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Photos: Sizing up Chicago's green high rises
Chicago is set to claim one of the world's largest retail spaces and America's tallest building as green. The city announced during last week's Greenbuild conference that both the Sears Tower and the Merchandise Mart are being retrofitted to meet LEED certification through Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design ratings of the US Green Building Council.
Shown towering over the green roof of a LEED-certified high-rise nearby, the Sears Tower opened in 1973 as the world's tallest skyscraper. That and 400,000 square metres of retail space in the Merchandise Mart are being retrofitted with energy efficiencies and other green features, with support from the Clinton Climate Initiative. The Merchandise Mart, built in 1930, achieved LEED Silver certification last week. Its owners are moving forward with plans to expand green features, including the addition of a green roof.
The 'City of Broad Shoulders' is known for its outsized, cutting-edge
architecture. The world's first skyscraper was built there 122 years
ago.
Caption text by Elsa Wenzel, CNET.com associate editor
Credit: Gregory Wenzel
