The nation's capitol continues to lead the green building charge
November 18, 2015
Washington, D.C., is this year's host for the Greenbuild International Conference and Expo, and the District of Columbia has acted as a pioneer in green building best practices for over a decade. In 2006, the city set a new bar for the rest of the nation with the passage of the Green Building Act, a new requirement that stated all public buildings and publicly funded non-residential buildings projects larger than 50,000 square feet must meet LEED certification at the Silver level or higher.
Press fast forward for a few years and the subsequent explosion of sustainable building has helped make Washington, D.C., a hotspot for green building. Just a year ago, the District of Columbia joined fellow construction centers like Chicago, New York and Houston as one of the few cities in America to achieve over 100 million square feet of LEED-certified building space, according to FacilitiesNet. That's why it's no surprise that research and advisory experts at Clean Edge has ranked Washington, D.C., amongst the top 10 cities in the annual U.S. Clean Tech Leadership Index for several years.
A closer look at how green building trends are reshaping the landscape of Washington, D.C., also provides a greater understanding of how and why green building best practices are catching on across the country.
Washington, D.C., is home to many of the nation's most impressive green buildings
Scattered from one end of the nation's capitol to the other are some of the most technically advanced, energy efficient and sustainably operating buildings in the country. For example, the U.S Green Building Council has its headquarters in Washington, D.C.
Not surprisingly, the main facility of the organization that awards LEED honors is certified Platinum, the highest classification available. A long list of green technologies and building techniques help make the building exceptionally sustainable in operation. The most impressive among these solutions is easily the two-story waterfall used to control temperature and limit energy consumption.
Equally innovative projects include American University's School of International Service, which uses a vast array of solar panels and exposure-reducing window panels to limit the need for running HVAC equipment and achieve Gold certification, according to CBS News. These types of projects are a natural fit for a campus aiming for carbon neutrality by 2020.
Another green building in D.C. worth noting is the Treasury Department headquarters. Built in 1832, it is the oldest building in the city to receive LEED certification, and a great reminder that advances in sustainable construction and retrofitting practices can turn almost any building into a green facility.
"The current political climate in Washington, D.C. is friendly toward green initiatives."
Building codes and legislation spur on green construction
It's no secret that the current political climate in Washington, D.C., is friendly toward green initiatives, and this trend has certainly created new and continued opportunities for the green construction industry over the years. In fact, the 2006 Green Building Act was updated as recently as March of 2014, when the District of Columbia adopted the 2013 DC Green Construction Code, according to the U.S. Green Building Council. The passage of these new construction policies, based around numerous green building standards including LEED and ASHRAE, ensured that Washington, D.C., would serve as a hotbed for green construction for years to come.
Additionally, legislation being passed on Capitol Hill will contribute to new waves of green construction, locally and across the country. For instance, Section 179D of the Federal Tax Code offers monetary incentives to new and existing building owners to install greener technologies that enhance the performance of lighting, heating, cooling and ventilation systems, according to Solar Industry. With so much support from local and federal government bodies, it's no surprise that Washington, D.C., has been so successful at leading other cities in green development.
Construction trends across the country continue to follow the capitol's lead
The District of Columbia isn't the only region on the United States populated by green buildings that showcase the latest sustainable building solutions. Government buildings, in particular, have followed in the footsteps of federal facilities in Washington, D.C., by adopting green construction practices and forward-thinking technologies, including a diverse spectrum of facilities ranging from military installations to state lottery offices.
According to the U.S. Green Building Council's 2015 Green Building Economic Impact, prepared by tech consultancy firm Booz Allen, green building is outpacing traditional construction in term of contributing toward industry growth. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to suggest that these ripple effects are the outcome of high standards for green building currently being set in Washington, D.C.
