MNN - Mother Nature Network

The last time I checked in with eco-minded architecture firm Perkins + Will it wasn’t exactly on a positive note. It was shortly after the completion of Antilla, a 398,000-square foot skyscraper/palace designed by Perkins + Will for the world’s fourth richest man, Mumbai-based business tycoon Mukesh Ambani. The home, which boasts more square footage than Versailles and has a 150-car garage, does incorporate some sustainable features but is essentially one giant green fail.

 

Green riumph, not fail, would better describe Balance, the second residential phase of Perkins + Will’s Dockside Green project in Victoria, British Columbia. Back in July, I blogged about Synergy, the first residential phase of the magnificent, greenhouse gas-neutral community spread across 15-acres of a once-contaminated harbor-front parcel. At the time, Synergy had bragging rights of being the highest scoring LEED Platinum project in existence, anywhere.

 

Well, move over Synergy because you’ve got some competition. Balance just achieved LEED certification making it the 100th Perkins + Will project to do so. And what do you know … Balance is tied with Synergy as being the highest scoring LEED project in the world.

Like Synergy, Balance follows Dockside Green’s model for “holistic closed-loop design” and features a slew of green features geared to save water and energy and promote healthy living. The Balance website describes the collection of one and two bedroom condos and townhouses as being “designed to encourage enjoyment of the outdoors, and features windows that optimize daylight and access to views, large balconies with glass railings, and extensive green spaces offering naturalized water features, hanging gardens, and an abundance of trees. Its waterfront walkways, public wharf, and kayak and boat launch ensures it is also the best spot in Victoria to catch the perfect sunset.”

 

Lovely. Congrats to Perkins + Will on the achievement although it’s not a complete surprise considering how Dockside Green’s first residential phase turned out. I’m almost willing to forgive and forget a certain previous project …

 

Via [Jetson Green]