Abe Lincoln’s summer home goes green 3

Does this building look LEED certified to you? Well, look again. This is part of Abe Lincoln's summer home complex near Washington, D.C., and after a seven-year restoration, it's the first-ever historic monument to receive the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation rehabilitated the historic building in a way that minimized adverse environmental impact. This meant restoring as much of the existing fabric of a building as possible, rather than generating new materials and sending the existing materials to a landfill. It also meant updating systems to make them more energy efficient, monitoring indoor environmental quality, and improving storm water management. Securing LEED certification for this building is just one aspect of the National Trust for Historic Preservation's broader initiative to help decision makers, developers, homeowners and others appreciate how historic preservation can contribute to sustainable design.

The site, which includes a visitor education center in an adjacent historical building, will be open to the public beginning Feb. 19.

Congrats on the LEED thing, Abe, and happy birthday, old man!

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