Natural Resources and Water Quality Divi-sion at the Chicago DOE. “Architects, ten-ants, builders, permits and others needed to be orchestrated to pull of the project in a timely manner. Hopefully, everyone can find the time to allow for these kinds of conver-gences on their projects.” According to Durnbaugh, investment in urban locations, not sprawl, is what is needed. In using their success as a model, the CCGT hopes other municipalities and orga-nizations will follow suit and transform the thousands of acres of brownfield sites in America into usable, healthy, green spaces. automatically shut off in unoccupied rooms. The CCGT hopes to remain at the fore-front of environmental stewardship through partnerships with likeminded organizations and through new age, green ingenuity. Durnbaugh notes, “Great projects are the product of great partnerships.” Ten Years Down The Road Some 3,850-plus days since its May 4, 2002, opening, the CCGT continues to serve as the most comprehensive green design edu-cational resource in the Midwest. Through educational programming and training, research and demonstration, the CCGT promotes and advances sustainable homes, workplaces and communities to enhance the quality of urban life in Chicago and across America. As the most comprehensive green design educational resource in the Midwest, the CCGT is able to promote and advance sus-tainable homes, workplaces and communi-ties through its innovative offerings, which include the Green Tech U seminars, guided and self-guided tours, the Green Building Resource Center and more. Open to the public six days a week, the CCGT features rotating exhibits and the Green Tech U Education Program, which provides an opportunity to meet like-mind-ed people, expand professional networks and increase knowledge of issues related to sustainability, green building and public policy. The guided tours are available for groups of 10 or more and are offered every day of the week except Sundays, from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Green Tech U also offers certificates of acknowledgement to all participants who demonstrate a commitment to ongoing learning and development in this field. Certificates can be earned in such subject areas as: ■ Architecture ■ Building and construction management ■ Engineering ■ Green business ■ Green home and garden ■ Interior design. As the green and sustainable movement picks up speed and gains traction, the CCGT continues to grow and develop. Sustainability Specifics Having a LEED Platinum-certified building is a sure-footed step toward sustainability; however, since sustainability is an ongo-ing process with no set end, the CCGT has other environmentally preferable practices in place. The CCGT instituted green cleaning prac-tices that not only reduce the number of chemicals used to clean the building, but has also adopted cleaning chemicals and strategies that are less taxing on the build-ing and its occupants. To further ensure the quality of indoor air, heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems with advanced filtration and air handling capabilities were integrated into the building’s design. Only products that do not have volatile organic compound (VOC) off-gassing were used in the construction and furnishing of the building. A stormwater runoff system was installed that uses 12,000-gallon cisterns to reclaim water that would otherwise be unused for irrigation and other landscaping purposes. And, as Durnbaugh notes, the system is performing better than can be expected. The CCGT also boasts a green roof that absorbs rainwater and reduces heating and cooling costs. With all of the water conservation efforts employed by the CCGT, more than half of the rainwater that falls on the site is retained. Photovoltaic solar panels mounted on and around the building account for roughly 45 percent of the CCGT’s annual energy consumption, including the motion-sensi-tive lights that dim during the daytime and The CCGT recently completed their sub-mission for certification under LEED for Ex-isting Buildings: Operations & Maintenance (LEED-EBOM). Given CCGT’s green credentials, it was chosen as the pilot to be the first city facility to undergo LEED-EBOM certification. The hope is for the CCGT to function as a green business indicator and, as such, actively pursues tenants who are in the green business and non-profit environmen-tal arena. “We are looking at small-scale opportuni-ties such as renting unused individual desks to larger-scale opportunities such as renting larger raw industrial space in the building,” states Sean Wiedel, assistant commissioner for the Chicago Department of Transporta-tion. “We are exploring innovative financing techniques that will allow potential tenants to pay market rate rent for the facility. The city would then keep approximately 20 per-cent of the rent to cover operating expenses and the rest would be plowed back into the facility and programming, an arrangement that could potentially be an innovative mod-el for the city to pursue.” As the CCGT matures into its second decade of providing Chicago residents with high-quality, sustainability-focused programming, the city of Chicago has part-nered with an expanded new team to lead the CCGT, the city’s destination for green technology resources and training. In an effort to focus on connecting with the green jobs movement that is sweeping the region, a new management team will concentrate on serving the professional de-velopment needs of residents in all stages of their careers. This new management team is a dynamic and seasoned group, consisting of WRD Environmental, Delta Institute and Quercus Consulting. “This effort is as much about ‘putting tech back in green tech’ as it is about making Chicago a more sustainable and economi-cally viable city,” asserts Wiedel. “The 10 th anniversary of the CCGT was marked in grand fashion, with more than 400 attend-ees and exhibitors hailing from all walks of life.” All of those involved point to the contin-ued — perhaps growing — relevance of the center, and all look forward to continuing the work that began 10 years ago. CM www.cmmonline.com 47
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