CLEED

Sustainability Consultancy for Cultural Institutions

Jun
9

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#AAM2016 Follow Up & @PICGreen SEA Awards

Category: Conferences, Events, News, Sustainability Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a Comment

aamexpoHere is a recap of the PIC Green Events at AAM 2016 Conference and Expo. First, all the events and sessions were an overwhelming success! So, it shows there is a definite growing interest to learn how to make your institution more sustainable.
We had the following sessions:
1. Energy Efficient Cold Storage
2. Future Choices – Best Practices for Profession
3. Environmental Sustainability – Power, Influence and Responsibility
4. Stages of Sustainability
5. Sustainability Sins

picOur winners for the SEA (Sustainability Excellence Awards) for the following categories: Facilities, Programs and Exhibits were as follows:

usbotanicAnd the field trip to the US Botanic Garden was educational and bursting with sustainable initiatives, we even received our very own instruction manual for teaching. Check out the Sustainable SITES Initiative!

The Expo had a few highlights, but I have to mention the Virtual Reality Booth by SimWave Consulting in Canada. If you are an interactive museum, then you are going to want to keep an eye on their technology.

And a huge thank you to the Natural History Museum for letting us use their booth and partnering up in many ways moving forward!

Until next year in St. Louis…..keep up the green momentum!

 

 

Apr
27

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Come Join @PICGREEN at AAM’s Annual Conference in DC

Category: Conferences, Events, Green Museum, News, Sustainability Leave a Comment

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Join PIC Green at AAM’s 2016 Annual Meeting and MuseumExpo in Washington, DC!
Search the conference schedule with keywords ‘sustainable’ or ‘green’ to find relevant sessions. Below are PIC-Green events we hope you will attend.

Mexican Cultural Institute
Reception with Latino, Indigenous Peoples, Asian Pacific American,
DIVCOM, LGBTQ & PIC Green
Thursday, May 26, 2016, 6-8 p.m. at Mexican Cultural Institute
Registration Required ($40)

Creativity and innovation grow out of collaborations strengthened by diverse perspectives. This reception brings together members of the Latino, Indigenous Peoples and Museums, Asian Pacific American networks, as well as the Diversity (DIVCOM), LGBTQ, and PIC Green committees. Join this diverse group of museum professionals for participatory activities, engaging discussions, as well as food, drinks, and live music. All are welcome; you do not need to be a member of one of these professional networks to participate.

PIC Green Informal Meet-Up Happy Hour
Friday, May 27 @6pm-8pm
Momofuku CCDC
Registration not Required

Meet PIC-Green’s leadership, mingle with other members, and get involved!

Sustainability Excellence Awards 2016
PIC Green Breakfast: Sustainability Excellence Awards
Friday, May 27, 2016, 7:30-8:30 a.m. at Marriott Marquis
Registration Required ($35)

Break bread with PIC Green! At this breakfast, we will recognize this year’s winners of AAM’s Sustainability Excellence Award. Come to learn about and be inspired by the good work being done to further sustainability efforts throughout our field. Everyone is welcome!

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United States Botanic Garden
PIC Green Field Trip: Sustainable Museum Tour at the U.S. Botanic Gardens
Saturday, May 28, 2016, 1:00-3:00 p.m. at United States Botanic Garden
Registration Required ($25)

Learn how this organization aligns their mission with environmental, economic and social stewardship in their facilities and operations. The tour includes the newly renovated Bartholdi Park, the SITES program and the Garden’s continually expand sustainable practices.

Hope to see you there!

Oct
21

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Tour of the Brooklyn Army Terminal via OpenhouseNewYork

Category: Events, Sustainable Art, Tours Tags: , , , , , , , , , , Leave a Comment

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This past Saturday I toured the located in Sunset Park, Brooklyn via OpenhouseNewYork and . Usually closed to the public due to it being an industrial manufacturing building, Saturday we got to see some of the inside and it was fantastic!
BAT was designed by Cass Gilbert in 1918 and built by Turner Construction. It served as one of the largest military supply bases through WW ll, it was considered a inter-modal shipping port. At the time it had warehouses, offices,  piers, docks, rail sidings, cranes and cargo loading equipment. You can still see some of the rail tracks inside and also the atrium actually has 2 black lines built into the floor to show where the original tracks came into the building. The interior central loading space houses a couple of 5-ton traveling cranes with bays for easy movement of goods. Also,  when it was built, it was the largest reinforced concrete construction and still remains in good shape!

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Back in the late 60’s the building was decommissioned from the Army and was subsequently bought by New York City in 1981. Since 1985 BAT has been undergoing renovations in phases, presently the building is about 80% renovated. It now houses about 100 companies, including , and and employs around 3,600 people.
Lastly, worth mentioning since this is a sustainability blog. In the atrium there is a new outdoor exhibition by Isabelle Garbani called . She is one of the artists from Chashama, a group that supports communities by transforming temporarily vacant properties into spaces where artists can flourish. The art piece is a cascade of about 5,000 flowers crocheted from plastic bags. You can even contact the artist to create your own flower to add to the piece!

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Oct
14

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NESEA Panel Discussion – Energy Efficiency & Green Building Technologies: Made in Germany

Category: Energy Efficiency, Events, Green Buildings Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a Comment

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In preparation for BE NYC 2015, NESEA, The German American Chamber of Commerce, collaborated with the German Consulate General in New York and the to host a panel discussion and networking reception focusing on energy efficiency solutions and green building technologies made in Germany.
The panel discussion focused on passive house and how German energy efficient technologies are finally coming to the US.
Yetsuh Frank from spoke on passive house technologies and the benefits plus challenges of NYC adopting those standards to meet the 2050 challenge Mayor De Blasio has put forward. In the long run passive house is about “investing in long life components, ” and NYC will need to slowly start rolling passive house technology into present green building codes to come anywhere close to the new projected goals. Next up was Douglas Romines from he highlighted how his experience working in Germany helped pave the way for earlier energy efficiency adoption in NYC buildings like the new Staten Island Ferry Terminal.
The last 3 speakers were German based companies who will be exhibiting their products at the NESEA Expo. There was , who make ingenious infrared heating panels for residential and commercial use. The panels are safe, emission free, super efficient and effective plus provide instant heat in an elegant way. They beat all US radiator or baseboard heater any day! Second was Alumthermic, who are specialists for insulation of thermally decoupled aluminum window profiles and facades. And third was , originally a German company but they now have a new presence in Chicopee, MA. They manufacture top notch, finely crafted, energy efficient windows to the US market.
All in all, an interesting panel, (the infrared panels were definitely my favorite) and a great kick off to BE NYC 2015.