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Green, "Living Building" Opens in Florida
Green Technology Featured Articles
June 23, 2008

Green, "Living Building" Opens in Florida

By Nitya Prashant
TMCnet Contributor

Ecocentre, an eco (News - Alert)-enviornment building termed the “living building” opened in Lake Worth, Florida on Friday. The 33,000 gross sq. ft., four-story office building has a self-sustaining eco-environment with its occupants, plants and micro-organisms, interacting with all of its non-living physical features. The building is the first of its kind in Florida.


The holistically designed structure incorporates natural systems and green technologies designed to save energy, reduce CO2 emissions, water consumption and to create a healthier environment.
 
The building will also be topped by a “Living Roof,” or “roof park,” provided with greenery, plants, trees and a lawn.

In the builidng, a Living Machine developed by Worrell Water Technologies will treat grey water from the building lavatories, showers, and kitchen sinks and re-use it for exterior irrigation thus reducing potable water consumption. Further, rainwater from the rooftop, collected in an 8000-gallon cistern, will be re-used for flushing toilets, and air-conditioning condensate is the source of fish pond water which is used to irrigate interior landscaping.

The building also has a centrally located Biolarium filled with plant life, which will act like the lungs of the building by reducing CO2 concentration.

The project is registered with the U.S. Green Building Council and will seek Gold L.E.E.D. Certification, a national rating classification system for sustainable buildings.
 
The gold level is the second-highest rank a project can earn from the Washington D.C.-based U.S. Green Building Council, which handles LEED certification.

The main office occupant of the building will be the West Palm Beach trial practice firm of Romano Law Group.
 
 John F. Romano, the senior partner, said, "We are looking forward to creating this 'Living Building' to prove that business can co-exist with a comfortable working environment while addressing environmental concerns and needs, sustain energy, recycle water and provide for a happy, healthy environment for our employees and others working within the building."
 
 
Nitya Prashant is a contributing editor for TMCnet. To read more of Nitya’s articles, please visit her columnist page.
 
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