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Courtesy LR Development LLC
The LR Development firm plans to make its 340 on the
Park building, 340 E. Randolph St., Chicago?s first
LEED certified condominium high-rise. |
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Anyone walking down Chicago's streets can see the city is
becoming increasingly green through landscaping, but what is
not always visible to the naked eye is the way the city is
becoming more architecturally eco-friendly.
A panel of city planning officials and consultants
discussed how Chicago architecture has, and can, become more
sufficient at ?Beyond Green Roofs: Sustainable Building in
Downtown Chicago,? an Oct. 12 symposium organized by Friends
of Downtown and the Union League Club, held at the Union
League Club, 65 W. Jackson Blvd.
Panelist Michael Berkshire, green projects administrator
for the Chicago Department of Planning and Development,
explained how green roofs around the city have already helped
make buildings more energy-efficient and the city's
environment cleaner.
City Hall's 25,000-square-foot green roof contains
approximately 100 species of plants that retain 75 percent of
a one-inch rainfall, Berkshire said. This prevents sewer pipes
from overflowing during heavy rains.
The Department of Planning and Development is trying to set
an example for developers to construct buildings that meet the
U.S. Green Buildings Council's Leadership in Energy and
Environmental Design guidelines, said Berkshire .
?We're trying to go beyond the green roof initiative and
encourage other green technology,? Berkshire said.
LR Development Co. LLC is one organization following the
Department of Planning and Development's example. The company
plans on making its latest project, a 63-story building called
340 on the Park, 340 E. Randolph St. , into Chicago 's first
LEED certified residential building.
Panelist Kerry Dickson, senior vice president of LR
Development, said his company intends for 340 on the Park to
score three points above the required score for a building to
be LEED certified. The architects will use environmentally
friendly techniques such as installing bamboo floors in each
unit and cooling the building by using the Exelon Corp.'s
nearby chilled water plant.
?I'm happy to say this is not something being driven by the
city,? Dickson said. ?Our goal is to raise the bar one more
time and create a new standard for luxury high-rises in the
city.?
The panelists also discussed how sustainable architecture
could be more widespread across the city. While the Department
of Planning and Development's projects mostly include
municipal buildings like the Midwest Center for Green
Technology, 445 N. Sacramento Blvd. , the challenge is to
apply green technology to other types of buildings, including
those that already exist, said moderator Geoffrey Baer of WTTW-TV
Channel 11.
Panelist Ned Cramer, curator for the Chicago Architecture
Foundation, said architects must first demonstrate that
sustainable buildings can be constructed cheaply and
effectively before people are willing to accept the method.
Both the architect and client must be willing to take chances
with green technology, he explained.
The Department of Planning and Development is working to
eliminate barriers in its building code that could potentially
limit the amount of green technology used when constructing
new buildings, Berkshire said.
He also reminded the audience and other panelists that the
push for more sustainable forms of architecture is still
relatively new to Chicago , compared with other cities around
the world. People need to gain a better understanding of the
design concepts before they can progress to other types of
buildings.
?With each proposal we get, people are pushing farther and
farther with green elements,? he said.
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