Portland Cement Association: Concrete Residential Tower Sets Sustainability Standard

9/4/2003

From: Ryan Puckett of the Portland Cement Association, 847-972-9136; e-mail: rpuckett@cement.org web: http://www.cement.org/newsroom

SKOKIE, Ill., Sept. 4 -- The Solaire, the nation's first environmentally responsible residential high-rise building, will be unveiled Friday, September 5, just blocks away from ground zero in lower Manhattan. Construction of the environmentally engineered and sustainable structure was no small feat, but the building's concrete structural system helped make it happen.

Sustainable characteristics including durability, energy efficiency, and use of local and recycled materials all count on concrete. Concrete serves as the backbone of the model building for a new generation of sustainable structures. The Solaire consumes 35 percent less energy, reduces peak demand for electricity by 65 percent, utilizes 50 percent less potable water, provides its residents with healthier indoor air quality and offers substantially more natural light than typical residential buildings.

At 27-stories and 293 units, The Solaire is the first residential green building to be constructed under New York Governor George Pataki's Green Building Tax Credit program, enacted in January 2001. The project team also balanced the requirements of the Battery Park Residential Environmental Guidelines for New Construction and Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification requirements set by the U.S. Green Building Council.

Based in Skokie, Ill., the Portland Cement Association represents cement companies in the United States and Canada. It conducts market development, engineering, research, education, and public affairs programs.