Hourigan Construction and Virginia Tech Construction Students:
The Living Building Challenge
In the Fall of 2012, Hourigan Construction Company (HCC) invited Virginia Tech's Department of Building Construction, in the Myers Lawson School of Construction, to work with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) on a Living Building Challenge (LBC) facility in Virginia Beach, Va. This facility, the The Brock Environmental Center at Pleasure House Point, required a focus on higher-level factors surrounding constructability, means and methods, logistics, and schedule for a real, high performance building, both in its design and implementation. As a result of this partnership, HCC asked the students from Virginia Tech to research and recommend suitable solutions to the current "state-of-the-art" processes in implementing a sustainable construction site, solutions that meet the spirit of the LBC.
A Pebble in the Pond—The Living Building Challenge Charrette
The video, "A Pebble in the Pond—The Living Building Challenge Charrette," documents early discussions by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) and its design and construction partners about their vision for CBF's new Brock Environmental Center at Pleasure House Point in Virginia Beach. Representatives from CBF, Hourigan Construction, SmithGroupJJR, the City of Virginia Beach, and the International Living Future Institute explore and embrace the "Living Building Challenge," a comprehensive set of rigorous green building standards. The vision: to create one the most sustainable, eco-friendly buildings possible, an international model for living responsibly with nature and each other.