Yesterday evening I attended a meeting of the Connecticut chapter of the International Facilities Management Association (IFMA) at Centerbrook Architects and Planners .  Auggie V was going to see AuctorVerno’s friend Jared Markham of Weston Solutions and GreenGrid give a presentation on green roof tops.  Of course Jared’s remarks were insightful but what I also got was a real treat regarding Centerbrook’s office building and the green technologies it incorporates. As my host, Cynthia Brown of IFMA/CT stated, “This is a great place to help educate and promote green technology and to learn about retrofitting older buildings with green design concepts.”

I’d agree, the Centerbrook offices are very cool. Inside, they have wide open spaces that just ooze enthusiasm and fun.  Outside, attendees gathered on the roof or porch or both and had beverages and good noshes.  The ninety employees who work here must have fun I thought.  Besides the peaceful surroundings, a beautiful solar panel runs along one of the buildings roofs and a waterfall that captures hydo-power flows in the background.  Of course a GreenGrid panel system graces our presence. I was already impressed and Jared hadn’t even spoken yet. 

I asked Centerbrook Partner, William Grover to explain why the nineteenth century built office building uses so much distributed generation. “We use this place as a lab to test technology before we sell the concept to the client.  They ask about the panel and we show them and we show them the data on the pay-back.” 

Jared’s did a great job and he gave an excellent overview on the GreenGrid system and green roofs in America in general. The bottom line is green roofs make sense but here in Connecticut and elsewhere they haven’t caught on as much as they should.  It seems as though Chicago and New York are the leaders.  I asked Jared how many in Connecticut.  He thought maybe ten.  With all the buildings here in the nutmeg state, to only have ten, seems low.  Can anyone verify how many green roofs in Connecticut? I now have a mission.  (Add a comment below if you know.)

The presentation ended and I thanked Cynthia for inviting me and also thanked William  for hosting it.  I mentioned that if I was coming out of college I’d work here in a heart beat.  He commented, “Lots of workers go to New York City but having this stuff here does help attract younger workers.”

Filed under: Green Buildings