GreenSpace Knowledge Center Goes to Nationals Ballpark

While I was out-West last week at the Sustainable Food Laboratory Summit and Aspen Ideas Festival back East in Washington, DC, a project I have been supporting for some years marked an important milestone. GreenSpace marked the opening of its new headquarters and turnkey knowledge center at Nationals Ballpark.

More than an office, more than a conference facility, more than a learning center, and more than a product demonstration venue, GreenSpace is a microcosm of the kind of community it supports throughout the national capital region. Designed without walls but with sustainable materials throughout, the space is designed, by Gensler, to be reused and redesigned without waste. It takes LEED one step further and redefines the notion of modular office space to encompass a truly mixed-use operation that is connected to and a driving force within the community.

GreenSpace founder and director, Patty Rose, embodies a new style of leadership where breaking down barriers replaces protecting ideas; where building win-win collaborations trumps competition; and were process mimics content. As the press release explains:

“Our green learning and resource center at the Nationals Park will be the place to go to build the skills, knowledge and capacity of professionals, policymakers and the public to create and retrofit ground breaking green buildings, sites and communities across the region."

For more on how GreenSpace has been driving change, in a town often criticized for being at the heart of the problem rather than the solution, see www.greenspacencr.org and its statement of goals Growing Green Communities Together (pdf).

Among the policy and sustainability leaders celebrating the launch of GreenSpace’s new facility at Nationals Ballpark last week were:

Eric Grant Vice President, Corporate Relations Washington Gas		David Robertson Executive Director MWCOG, Metropolitan Washington
Harriet Tregoning Director DC Office of Planning		Christopher Tulou Director DDOE, District Department of the Environment