chicago center for green technology
A GREEN PILGRIMAGE SITE
As a flagship building project of Mayor Daley “green” agenda, upon its opening in 2003 this pioneering renovation project helped put the City of Chicago on the world map of sustainability. Among its many achievements, the Chicago Center for Green Technology became only the third LEED-Platinum building in the world and the first LEED-Platinum renovation, first municipally-led Platinum, first Midwest Platinum, and first Platinum brownfield project in the world. The project became the Chicago region’s sustainability training center and a glimpse into the future for policymakers and designers from around the world.
This groundbreaking project happened thanks to a rare combination of visionary leadership and inter-organizational collaboration. This project was conceived by Chicago DOE Deputy Commissioner David Reynolds out of two overlapping opportunities: 1) after cleaning up an illegal dump site on Sacramento Boulevard the City of Chicago became the owner of a vacant 2-story 1952 office building; and 2) Commissioner Bill Aboldt of the Chicago Department of the Environment and the Chair of the AIA Committee on the Environment had just signed an Memorandum of Understanding to promote the development of LEED-certified buildings. Mayor Daley signed on and the project was given a mandate to become a showcase of the emerging practice called green buildings.
CCGT achieved its goal of being a living showcase, demonstrating a catalog of green and innovative products and technologies. The project had a long list of Chicago and Midwest green firsts. On the exterior: city’s first extensive green roof, building integrated solar panels, ground-source heating and cooling, rainwater cisterns, pervious pavers, Road Oyl paving, rain gardens and a trellis made of the wood from reclaimed pickle barrels. Inside the building firsts included vegetable oil used as a substitute for elevator hydraulic fluid, displacement ventilation, cork floors, linoleum, and low-VOC paints and sealants.
Over its 11 years of operation, the building often served as the architecture and design industry’s first introduction to green building techniques, and an essential training ground for many of Chicago’s leading green professionals.
Client: City of Chicago
Location: Chicago, IL
Year: 2003
Certifications: LEED Platinum
Awards:
2006 ASHRAE Engineering Accomplishment Award
2003 AIA COTE Top 10 Green Projects Award
2003 Chicago Building Congress - Rehab Construction Merit Award
