Country’s first Green House home for veterans completed

The Chicago office of Perkins Eastman joins the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) in announcing the country’s first Community Living Center (CLC) to utilize the Green House Prototype Design Package at the VA Illiana Health Care System campus in Danville, Ill.

The CLC at Danville consists of two 7,500 sf buildings—named Freedom House and Liberty House—containing ten private bedrooms with direct views to common areas, communal living areas and kitchens, and ample outdoor space, all with an aim to restore maximum function and independence while providing veteran-centered care.

The VA Illiana Health Care System CLC is the first of several VA communities either planned or under construction that utilizes the Green House Prototype Design Package, a new approach for seniors needing skilled nursing care that emphasizes de-institutionalization. The prototype was designed in 2011 by Perkins Eastman in concert with the Green House Project and NCB Capital Impact to provide a turnkey design for senior living communities at a reduced schedule and with reduced costs. The overall goal of design is to empower more providers across the country to create communities where seniors can experience quality care in a de-institutionalized environment.

A transformation in the way veteran care is delivered, Freedom House and Liberty House address the spectrum of health—physical, emotional, psychological—in their design. In adopting this community-based model of care, Freedom House and Liberty House at VA Illiana provide greater assurances of privacy and personalized environments for veterans in ways more traditional models cannot.

Perkins Eastman also designed six CLC buildings at the Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Center in North Chicago, Ill., the first phase of which consists of two Green House Prototype buildings currently under construction to complete this summer. The second phase consists of four CLC buildings currently in design. BD+C

Founded in 2009 with an initial endowment of $1.9 million, HMC’s nonprofit Designing Futures Foundation (DFF) has donated about $230,000 in its three years of existence, including $105,000 in scholarships to California students. The grants help promising high schoolers with an interest in architecture, design, engineering, education, or healthcare pay for expenses like test preparation services, computers, and college entrance exam fees and tuition. The scholarships can be extended for up to five years of college.

| Oct 4, 2012

Gilbane publishes Fall 2012 construction industry economic report

Report outlines fluctuation in construction spending; predicts continued movement toward recovery.

| Oct 3, 2012

Fifth public comment period now open for update to USGBC's LEED Green Building Program

LEED v4 drafts and the public comment tool are now available on the newly re-launched, re-envisioned USGBC.org website.

| Oct 2, 2012

Mirvish and Gehry unveil conceptual design to transform Toronto’s entertainment district

Reimagining of King Street Entertainment District supports Toronto’s cultural corridor.

The three-building, 205,000-sf campus was designed to consume 20% less energy th

| Oct 2, 2012

Dow Business Services Center building named 2012 “America’s Best Buildings of the Year” winner

Building constructed with air sealing and insulation products from Dow Building Solutions.

Bernards broke ground on this facility earlier this year and completion is sched

| Oct 2, 2012

Bernards working on project at L.A. White Memorial Medical Center

The new facility is a $15-million, 41,000-sf concrete structure which includes three stories of medical office space atop a three-level parking garage.