Yahoo! Travel lists Nationals Park as Number Two on its new Top 10 List of Sustainable Design. In fact, they call The South Capitol Street Ballpark a Must SEE for Eco-Tourists. Even going so far as to call The LEED-Certified Ballpark--ICONIC. How about that? Yahoo! Travel also really likes The Bike Valet option too!
Number One on the list is The Living Roof of The Science Center in San Francisco. Very Interesting.
The District Of Columbia Government and Our Washington Nationals--Game Changers In Green Technology--But Iconic? Never expected to hear that word to describe Nationals Park (as much as I enjoy it).
I'm not sure that the list in in numerical order, but it is indeed impressive that the ballpark makes the list at all. I'm now disappointed that the season ticket holders picnic last season didn't include a tour of the cisterns.
ReplyDeleteIt would be nice if the Lerners spent a little green to put a decent team in its green ballpark.
ReplyDeleteI knew that comment was coming.
ReplyDeleteEco-Friendly List. Great. Now that's accomplished...maybe work on fielding a baseball team. The best work done on the field is the grounds crew.
ReplyDeleteDoubtful it will stay green long...it will probably be dungy brown as long as the current mgmt/ownership stays around.
Please work on the MLB part of the stadium. That's a Major League Baseball team/organization.
Nice find SBF.
ReplyDeleteA nitpick. They said the distance from the Capitol to the park is about a mile and a half. It’s about a mile.
Also, the fact that the stadium has a lot of glass, I would imagine this helps keep electricity bills down. Is that an LEED element too?
Jay: I couldn't tell you for sure, but this link about LEED Certification and practices doesn't deny using glass. For homes, it mentions glass allows heat to penetrate and warm up the inside. That may be the case for the team's offices and Stars & Stripes Club. A little different obviously for any glass that is just exterior design of the ballpark with openness on each side.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.usgbc.org/
SBF,
ReplyDeleteThanks for this neat post! I've found Nationals Park to be one of the best venues for watching baseball I've ever visited. Just wish the Capitol was visible from every seat - talk about inspiring!
PNC Park in Pittsburgh is the most visually stunning, but Nationals Park has slightly better sight lines and a better "walkability" without missing the game.
I've been to Camden Yards and it is lovely, like going back in time to the baseball old days, but, unless you have seats in the lower bowl, the sight lines are average at best and the upper deck far, far away from the action.
I think all 3 parks (my favorites after Fenway and Wrigley) are great, but only Washington's park is GREEN!
The stated goal of the people who designed Nats Park was that it would be "iconic."
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, and, speaking as a lifelong Washingtonian, VERY unfortunately, Nats Park is not iconic.
It is not hideous. I love it there; I love how it opens to give the meandering fan a beautiful view of the game. But, in a city of iconic edifices, it falls short. It is round, it looks like aluminum, and it is surrounded by nondescript box-buildings.
If we had used the beautiful neighborhoods of Washington, the splendid walk-ups, the brownstones in every quadrant of the city, the lovely porches on homes in every corner of Washington, and the pillars and domes of our monuments, we would have a classic on our hands. Instead, we built a silver-chrome stadium in a city of marble and granite. What a loss.
Still, I love it there.
There's a stadium blogger named Clem who ranks the ballparks. Our NatHouse comes in between the parks in Cleveland and Cincy, which seems about right.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.andrewclem.com/Baseball/Stadium_rankings.html
I have to say that I was never impressed by the overall design of the ballpark, but finding out it is LEED certified is a definitely a plus for the building. From what I understand, getting that certification isn't as easy as just putting in energy efficient glass or things like that, but a look at the entire structure and the surrounding area as a whole. So the glass is likely a part of it. I imagine that an open air stadium has a lot of different requirements than and office building, though.
ReplyDeleteI'll have to look around with a closer eye next season. And maybe try to sit in a few more areas of the stadium.
You have a great blog site! I love your information and I saw you at NatsFest! Please check out my blog.
ReplyDeletewww.Nats9.blogspot.com