Insider Notebook: Forum to take a look at LEED construction and its future
Photo / Maureen Milliken
LEED certified buildings, like Bowdoin College's Roux Center for the Environment, and their future will be the topic of a forum in Brunswick March 10 with buildings and their role in Maine will get a sharp focus next week when Mahesh Ramanujam, president and CEO of the Washington D.C.-based U.S. Green Building Council.
Green buildings and their role in Maine will get a close look next week when Mahesh Ramanujam, president and CEO of the Washington D.C.-based U.S. Green Building Council, is the featured guest at a forum in Brunswick.
The forum, officially titled "Is There Life Beyond LEED? The Future of Green Building," will top off the first full day of meetings of the Buildings Working Group of the Maine Climate Council, said Marty Grohman, E2Tech executive director. The forum is in partnership with sponsors Thornton Tomasetti and SMRT Architects and Engineers.
According to the U.S. Green Building Council, Maine has more than 230 LEED projects representing more than 13 million gross square feet of space. More than 130 of those have been LEED-certified to date, according to the release.
According to a 2018 global survey, green building activity is expected to continue growing through 2021 with nearly half of respondents indicating the majority of their projects to be green.
Two-thirds of survey participants also report that using a rating system like LEED allows them to create a better-performing building, and more than half of respondents believe rating systems provide third-party verification that ensures buildings are running in a sustainable manner.
"With buildings generating nearly 40% of annual global GHG emissions, the urgency to fast-track green building practices is apparent," the release said. "Green building is not only key to halting climate change, but it is also good for the economy."
“We want to revitalize our discussions around efficient, sustainable building in Maine,” said Grohman. "We think imagining more efficient big box stores and single-family homes is very important to protecting our way of life and clean air and water."
Ramanujam will talk about the evolution of LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), the most widely used green building system in the world. He'll discuss the recent refocus on health and wellness in building, and definable goals like Net Zero energy consumption. The forum will also include a group discussion.
The forum is scheduled for 5:30 PM on Tuesday, March 10, at Coastal Enterprises Inc. in Brunswick.
Women in Construction Week
It may be almost over, but just a heads-up that this is national Women in Construction Week. The week is promoted by the National Association of Women in Construction to highlight and advocate for women in the construction industry and related trades.
The week of recognition is a time for the industry as a whole to raise awareness of the opportunities available for women in construction, according to the NAWIC website.
Maine's chapter of the NAWIC has been highlighting women in the industry over the past few weeks on its Facebook page.
Jewett Construction, of Pittston, also sent out a congratulations email celebrating the week, pointing out that women make up 10.64% of the company's total workforce; higher than the national average of 9.9%. "Women hold positions in every part of our business, including executive leadership, project coordination, accounting, and marketing," the company said.
Lewiston coffee shop ribbon cutting
Tulio DeAlmeida, owner of Aroma Joe’s franchise in Auburn, recently opened a second location, at 403 Sabattus St., in Lewiston.
The Lewiston location is a drive-through, or walk-up only, building and opened last month after a year of planning and site construction. The 848-square-foot building was constructed on what had been a paved vacant lot DeAlmeida bought from adjacent St. Mary's Regional Medical Center in 2019.
A grand opening celebration is planned for Thursday, March 12, and will include officials from the Small Business Development Center, SBA and Androscoggin Valley Council of Governments.
"The Lewiston Auburn Area has been very supportive of our new coffee house thus far and now that the building renovations are fully complete, we felt the time was right to have this fun celebration," DeAlmeida said in a news release.
Stitching some space in Saco
The Half Square Quilt Shop in Saco, which startred in 800 square feet space on Maine Street 2016, recently moved to 5,000 square feet at 4 Scammon St. in the Shaw's Shopping Center. The shop, owned by Pauline McGrath, grew fast, moving in 2017 to 2,000 square feet in Pepperell Square.
"This gave her more room for fabrics, additional supplies and sales of machines," according to a recent Saco Main Street post. Besides quilting goods, including 4,500 bolts of fabric, thread, tools and sewing machines, McGrath also has a classroom with 12 commercial Janome sewing machines and plans to offer both day and evening classes.
Architect Cobb dies
Architect Henry Cobb died Monday at the age of 93.
Cobb, of Pei Cobb Freed & Partners, of New York City, designed the Portland Museum of Art, as well as Boston's John Hancock building and a number of other landmark Boston buildings. He also was responsible for global landmarks including the Palazzo Lombardia in Milan, Italy.
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