Amicus Green Building Center, LLC

Amicus means friend in Latin. We believe the name emboddies what we represent and strive for--that all of our products, principles, and practices are friendly to you, your building, your wallet, and your planet. Our mission is to help people live, work, play and pray in sustainable, comfortable, healthy, affordable and responsible buildings. "Green building" means different things to different folks, and many believe it means making a choice--or compromise--between important traits, such as health or energy savings. We strongly believe that a really green building maximizes (to the extent feasible) all of the following features: Energy efficient: A building should use as little energy as needed, without compromising modern technologies or conveniences. In other words, we want to shrink your Demand pie. Renewable energy: As much of the energy you use should come from safe, renewable (non-fossil and non-nuclear) sources. In other words, we want to fill your Demand pie with green Supply as much as possible. Water efficient: Water is the most precious chemical on Earth. Virtually no living thing can survive without it. So we want to use as little water as possible, and we want the water you do use to be healthy and safe. Safe and healthy: Materials in the project should foster healthy occupants. This means leaving out toxic and dangerous chemicals. It means projects should be well-built to minimize safety risks to the occupants (fire, collapse, etc.). It also means making larger ties between the products we buy and energy security, homeland and foreign security, and other "issues of the day." Environmentally appropriate materials: The materials that build out the project should be reused, reclaimed or recycled; from sustainably sourced suppliers; Land smart: Where applicable, projects should be sited in areas already built-up with infrastructure, including transportation, water and sewer, electric, schools, etc. Areas convenient to mass transit, biking, and walking--and that allow you to use motor vehicles less--and that reuse previously used spaces (such as infill and brownfields) are preferable, and may well save you time, money, and inconveniences.