Does this year feel any different, perhaps more urgent, than those of the past? It certainly does for me. If you’ve been following the news from Washington D.C. over the last four months you know there are some starkly different visions for the future of our health, our economy and our planet that are playing out in the halls of power. One vision for the future is one in which we protect each other from air and water pollution. Where we limit the use of toxins in our food production and manufacturing. Where our energy needs are met by clean, renewable sources. And where we accept the science that has been…
Tomorrow, April 22, is Earth Day
Top 10 States for LEED: Chiaravalle Montessori School makes a positive impact
The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), its members, network of LEED professionals and community leaders, acknowledges CannonDesign’s significant contributions to green building leadership in its annual list of the Top 10 States for LEED, noting our Chiaravalle Montessori School project.
First LEED Platinum Certified Montessori School in Illinois
In partnership with Chiaravalle Montessori School and Bulley & Andrews, CannonDesign is pleased to announce that Chiaravalle’s North Wing Addition has achieved LEED Platinum Certification. When replacing their 60-year-old gymnasium annex, Chiaravalle Montessori, a PK-8 school located in Evanston, Illinois, a northern suburb of Chicago with a population of roughly 75,000, seized a rare opportunity to design a Montessori building to meet the needs of their Montessori program. Community-based planning served as a catalyst to build student centered learning environments, which celebrate the Chiaravalle community and Montessori curriculum. Designed with abundant natural light and a focus on bringing nature inside, the new 19,000 sf North Wing expands Chiaravalle’s programming options…
UB’s Solar Decathlon Team Takes 2nd in National Competition
The University at Buffalo (UB) team placed second overall in the national U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon. The team has been hard at work for over two years, fundraising and planning to make this ultra-sustainable home a reality. The UB team finished with 941.191 points out of a possible 1,000 for the GRoW (Garden, Relax or Work) Home. Stevens Institute of Technology, hailing from Hoboken, New Jersey, took first place with 950.685. Cal State Polytechnic University was a distant third at 910 points. CannonDesign joined many of our local client-partners to support the UB solar decathlon team over the years. At last year’s Environmental Awareness Week, Bob Shibley, dean of UB’s School…
How Sustainable Laboratories Can Help with the Water Crisis
How can sustainable laboratories make an impact? I was fortunate to attend the national I2SL conference in San Diego, California, recently and wanted to share my thoughts on how laboratories can conserve water—one of our most vital resources. It is both an exciting and challenging time for laboratory design. Now, more than ever we are called to bring innovative solutions to the environmental issues we all are facing. California is immersed in one of the most extreme droughts in its history. Since the conference was located in the heart of this issue, many of the discussions and presentations revolved around how best to conserve water in the laboratory setting. Related…
Six Ways Northwestern Medicine’s 259 East Erie Incorporates Sustainable Design
For many of the 2.7 million people living and working in Chicago, caring about the planet is more than a trend or a business strategy – it’s a way of life. In fact, current mayor Rahm Emanuel recently upped the stakes with the Chicago Energy Benchmarking Ordinance which requires all existing municipal, commercial and residential buildings larger than 50,000 sf to track whole-building energy use and report back to the city, accounting for around 20% of total energy used by all buildings. It’s no coincidence that Northwestern Medicine’s 998,280 sf 259 East Erie building — which was designed by CannonDesign and opened its doors in 2014 — sought and achieved…
Earth Day 2015 in St. Louis: Cardboard Lincoln Logs & Imagination
There are few things in this world more inspiring than watching children’s imaginations run wild. That’s what I and several other CannonDesign team members learned when we took part in the 2015 St. Louis Earth Day celebration this April. Reportedly the 2nd largest Earth Day celebration in the United States, the St. Louis event takes place in the city’s historic Forest Park and offers local organizations an opportunity to engage the community and celebrate our planet. CannonDesign’s Green Team came up with an event that would invite children to build famous architectural designs out of cardboard plotter paper tubes – aka cardboard Lincoln Logs. Our team held an internal competition to determine…