Location: 330 N. Wabash, Chicago, IL 60611
Contractor: Bear Construction
Owner: Prime Group Realty Trust
By William Olson
At the Chicago River’s southerly hiccough, a modern icon has gone green.
The building at 330 N. Wabash, Mies Van der Rohe’s architectural encore in America, recently underwent a sustainable renovation and earned the USGBC’s Silver Certification for Existing Buildings (EB) Operations [...]

Location: 155 N. Wacker Drive, Chicago, Illinois 60606
Owner: JBC Opportunity Fund II & III / Morgan Stanley Real Estate
Developer: The John Buck Company / Brijus Property Company
Architect: Goettsch Partners
General Contractor: Bovis Lend Lease
Structural Engineer: Magnusson Klemencic Associates
Mechanical Engineer: Hill Mechanical Group
Owner-advocate for LEED Management: Environmental Systems Design Inc.
Project Manager: Raphael Carreira—The John Buck Company
Certification: U.S. [...]

Among the most innovative of the home’s green features is the use of insulating concrete forms (ICFs). According to the Insulating Concrete Forms Association’s website, the use of ICFs results in sturdier, quieter, more energy efficient homes. Instead of being made of wood paneling like traditional houses, ICF homes are built with concrete containing two layers of insulation, and are built to withstand the damages of fire, wind and time. The use of ICF should result in lower heating and cooling expenses.