tradeshows and even movies free of charge after dark within the park! A tag name for One Bryant Park would be a great environmentalist park, especially with newly renovated buildings surrounding it with energy efficient techniques. One Bryant Park located in one of NYC's busiest, most populated areas, is overshadowed partially by a very tall and growing Bank of America tower, my new personal favorite bank! Maybe it has to do with it being the "first high-rise to reach for the U.S. Green Building Council's coveted Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum certification" (The Durst Organization/Bank of America).

 

Its new construction by Cook and Fox Architects produced an exclusively remodeled energy efficient Bank of America Tower. The floor of the tower (base) was designed by its specialists to allow a more efficient and speedy way for bypassers and traffic to quickly walk through. The building's materials in general are mostly from recycled and renewable sources. Then with its specially made glass curtains, it allows sunlight to penetrate through in all the right places of the building for temperature control. The air control system filters in fresh air from the great outdoors.

 

One of the greatest and most fascinating parts of the remodeled building is that it saves millions of gallons of water per year, which clearly makes complete sense in all cases for skyscraping towers. At the top of the tower it gathers the rainfall to reuse the water within the building's facilities. All of the recycled materials go through a cleaning agent for the health of the employees and visitors (i.e. me!).

 

The newly, gone-green Bank of America Tower automatically promotes eco-friendliness with its green billboard, as well as health promotions understanding the effect the building has on its surrounding environment. It is truly a motivating site thanks to our growing-green construction companies. Other buildings within New York and across the globe are also considering reconstruction to their facilities, considering how much appeal it is bringing within our going green communities.

 

 

Photos: Rose Aviles