The Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s (CBF) Brock Environmental Center in Virginia Beach has achieved certification from one of the toughest building standards in the world— The Living Building Challenge™.

Photo courtesy of Dave Chance Photography

A rigorous performance standard described “as a philosophy, advocacy tool and certification program that promotes the most advanced measurement of sustainability in the built environment,” The Living Building Challenge™ requires that over the course of 12 consecutive months, the building must produce more energy than it uses, and that other strict criteria for water use, location, materials, equity, health and beauty be met.

Opened in April 2015, the 10,500-square-foot Brock Environmental Center hosts meeting rooms, display areas, an 80-seat conference room and an open-air education pavilion, and supports the CBF’s advocacy, education, and restoration initiatives to preserve one of the nation’s most valuable natural resources—the Chesapeake Bay.

According to project manager and design architect Greg Mella, FAIA, LEED AP, of SmithGroupJJR, one of the largest architecture firms in the U.S., “the building is completely self-sufficient,” and raises the bar for sustainable buildings everywhere.

To learn more about the project, continue reading…