Please join us on Wednesday evening, May 25th beginning at 5:45pm at the AIA Central Valley Chapter office for the this month’s 4th Wednesday Design Dialogue (4WDD). Gus Fischer, Architect and Partner with Dreyfuss & Blackford Architects will present their project, The California Independent System Operator (CA ISO) Headquarters facility. Gus will discuss how they are achieving LEED Platinum and its impact on the culture and community. This secure 275,000 SF complex on a 27 acre site is a consolidation of the organization’s operations, offices and public education components and just completed construction. The event is FREE and open to anyone. Refreshments provided. Please RSVP to info@

How can we design ‘greener’ landscapes in Sacramento?  With the growing focus on water conservation, responsible use of resources, and the impacts of the built environment on human health and well-being, the conversation about what makes a site design ‘green’ is being elevated to a higher level. From pre-design and planning through construction and operations, a new rating system, dubbed ‘SITES’, has been developed which sets the bar for what we can do to design more sustainable places.  Developed to be incorporated into future versions of the USGBC’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system, SITES is currently in its pilot project phase.  Please join us on Wed

Hot Italian, having just been awarded the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), held an open house on Saturday and welcomed guests to a self-guided tour. The self-guided tour was held in order for guests to come by and see, touch and feel the green features at Hot Italian. Sacramento Municipal Utility District had several representatives to answer questions regarding energy efficiency and business services. SMUD representatives that were there spent much of their time helping customer and answering questions. One of them indicated why they were there, “We’re here to talk to people about energy efficiency. We are also here to educate people to see what they can do to conse