The Columbia Association is looking to the future with green in mind.
“Energy is a concern for everyone. Any way we can enhance our community in that area, that?s something we are very interested in doing,” said association President Maggie Brown.
The association wants to incorporate environmentally friendly and energy efficient architecture into renovation and construction projects.
The Supreme Sports Club offers a prime opportunity to implement this plan. The association wants to replace the roof of the athletic center in the Owen Brown village with solar panels. The facility has a pool and sport courts.
“As we have more and more old buildings that need major renovations, we want to retrofit them, to be as environmental as possible,” said Joshua Feldmark, an association board member.
“That?s going to mean things like solar panels on roofs and looking at energy efficiency.”
The association has discussed this so-called “green” architecture when it replaces its headquarters on Wincopin Circle. The lease for the building will end in 2010.
“It would demystify some of the aspects that make most homeowners hesitant to go forward. CA could talk about the process, what they paid and the money they ended up saving,” said Bill Le Roy, a Columbia resident and environmental architect in Baltimore City.
Dorsey?s Search commissioned a study on energy loss from Building Specs Inspection Systems, a Frederick home inspection company. The report, which was presented to the board at a recent meeting, illustrated the ways energy can be unintentionally lost such as poor insulation.
The Columbia Association touts the Envirocenter in Ellicott City as an example of the cutting edge of environmentally friendly design.
The facility, which houses a solar power business, a water recycling group and a green architecture company, has solar lighting and desks made out of sunflower seed husks as well as uses recycled rainwater.
