Noblis Inc. earlier this month announced the release of the U.S. General Services Administration's (GSA's) Sustainable Facilities Tool.
GSA is rolling out its latest sustainability initiative, the web-based Sustainable Facilities Tool, to help government and industry personnel identify and prioritize cost-effective, sustainable strategies for small projects that do not normally engage workplace consultants or designers. The Sustainable Facilities Tool's initial focus is on workplace projects of less than 10,000 square feet.
"Understanding the whole life cycle of a building enables us to most effectively incorporate sustainable features at every opportunity," said Don Horn, deputy director of GSA's Office of Federal High-Performance Green Buildings. "A 3-D interactive walkthrough of office interiors and built-in material comparisons are wonderful features. Sustainability planning, case studies, design guidance, and links to relevant regulations make the Sustainable Facilities Tool invaluable to a project manager."
Noblis, in conjunction with the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and CTG Energetics, developed the Sustainable Facilities Tool for GSA. The team offered an integrated sustainability-focused approach with "extensive" sustainable building and online systems development expertise. Noblis, with its track record of providing project management, system architecture, and web-based application development, was responsible for overall project management and technical implementation of the online environment. Noblis designed a technical platform that is a custom content management system tailored to assist in building sustainable communities.
USGBC's Education and Research department participated in project team workshops and provided peer review. CTG Energetics, a green building specialist with expertise in sustainable site planning, sustainable design, construction, and facilities management, was responsible for the sustainability content and developing computer-aided design models.
The Sustainable Facilities Tool is intended for facility managers, realty specialists, project managers from governmental agencies and private sector developers as well as building occupants and owners who require more guidance about sustainability, why it matters, and how to implement sustainable solutions.
The tool is free to use and can be accessed at:http://www.sftool.org/.
