On Oct. 24, the Georgia Institute of Technology dedicated its Kendeda Building for Innovative Sustainable Design. Built to the standards of the Living Building Challenge, considered today’s most rigorous green building program, the structure was designed to generate more electricity and harvest more water than it will require to operate. It is also pursuing LEED Platinum certification. “The time for doing less harm is gone,” Shan Arora, director of the Kendeda Building, noted in a press statement. “We need to have buildings that provide more than they take.” According to Georgia Tech, the Skanska USA-led building team diverted more waste from landfills than it sent to them. “The Kendeda Building is an incredible and beautiful example of sustainable design, integration with nature, human inclusion and well-being. It is the most sustainable building of its kind in the Southeast,” said Georgia Tech President Ángel Cabrera. Kendeda is the first academic and research building in the Southeast to pursue Living Building Challenge 3.1 certification. According to Skanska, the building will need to meet 20 specific performance requirements, or “imperatives,” for 12 consecutive months of occupancy and operation to achieve certification. Skanska collaborated with the design team of Lord Aeck Sargent and the Miller Hull Partnership and Georgia Tech to formalize strategies to ensure a successful pathway to the LBC 3.1 certification. Certification is anticipated in 2021, according to Skanska.

City of Aventura Mayor Enid Weisman and Don Soffer (center) cut the ribbon to celebrate the grand opening of the new Don Soffer Aventura High School, recently completed by Kaufman Lynn Construction. Joining with the mayor are, from left: City Commissioners Denise Landman, Dr. Linda Marks, Gladys Mezrhi, Marc Narotsky, Robert Shelley and Howard Weinberg; Principal David McKnight; Kaufman Lynn Construction President Frank White; and other guests.