Baltimore Green Construction
Encyclopedia
Baltimore Green Construction (BGC) is a green builder
Green building
Green building refers to a structure and using process that is environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a building's life-cycle: from siting to design, construction, operation, maintenance, renovation, and demolition...

 practicing residential and commercial construction in Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...

, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...

.

The firm led the design-build
Design-Build
Design-build is a project delivery system used in the construction industry. It is a method to deliver a project in which the design and construction services are contracted by a single entity known as the design–builder or design–build contractor...

 team for the Masonville Cove Environmental Education Center
Brooklyn, Baltimore
Brooklyn is one of the southernmost neighborhoods in Baltimore, Maryland. It is located near Anne Arundel County along Maryland Route 2. Its main roads are Potee Street, Hanover Street, and Patapsco Avenue. Often mistaken as Brooklyn Park, Brooklyn shares the 21225 ZIP Code with Brooklyn Park and...

, a near-zero net energy environmental center on the banks of the Patapsco River
Patapsco River
The Patapsco River is a river in central Maryland which flows into Chesapeake Bay. The river's tidal portion forms the harbor for the city of Baltimore...

. The building features passive solar heating, solar photovoltaics
Photovoltaics
Photovoltaics is a method of generating electrical power by converting solar radiation into direct current electricity using semiconductors that exhibit the photovoltaic effect. Photovoltaic power generation employs solar panels composed of a number of solar cells containing a photovoltaic material...

 and solar hot water
Solar water heating
Solar water heating or solar hot water systems comprise several innovations and many mature renewable energy technologies that have been well established for many years...

, advanced air sealing, and a ground source heat pump.

The company also built the Herring Run Watershed Center
Herring Run
The Herring Run is an tributary of the Back River located in Baltimore, Maryland.-Geography:The watershed has its headwaters in Towson, Maryland, and flows through Baltimore and Baltimore County before discharging into the Back River, which empties into the Chesapeake Bay...

, the first LEED-NC
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design consists of a suite of rating systems for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings, homes and neighborhoods....

 building in Baltimore City. The building received a Gold rating from the USGBC and features a green roof
Green roof
A green roof is a roof of a building that is partially or completely covered with vegetation and a growing medium, planted over a waterproofing membrane. It may also include additional layers such as a root barrier and drainage and irrigation systems...

, composting toilet
Composting toilet
A composting toilet is a dry toilet that using a predominantly aerobic processing system that treats excreta, typically with no water or small volumes of flush water, via composting or managed aerobic decomposition...

, energy efficient lighting and insulation, and tankless hot water.http://herringrun.org/static//files/ReleaseLeedGold.pdf

In 2008, Baltimore Green Construction was named "Best Eco-Friendly Construction Company" by Baltimore Magazine, which also named the Herring Run Watershed Center the "Best Energy Efficient Building".

BGC is currently design/building and co-developing 35 affordable
Affordable housing
Affordable housing is a term used to describe dwelling units whose total housing costs are deemed "affordable" to those that have a median income. Although the term is often applied to rental housing that is within the financial means of those in the lower income ranges of a geographical area, the...

, green, universally-accessible
Universal design
Universal design refers to broad-spectrum ideas meant to produce buildings, products and environments that are inherently accessible to both people without disabilities and people with disabilities....

 homes in Howard County, Maryland
Howard County, Maryland
-2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*62.2% White*17.5% Black*0.3% Native American*14.4% Asian*0.0% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*3.6% Two or more races*2.0% Other races*5.8% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...

 for the Howard County Housing Authority. The project is currently in the design phase.

Owners

  • Prescott Gaylord, MS. Board Member of the Maryland Chapter of the USGBC.
  • Brad Rogers, JD, MEM. Board Member of the Center for Watershed Protection

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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