Masonry Magazine November 2007 Page. 24
GREEN BUILDING
longer suitable as a lion habitat, the renovation project has concentrated mostly on interior redesign, as well as reinforcement of the brick exterior. Much of the demolished and removed materials from project have been reused or recycled. The project team includes FXFOWLE Architects, the structural engineering firm Anastos Engineering, and general contractor M.A. Angeliades.
The team also includes Hohmann & Barnard, which is supplying the renovated Bronx Zoo Lion House with its #170 Lox-All Adjustable Eye-Wire product-a truss style adjustable joint reinforcement with eyes and pintles, and a Seismiclip Interlock System to reinforce outer wythe. The steel used in this product is made from recycled material. The project also incorporates H&B's stone anchors (made from post-industrial recycled materials) and Mortar Net flashing for which H&B is one of the country's largest distributors.
Inside, the 43,000-square-foot project features adjustable skylights to let in natural light and minimize energy use; a geothermal heating system, balanced with a fuel cell system, the zoo's cogeneration plant and condensate waste heat, among many other green features. According to the New York City Department of Design and Construction, "the building itself lives and breathes" through these sustainable features, and is "projected to use 57 percent less energy than the ASHRAE 90.1 standard."
In addition to the new habitat creation, the Department reports, the Bronx Zoo will use the renovated exhibition as an educational tool to demonstrate the value of sustainable design.
Green neighborhoods
ON A LARGER SCALE, one of the latest LEED milestones concerns a brand new concept: neighborhood certification. Under this program, which is jointly designed by the USGBC and other organizations, whole communities are evaluated from the perspectives of smart growth, modern urban design concepts and green construction as opposed to the single building approach. As of August, 238 new developments, encompassing 39 states and six other countries, had joined the pilot program.
During the next several months, these projects will seek certification and help to test the Neighborhood Development system. The USGBC and its partners (the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Congress for New Urbanism) will use the program to learn more about how LEED for Neighborhood Development works with real-life projects before approving a final version of the system for a full public launch sometime next year.
"The strong launch of this rating system is part of a potential sea change in how communities develop and grow," says John Norquist, president and CEO of the Congress for New Urbanism. "The conventional transportation and development practices of