New Orleans, La. (May 12, 2011) -- The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) today announced that the virtual tour of its LEED Platinum headquarters is now available online at www.usgbc.org. The tour features embedded videos, audio podcasts and information on building materials and products used throughout the space. By taking the virtual tour, professionals can earn GBCI Continuing Education (CE) hours for the LEED AP with specialty and LEED Green Associate credentials. The tour went live online concurrently with the AIA 2011 National Convention and Design Exposition in New Orleans.
“Our headquarters was envisioned to serve as an educational learning lab to professionals yearning for real-world examples of successful green practices,” said Richard Graves, USGBC’s SVP for Education and Community. “The virtual tour allows us to reach professionals in every corner of the globe, using an interactive, cutting-edge medium.”
Modeled after live tours given at its D.C. headquarters to members of the green building community worldwide, the three-dimensional tour explores the integrated design approach fundamental to the LEED green building rating system, and integrated throughout the offices.
Several educational courses offered by USGBC’s broad network of education providers are linked throughout the tour, including Excel Dryer Inc./Sloan Valve Company, The Mohawk Group, National Gypsum, USG Corporation, IceStone and Wilsonart International, Inc. These courses qualify for continuing education units (CEUs) for several industry organizations and professional development requirements, including AIA/SD LU's in addition to GBCI CE hours.
The virtual tour was developed by Igloo Studios using Google SketchUp and Google Earth, and continuing educational credit for the tour was made possible by AEC Daily Corp. Take the virtual tour.
About U.S. Green Building Council
The Washington, D.C.-based U.S. Green Building Council is committed to a prosperous and sustainable future for our nation through cost-efficient and energy-saving green buildings. With a community comprising 79 local affiliates, nearly 16,000 member companies and organizations, and more than 162,000 LEED Professional Credential holders, USGBC is the driving force of an industry that is projected to contribute $554 billion to the U.S. gross domestic product from 2009-2013. USGBC leads an unlikely diverse constituency of builders and environmentalists, corporations and nonprofit organizations, elected officials and concerned citizens, and teachers and students.
Buildings in the United States are responsible for 39% of CO2 emissions, 40% of energy consumption, 13% water consumption and 15% of GDP per year, making green building a source of significant economic and environmental opportunity. Greater building efficiency can meet 85% of future U.S. demand for energy, and a national commitment to green building has the potential to generate 2.5 million American jobs.
About AEC Daily
AEC Daily is the largest provider of FREE online continuing education to construction professionals. Over 300 courses are available online 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and provide credits that are either registered or meet the requirements of over two dozen professional institutions. Architects, engineers, interior designers and other construction professionals rely on AEC Daily to maintain their accreditation with ease.
About Igloo Studios
Igloo Studios, an official Google SketchUp™ partner, develops 3D building product models and related productivity applications for design industry professionals. Having converted thousands of real-world products into Google SketchUp-enabled 3D models, Igloo Studios has collectively generated over 1.7 million product downloads to date from the Google 3D Warehouse for its manufacturing clients. Igloo Studios also offers the design industry custom SketchUp-based applications and training designed to assist in the finding, presenting and selling of projects and integrated products. Through the School brand, Igloo Studios provides worldwide training and consulting on 3D design software. Established in March 2005, Igloo Studios is headquartered in San Francisco, CA with an office in Los Angeles, CA.
Related Stories
| Dec 17, 2010
New engineering building goes for net-zero energy
A new $90 million, 250,000-sf classroom and laboratory facility with a 450-seat auditorium for the College of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign is aiming for LEED Platinum.
| Dec 17, 2010
Toronto church converted for condos and shopping
Reserve Properties is transforming a 20th-century church into Bellefair Kew Beach Residences, a residential/retail complex in The Beach neighborhood of Toronto. Local architecture firm RAWdesign adapted the late Gothic-style church into a five-story condominium with 23 one- and two-bedroom units, including two-story penthouse suites. Six three-story townhouses also will be incorporated. The project will afford residents views of nearby Kew Gardens and Lake Ontario. One façade of the church was updated for retail shops.
| Dec 17, 2010
ARRA-funded Navy hospital aims for LEED Gold
The team of Clark/McCarthy, HKS Architects, and Wingler & Sharp are collaborating on the design of a new naval hospital at Camp Pendleton in Southern California. The $451 million project is the largest so far awarded by the U.S. Navy under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The 500,000-sf, 67-bed hospital, to be located on a 70-acre site, will include facilities for emergency and primary care, specialty care clinics, surgery, and intensive care. The Building Team is targeting LEED Gold.
| Dec 17, 2010
How to Win More University Projects
University architects representing four prominent institutions of higher learning tell how your firm can get the inside track on major projects.
| Dec 13, 2010
Energy efficiency No. 1 priority for commercial office tenants
Green building initiatives are a key influencer when tenants decide to sign a commercial real estate lease, according to a survey by GE Capital Real Estate. The survey, which was conducted over the past year and included more than 2,220 office tenants in the U.S., Canada, France, Germany, Sweden, the UK, Spain, and Japan, shows that energy efficiency remains the No. 1 priority in most countries. Also ranking near the top: waste reduction programs and indoor air.
| Dec 7, 2010
Blue is the future of green design
Blue design creates places that are not just neutral, but actually add back to the world and is the future of sustainable design and architecture, according to an interview with Paul Eagle, managing director of Perkins+Will, New York; and Janice Barnes, principal at the firm and global discipline leader for planning and strategies.
| Dec 7, 2010
Green building thrives in shaky economy
Green building’s momentum hasn’t been stopped by the economic recession and will keep speeding through the recovery, while at the same time building owners are looking to go green more for economic reasons than environmental ones. Green building has grown 50% in the past two years; total construction starts have shrunk 26% over the same time period, according to “Green Outlook 2011” report. The green-building sector is expected to nearly triple by 2015, representing as much as $145 billion in new construction activity.
| Dec 7, 2010
USGBC: Wood-certification benchmarks fail to pass
The proposed Forest Certification Benchmark to determine when wood-certification groups would have their certification qualify for points in the LEED rating systemdid not pass the USGBC member ballot. As a result, the Certified Wood credit in LEED will remain as it is currently written. To date, only wood certified by the Forest Stewardship Council qualifies for a point in the LEED, while other organizations, such as the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, the Canadian Standards Association, and the American Tree Farm System, are excluded.
| Dec 7, 2010
Hot rumor: Norman Foster designing Apple’s new campus
Lord Norman Foster, reportedly has been selected to design Apple’s new campus in Cupertino, Calif. If the news is true, Foster is a good match for Apple say experts. Foster built his celebrity by marrying big gestures to technological wizardry. And, unlike some starchitects, he has glommed onto the environmental revolution—something Apple has made a point of embracing, too.
| Nov 29, 2010
Data Centers: Keeping Energy, Security in Check
Power consumption for data centers doubled from 2000 and 2006, and it is anticipated to double again by 2011, making these mission-critical facilities the nation’s largest commercial user of electric power. Major technology companies, notably Hewlett-Packard, Cisco Systems, and International Business Machines, are investing heavily in new data centers. HP, which acquired technology services provider EDS in 2008, announced in June that it would be closing many of its older data centers and would be building new, more highly optimized centers around the world.
