"Unlike many other aspects of the environmental movement, sustainable design is a real, practical and long-term practice that could make a huge contribution to energy savings and environmental health around the world – if only architects and building owners would fully embrace its principles."

"In the U.S., buildings account for 39% of the nation's total annual energy consumption, whereas transportation (including cars) comprises only 27%, according to the U.S Department of Energy and Department of Transportation. The average commercial structure will cost 10 times as much to operate over its typical 100-year life span as its cost to build."

From the article's slide show:

IBM Tivoli Headquarters – Austin, Texas
"From the sustainability-minded architects at Hellmuth, Obata, & Kassabaum comes 200,000 square feet of office space in Austin's Smart Growth development zone. Any dissatisfaction among employees cannot be attributed to inadequate surroundings. The 750 workers occupying this structure, certified by Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED), enjoy a four-acre wet pond, indigenous plantings and landscaping within the 90-acre lot. IBM also provides easy access to public transportation, an abundance of natural light, and employs water retention and drainage systems. And to beat the Texas sun, the building uses a white "Energy Star" roof that reflects heat to reduce energy consumption."

USAA, Norterra Campus – Phoenix, Ariz.
"The green headquarters of the San Antonio, Texas-based financial services company was designed by the architects at Hellmuth, Obata, & Kassabaum. They had the difficult task of creating an energy-efficient environment in the middle of the desert. To do so, the architects based their design on energy modeling, life cycle analysis and daylight studies. The result is a structure that responds to and controls the amount of sun allowed in the interior by way of solar screens, light shelves and sand-blasted vertical blades."

Edificio Malecon – Buenos Aires, Argentina
"Don't let it be said that building green always means spending more. Selling the 12 stories of Edificio Malecon floor-by-floor allowed the developer to promote its life cycle cost, energy efficiency and use of local materials. As a result, Hellmuth, Obata, & Kassabaum's project cost less than half that of similar international projects in the city. In 2002, it was named one of the world's "Top Ten Green Projects" by the American Institute of Architects. Having won the prestigious "Argentinean Biennale" award for the best facility in the nation built over a two-year span, the space sets a fine example for an area that is comparably behind on green design."

Source: "Going Green," Forbes.com, July 27, 2006, by Phillip G. Bernstein. Read the story and view the slide show.