The new building under construction for the Utah Museum of Natural History on the University of Utah campus in Salt Lake City is a green work in progress. Aerial rendering of the Utah Museum of Natural History project at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. The 165,000-sq-ft museum, nestled in the hillside of a 17-acre lot bisected by the Bonneville Shoreline Trail, has a host of environmentally conscious building initiatives, including a pervious concrete parking lot and sidewalks, a building skin made of locally harvested copper and rock products, a wind turbine, and a roof with sections of

When it comes to defining zero-energy, the U.S. Dept. of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden is writing the book. Scientists at the South Table Mesa campus have developed technologies such as transpired solar collectors and are investigating the benefits of night purging—cutting-edge ideas that are fueling the sustainable-energy movement and stretching the skills of the design and construction industry. Photo: Carl Cox, NREL The RSF is under construction at NREL’s South Table Mountain Campus near Golden. It was designed to achieve LEED Platinum certification from the USGBC. Its energy saving features will be shared with, and hopefully replicated

Granite Construction Co. of Salt Lake City has been experimenting this past year with warm-mix asphalt in an effort to make asphalt paving more green, and ultimately more friendly to the environment. Granite Construction workers place warm-mix asphalt on a road project in Cottonwood Heights, Utah. Warm-mix asphalt is expected to extend the paving season in cold-weather climates. Photo: Granite Construction UDOT has high expectations for warm-mix asphalt technology. According to Granite environmental manager Chris Faulhaber, warm-mix asphalt employs a process through which asphalt is produced, placed and compacted at lower temperatures than conventional hot-mix asphalt. Warm-mix asphalt is typically

Aurora is taking a big step to keep itself from becoming a dry city.

1800 Larimer St. Denver $100 million Owner: Westfield Development General Contractor: Mortenson Construction Architect: RNL Engineer: Swanson Rink Start: 2007 Finish: April 2010 Adams County Government Center Colorado State University at Pueblo Academic Resource Center This 22-story, mixed-use tower at 18th and Larimer streets will be the largest high-rise office building built in downtown Denver in the last 20 years. When completed, it will offer state-of-the-art, Class AA lease office space designed for LEED-CS Platinum. It will be one of the first LEED-Platinum office buildings to be built in Denver. Adams County Government Center Brighton $85 million Owner: Adams County

Randy Thorne, president of RTA Architects, Colorado Springs, fondly remembers original firm-founder Leland B. Roberts. “He taught me that service is number one,” Thorne says. “It will make you successful if you make it a priority.” Slide Show Photo: LaCasse Photography Related Links: Top Design Firms Top Architectural Firm of 2009 Top Engineering Firm of 2009 Thorne is a quick study. Since 1996, RTA has swelled from four people to its current 46. It is ranked as the largest architectural firm in southern Colorado by the Colorado Springs Business Journal and the eighth largest in the state by Colorado Construction

Despite the prolonged recession, the number of LEED-registered projects in Colorado continued to grow in 2008 and 2009. During the six-month period from January through June in 2008 and during 2009, LEED NC-registered projects increased by 107%, and LEED EB and LEED EBOM projects increased by 81%. Photo: Urban Villages Inc. The roof of the Sugar Cube building, adjacent to the historic Sugar Building, contains an 18.9 kW solar PV array designed and installed by SolSource of Denver. “The existing building stock in the U.S. offers an enormous opportunity for green building and our ability to positively impact the environment,”

In early October, Colorado’s construction industry professionals hosted more than 1,700 high school students and teachers at the 7th annual Colorado Construction Career Days events at the Adams County Fair Grounds. Related Links: A Faster Way to the Top: Learn Construction Skills in College “The first few years we had to do a lot of work to get high schools signed up for this event,” says Cathy Rock, construction technology dept. chair at Red Rocks Community College and a Career Days Committee member. “This year, I sent one e-mail reminder out to [one school district] and immediately about 400 students

With hands-on, lab-based course work leading to over 50 certificates and degrees, the Construction Technology program at Red Rocks Community College offers the most comprehensive construction education in the region. Related Links: Construction Career Days at Seven Years and Still Going Strong Areas of emphasis include renewable energy, air conditioning & heating, construction management, electrical, fine woodworking and plumbing. We teach real skills for real jobs. Students range from high school students looking to jump-start their careers to construction professionals taking an occasional class to upgrade their job skills or add supervision skills to their resume. Most classes are scheduled

The International Code Council has partnered with the American Institute of Architects and the American Society for Testing and Materials to develop an International Green Construction Code that will guide the design and construction of green commercial projects. The initiative—titled “Safe and Sustainable by the Book”—aims to develop a regulatory framework for green construction that is consistent and coordinated with ICC codes and standards currently adopted nationwide as the basis of building codes. The first draft of the proposed regulations will be presented for public comment in 2010, with publication for adoption expected in 2012. Since the launch of the