By Kathleen Johnson
When a large design firm with sustainable values needs a new home, it’s not going to move into just any typical office space. The design has to make sense on every level, and celebrate the talents of the firm. This past January HOK moved into such a space, building out 27,700 [...]

By Vivek Jayaram
Sustainability. Twitter. Eco-Industrial corridors. These words are not historically germane to political discourse. Then again, Manuel “Manny” Flores, the alderman of Chicago’s First Ward, isn’t exactly a conventional politician. As a member of the Democratic Party, Flores has successfully held public office since 2003 by focusing his [...]

The Haworth Merchandise Mart showroom was chosen as one of 104 projects to participate in the U.S. Green Building Council’s nationwide LEED-CI pilot program. In 2005, the Haworth showroom became the first LEED-CI Gold certified showroom in the Merchandise Mart. This project set the bar for at least eight other showrooms seeking LEED-CI or LEED-EB certification within the Merchandise Mart.

As part of an effort to stimulate sustainable and equitable economic development in one of the more socioeconomically distressed areas of the region, the City of Chicago is sponsoring one of the largest sustainable neighborhood revitalization developments in the country. Consisting of 1,140 acres in the South Chicago neighborhood, the Leadership for Energy and Environmental Design for Neighborhood Development (LEED ND) plan will serve as a guide to the city for sustainable redevelopment on the south side for the next 25 years.

Wight’s educational mission for sustainability does not end with plaques about green roofs and dual flush toilets (which had to be imported from Australia because no such thing existed in the US at the time of construction), but extends into the day to day operations of the firm itself. The firm offers LEED training classes to aid those preparing for the exam, Green Bag lunches to learn about products and technologies, and a Sustainability Forum encompassing Research and Development, the Green Library, Community Outreach, and the living laboratory that is the Darien office (the firm is constantly experimenting with different green building products and currently has seven different green roof plots on its roof in Darien).

The Grossinger City Autoplex at 1500 N. Dayton is, first and foremost, an example of large-scale, urban adaptive reuse. The project is the reimage a building that once played host to a jukebox manufacturer and most recently a Home Depot EXPO Design Center. The new Grossinger City Autoplex, currently under construction, will house a multi-line automotive retail sales and service center for three manufacturers, including Toyota, Cadillac and Chevrolet. Thanks in part to TIF requirements, the facility has been designed to meet LEED-NC Version 2.2 LEED Silver certification, and has successfully participated the City of Chicago Green Permit process.