First U.S. City Resolves to Build LEED Platinum

By Rachel Navaro

The city council of Greensburg, Kansas (pop. 1,500), a town devastated by a tornado in May 2007, announced in December 2007 that all city-owned buildings greater than 4,000 ft2 would be required to meet LEED Platinum standards.

Photo courtesy BNIM Architects

Stephen Hardy, associate of BNIM Architects and project leader for Greensburg's master plan, presents sustainable rebuilding objectives to the community. Greensburg is the first city in the U.S. requiring that all city-owned buildings meet LEED Platinum standards.

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Greensburg, which is rebuilding with a focus on sustainability, became the first U.S. city to pass such a resolution. Similar laws elsewhere have so far called for lower levels of LEED certification. BNIM Architects of Kansas City, Missouri, the firm contracted to develop Greensburg’s master plan, helped draft the resolution, which requires the energy use of the buildings to be 42% lower than current building code requirements.

For more information, see www.bnim.com/

This article was produced by BuildingGreen, Inc.- www.buildinggreen.com

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