A “green” NASCAR Hall of Fame?

If they hadn’t kept using the word “sustainable” …

After a lot of talk about the importance of “sustainable” designs, having to do with the NASCAR Hall of Fame, it turns out the city (the owner of the building) hasn’t pushed for a “green” building — i.e., one designed to use fewer resources, fewer polluting resources, and to use less energy in both construction and operation. And it doesn’t look as if it’s going to.

George Miller (at right) of Pei Cobb Freed & Partners, the firm designing the new NASCAR Hall of Fame, gave a briefing at Wednesday’s monthly AIA (American Institute of Architects) luncheon. Among the interesting details — e.g., the “ribbon” wrapping around the building will be stainless steel and no, they haven’t yet figured out structural details — he talked about making the building “sustainable.”

Earlier, Mayor Pat McCrory, in accepting an award from the AIA chapter for his work on behalf of what architects call “the built environment,” said his overall philosophy for development is, “Do it right the first time and make it sustainable.”

I couldn’t stop myself. During the Q/A period I asked Miller whether the Hall of Fame would be LEED certified. LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is a rating system devised by the U.S. Green Building Council to encourage builders, developers and architects to build more environmentally benign buildings. Only two N.C. buildings are listed as certified — none in Charlotte — although ImaginOn and the Davidson College admissions office are among a number of LEED-registered buildings in this area.

Miller sort of hemmed and hawed and said, “We haven’t talked in great detail,” and that they were going to try to incorporate as many LEED techniques as possible.

Luckily for me, I was sitting smack next to City Engineer Jim Schumacher, who’s the lead staff person on the Hall project. After all, the city is Miller’s client in this. I asked Schumacher if the city had talked about LEED certification with the architects. No, he said. We told them, he said, “Do what makes sense.”

Schumacher said the mechanical systems would meet LEED standards.

That leaves out techniques such as daylighting, reducing construction debris and using recycled materials. Some of those things, such as daylighting, aren’t just feel-good issues, but have significant long-term implications for future operating costs.

I phoned Anthony Foxx, who chairs the City Council’s Environmental Committee. He confirmed there’d been no discussion on the full council about whether to require/suggest/wish for a LEED-registered or certified project. “I did raise the issue with Engineering and Property Management,” Foxx told me. “They pushed back on it, primarily concerned about the tightness of the budget.”

LEED isn’t a perfect instrument, and anyone who’s familiar with it would agree. But it pushes builders and designers to consider a building’s life-cycle costs along with short-term construction costs, and it helps educate them in new technologies and materials.

And it isn’t necessarily more expensive. A Statesville elementary school that is LEED-certified was built for no more money than a regular elementary school, school district officials have said.

So, Mayor Pat, sir, and your colleagues on the council: How about pushing for the Hall of Fame to be LEED-certified? The city is the client, and the city should demand the best long-term value for its buildings.