Green Building Features

• Excellent insulation
• Zoned HVAC
• Colored concrete floors
• Granite parking lot
• Recycled wood used in office and sound booth
• Waterless urinals
• Zeriscape
• Low VOC paints
• Steel studs interior walls
• Reflective roof surface
• Energy Star windows
• Energy Star appliances
• Florescent lighting

Papago Buttes was the first commercial green building in the city of Scottsdale. Members decided that building green was the right thing to do. Although it was somewhat costlier than conventional construction, the short and long term benefits to the environment make it worth the additional initial cost and construction time.

The green building program weighs a number of different aspects of building. Local materials cut down on trucking costs and energy used to get the materials to the point of use. Recycling and other jobsite practices reduce adverse environmantal impact. Water and energy conserving fixtures and appliances conserve scarce resources. Landscaping with native plants make it possible to use very little water, yet achieve an aesthetically pleasing exterior environment. Paints, carpeting and other wall coverings can release organic materials into the air. Low VOC paints and no carpeting aid in a healthy building interior.

We chose to use insulated concrete form construction for the walls, where foam blocks are filled with concrete to provide very strong walls, yet with excellent insulation.

The parking lot is a ntural emulsion mixed with decomposed granite. It eliminates the use of petrolium products used to make asphalt while providing a surface that doesn't absorb heat and contribute to the heat island effect.