Proposed Boston casino development approval will depend partly on sustainability

The movement toward green building has been slow to catch on in the casino industry, but that could change with Suffolk Downs, which plans to build a $1 billion casino in Boston. “We realized we have an opportunity to set the bar for sustainability not just in Massachusetts, but in the United States and around the world,” said Chip Tuttle, the chief operating officer of Suffolk Downs. Those vying for the state's casino licenses are given preference if their proposals show limited water and energy use.

(http://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2013/09/15/mass-casino-developers-promise-green-environmentlaly-friendly-resorts/W6XRvRb0rlXiGfAeZ8LorL/story.html)

New York City has two very large buildings dedicated to answering the 911 calls of its five boroughs. With more than 11 million emergency calls annually, it makes perfect sense. The second of these buildings, the Public Safety Answering Center II (PSAC II) is located on a nine-acre parcel of land in the Bronx. It’s an imposing 450,000 square-foot structure—a 240-foot-wide by 240-foot-tall cube. The gleaming aluminum cube risesthe equivalent of 24 stories from behind a grassy berm, projecting the unlikely impression that it might actually be floating. Like most visually striking structures, the building has drawn as much scorn as it has admiration.