Philosophy
Sustainability is the key to the future. As architects, we are responsible for
designing projects that live lightly on the land and encourage
minimal use of resources. The keys to sustainable design are
simplicity of materials, use of local resources, and a view to
flexible space.
U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC)
Charles and Lesley attended the first USGBC conference in 2001 and became members. They began working
with the principles, immediately developing the structure for
the Los Paseos School and Community Center project toward LEED
Certification.
The LEED Green Building Rating System is a voluntary, consensus-based national
standard for developing high-performance, sustainable buildings.
Members of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) representing
all segments of the building industry developed LEED and continue
to contribute to its evolution. LEED was created to:
- define “green building” by establishing a common standard of measurement
- promote
integrated, whole-building design practices
- recognize
environmental leadership in the building industry
- stimulate
green competition
- raise consumer awareness of green building benefits
- transform
the building market
LEED provides a complete framework for assessing building performance and meeting
sustainability goals. Based on well-founded scientific standards,
LEED emphasizes state of the art strategies for sustainable site
development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection
and indoor environment quality. LEED recognizes achievements
and promotes expertise in green building through a comprehensive
system offering project certification, professional accreditation,
training and practical resources.
More information about LEED can be found at the U.S. Green Building Council web site.
Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS)
Weston Miles Architects are members of CHPS and all Weston Miles current new school projects are going for CHPS certification.
High performance school buildings improve the indoor environment by providing
cleaner air, better acoustics and natural light. They also improve
the global environment by reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
By using renewable energy in schools—such as solar power and
day lighting—and by reducing energy consumption through efficient
design, school districts can reduce reliance on fossil fuel sources
to heat, cool, and light school buildings.
The mission of CHPS is to facilitate the design, construction and operation of
high performance schools: environments that are not only energy
and resource efficient, but also healthy, comfortable, well lit,
and containing the amenities for a quality education.
CHPS helps facilitate and inspire change in our educational system.
The goals of CHPS are to:
- Increase student performance with better-designed and healthier facilities,
- Raise awareness of the impact and advantages of high performance schools,
- Provide professionals with better tools to facilitate effective design,
construction
and maintenance of high performance schools,
- Increase school energy and resource efficiency, and
- Reduce peak electric loads.
Pacific Gas and Electric- Savings by Design and the Solar Program
Weston Miles has worked on numerous projects with the PG and E Savings by Design
program. The opportunity is to get additional design assistance
to design the most sustainable building possible as well as receive
substantial rebates for energy savings and innovation.
The Solar program though more complex for commercial projects has provided a
substantial opportunity to reduce the Carbon footprint and receive
grants to assist on the purchase of equipment. WMA used the program
effectively on the Granary for adding a 16-kilowatt system to
the building that will provide at least 75% of the buildings
electrical needs.
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Come see the Granary,
one-of-a-kind LEED Gold
commercial office space.
Tour Dates:
Sat. June 7, 2008 @ 10 am
Fri June 13, 2008 @ 12 pm
Sat July 5, 2008 @ 10 am
Fri July 11, 2008 @ 12 pm
Sat Aug 2, 2008 @ 10 am
Fri Aug 8, 2008 @ 12 pm
We will have refreshments available.
Location:
17500 Depot St., #120
Morgan Hill, CA 95037
Call 408-779-6686 to
schedule an appointment.
See map to this location.
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