Yesterday, I blogged about Crossroads, a new green homeless shelter that is about to open in East Oakland, Calif. But, it was not the first homeless shelter certified green. The Katherine K. Hanley Family Shelter in Fairfax, Va. opened August 4th of last year. The 16,931 square foot shelter was among the first to receive the Green Globes certification.
The Green Globes certification is awarded to structures by the Green Building Initiative of Portland, Ore. The shelter, which can hold up to 20 families, offers an eco-friendly, safe, and secure environment where the families can stay while trying to get back on their feet.
Overlooking a nature preserve, the architects of the shelter focused on sustainable design. Architect Reuben Hammed of Wisnewski Blair & Associates, the firm that designed the shelter, said, “We’re all starting to realize sustainability is the key to having better overall projects and reducing the impact of what we do as designers and construction professionals.”
The shelter features a natural tree preserve and a trail that residents can use to get to a pedestrian walkway. Light colored shingles, brick, and fiber-cement siding was used to help decrease the heat island effect. The heat island effect is when a metropolitan area is warmer than nearby rural areas. The warmth causes more of a demand on energy use, increases air pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions. Materials used in the shelter, including wood and concrete, were purchased in Virginia and Maryland rather than hauling them from distant areas to help reduce emissions. The landscaping uses all local and native plants to help reduce the irrigation needs. The insulation is made of recycled material and the plumbing fixtures are designed to help save water.
The shelter is fitted with appliances that are Energy Star-rated and two-pane, low-E insulated windows to help reduce heat and cold while offering natural light. Project manager for the Fairfax County Department of Public Works and Environmental Services, Ken Lim, said, “We approached the project in a holistic way. We first considered the entire site; the goal was to use a minimum footprint to build and operate.”