Phoenix Rising: Arriving at Greenbuild

Submitted by Bill Valentine, HOK:

First, I want to thank Jennifer Busch and Contract for allowing one of the more "mature" folks at Greenbuild to join you all as a guest blogger. I'll try my best to communicate the "vibe" here and maybe even throw in some facts.

This morning, as I was driving to the San Francisco airport to catch my flight to Phoenix, I had tears in my eyes listening to the memorial service for the victims of the tragic attack at Fort Hood. It was a poignant beginning to my conference experience, and I couldn't help thinking that the progress we are making at Greenbuild in helping Americans consume less "stuff" is one important way we can all make our world a better place.

I ran into several people I know on the plane. These days Greenbuild feels like a cross between a family reunion and a boisterous religious revival. There will be tears and cheers at Al Gore's keynote address tomorrow.

Instead of renting a car at the Phoenix airport, I took the shuttle to the new light rail system, which opened almost a year ago. The train took me past the convention center right to my hotel. It's an amazing system!

At the airport, I got to see our automated people mover project being constructed. This has officially been named PHX Sky Train. We have worked with Gannett Fleming on the design of this 1.7-mile-long APM for Stage I. It is designed for LEED certification and includes three elevated passenger stations. The trains actually will run right over one of the taxiways, which I don't believe has been done before at any airport in the world. When that's finished near the end of 2012, we'll be able to board the light rail trains right from the heart of the airport. Our clients here have been wonderful — they're committed to reducing vehicular traffic out of the airport. I'm excited about seeing my friend Danny Murphy, Phoenix Aviation Director, at the dinner HOK is hosting tomorrow night.

This city has long been known for its sprawl, but it's headed in the right direction environmentally. My impression of the local Phoenix government is that they follow the European model of viewing citizens as customers. So their focus is on making life easier and better for their citizen-customers, which is a wonderful way for a city to think.

It's 75 degrees, I'm running into all kinds of friends and I couldn't be more thrilled to be at Greenbuild. The idea of being part of this environmental movement at a time when so much is at stake in our world — and so much progress being made — is uplifting, to say the least.