$450 Million Hotel To Be Powered By Rainwater, Solar
by Justin Thomas, Virginia on 11. 9.07
Robert Congel, owner of the Pyramid Cos., says he will build a $450 million, 40-story green hotel as part of the Carousel Center mall. The unnamed hotel will be powered (in part) by electricity generated by its solar panel facade and by hydro-electric turbines utilizing rainwater collected on its roof. It is intended to be the cornerstone of Destiny USA: a 75-million-square-foot retail, hotel, and entertainment complex touted as the world's most sustainable project.
The hotel's green theme will be carried throughout its design, Destiny officials said. A rendering of the hotel shows a V-shape structure on the north side of the Carousel Center, with a green facade that makes it look like six giant blades of grass soaring into the sky next to Onondaga Lake.
Destiny will also showcase sustainability. The complex will have its own renewable-energy power plant, enabling it to operate independently of fossil fuels. A horizontal elevator system will transport people around the car-free mini-city, and a monorail will connect it to Syracuse's airport and downtown. Pyramid also plans to incorporate more than 3,000 tons of coal ash into sidewalks and other concrete elements—one feature that led the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to describe Destiny as "the world's largest structure to be built from recycled industrial materials." Congel is beginning to deliver on his green promises in the project's first phase, which aims for LEED Gold certification. Construction vehicles are powered by 100 percent biodiesel fuel. In a show of support, the U.S. Green Building Council purchased $50,000 of the tax-exempt green bonds awarded to the project.
:: Via Business Week and Environmental Leader
Is that concrete their using?
It seems like mega-developers are missing the point. They are either building green because the economics are favorable (which is a valid reason) or to get attention and be hip, which is not such a good reason. LEED certification is great, better than not, but every week there is a story about bigger and bigger LEED projects. This is simply not part of "sustainable." LEED certification seems to be on a course of dilution. As one reader pointed out regarding an eatlier article, "What's next? A LEED certified coal-fired power plant?" It's like my favorite marketing idea: light cigarettes.
This reminds me of the BURJ AL-TAQA, the skyscraper that will produce zero emissions and use sun, wind and water to create all of its own energy. Link to the story below
http://www.inhabitat.com/2007/10/18/burj-al-taqa-energy-tower-for-the-middle-east/
How is a mall the worlds most sustainable project? I think the battle to take the word sustainable back to recognize limits to growth needs to begin so the greenwashing can't continue.
I hope they don't really use green tinted glass.
does everything that is "green" have to be green? ugh.
Dear Tree Hugger,
Interesting article - as it showcases the controversy over a truly sustainable project and "green washing."
I wonder if it is necessary to make sustainable projects "hip" to garner enough attention to the cause, and get people to hop on the wagon. So even if a project isn't perfect (in terms of sustainability) perhaps moving in that general direction is the next best option.
FYI: Because of these interesting questions - As an editor for The Issue, a recently launched newspaper - I've decided to feature it in the Science and Health Section today.
Not so long ago, I described most sustainability as being akin to low fat milk. It's about continuing the same behaviors without any guilt.
The hope though is that the message will seep through all the greenwashing. I'd still prefer the green mall over the Mall of America, although I'd definitely prefer no mall at all. No mall at all won't make the news though.
Why do people keep saying malls are so bad? What is it in a mall that makes it worse than a bunch of small shops side by side? Isn't that what a mall is?
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Woah!! This building is sweet! I will definately be the first to check in!!!
They will use green tinted glass when building Destiny because the current structure already has green tinted glass. It has had it for 17 years, so why would they make all the new buildings a different color? So before you get critical maybe you should think about other reason they would use green glass.
the reason that green glass is being used, is most definately because green tinted glass reduces thermal heat gains...Maximizes visual light spectrum gains and reduces infrared solar radiation....hense sustainability
Ithink it's beautiful, at leaast someone is making an effort to go green.