I toured a green building last week!

I got to tour the building of the National Association of Realtors last week, the first building in DC to earn LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification from the US Green Building Council.

So, what's the building like? First, the building is on Capitol Hill, not far from Union Station. The architecture is absolutely stunning; the building has rounded walls and is narrow at the ends and wider in the middle. All floors are flooded with light as a result of the floor to ceiling windows.

I didn't get all of the details, but here are some of the things that make the building green:

• the rooftop collects rainwater; this water is used to irrigate the plants
• high efficiency windows
• a super-efficient HVAC system
• the use of renewable bamboo wood for the wood paneling inside
• recycled carpet
• compact flourescent lighting that is sensitive to sunlight, i.e., when it's sunny outside, the bulbs grow dimmer
• motion-sensitive lighting in the bathrooms and other areas of the building
• water-free urinals in the bathroom; yup, I got to see them; they use carbon filters and don't smell bad at all
• all construction materials are sourced within 500 miles of the building
  

In addition to being green, the building is super-high tech, with electric window coverings, the latest in audio and videoconferencing capabilities in every conference room, and on and on.

You can read more about the NAR building at:
http://www.realtor.org/press_room/news_releases/2004/naropensbldg04.html

You can learn more about LEED at:
http://www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CategoryID=19

I'm a bit of a green buff, so it was a total treat for me to tour the building! Thanks to Pamela K and Susan M for arranging the tour.