Material Vetting Process

Posted by Nina Smith-Gardiner, AIA, LEED AP on Wed, Apr 18, 2012 at 11:00 PM

Every board, beam, pipe and fastener going into the Bullitt Center must meet a strict set of guidelines established by the Living Building Challenge (LBC) to ensure that the building is constructed of materials that cause minimal harm to the land, air, water and people during the extraction, harvesting, processing, manufacturing, and transportation of that material. …

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Steel in the Bullitt Center

Posted by Nina Smith-Gardiner, AIA, LEED AP on Wed, Apr 18, 2012 at 8:20 PM

It takes a remarkably coordinated effort to ensure that the steel fabricated for the Bullitt Center is properly designed, detailed, and fabricated, to achieve tolerances of an eighth of an inch over a long span.  The Bullitt Center emerges from the ground on a concrete base to level 3, where structural bones change to steel…

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Concrete in Green Building

Posted by Nina Smith-Gardiner, AIA, LEED AP on Tue, Apr 03, 2012 at 11:01 PM

Buildings are the most widespread and durable artifacts of modern society. They outlive their designers and builders and they continue to exert their influence on the environment long after they’re built. Concrete is the foundation and frame of the construction industry; it’s what makes buildings last. Ordinary concrete typically contains about 48% crushed stone, 34%…

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