Grand Teton National Park Building- LEED Platinum

LAURANCE S. ROCKEFELLER PRESERVE
Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming
Completion date: 2008, Carney Architects, Jackson, Wyoming

Part of my summer vacation, besides visiting family and friends, is always spent exploring and enjoying the beautiful area I grew up in. I make it a point to make at least one voyage into the park every trip, and this year my focus was on touring the first LEED Platinum park building.

The Interpretive Center and its related trails represents a gift of an 1,100 acre inholding of land on the shores of Phelps Lake from Laurance S. Rockefeller to the National Park Service to benefit and educate the public. The meditation space, complete with rain and thunder soundtrack was interesting, as were the videos showing the park in all the seasons with close-ups of animals you may or may not get the chance to see up close. My favorite, though, was the reading room with comfortable chairs to relax and explore the many books about the park and the eco-systems in it.



The 7,000-square-foot building is self-guiding, with the goal of awakening the senses so that visitors may gain a heightened appreciation of the surrounding landscape. The building advances environmental responsibility, with sustainable materials and methods employed in all aspects of the design, from the building itself to every piece of furniture, also designed by Carney Architects. This building is the first to achieve LEED-Platinum status in the National Park Service and in Wyoming.



I loved this unique drinking fountain design- stainless steel pipe surrounded by rusted iron and drilled through a large boulder.

Directly behind the discovery center are several trails with beautiful viewing "nooks" overlooking the creek. We saw bear scratches on aspen trees, and a pine marten- up close and personal. He was too quick to snap a picture, though.

ASU's New Sustainable Building

What was old is new again at Arizona State University’s Global Institute of Sustainability, with the campus’ beautifully renovated former Nursing Building. The $6 million renovation included asbestos abatement and modernized the classrooms Their project turned a depressing, old and dark building into a new space filled with daylight. Its new inhabitants will be inspired as they work to improve the environment, the economy, and the social challenges we all face today.

One of the most exciting and visible sustainable additions to the building are the six wind turbines mounted on the roof. Each of the turbines is powered by thermal updrafts (to capture the hot air currents of the desert environment) which provides 1,000 watts of power directly into the APS electric grid. A 24-killowatt photovoltaic solar array is planned for next year. Other sustainable aspects include using recycled content throughout the building in the form of insulation, countertops, and furniture. The building is hoping to attain LEED Silver upon completion.