intro. to green building presented by levi, smith and stack USGBC-LI introduces educational program series September 25

On September 25, at a seminar presented by USGBC-LI, Murray Levi of LiRo Architecture, Roger Smith of BBS Architecture and Tom Stack of TPG Architecture provided an in-depth exploration of green building, with an interesting historical perspective of today's green building movement, the formation of the U.S. Green Building Council and the LEED Certification Program, along with current case studies of commercial and educational facilities on Long Island that are being constructed and seeking LEED Certification. Over 75 people attended the event, held at the North Shore Synagogue in Syosset, which became an exploration of the genesis of the current green building movement. Murray Levi examined the historical events, cultural changes, political forces and economic factors that shaped the formation of USGBC and today's LEED certification program. Stack and Smith both provided thoughtful insights with their case studies on the LEED Certification process and answered numerous questions from the audience on the effects of attempting to attain LEED Certification on the design and construction of the Leviton corporate headquarters and the Hampton Bays Middle School. This seminar was the first of a series of educational seminars to be presented by USGBC-LI. On October 23, Paul Cataldo, an architectural designer and LEED accredited professional at Ashley McGraw Architects, and Eric Schatz, a LEED AP with Greyhawk Construction Managers & Consultants, will be presenting a seminar on Compliance with Codes and Professional Standards for Green Building and LEED certified projects, where they will discuss issues such as advising clients on the challenges and cost-effective options of using new energy efficient technologies in building projects; keeping projects on track, and how emerging green building codes and LEED affects the development process and overhead; and staying up-to-date on the latest state and local regulations affecting sustainable development projects (see upcoming events calendar). More details on this and other chapter events can be found at www.USGBC-LI.org. Braden Farber is programs committee co-chair for USGBC.