The Chesapeake Bay Foundation is now the leader in promoting environmentally friendly and sustainable development. They are leaders by example. The Philip Merrill Environmental Center, built by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation in 2000, has received several awards and distinctions for its performance. It is a building that molds several different top of the line technologies to put together an energy efficient building that works well with its surrounding environment. The Philip Merrill Environmental Center has taken several steps to assure that the building complies with as many standards as possible.

The greening of a building starts during construction. The Philip Merrill Environmental Center was built on the property of an old home, and the footprint of the current building is on top of the same site and takes up no more space than the old house and pool that used to be on the property. A lot of the materials that were used in the construction of the Environmental Center were salvaged from the old home including the gravel used in the driveway. Otherwise the materials were taken from within a 300 mile radius. This was done to minimize the effects transporting materials from long distances and the subsequent pollution that occurs as a result. The building is also raised from the ground on stilts, which serves two purposes to make it more sustainable. The first is to allow for parking underneath and negate the necessity for a parking lot that will increase the overall footprint. The second purpose was to minimize the amount of excavation that is necessary to build such a building.

The building also uses as much renewable energy as possible. There are photovoltaic panels installed on the roof to supplement the electrical load. All of the hot water used in the building is taken from flat plate solar collectors, which save money on the electric bill. A conventional domestic hot water heating system accounts for about 10% of the average electricity bill. In addition, most of the non-potable water needs are supplied by the rainwater-catchment system, which also provides a reservoir for fire suppression. There are composting toilets on the site, as well as low flow shower heads and water faucets to help conserve water. There are also large panel windows that installed to reduce the need for electric lights. There is also a computer controlled heating and cooling system that is used to get the most efficient use of energy. This system employs mechanical shades on the windows, indicators to let employees know when they can open and should close windows, an energy recovery wheel with desiccant dehumidification on the heat pump. There are many instances where the building and continued operation of the Philip Merrill Environmental Center involves recycling of some sort.

The web sites listed below go more in depth. The Philip Merrill Environmental Center Serves as an example for sustainable development to both commercial and private builders. It all starts with consciousness and being aware of how things work around you, and knowing how you can act in a way that promotes environmentally sustainable ways of life.

The questions that were tackled during class discussion included:

• What are the advantages of building in a green manner?
• How does a technology work it's way into use? especially ones requiring advanced technical skill and training?
• Does anyone feel that "environmentally friendly" buildings are just another way of phrasing "marginally less bad for the environment" buildings?
• How much creature comfort are people willing to sacrifice in order to be environmentally friendly? How does this effect the popularity/use of such techniques of building and of lifestyle?

Works Cited:

http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/features/feature_template.cfm?ID=909

http://www.eere.energy.gov/buildings/highperformance/case_studies/overview.cfm?ProjectID=69

http://www.architectureweek.com/2001/0418/environment_2-1.html

http://www.nrel.gov/buildings/highperformance/chesapeake.html

http://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy02osti/29500.pdf

http://www.prescott.edu/news/headlines/113000.html

http://enduse.lbl.gov/Info/LBNL-47992_draft.pdf