EDITORIAL: Leading the way in green' building

Posted 9/21/10

It's easy to notice the bright green paint and solar panels at Plaza Diane. Less obvious are other ways the downtown plaza is green — from the recycled materials used in the building to the outdoor water conservation system.

Plaza Diane's …

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EDITORIAL: Leading the way in green' building

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It's easy to notice the bright green paint and solar panels at Plaza Diane. Less obvious are other ways the downtown plaza is green — from the recycled materials used in the building to the outdoor water conservation system.Plaza Diane's green elements helped it earn the second-highest level of certification — gold —in the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program.It's an accomplishment to be proud of.Plaza Diane is Powell's first LEED-certified building, joining just nine other certified projects in Wyoming and 32,000 projects worldwide.Overseen by the U.S. Green Building Council, LEED is the most widely used and recognized green-building initiative in the nation.Plaza Diane incorporated LEED standards through its energy-harnessing solar panels and irrigation drip system that conserve electricity and water. The center was created from an old World War II-era filling station; rather than demolishing the entire building and starting anew, architects reused the existing building and found ways to recycle or reuse 90 percent of the material.With green design elements in place, the challenge now is to keep Plaza Diane operating as an energy-efficient center.Some critics of the national LEED program have said that though the green buildings may be environmentally friendly by design, there's no follow-up to verify that projects actually conserve energy down the road.“What really needs to happen is the transformation of the owners and the operators of the buildings to ensure that the building is being operated properly,” said Rick Fedrizzi, head of the USGBC, responding to critics in an NPR interview.The Plaza Diane Board of Directors (which includes two owners of the Powell Tribune) is seeking independence from the city of Powell in operating the community arts center, and as leaders move forward, we encourage them to look for ways to continue operating it as an energy-efficient building.With its LEED certification, Plaza Diane has become a local model for green building —one that can lead the way in the community and entire Big Horn Basin.

It's easy to notice the bright green paint and solar panels at Plaza Diane. Less obvious are other ways the downtown plaza is green — from the recycled materials used in the building to the outdoor water conservation system.

Plaza Diane's green elements helped it earn the second-highest level of certification — gold —in the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program.

It's an accomplishment to be proud of.

Plaza Diane is Powell's first LEED-certified building, joining just nine other certified projects in Wyoming and 32,000 projects worldwide.

Overseen by the U.S. Green Building Council, LEED is the most widely used and recognized green-building initiative in the nation.

Plaza Diane incorporated LEED standards through its energy-harnessing solar panels and irrigation drip system that conserve electricity and water.

The center was created from an old World War II-era filling station; rather than demolishing the entire building and starting anew, architects reused the existing building and found ways to recycle or reuse 90 percent of the material.

With green design elements in place, the challenge now is to keep Plaza Diane operating as an energy-efficient center.

Some critics of the national LEED program have said that though the green buildings may be environmentally friendly by design, there's no follow-up to verify that projects actually conserve energy down the road.

“What really needs to happen is the transformation of the owners and the operators of the buildings to ensure that the building is being operated properly,” said Rick Fedrizzi, head of the USGBC, responding to critics in an NPR interview.

The Plaza Diane Board of Directors (which includes two owners of the Powell Tribune) is seeking independence from the city of Powell in operating the community arts center, and as leaders move forward, we encourage them to look for ways to continue operating it as an energy-efficient building.

With its LEED certification, Plaza Diane has become a local model for green building —one that can lead the way in the community and entire Big Horn Basin.

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