Sustainability

Denver Community Planning and Development (CPD) is launching a pilot program that will incentivize five 100 percent affordable housing projects and five projects that build according to the new Denver Green Code. The pilot was announced at Mayor Michael B. Hancock’s annual State of the City address on Monday. “With …

Denver Water, Colorado’s oldest and largest water utility, recently opened its new six-story, 186,000-square-foot administration building, the central focus of its 35-acre operations complex. Global integrated design firm, Stantec, designed the building to both LEED Platinum and Net-Zero Energy standards as part of the public agency’s multiphase modernization project. The …

McWhinney, a master-planned developer and investment firm, has launched an official Water Conservation and Sustainability Initiative for its Centerra community in collaboration with environmental nonprofit High Plains Environmental Center (HPEC), to enhance water conservation and sustainable practices in northern Colorado. Over the course of the next year, Centerra, HPEC and local community stakeholders including the …

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has released two new Safety First pilot credits as part of the LEED for Cities and Communities rating system. The new credits are designed to help local governments and development authorities better prepare for and respond to future pandemic events. The guidance includes strategies for …

The OZ Architecture designed Limelight Hotel in Aspen, Snowmass dubbed the “living room” of Snowmass, has given Snowmass Base Village the anchoring hotel and outdoor community gathering space it long needed. Earlier this year, the 99- room hotel joined the impressive list of buildings OZ has designed that meet the stringent standards of …

Today, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) released a bold new strategy to support economic recovery as the country works to flatten the COVID-19 curve. Called Healthy People in Healthy Places Equals a Healthy Economy, the strategy outlines immediate and long-term actions to support buildings and communities in a post-pandemic world. It …

By Clif Dayton, PE, R&R Engineers-Surveyors, Inc. Though sustainable design practices have been around for centuries, in the last twenty-five years, sustainable design practices have been more prevalent in building codes. The 21st century phrase, & “sustainable design” is best defined by what it does: It reduces the negative impacts on the environment, while …

By Chris Geddes, associate at Design Workshop. With Earth Day upon us, Wednesday, April 22 – it’s a good time to share how the Downtown Denver Partnership (DDP), the City of Denver, and community leaders are working to be more sustainable and earth friendly. As landscape architects, Earth Day is every day …

An estimated 68 percent of the world’s population is expected to be living in an urban area by 2050, according to the United Nations (UN) World Urbanization Prospects 2018 report. To accommodate this influx in population, cities must ensure resources are available. Water is one of the resources most essential …

by Phin Stubbs, LEED AP: BD+C WELL AP – Sustainable Design Consultant, Group14 Engineering. In the last 20 years, the sustainable design industry has made great strides in building operations and energy efficiency. A combination of voluntary programs like the LEED green building rating system, combined with advanced code requirements specifically tailored …