Dependable Erection

Monday, November 29, 2010

The path to our sustainable future

Green parking decks surely ain't it.
The seven-level, $40 million deck, which opened at the beginning of the year, is not just green philosophically. It’s green, literally.

The garage’s three entrances feature “green walls,” tufts of vertically growing euonymus shrubs kept vibrant by a built-in drip-irrigation system.

The walls help to reduce “reflexive heat, the warmth that bounces off buildings,” Willis said.

And although its specific sustainability benefits aren’t great, acknowledged Paul Manning, director of project management, “it softens the whole feeling of a parking garage and it does have an aesthetic benefit. It’s a lot better than a big neon sign saying ‘entrance.’”

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2 Comments:

  • I giggle every time Duke touts their new parking deck. It's a freaking parking deck. It was built to house thousands of employees that commute in from West Raleigh and Cary.

    If Duke really wanted to make a $40 million investment in sustainability, they would invest in better bus lines and other mass transit in Durham and beyond.

    By Blogger Rob Gillespie, at 2:21 PM  

  • My back of the envelope calculations suggest that total parking deck investment in Durham (including Duke)over the past 15 years is approaching $700 million. Could be quite a bit higher, actually.

    What kind of streetcar system could we have with a $500 million investment?

    By Blogger Barry, at 2:39 PM  

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