ARCHITECTURE
Indoor air quality wasn't a top priority for Le Corbusier or Frank Lloyd Wright. But for architect Rafael Pelli, filtered fresh air is one of the major selling points of his latest work, 20 River Terrace. The new luxury apartment building under construction at the Battery Park City complex in lower Manhattan is being touted as the nation's first green residential high-rise. In addition to providing a more healthful habitat, it will have significantly lower energy costs than a conventional apartment complex.
The building, to be completed in 2002, will be one of the first to meet the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design standards established by the US Green Building Council last year. The new PNC bank headquarters in Pittsburgh already complies, and 180 additional LEED-registered projects are in the pipeline. Several federal agencies, including the US State Department, are requiring that future projects conform to the greenspecs.
LEED is a grading system that awards points to a structure based upon its environmental impact. Twenty River Terrace is expected to achieve the LEED gold standard, which means that its environmental impact will be at least 50 percent less than that of a traditionally constructed high-rise of similar size. Among other accomplishments, the building's systems will use 65 percent less electricity in times of peak demand and recycle the water from all its drains, including toilets.
Meeting the gold standard is expected to increase construction costs for 20 River Terrace by about 17 percent. But a modern green building is like a high-performance machine, says Robert Watson, a senior scientist at the Natural Resources Defense Council. "It costs less and is easier to operate, and it's more comfortable."
- Energy simulation software lets managers calculate energy savings based on the building's systems and loads (e.g., the number of residents).
- A natural gas-powered cooling system replaces electric air-conditioners, a major source of ozone-depleting waste materials.
- Photovoltaic windows, made from recycled hard disks, provide 5 percent of the tower's base electricity.
- Rooftop bamboo and other plants recycle rainwater, a source of water pollution, and reduce the urban heat-island effect that makes Manhattan hotter than areas a few miles away. MUST READ
NCAA Face-Off
Inside the Phantom Menace
The Guggenheim's New Legacy System
The Greening of Manhattan
Big Oil's Robo Torpedo
People
Jargon Watch
NASA's No-Fault Insurance
Your Pinpoint Weather Radar
Cracking the Data Genome
A Cure for the Blues
Wired Index
Raw Data
