GreenSource has sent a team of contributors to the U.S. Green Building Council’s annual conference and expo. Read their on-the-ground reports—covering everything from new products on the tradeshow floor to plenary sessions to parties—November 17th -19th.

Meet the Editors: Going to Greenbuild? Stop by the GreenSource booth (#801) and say hello to our editorial staff. View a schedule here.

Sign up now for our daily email dispatches featuring all of our coverage, as well as new additions to our Greenbuild photo gallery, each day of the conference.

Image © Massimo Catarinella

GreenSource has asked a group of notable figures in Chicago’s sustainable building community—from architect Mark Sexton to critic Blair Kamin to curator Zoë Ryan —to recommend must-visit new and historic buildings, as well as their favorite places to eat, drink, shop, and more.

• Anne Evens
• Doug Farr
• Lina Grigaitis
• Steve Hall
• Tudor Van Hampton
• Blair Kamin
• Lira Luis
• Zoë Ryan
• Mark Sexton
• Scot Pepper

Pictured: Hotel Burnham/Photo © J. Crocker

Reader Photos from Greenbuild
Browse images of important and sustainable Chicago  projects submitted by our readers, and sign in to share your own. We also encourage you to submit photos of  people,  products, and places taken during the three-day Greenbuild conference

Photo © Charles Young

Zero Net Energy: Conservation Starts at Home
Meet Michael Yannell, a pharmacist who hired Farr Associates to design what is now called the greenest house in Chicago. Inside and out, every detail has a green story.

Photo © Tudor Van Hampton

Green Alleys: Taking It to the Streets
A conversation with Janet Attarian, AIA, who heads Chicago Dept. of Transportation's Streetscape and Sustainable Urban Design Program.

Photo © Tudor Van Hampton

South Pond Education Pavilion: Jeanne Gang Designs for Lincoln Park
Film production team Spirit of Space (http://www.spiritofspace.com/) shoots Studio Gang's multi-use pavilion in Chicago's Lincoln Park. The pavilion is part of a $6 million restoration of the four-acre site, originally constructed in the 19th century and fed by city tap water.

Photo © Spirit of Space

An Interview with Shaun Donovan
In this video extra to our interview with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development secretary Shaun Donovan, he discusses retrofitting and increasing awareness among average Americans about green buildings. Donovan will speak at Greenbuild 2010’s closing plenary.

Photo © Kristine Larsen

The Art Institute of Chicago, Renzo Piano's Modern Wing
James Cuno, president and director of the Art Institute of Chicago, walks us through the Museum's Renzo Piano-designed Modern Wing. He explains how the addition, a "luminous box" that opened in May 2009, uses daylighting to produce optimal conditions for viewing art. 

Photo by William Hanley

Aqua Tower
In this excerpt from a film by the Checkerboard Film Foundation (www.checkerboardfilms.org), Jeanne Gang, FAIA, of Studio Gang Architects and developer/architect James Lowenberg show us Gang's new Chicago residential high rise.

Photo © Checkerboard Film Foundation

The Decarbonization of Chicago
Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture's Robert Forest, AIA, and PositivEnergy Practice's Roger E. Frechette present the new, holistic planning approach they have developed to reduce carbon emissions in dense urban cores.

Image courtesy Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture

Eco-Toupees and Plastic Alleys
Despite a major sustainability push, the city of Chicago still has a long way to go in transforming its image from a Rust Belt city to the greenest in the country.

Illustration by Andrew Bannecker

The Rise of Retrofit
Chicago shows what's next and what's needed to meet the city's ambitious performance goals.

Illustration by Viktor Koen and Jonathan Michael Johnson

Renaissance Man
Environmentalist, entrepreneur, author, and Greenbuild 2010 speaker Paul Hawken’s work includes starting ecological businesses, writing about the impact of commerce on living systems, and consulting with heads of state and CEOs on economic development and environmental policy.

Photo © Barbara Ries

We follow up on two Chicago projects previously covered on our site to find out how their actual performance measurers up against the project team’s original estimates—and our first assessments.

Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation
Sophisticated energy-efficiency measures and active occupants have lead to surprising savings.

Photo © Steve Hall/Hedrich Blessing

Loyola University Information Commons
At this bookless library, a web of systems has to function flawlessly for optimal energy savings, and it’s almost there.

Photo © Steinkamp Photography

Aqua Tower
Studio Gang Architects
Curves Over Chicago: Aqua, a new 82-story residential tower and hotel near Lake Michigan, adds a new dynamism to the city’s skyline

Photo © Steven Hall / Hedrich Blessing

Christy Webber Landscapes Headquarters
Farr Associates
Sustaina-bling-ity: A new headquarters building is not shy about its green stance

Photo © Mark Ballogg

Loyola University Information Commons
Solomon Cordwell Buenz
The Total Package: A glass box integrates passive and active technologies, demonstrating that transparency and energy efficiency aren’t always at odds

Photo © Steinkamp Photography

Michael Yannell Residence
Farr Associates
Multiplicity: A city residence is equipped with systems and materials that wear many sustainable hats

Image courtesy Christopher Barrett

Near North Apartments
Smith and Smith Architects
Second Acts: Murphy/Jahn Rethinks Low-Income Housing For A Revitalized Cabrini-Green In Chicago

Photo © Doug Snower Photography

Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies
Krueck & Sexton Architects
Not Just Skin-Deep: On a prominent Chicago site, a building with a striking faceted facade satisfies an ambitious environmental agenda

Photo © William Zbaren