Innovative S.F. Utilities Building Harnesses Sun, Wind

The new San Francisco Public Utilities building generates part of its power via a series of external windmills. Image via KMD Architects.

Eager to showcase its renewable energy prowess, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission has harnessed the wind and sun to help power its new headquarters. Read more →

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Saudi University Tower Cools Down As It Lights Up

The KAUST Breakwater Beacon sits at the end of a curved spit on the Red Sea coast. Image via Urban Art Projects.

Besides being aesthetically striking, the honeycombed walls and hollow spire of this concrete tower in Saudi Arabia create a natural air-conditioning system. Read more →

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GSK’s Daylit Philly Office Gets Double LEED Cert

Exterior of new GlaxoSmithKline building at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. Image by Francis Dzikowski/Esto for Robert A.M. Stern Architects, LLP.

GlaxoSmithKline's new Philly headquarters uses automated natural daylight monitoring and energy recovery systems, saving up to 30 percent on heating energy costs. Read more →

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LEED-Platinum Bush Library Campus Opens May 1

The entrance to the LEED Platinum-certified library for President Bush. Image via George W. Bush Presidential Center.

The George W. Bush Presidential Center, which harvests its rainwater and uses solar power, is the first presidential library to earn a LEED Platinum rating. Read more →

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Seattle’s Historic Train Depot Gets LEED Makeover

Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn speaks during the opening ceremony for the refurbished King Street Station. Image via Office of Mayor Mike McGinn.

After decades of neglect, Seattle completed a five-year renovation of its rail station with sustainable systems that are expected to be LEED Platinum-certified later this year. Read more →

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Refurbished LEED Platinum Lab Now Researches Climate Change

CalTech's Robinson Laboratory, with its historic solar telescope, was built in 1932. Image via Architectural Resources Group.

An 80-year-old telescope once used to study the sun now brings daylight to underground climate science labs in this clever bit of adaptive reuse on the Caltech campus. Read more →

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Green And Beauty Found Amongst Washington Wastewater

EECC Cris Bruch south branch

King County's Brightwater Center shows off the green side of waste water treatment. Read more →

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‘Like A Houseboat’ Floats On Hidden Sea Of Garbage

To avoid disturbing the poor soil below, the designers of Like a Houseboat "floated" the home over a steel frame. Image by Charles David Smith via Shipley Architects.

A LEED Platinum-certified house sited on top of a closed landfill outside Dallas proves that one person’s pile of garbage can be another person’s idyllic, energy-efficient slice of nature. Read more →

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Former Brewery Gives Gritty Neighborhood A Platinum Rating

The former Pabst brew house will open in April as the Brew House Inn & Suites in April. Image via The Brewery Project LLC.

An entire industrial neighborhood in Milwaukee gets a green makeover, earning a LEED Platinum rating and turning an old Pabst factory into a multi-use gem. Read more →

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NU-Seattle Satellite Campus On Track For LEED Platinum

The new Northeastern University-Seattle Campus expansion. Image by Benjamin Benschneider via Perkins+Will.

A Seattle extension campus for Northeastern University has made some innovative uses of a limited urban footprint, which may earn the project LEED Platinum status. Read more →

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