Sustainable Design Blog

Carlson Studio's own Michael Carlson, AIA, LEED AP, a leading green building design professional, has been elected Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Sarasota...

LEEDership Award Winners Celebrate!
St. Petersburg, FL --- The U.S. Green Building Council - Florida Gulf Coast Chapter hosted its third annual LEEDership Awards on October  23rd, 2012, recognizing and honoring those outstanding projects, inspirational businesses, dedicated individuals, and instrumental Chapter members who are ‘LEEDing the Way’ to a more sustainable built environment on the Gulf Coast of Florida and beyond.

Alexis Muellner, Editor of the Tampa Bay Business Journal, emceed the evening at the beautiful Sunken Gardens in St. Petersburg. The event included a Networking/Cocktail Hour in the Gardens, delicious appetizers and the Awards Ceremony to conclude the evening.

Mayor Bill Foster graciously accepted the award for Municipality of the Year on behalf of the City of St. Petersburg, and many other green building leaders were in attendance to celebrate the projects that were nominated and won awards at the event.

Over 100 attendees celebrated the successes of the Florida Gulf Coast Chapter of the US Green Building Council over the past year.

2012 LEEDership Awards Winners

Outstanding LEED  for Commercial Interiors
Carlson Studio Architecture
« Lakewood Ranch Plastic Surgery Center

Outstanding LEED Core and Shell
Carlson Studio Eco Consulting
«City of Sarasota- Palm Avenue Parking Garage

Outstanding LEED Existing Buildings
« Waldemere Medical Plaza

Outstanding LEED for Homes – Multi-Family
« Eco Oaks Apartments

Outstanding Chapter Member of the Year
« Taylor Ralph – with REAL Building Consultants

Outstanding LEED for Existing Buildings - School
«Pasco County – Marlowe Elementary

Outstanding LEED for New Construction -- Government
« Ft. Pierce U.S. Courthouse(GSA)

Outstanding LEED for New Construction – Higher Education
« UF – Hough Hall Graduate School of Business

Outstanding LEED for New Construction -- Retail
« Dunkin’ Donuts – St. Petersburg

Outstanding LEED for New Construction -- General
« Anna Maria Island Historic Green Village

Outstanding Green Business
« Gilbane Building Company

Outstanding Green Government
« City of St. Petersburg

Presidents Award – Outstanding Service to the Green Building Community
« Progress Energy 

Don’t miss out on the opportunity to tour Sarasota’s newest LEED Gold building, Sun N Fun’s Lifestyle Wellness Center. This year the Gulfcoast AIA will be hosting free tours of the project at their annual meeting. Also in attendance will be members of the Green Drinks networking group, USGBC, CSI, and GBCX members. All are welcome to attend and enjoy cocktails & hor d’oeuvres on the pool deck.

Designed by local architecture firm Carlson Studio Architecture, the Lifestyle Center features an indoor pool, aerobics room, and extensive exercise facilities. Sustainably designed, the project captures rainwater, uses the pool for cooling, and uses local materials. Architecturally it has been heralded as a new landmark with it’s soaring curved wood beams and innovative steel ‘V’ shaped column.

All are welcome to attended the tour and reception, please rsvp @ info@aiagulfcoast.org

Event info:

October 25^th, 2012

6pm – 8pm

Sun N Fun

7125 Fruitville Rd

Sarasota, Florida, USA 34240

EDC, the official magazine for the LEED professional, is proud to announce that Michael Carlson, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, and Grace Carlson, APR, LEED Green Associate, of Carlson Studio Architecture are the winners of EDC’s “Get Exposure for Your LEED Project” contest.

The campaign asked readers to submit a photo of themselves taken in front of their LEED-certified projects. The EDC staff then selected the winning projects based upon the quality and composition of the photo in addition to the responses of a brief questionnaire.

The winning photo had the 11,000-square-foot LEED Gold healthcare facility, the Center for Building Hope, serving as the backdrop for the Carlsons, who said of the project, “More critical than ever, the architecture had to actively participate in the healing process. The healing power of a green building was recognized and instituted in the creation of this facility.”

Full Article

by Harold Bubil
HeraldTribune, Real Estate Editor

Sarasota's newest architectural landmark brings the city's modernist tradition to an unlikely place: a resort and campground.

