What Does Green Look Like in 2016?

by: Andy Angelos

Attaching labels like green or sustainable to building developments inevitably leads to confusion.  Some detractors even argue that no development can be truly eco-friendly (yes, another buzzword) since all construction requires destruction.  For the purposes of the following buzz-word laden article, clean development refers to public utilities featuring solar energy, intelligent water usage, sensitive architecture, walkable neighborhoods, and renewable or recycled building materials (As an added bonus, try to count the number of environment related buzzwords in the article and enter your guess in the comment section). 

The self-proclaimed “eco-friendly” Beijing Olympic Village boasted 42 partially solar-powered apartment buildings for the 16,000 temporary residents.  Other conservation measures included limiting the changing of sheets and planting over 500,000 new trees throughout the Village. 

So what additional conservation tactics could adorn Olympic living quarters in 2016?  For a glimpse into future possibilities of eco-homes, let us textually visit the Smart Home exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry.  The model-home, located behind the Museum campus, features a computerized central nervous system for real-time monitoring of electricity and water usage.  This module includes the ability to remotely control heating, lighting, and window coverings for maximum energy efficiency.  Imagine a room capable of intuitively controlling electronic appliances when Michael Phelps forgets to turn-off the television prior to leaving for his fiftieth gold medal race.   

Selection of building materials will also be imperative to the overall greenness of the Olympic Village. The Smart Home interior demonstrates the durability of decorative recyclables and renewables.  One shower in the Smart Home is even tiled with recycled wine bottle.  Similarly, the kitchen counters are composed of paper stone.  The substance does require synthetic phenolic resins, but can be manufactured with nearly 100% recycled content.  Using these and similar recycled coverings will provide environmentally conscious interiors without compromising aesthetic appeal.        

Another example of sustainable living present on the Smart Home is rooftop gardens, which are already prevalent in Chicago.  The 500,000 trees planted in Beijing could be enhanced by a mixture of appealing, low maintenance plant life blanketing the Olympic Village canopy.  Adding local foliage to building tops increases natural insulation year round and also improves the collection of storm water runoff for irrigation.   Browse the heavily populated map at Chicago Green Roofs to discover existing garden roofs throughout the city.  

What do you think are the most important green features for the Olympic Village or any new development in Chicago?  

The technologies featured in the Smart Home exhibit are not guaranteed fixtures of future Olympic Villages, but represent a sampling of existing eco-friendly building solutions.  

Meet Andy Angelos: Your Guide to All Things Green!

Green development is a skill Chicago knows very well. Follow Andy Angelos as he keeps up with the latest and greatest technologies and processes.

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This is Andy Angelos –curator of all things green on the Chicago 2016 Channel.  Rather than compete with Blagica’s (pronounced like pizza) description of the unique Chicago experience, I decided to copy excerpts from a few of the 1.25 million essays indexed by Google with the title “What the Olympics mean to me.”   Seriously, Google is one smart guy (or girl since the gender is still unknown) and can provide a much better assessment of the Olympic value add than me, a simple-minded technology writer.   

“I get to read and hear about sports I never knew existed,” reads a piece composed by a young Philadelphian.   

A college student contributes, “The Olympics represent diversity – so many athletes from so many different backgrounds descending on a central location.”  

Google even captures the following statement from a jubilant Chinese citizen, “The Olympics bring happiness and pride to people all around the world.  It is a great honor to host.”  

The final words of the above statement - “a great honor to host” – are of particular relevance to Chicago community.  Hosting the Olympic Games is undeniably a tremendous honor, but the larger benefit resides in the preparation period prior to welcoming millions of athletes and spectators into a central location.  The 2016 Olympics provide a perfect opportunity for Chicago to emerge as a city of the future.  Cognitive energy-efficient living space, intelligent transportation systems, renewable energy sources immersed in an urban environment, etc will all be closer to reality in 2016 and ready for introduction to the world.

Hopefully, you will all join me on the Chicago 2016 Channel as I explore the environmental and technology aspects of Chicago’s quest for the IOC’s blessing.  I am excited to introduce Chicago and the world to a new generation of entrepreneurs, thought leaders, and humanitarians working toward a more impact-conscious future.  Oh…and I will also introduce my sarcasm but probably in my next post       

 

Andy Angelos

Environmental and Technology Editor, Chicago 2016 Channel

pronounced (ann – dee), like “candy”

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