Buildings can have a big impact on the environment. They generate heat and waste. They absorb, retain, and radiate the sun's heat (the heat-island effect). The Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT), 2125 W. North Ave., worked to design a building that makes a positive contribution to the surrounding community.
Cooling gardens: The native garden in the adjacent lot adds cooling greenery to the community and soaks up stormwater. Trees shading the building also reduce cooling costs.
Reflective roof: A light-colored surface reflects the sun's heat instead of absorbing it. Less absorbed heat helps cool the overall temperature of the neighborhood, reducing the city's heat island effect.
Building re-use: CNT reused an existing building in Chicago, rather than constructing a new one and contributing to urban sprawl and waste.
Transportation options: Limited parking, as well as bike racks and a shower, encourage visitors and staff to leave their cars at home. People can easily come and go, do errands, or eat lunch by walking or using public transportation.
The green building minimizes energy consumption and air pollution also. Commercial and residential buildings consume nearly two-thirds of the electricity used in the U.S. each year. Most are powered by fossil-fuel, an energy source that causes environmental damage, air pollution, and climate change. CNT's building design reduces or eliminates these effects.
Smart heating and cooling: Inside and outside conditions are constantly monitored for temperature, sunlight, room occupancy, humidity, and time of day. Heating and cooling are adjusted automatically.
Alternative energy: Five percent of the energy CNT uses is supplied by solar panels on the roof. Half of the remainder comes from the purchase of Renewable Energy Certificates (green-tags) through a Green-e certified power marketer supporting new wind energy.
Efficient appliances: Kitchen appliances, as well as copiers, printers, and computers, all have high ENERGY STARÆ ratings for efficient performance.
Maximum insulation: Thick insulation in the walls and roof helps maintain a comfortable indoor temperature while using less energy. CNT's insulation has very high resistance to heat flow (R-value) compared to standards for this climate zone.
CNT used creative strategies to improve sustainable building design. Strategies for balancing environmental sensitivity, resource efficiency, and community responsiveness can always be improved. CNT seeks out innovative solutions and encourages new ideas and technologies for creating more sustainable designs and a healthier building.
Ice-ball thermal storage: In an underground tank, water-filled balls are frozen at night, using off-peak, lower cost energy. During higher-cost hours, a food-grade, glycol-based fluid transfers the chill from the ice balls to the building's cooling system.
Flexible lighting: Staff can turn on artificial lights in darker areas where they are needed, but leave them off near windows and skylights. The fixtures also allow multiple dimming options: switching on one, two or three bulbs. Staff uses e-mail to decide when adjustments are needed.
Staff training: Green systems often depend on the awareness and actions of those who use the building. At CNT, a Green Office committee facilitates staff training and encourages new ideas to improve the building's comfort and efficiency.
CNT's green building creates a comfortable and
healthy indoor environment. Americans spend over 90 percent of their time indoors. Their health and productivity depend upon the quality of the indoor environment. Air conditioning, gas-emitting materials and sealed windows all contribute to poor indoor air quality. CNT's building design creates optimal conditions for staff and visitors.
Low-fume finishes: Paints, varnishes, glues, and carpets emit low or no toxic VOCs (volatile organic compounds) into the air.
Natural light: Large skylights and operable windows decrease dependence on artificial lights and mechanical ventilation. Staff can adjust ventilation and lighting systems to complement natural sources.
Indoor plants: Plants renew the air with oxygen and moisture, remove some air-borne odors, and create pleasing surroundings.
Open workspace: Low walls and partitions create an open central space for air to circulate and for staff to share natural and artificial light sources. Overhead, acoustic "clouds" create pods of sound and light for separate project groups.
Also, CNT's green building reduces waste and uses recycled, renewable, and locally manufactured materials. Building construction and renovation use enormous amounts of energy and raw materials. By reusing an existing building (an early century loom factory) and integrating recycled or rapidly-renewable construction materials, the Center for Neighborhood Technology saved both energy and construction costs.
Less construction waste: CNT reduced construction waste by reusing 90 percent of the existing building shell and structure. Of the remaining waste, 75 percent was diverted from landfills through recycling and community re-distribution.
Renewable carpet: CNT created a checkerboard pattern made with recyclable multi-colored carpet remnants. If one tile wears out, it's replaced by another tile—rather than a whole new roll—without disrupting the color scheme.
Better furniture: The structure of desks and counters is wheatboard rather than standard particleboard. The raw material is wheat straw, a rapidly renewing resource. The resin that binds wheatboard contains no formaldehyde; emission-free white glue attaches the veneer.
Salvaged materials: Marble bathroom partitions salvaged from another building became conference tables.
What businesses occupy the CNT's green building? Major programs include Chicagoland Transportation and Air Quality Commission, Community Energy Cooperative, Connections for Community Ownership, Faith in Place, I-GO Car Sharing, Infrastructure Accounting, LEGInfo.org, Location Efficient Mortgage, Neighborhood Early Warning System (NEWS), and Travel Matters.
Chicagoland Transportation and Air Quality Commission (cnt.org/ctaqc): This regional coalition of over 160 member organizations, coordinated by CNT since 1993, promotes transportation investments aimed at fostering more healthy, livable, and affordable communities.
Community Energy Cooperative (energycooperative.org): The Cooperative, pioneered by CNT in 1999, helps its 7,000 members reduce their energy consumption and save money, at the same time making the electric distribution system more efficient and reliable.
Connections for Community Ownership (franchisepartnership.org) This economic development program, founded by CNT in partnership with Chicago United and Hispanic Housing Development Corporation, links local minority entrepreneurs to successful franchise networks and to loan funds as a strategy for spurring retail development in low- and moderate-income communities well-served by transit.
Faith in Place (faithinplace.org): This inter-religious organizing project, launched in 1996, brings together members of diverse religious congregations from throughout the Chicago region to explore issues of environmental sustainability from different faith perspectives and to co-sponsor local action programs.
I-GO Car Sharing (i-go-cars.org): This transportation service—available in numerous transit-accessible neighborhoods—provides members with 24-hour access to a car on a pay-as-you-use basis, thereby providing a more affordable alternative to owning a car, while reducing congestion, pollution, and parking demand.
Infrastructure Accounting: This national effort led by CNT encourages government agencies to implement new accounting regulations—passed by the Government Accounting Standards Board (GASB)—that require full costing of infrastructure over its lifetime, resulting in more efficient, effective, and fairly distributed public investments.
LEGInfo.org (leginfo.org): This Internet tool, started by CNT in 1999 and presently co-sponsored by 16 non-profit coalition organizations working on a range of issues, promotes citizen participation in the legislative process by analyzing and tracking bills pending in the Illinois legislature.
Location Efficient Mortgage (locationefficiency.com): This nationally marketed mortgage product developed by CNT in partnership with the Surface Transportation Policy Project and Natural Resources Defense Council increases the purchasing power of people who buy homes in communities served by mass transit.
Neighborhood Early Warning System (NEWS) (newschicago.org): This searchable Internet tool, developed by CNT in 1995, contains data on all property in Cook County, arming residents with information they need to conserve housing and prevent urban decay through early detection of potential problems.
Travel Matters (travelmatters.org): This Internet tool uses educational content, emissions maps, and interactive emissions calculators—that compute personal travel emissions and emissions generated and avoided by public transportation—to illustrate the close relationship between more efficient transit systems and lower greenhouse gas emissions.
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