USGBC - Northern California Chapter's First Ten Years

Contributed by Sharon Refvem, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, Founding member and past President

In August of 2001 in Tucson Arizona, at the annual, pre-GreenBuild, USGBC National gathering, a call went out for people interested in forming a USGBC Chapter in northern California. A group of about 30 people showed up the next morning to talk about what it would take to begin a chapter, names and contact information were gathered, and the Steering Committee was formed. The Steering Committee met monthly in San Francisco over the next two years to pursue the establishment of the chapter. During that time the Committee grew and shrank, but a core group of about a dozen people provided the continuity and dedication needed to organize and launch the chapter.

The official 501(c)3 paperwork was submitted to the State and USGBC National as the Northern California Chapter moved from organizing group, then provisional chapter, to full Chapter status in 2004. The Northern California Chapter (NCC) name and the Chapter territory, which includes most of northern California south through Monterey County and east to the Nevada border, were then officially recorded.

Thank You GCI General Contractors

USGBC-NCC welcomes back GCI General Contractors as a renewed Silver Chapter sponsor.

“GCI considers green building and LEED to be central to our business strategy, so it’s important for us to partner with and support USGBC-Northern California Chapter. The Chapter’s role and impact is unique - as a convener, educator and policy advocate, USGBC-NCC engages all sectors of the industry, and has contributed enormously to the growth of green building in the Bay Area,” said James Jenkins, President of GCI.

GCI is a San Francisco based commercial contracting and construction management firm that specializes in commercial interior, corporate facility, and building renovation projects throughout the Bay Area and Northern California.

GCI has been an industry leader in promoting green construction practices and guidelines to the commercial real estate sector in San Francisco and the Bay Area. In 2001, GCI became the first commercial contractor to perfect indoor air-quality systems and material recycling programs in spite of the logistical challenges imposed by high-rise buildings and without significant cost increases to their clients.

GCI has completed 24 LEED construction projects to date: 19 are certified and 5 are in review, including one of the first LEED-CI projects in San Francisco in 2003-2004: the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). ClimateWorks Foundation, awarded LEED-CI Platinum in February 2010, is the highest rated LEED-CI project in California under v2.0 and the 3rd highest ever.

GCI has completed approximately 22% of all LEED-CI projects constructed in San Francisco, and almost 70% of their total LEED projects have been certified LEED-CI Gold or higher.

USGBC-NCC Executive Director, Dan Geiger, said, “We highly value GCI General Contractors’ leadership and support. They’ve always been actively involved with USGBC, and help the Chapter in so many ways. Companies like GCI make our work possible - on behalf of the industry and the green building movement, thank you very much!"

For more information about GCI, visit gcigc.com.

USGBC-NCC’s work is made possible by support from visionary firms like GCI General Contractors. Learn more about sponsorship opportunities >>

Advocacy Retreat and New 2012 Leadership –Get Involved!

Contributed by Ashleigh Talberth, Senior Manager, USGBC-NCC

Advocacy Retreat: December 15th

We are pleased to announce the opening of committee member positions in USGBC-NCC’s advocacy committees. This is an incredible opportunity to advance sound green building policy and build grassroots support for green building at the local level.

Now Recruiting 2012 Committee Members (committee descriptions to follow):

• Green Schools Committee
• Sustainable Neighborhoods Committee
• Green Residential Committee
• Sustainable Healthcare Committee

Become a Green Building Advocate at the kick-off Advocacy Retreat on Dec. 15th in San Francisco at 4:30pm:

• Advance USGBC’s mission of green communities for all within this generation
• Bolster personal and professional contacts
• Develop your leadership experience

Retreat attendance is by application only; please submit the application by November 23rd.

Steven Ehrlich's 'Multicultural Modernism'

Presented in collaboration with AIACV, USGBC Capital Branch and UC Davis.

 

Architect Steven Ehrlich spoke to a full, captivated audience at the Visionary event at UC Davis on October 5th about his personal architectural journey. Ehrlich discussed the foundation of his ideas that he acquired from his travels abroad and has developed to define his style of ‘Multicultural Modernism’.

