With 500 expected attendees and a range of the latest green building specialists providing an outlook on Colorado’s emerging international status, the Rocky Mountain Green Conference stands to provide not only a networking opportunity but a learning environment regarding the changing landscape in Colorado.
By: Julie Wanzer, LEED AP
Denver, CO – 
USGBC Colorado hosted a sneak peek conference today at DLR Group‘s office for the upcoming Rocky Mountain Green 2016 Conference. Patti Mason, Executive Director for USGBC Colorado, moderated today’s media event that included several keynote speakers for the April 21 – 22, 2016 conference to be held at the Hyatt Regency Denver at the Colorado Convention Center.
With Colorado emerging as an international hub with DIA serving 53.4 million passengers in 2015 and the RTD Commuter Rail opening the line to DIA from downtown Denver on Earth Day this year, “The conference will focus on how we in Colorado can continue to adapt and grow sustainably,” commented Patti Mason.
Another trending topic includes the concept of resiliency and how it differs from sustainability. Valerie Walsh, Principal at Walsh Sustainability Group, who will be delivering the closing keynote at the conference, explains that resiliency is a call to action for the A/E/C community to design for climate change. She notes that as we have incurred more intense weather events in the last decade from floods to tornadoes to hurricanes, there is certainly a business case for resiliency because natural disasters are expensive. “Resiliency is about being more pro-active instead of reactive,” commented Ms. Walsh. She also emphasized, “Resiliency isn’t just about the building, it’s about the community.” The 2013 floods in Boulder served as a wake-up call to the community for disaster-preparedness, hazard assessments and passive survivability, which are some of the important principles under the LEED credits for resilience.
Ignacio Correa-Ortiz, Senior Architect/Urban Designer for RTD, another speaker lined up for the conference, noted RTD’s role to be more “…In the business of moving people throughout the region in a sustainable manner.” With an emphasis on Public-Private Parnterships (PPP’s), Correa-Ortiz touched on how RTD is acting as a catalyst in Colorado’s shift from a car-centric pattern to a place-making manner. He mentioned that with projects such as Union Station that transformed a railyard to a central hub of restaurants, shopping and hospitality, sites such as I-25 and Broadway, Boulder Village and Stapleton all have the potential for future build-out and place-making.
With 500 expected attendees and a range of the latest green building specialists providing an outlook on Colorado’s emerging international status, the Rocky Mountain Green Conference stands to provide not only a networking opportunity but a learning environment regarding the changing landscape in Colorado.
Photo credit: Atalie Taziri
Logo courtesy of USGBC Colorado
