Buildings
WHY IT MATTERS
Many communities have public and/or historic buildings that are not meeting their needs today or will not meet their future needs. Green Community Technologies can work with your community to match uses to spaces and help you decide how to make the best use of what you already have and where you may want to consider significant renovation or new construction.
According to the Rocky Mountain Institute, buildings consume 48 percent of all energy in the U.S., 76 percent of all electricity, and are responsible for almost half of all greenhouse gas emissions. Buildings also use water, create wastewater, and produce stormwater. Our approach to improving the match between spaces and uses offers communities alternatives that will reduce the environmental footprint of each building. By carefully analyzing current and future community needs, we present solutions that prevent overbuilding and its additional long-term costs. We offer customized alternatives for renovation and new construction that incorporate green building principles, including materials reuse, renewable energy and energy conservation, and use of proven products made from recycled materials.
Solutions That Work!
Kate Mountain Community Center,
Franklin, New York
Kate Mountain is a multi-use recreation area owned by the Town of Franklin that includes an outdoor pavilion, playground, basketball court, baseball field, parking lot, and a small shed. The Town of Franklin wanted to build a new community center at Kate Mountain to accommodate a range of social and recreational activities. Based on our assessment of existing conditions and the community’s long-term needs, Yellow Wood worked with the Town of Franklin to develop a phased building plan, incorporating our research of green building options to minimize costs of construction, operations, and maintenance, to reduce or eliminate negative environmental impacts, and to seek Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification for the new community center.
Vermontville Town Hall, Franklin, New York
The Vermontville Town Hall is currently used to house Town offices, as well as for public meetings and social events. However, the building was constructed as a schoolhouse in the 19th century and needs substantial improvements to meet building codes and to adequately address the Town’s growing needs. Through the Green Community Technologies® Building Assessment, completed by the Town Supervisor and Building Committee, Yellow Wood was able to assist the Town in determining future needs and guide them through the process of planning for the most appropriate renovations and efficiency improvements.
Town of Franklin municipal garage, Franklin, New York
The Franklin Municipal Garage is a 120 by 50 foot structure built in 1980-81 to house the community’s municipal fleet. Yellow Wood Associates worked with the Town of Franklin to address a number of problems with the garage and to develop several options for achieving compliance with NYSDEC pollution discharge regulations and improving the building’s overall performance, durability and functionality.
State-of-the-art dairy processing facility design, Frederick County, Maryland
The Frederick County Dairy Processing Task Force expressed a strong interest in exploring the feasibility of building a state-of-the-art, zero emissions, dairy processing facility. Yellow Wood researched different ways of reducing water use, reducing energy consumption, optimizing chemical use, producing energy from renewable sources, using green building criteria, site selection criteria, and dealing with food security, packaging and ingredient sourcing. Yellow Wood enlisted the assistance of an architecture firm that specializes in green building to provide a description and an outline of the scope of work involved in designing a state-of-the-art dairy processing facility.
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