Archives for Chicago

SPreading the word

October 23, 2012 Joseph Maguire

As more and more properties Catch the Wave with SERF Certification, we’re beginning to fall behind in processing applications.   Maintaining our early decision to cede the lengthy process award to the other 4-letter certification, we are, instead, embarking on a fix.

Our new professional designation SERF Professional (SP) will enable real estate professionals to act as third party verifiers for SERF Certification applications.  SPs will be independent from SERF and will set their own fees and contract directly with certification applicants.

[Read more…]

Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

My kind of (green) town…

June 11, 2012 Joseph Maguire

Given the warm reception SERF has received and our growing operations here, it comes as no surprise to us that Chicago recently won the Siemens and U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Sustainability Large Community award.  Leaders from business, real estate and, not least, the City government are clearly unified in making Chicago a global leader in sustainability.

There’s a beautiful symmetry in Chicago’s leadership in sustainable buildings given its preeminent role in the creation of an American architectural style and its endless contributions to the world’s built environment ever since.

How fitting, then, that Chicago’s Soldier Field is now the first NFL stadium to have attained LEED status.  Now that’s putting your money where your mouth is.

Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Practical Environmental Stewardship

March 9, 2012 Stan Samuel

While rummaging through a pile of green building literature, looking for material to write my first  blog around SERF’ s mission of Practical Environmental Stewardship ™,  I learned of 330 North Wabash’s recent SERF certification. 330 N. Wabash is the last American design of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and is one of Chicago’s finest architectural gems.   The owner/manager’s commitment to this goal makes this vital structure an exemplary  model of  SERF’s mission.

The level of intrusive retrofit that can be performed to green a historic and iconic structure is severely limited. Renovation of any nature must be performed without altering any of its historic features. The management could be forgiven if they didn’t attempt a green renovation given the complexity involved, but they did! Innovation on their part revealed the existence of several affordable, high impact and low intrusive greening strategies.

[Read more…]

Tagged With: , , , , ,