Recently celebrating 50 years in business, Sun-n-Fun on Fruitville Road, just east of Interstate 75, is known for its collection of mobile homes, recreational vehicles and modest buildings that serve the needs of its clients. Now it has a monumental piece of design — the newly opened, $5.5 million Indoor Pool and Wellness Center, an 18,000-square-foot structure that houses a 25-meter therapy pool, exercise rooms and locker rooms on the west side of the 147-acre campus.

"We wanted the 'wow!' factor," said Tim Deputy, Sun-n-Fun's general manager.

They — Sun-n-Fun management and the facility's owner, Royalty Resorts of England — got it with a gleaming white structure that has walls of glass and a curving roof arching from south to north, and faces the large, 50-year-old outdoor pool.

"It just brings a smile to your face because you know you are in a resort," said Tim Deputy, Sun-n-Fun's general manager. "You are not in a campground, you are in a resort, and I think it makes a quality statement.

"We like to think of ourselves as a leader" in the resort and campground industry, Deputy said. "We knew that by making that statement, it would take us that far ahead ... to what our new guests will appreciate."

It seems to be working...read more

As we approach the closing of 2011 we wanted to share with you some of the highlights from this past year. We are delighted to report that By the River is now completely full, and we are providing affordable housing and life-enhancing programs for 41 seniors.

Our residents are building community within By the River in a multitude of ways. One building has proudly displayed the residents' photos with the banner "We are Family". Residents are encouraged to participate in community development within each building and throughout the campus. Each building selects a representative to meet with management monthly to provide input into the decision making process. Frequent community barbecues have become the norm.

We continue to expand our programs including a recent holiday craft fair where residents sold beautifully woven and crocheted items among other wares, which were all hand made by residents. Weekly classes focus on nurturing the body, mind and spirit through art, music, health lectures, yoga, breathing, and exercise. One of our residents has even taken on the role of instructor for an exercise class and fills in for the instructor of our "Living with Stress" class!

Volunteerism is encouraged with our residents. Three days per week residents help prepare food for the "Feed Everyone" program, which distributes healthy meals to needy families in Gifford. Once a month, they assist with preparing packages that contain vital medications for the sick and impoverished people of Haiti.

As our programs evolve to suit the growing needs of low-income seniors, we are also challenged with providing financial assistance to help fill in the gap as many seniors are faced with choosing between buying medication or food when they reach the end of each month. All donations make a difference and are so gratefully received. It takes only $14 a day for a senior to be housed for a full year, fed one hot meal per day, and be given the opportunity to have community and to participate in wellness-fostering programs. Your generosity can make a big difference in our ability to care for our frail, low-income seniors in an environment where they feel well and maintain their sense of independence and dignity.

Please take a few moments to read the attached card and consider how you might help the low-income seniors in our community. Thank you so very much for your time, interest and support. The staff and residents of By the River wish you and your loved ones a beautiful holiday season.
 

With Gratitude,
Durga Das Hutner
President

BY THE RIVER WEBSITE

PROJECT PAGE

Sarasota’s Carlson Studio Architecture, a regional leader in sustainable design, won 3 awards at the USGBC Florida Gulf Coast Chapter LEEDership Awards ceremony on Wednesday, Oct. 19 in St. Petersburg. CSA received awards in the following categories:

Outstanding Project of the Year LEED-CI (Commercial Interiors) for the design and construction of the firm’s own offices, located in downtown Sarasota.   The offices of Carlson Studio Architecture received LEED- CI Silver Certification from the USGBC in 2007, making it only the third LEED-CI Certified project in Florida at the time of certification.  Sarasota’s RC Moore Construction was the General Contractor.

Outstanding Project of the Year LEED for Schools (K-12) for the Learning Gate Community School, located in Lutz, FL.  This project received LEED Platinum certification from the USGBC, and was also recognized as the first LEED Platinum Public Charter School in the Country.  Local consultant Two Trails was the LEED administrator for the project, and Charles Girard was the General Contractor.

Outstanding Project of the Year LEED-NC (New Construction) for the design of the Cancer Support Community’s new facility located in Lakewood Ranch, FL.  This project received LEED Gold Certification from the USGBC.  Willis A. Smith Construction, Inc. was the General Contractor.

The LEEDership Awards program, hosted by the Florida Gulf Coast Chapter of the USGBC, was started in 2010 as a way to support the chapter’s mission of encouraging environmental knowledge and values as they relate to the built environment. For more information, visit www.usgbc-fgc.org.

LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is an internationally recognized green building certification system developed by the U.S. Green Building Council. (http://www.usgbc.org)