That wasn't a motorcycle
A reader brightened last evening for us with a report, which even if it isn't entirely true, is wonderful. In reaction to yesterday's news that the wacky Oregon "sustainability center" probably won't get funding from state bonds, the reader wrote about another public building, recently completed, that's been endlessly touted as super-"green." (We think it was certified LEED Plutonium.) Says the reader:
It is odd: The Port of Portland headquarters building at the airport received all of these GREEN awards, but the smell of recycled waste is not über-friendly. They have had to create "meeting" rooms, because all of the space is so open, you can hear your colleague's intimate personal hygiene issues.Now they are cutting trees; seems like they planted ones prone to disease.
How green is brown anyway?
If we had to bet? It's all true.
| Posted at 10:48 AM | Permalink |
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Comments (2)
I don't quite get the Port of Portland comments. In offices with super high cubicles you can still hear what other people or doing - the low cubicles there make it easier to see the other people around.
More meeting rooms is trend in new offices anyway, LEED or not. Having more rooms makes it easier to find the appropriate sized room to meet the needs of a particular group.
They planted the trees densely to begin with so that there would be good initial coverage knowing full well that they would need to be thinned later for healthy long term growth.
The one criticism I do get is the trend of LEED-buildings being constructed in the periphery to replace previous downtown buildings. From a true efficiency standpoint it would have made more sense to improve the downtown building. At least there were more commuting options for workers then.
I do agree with the skepticism of the sustainability center however. It seems like many sustainability advocates forget that there's an economic side to it. In that sense I do understand many of the views expressed by this blog - that economics in this region (or more specifically Portland) are either placed on the back burner or completely ignored all together.
Posted by John | March 1, 2012 11:55 AM
If I am not mistaken this will be the third time that they have replaced the trees on 1 mile stretch of Airport way leading into PDX. Not sure what they are planting this time but I expect a short rotation.
Posted by dean | March 1, 2012 12:46 PM