Green is the Color of Success
While many were engaging in Mardi Gras revelry on Tuesday, CNT was celebrating with Mayor Richard M. Daley the platinum-certification of its green office building by the U.S. Green Building Council. Platinum is the highest level of certification a building can achieve. CNT’s building is the second platinum one in Chicago and only the thirteenth one in the entire country. Click on “More” below to read a recent story about the building in CNT’s local neighborhood paper, the Wicker Park Booster, or read a story in Wednesday’s Chicago Sun-Times.
Green is the Color of Success for Local Nonprofit
Wicker Park Booster, Lakeview Booster
February 22, 2006
BY ANIRA ROWE
Staff Writer
The Center for Neighborhood Technology at 2125 W. North Ave. has all the trimmings of a traditional office — paper clips, copy machines, cubicles, etc.
But it also has complex energy-saving systems and dozens of earth-friendly touches, including a centrally-located compost pit full of worms.
For it’s commitment to sustainable design, CNT recently earned national honors and an endorsement from City Hall.
Mayor Richard M. Daley will speak at a Feb. 28 celebration honoring CNT’s distinction on as a top-rated green building through LEED, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.
CNT was awarded a platinum certification in December from the U.S. Green Building Council, making CNT one of just two such rated green buildings in Chicago, and making Chicago one of only two American cities with the distinction.
CNT is a 27-year-old Chicago-based non-profit that does research, policy advocacy and economic development projects in pursuit of building more livable and sustainable urban communities.
To live its mission statement each day, CNT renovated its 14,000-square-foot headquarters into a sustainable working environment. The renovation cost $82 per square foot, or about $1.15 million.
Sharon Feigon, who works at CNT for the car sharing business I-GO, said CNT’s headquarters once was the home to the Chicago Weaving Corporation, which made tablecloths that were sold at Marshall Field’s. CNT moved into the three-story building in 1987, Feigon said, using only the top two floors up until 1997.
Jonathan Boyer, principal at Farr Associates Architecture and Urban Design, and a longtime CNT board member, designed the renovation. Farr Associates also designed Chicago’s first top-rated building, the Chicago Center for Green Technology, which opened in May 2002.
Boyer, a 30-year designer of sustainable buildings, said CNT proves that even a small building on a tight budget can achieve a platinum LEED rating.
Feigon said the building’s interior design is open and airy in order to conserve energy and connect all 40 employees. While traditional office mainstays are present throughout, innovation is at every turn.
Acoustical tiles made of recycled newspaper hang above cubical pods like clouds. Wheat board, as opposed to particle board, tops all desks. Low-toxic paints cover the walls. Colorful carpet squares are composed of a blend of previously used materials.
Red worms and newspaper act as compost for degradable office waste, such a banana and orange peels. Indoor and outdoor bike storage encourages workers to leave their cars at home.
Out-of-sight sustainable systems work to heat, cool, light, power and ventilate CNT. Even the plumbing is designed to use as little water as possible.
As a result of these energy-saving measures, the CNT building is 52 percent more energy-efficient than a typical building designed to Chicago energy code standards. Yet, pay back on the renovation investment will take a while.
“It’s not as though you hit the jackpot,” Boyer said. “It’s incremental.”
But Boyer said immediate rewards of CNT’s sustainable design are increased productivity, better heath and intellectual stimulation.
“The goal is to make these environments as pleasant and productive as possible,” Boyer said. “You end up with a more comfortable and pleasing workplace.”
