What does green developer Gerding Edlen think is next?
For those of you not from the Pacific Northwest, Gerding Edlen Development Co. is widely regarded here as one of the best role models for sustainable project development. People want to know what they’re working on - and what they think is the next big thing in sustainability, as evidenced by my story on their Casey Condominium project being the DJC’s most read and most e-mailed story on Friday.
So when I spoke with Mark Edlen, Gerding Edlen’s managing partner last week, and he said within a year LEED platinum would be “an absolute yawner” in his office, you better believe my ears perked up. Instead, he said it’s on to net zero buildings that consume more trash than they produce!
We were talking about the platinum rating because The Casey (at right), a $60 million, 61-unit building, is supposedly the first LEED platinum multifamily high rise in the world.
It’s also the firm’s first foray into “eco-luxury” - a combination of ultimate ecological consciousness and luxury (something not often associated with green buildings).
In fact, it is widely agreed upon that the green building movement has done a particularly bad job of combining function and beauty, something that most agree must become a stronger focus. But Mark’s focus behind developing green projects is that a project should not compromise anything from site to construction to occupancy comfort, just to be sustainable.
So why not go after green luxury, the same way you’d go after green office or hospital space? What do you think? Can a building be both?
To read a local perspective, click here or here. For real estate stats, go here. For more go here. If you’re interested in Gerding Edlen, you can read about another one of their project’s in a December story I wrote here.
But if you want to learn more about the Casey, its green features, the difficulty of building green multifamily to such a high level, and the building’s art component, there’s only one place to look: the story in the DJC. Check it out here.
Tags: Gerding Edlen, green developers, LEED, Portland, Projects
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June 3rd, 2008 at 11:16 am
I agree the green building movement has produced too many buildings with purely technical aesthetics.
I heard an architect express relief while touring a LEED Platinum building, saying he was glad it did not look like a “science fair project.”
“Fringy” appearing buildings drive many owners away from considering green building.