Utter the phrase “trial lawyer” in public, and you may hear responses such “ambulance chaser” and “bottom-feeder.” Lake Worth, Florida’s Romano Law Group may either take umbrage or laugh off such labels, but they’re serious about another one they’ve acquired: green builders. The firm’s EcoCentre building turns one in June, and showcases a number of innovative technologies inspired by nature.
While the water than runs down most of our drains feeds into the sewer system, the Ecocentre feature a Living Machine® water treatment system (pictured above) that uses manufactured wetlands to treat greywater (we could definitely do without the stereotyped Native American images, though). A rainwater harvesting system collects water for flushing toilets, and even condensation from air conditioning units is collected to feed an indoor fish pond. A central atrium filled with plant life serves as the building’s “lungs.” The result, according to the South Florida chapter of the US Green Building Council (an EcoCentre tenant) is “a holistically designed structure that produces a self-sustaining eco-environment and healthy workplace.”
And, if you’re thinking that “green building” means mud-covered walls and a thatched roof, check out images of the building on Wes Blackman’s City of Lake Worth blog… the builders didn’t skimp on design!
Image courtesy of Worrell Water Technologies
May 6th, 2009 - 4:13 pm
But who will they sue when they find something wrong? God?
May 6th, 2009 - 7:00 pm
I never knew there were so many colors of “green”. Perhaps just as one man’s trash is another man’s treasure, one person’s green idea is another person’s blot on the landscape. These pages would be a great place to establish a dialogue on just what is “green”. It certainly appears Mr. Redfors “sees” in different shades of green (see his views on development in his Napa neighborhood in a NY Times Green Inc. posting for April 29 – Is a Green Housing Development Too Close to Home for Robert Redford? – by Leora Broydo Vestel). And of course we have The Edge from U2 wanting to create a vast “green showpiece” in Malibu, opposed by his neighbors who already HAVE their own little piece of heaven. Can satisfying human appetites and desires ever be truly “green”? How do we distinguish “green necessities” from “green toys”.
May 7th, 2009 - 9:23 am
Those are all good questions, James, and worthy of discussion… I think much of it comes down to meeting people where they are: some will watch GARBAGE WARRIOR and decide they want to live an “off-the-grid” lifestyle, while others will find more attraction in adding a geothermal heating unit to their suburban home, or growing their own tomatoes with a Topsy Turvy they saw in one of those awful infomercials. Ultimately, we need more people taking substantive action… but we’ve also got to realize that everyone won’t get their via the same path…