Thoreau Center for Sustainability

Lessons Learned

Recycling or reusing of historic buildings works very successfully. The process has been successful not only for the Presidio, but also for the occupants. The character of the historic buildings, the history of the place, and the park-like setting really resonate with everyone. Integrating sustainable design strategies and recycling buildings is a very successful combination.

Working with a design team to come up with simple and appropriate technological solutions worked very well. Heat distribution, zoning of the mechanicals, and building management systems were kept very simple. These systems should be simple enough for users who are there every day to operate.

Some occupancy sensors have been problematic. They must be fine-tuned and adjusted so that they work. In subsequent projects we have used them more sparingly. Post-construction occupancy review, if not full commissioning, is very important.

Given the specific set of circumstances that we were dealing with, the strategies have held up well, decisions that were made have worked out very well.

—Marsha Maytum, Architect

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Our thanks to the ENERGY STAR program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and to the U.S. Department of Energy, and to BuildingGreen, Inc. for hosting the submission and judging forms.

For more information about the AIA/COTE Top Ten Green Projects, contact AIA/COTE. For help on how to use this Web site, contact .