Ecology Action's New Green Building
Ecology Action, along with our partners Cruzio and developer Joe Appenrodt, are thoroughly excited to announce that we have finally found a new home in downtown Santa Cruz. Work begins in March of 2010 to renovate the iconic Sentinel Building into a high tech, green mecca for Santa Cruz, affectionately known as the New Sentinel Building.
We are thrilled to be able to demonstrate green building techniques by remodeling and repurposing the 50-year-old Sentinel Building, all while working with local tradespeople to support our local economy. As part of this process, Ecology Action will thoroughly document and track the rehabilitation of our new headquarters in this section of our website. Check back often for updates!
Green Features of the New Sentinel Building
Sentinel Building Pictures
● Before Construction
● During Construction
● After Construction - coming soon
What is Green Building?
Green Building focuses of the safety, comfort, functionality and sustainability of our built environment and is increasingly important as 35% of the carbon emissions and energy use in the US comes from the buildings. We each spend greater than 90% of our time inside buildings. As such, the built environment has profound implications for human health and well being, as well as substantial impacts on the greater environment. Green Building contributes to healthy and comfortable indoor environments while minimizing the impact on our environment.
By emphasizing the responsible use of resources, including land, energy, water, and materials, green building practices can reduce construction and operating costs of new and existing buildings.
It is a widely held misconception that green building costs more than conventional methods. As a greater variety of sustainably harvested and produced materials enter the market and as construction practices such as quality insulation, installation and performance building codes become more mainstream the costs associated with their use comes down. In this way sustainable designs need not cost more than conventional buildings, and yield ongoing value and benefits far exceeding initial investments.
Whether you are remodeling your bathroom or developing a commercial building, the links below offer a wide array of useful resources.
Related Links
Ecocruz.org
CentralCoastGreenBuilding.org
Builditgreen.org
Program Contact
Ecology Action
Phone: 831.426.5925
Fax: 831.425.1404
Email
.