Out of school, Ehrlich became the first Peace Corps volunteer in Marrakech where he saw how culture and architecture were not simply coexisting together, but defined, aligned, and adapted together with their environment. His time in Marrakech taught him how architecture could not only be simple, but beautiful and sustainable. In his presentation, Ehrlich described Marrakech as a place where there is still no central air conditioning; he showed how the city instead has covered streets and continuous housing with courtyards to take advantage of air movement to keep cool. The city landscape has blended the exterior and interior, people and place, as well as local environment and architecture, and is built of connected structures made of local materials. Abroad, he saw how shade structures of fabric and geometric shapes cast beautiful shadows and can be the only decoration needed while being functionally essential.

With these observations Ehrlich became, as he put it, an ‘architectural anthropologist”. He brought back to the U.S. the idea of applying the insights he saw abroad to modern buildings. His buildings are culturally and environmentally connected, and he stressed that a good building cannot be informed by only one or the other. He is also a realist to the modern means and the global opportunities available for both his built and un-built spaces, while remaining respectful of history, environment and place. He imbeds sustainable decisions through passive design, and innovative global technology. With this vision, Steven Ehrlich has designed modern buildings which serve to reinvigorate communities by connecting architecture, culture, people and place with clean lines and great beauty.

For further information, browse Ehrlich’s website where you will find informative write ups and images of his stunning designs.

Hines' 101 California Earns LEED Platinum Certification

Scores #1 out of 7,307 LEED EB Projects Worldwide

 

(SAN FRANCISCO) – The San Francisco office of Hines, the international real estate firm, along with partner NLI Properties West, Inc. (a wholly owned subsidiary of Nippon Life Insurance Company), announced that 101 California has been certified at the Platinum level under the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED® for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance Rating System. With a score of 94 LEED credits, this architectural landmark, designed by Philip Johnson, has earned the highest score ever awarded in the Existing Building (EB) category throughout the world, an extraordinary milestone for a 30-year-old building, for the city of San Francisco and for the state of California.

This announcement was formalized at a festive outdoor ceremony on the building’s plaza during which Rick Fedrizzi, founder, president and CEO of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) will spoke about this achievement and presented 101 California with a plaque commemorating the milestone. Fedrizzi comments, “Green building makes an immediate and measurable impact on the environmental health of the planet and we have an especially large opportunity in the existing building sector. Hines’ certification of 101 California is a remarkable achievement. Their leadership is helping to change the way we build and operate our buildings and serves as a model for others."

San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee added, “Congratulations to Hines and NLI Properties West, Inc. for earning LEED Platinum certification at 101 California, and the highest number of LEED points ever awarded to any building in its category. It is in large part due to the strong support of our business leaders that San Francisco is at the forefront of the clean energy economy."

Cal Academy of Sciences Receives Second LEED Platium Rating from USGBC

SAN FRANCISCO (September 27, 2011) — On September 27, 2008, the California Academy of Sciences unveiled the world’s greenest museum — an eco-friendly new home featuring a hilly living roof, recycled denim insulation, and many other green innovations. Three years and more than five million visitors later, the museum celebrates another symbolic color: platinum. The U.S. Green Building Council has presented the Academy with its second LEED Platinum award, making the California Academy of Sciences the world's first "Double Platinum" museum and the world's largest Double Platinum building..

Designed by Italian architect Renzo Piano, the Academy building houses an aquarium, planetarium, natural history museum, and world-class research and education programs under one living roof, standing as an embodiment of its 158-year-old mission to explore, explain, and protect the natural world.

"We couldn't be more proud of the Academy for its commitment to high levels of environmental performance, and for setting the example as a leader in the San Francisco green building community and around the world," said San Francisco Mayor Edwin Lee. "Their Double Platinum rating is truly a remarkable achievement for our City."

State Advocacy Report

Contributed by Dennis Murphy, USGBC CAC Chair

The USGBC California Advocacy Committee (CAC), representing NCC, the seven other Chapters across the state and thousands of green building professionals, continues to build a public policy presence in Sacramento. We are proud to see our first two sponsored bills and a number of supported legislation becoming law.

The California Legislative calendar wraps up at the end of September. Bills that have traveled through committees and have passed both the Assembly and Senate go to the Governor for either the happiness of his signature or the heartache of one of his memorable veto letters.