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Brock Environmental Center: Virginia Beach, Va.

For buildings to withstand sea-level rise, coastline erosion, and hurricanes, they need to be built to work with nature, not against it. The Brock Environmental Center is a living example of how to minimize impact on the environment while being resilient to future challenges. The triple net zero building is the latest to receive Living Building Challenge certification and is the first in the U.S. to receive a permit for drinking rainwater treated to federal standards.

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Stevens Library at Sacred Heart Schools: Atherton, Calif.

For schools in drought-stricken areas, net zero energy and water strategies help future-proof against utility rate hikes. But, the price tag for net zero can be too high for school budgets. Fortunately, a library project at Sacred Heart School in northern California illustrates that it is possible to deliver a net zero energy building within a conventional budget while teaching kids about the value of conserving resources.

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Edith Green-Wendell Wyatt Federal Building: Portland, OR

One of the most important aspects of this three-year renovation began when the construction ended.

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The Exploratorium: Pier 15, San Francisco, CA

Founded by particle physicist Frank Oppenheimer in 1969, San Francisco’s Exploratorium seeks to change the way the world learns with a focus on self-teaching and exploration

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Sandy High School: Sandy, OR

Fresh air and sunlight permeate Sandy High School, while the school's location on a preserved wooded site provides easy access to and expansive views of the natural surroundings.

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Bosarge Family Education Center at the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens: Boothbay, ME

Visitors come to the Maine Coastal Botanical Gardens' Bosarge Family Education Center to improve their green thumbs, hear a concert or to celebrate a wedding.

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DPR Construction Phoenix Regional Office: Phoenix, AZ

Some might say that the DPR Construction Phoenix Regional Office is a high performing building overachiever.

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Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Campus: Seattle, WA

At the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation campus in Seattle, employees can brainstorm with colleagues next to a dark-water bog that also attracts the occasional heron.

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College of the Atlantic Student Housing Village: Bar Harbor, ME

It's one thing to learn about ways to improve the relationship between humans and the environment; it's another to actually live according to those principles.

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Hood River Middle School Music and Science Building: Hood River, OR

Before construction of the Hood River Middle School Music and Science Building, music students practiced in an old bus barn outbuilding and science students conducted experiments in a lab with outdated equipment.

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Manitoba Hydro Place: Winnipeg, Canada

Manitoba Hydro, the province's sole energy provider, began planning for a new, energy-efficient headquarters in 2002. The design team soon realized that the extreme climate ...

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Kiowa County Schools: Greensburg, KS

After a two-mile wide tornado plowed through Greensburg, Kan., in 2007, the town and school district committed to rebuilding a model green community ...

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Sweetwater Creek State Park Visitor Center: Lithia Springs, GA

Before entering a 2,549-acre conservation park, visitors are welcomed by a center that, through sustainable design, contributes to the park's purpose of protecting nature.

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OHSU Center for Health & Healing: Portland, OR

Oregon Health & Science University Center for Health & Healing is one of only 50 buildings in the country to have been awarded U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) LEED® Platinum certification ...

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Guilford County Schools: Greensboro, NC

A 70 million-year-old Mosasaur fossil, an extinct marine reptile that lived in a sea that existed in central North America, is displayed in the main entry hall of ...

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Manassas Park Elementary School and Prekindergarten: Manassas Park, VA

This Manassas Park, Va., school engages students to be stewards of their own environment by highlighting sustainable building systems and by ...

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Tyson Living Learning Center: Eureka, MO

Washington University's research and education center outside of St. Louis aims to meet goals of net zero energy and net zero water use.

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The Energy Lab at Hawaii Preparatory Academy: Kamuela, HI

K-12 students learn about alternative energy and test their own renewable energy systems at a living lab that last year produced twice as much energy ...

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U.S. Department of Homeland Security Citizenship and Immigration Service: Omaha, NE

The Department of Homeland Security designed its Omaha facility to be welcoming, energy efficient and secure. Lightshelves and skylights maximize ...

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Hurt Building: Atlanta, GA

The Hurt Building in downtown Atlanta has survived almost 100 years of technical change and history to emerge as an example of energy efficiency and ...

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Szencorp Building: S. Melbourne, Australia

Szencorp proves it is possible to teach an old building new tricks. In 2005 it renovated a typical four-story office building in Australia ...

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Kitsap County Administration Building: Port Orchard, WA

The terraced building steps down with the site's steep grade and incorporates earth sheltering, natural ventilation and daylighting. The thermal mass of the ...

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Seattle City Hall: Seattle, WA

Environmental stewardship is a priority for Seattle. It was the first city to require all city buildings to achieve USGBC LEED® Silver rating or higher.

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Rice Fergus Miller Office and Studio: Bremerton, WA

Instead of choosing new construction, Rice Fergus Miller's owners decided to completely renovate an abandoned Sears Automotive Center for the architecture firm's new office and studio space.