Greenbuild tours

Monday, October 19, 2026
Half day: 8:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Discover how a former sugar refinery became a model of sustainable urban regeneration. This tour of The Refinery at Domino traces the site’s industrial history and explores how a landmarked brick facade was adapted into a modern, all-electric office tower. Guests will see the innovative vertical garden, learn about all-electric design, and hear about the onsite water reuse system that protects the East River. The experience concludes in the glass-domed penthouse with views of Domino Park and the wider campus, highlighting how adaptive reuse, biophilic design, and infrastructure can work together to create a resilient, low-carbon future.

Monday, October 19, 2026
Half day: 8:00 AM - 12:00 PM ET

This mixed-use, mixed-income development in the Mott Haven neighborhood balances the critical need for affordable housing and a high-quality development that promotes street activity. The development anchors this historic corner and enhances the overall neighborhood. The building also includes a new public restroom adjacent to the Evelina Antonetty Playground.

The tower creates 277 affordable housing units, while the two-story base includes a medical facility, supermarket, community space, and a CUNY Hostos student services center. This Passive House project includes high efficiency building systems with an air-tight envelope, energy recovery ventilation, and sustainable features to significantly reduce heat loss and gain.

Monday, October 19, 2026
Half day: 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM ET

Tour the Apollo Theater as it undergoes its first full-scale modernization in nearly 90 years—balancing preservation of a landmark Harlem institution with contemporary performance and sustainability needs. This multi-station experience explores historic preservation challenges, circularity and material reuse, community engagement and workforce development, operational energy strategies, and sustainable material sourcing. Attendees will gain insight into how the project aligns LEED goals with NYC public funding requirements , demonstrating how a legacy cultural institution can evolve to meet contemporary needs while advancing environmental and social sustainability.

Monday, October 19, 2026
Full day: 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM

With significant portions now complete and final completion in 2027, East Side Coastal Resiliency (ESCR) is the first infrastructure project of its kind in the U.S. The $1.45-billion climate resiliency project simultaneously provides flood protection and improves open space access for thousands of New Yorkers. It will be the first project of the broader Big U vision to be realized, a key part of the continuous 10-mile flood-protection system envisioned for the most vulnerable stretch of Lower Manhattan coastline.

The design team will lead a walking tour of East River Park, reimagined as frontline defense against climate change.

Monday, October 19, 2026
Half day: 9:30 AM - 12:00 PM

The Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education, and Innovation at the American Museum of Natural History is a LEED v4 BD+C Gold project that demonstrates how passive design and high-performance systems can support complex cultural institutions. This tour examines the five-story daylit atrium, buoyancy-driven (stack-effect) air movement, and a high-performance envelope that together reduce energy demand and support indoor environmental quality. Participants will also review durable material decisions—including exposed shotcrete and bird-safe glazing—and site strategies that improve outdoor comfort and mitigate heat island impacts, connecting design choices to LEED v4 credit intents and outcomes.

Monday, October 19, 2026
Half Day: 1:00 PM – 5:00 PM ET

The NYC Circularity Tour invites Greenbuild participants to explore New York City’s circular economy in action, spanning large-scale municipal operations to community-based nonprofits. The experience begins with an inspiring tour of Materials for the Arts—the country’s oldest and largest creative reuse center. This will be followed by an overview of the TRUE program and engaging presentations from BIG Reuse, Billion Oyster Project and others that highlight the social, environmental and economic impacts of the city’s reuse and recycling sectors. Attendees will explore first-hand how these interconnected systems reduce waste, extend material lifecycles and advance circular solutions across the region.

Monday, October 19, 2026
Half day: 1:00 PM – 3:30 PM ET

Go behind the scenes of a LEED Platinum 2009 / LEED Goldv4 C+S high-rise to explore how advanced engineering, smart controls, and operational strategy come together in real-world building performance. This tour will showcase a ~1.2 MW cogeneration system, peak demand management strategies, integrated economizers, and a 90,000-gallon rainwater harvesting system supporting cooling tower and irrigation operations. Participants will also gain firsthand insight into how building management systems evolve from design intent into long-term operational leadership, and how real-time data, dashboards, and 3D visualization tools are transforming engineering training, troubleshooting, and workforce development in modern commercial buildings.

Monday, October 19, 2026
Half day: 1:00 PM – 5:00 PM ET

The 2026 renovation of Corgan Architects Midtown office builds on the Empire State Building's already progressive environmental achievements of LEED Gold and Platinum. Pursuing ILFI Zero Carbon certification, the 54th floor renovation minimized embodied carbon in design and material choices then offset the resulting projected global warming potential. Additionally, detailed energy analysis and close collaboration with design engineers is projecting a 50% reduction in energy compared to comparable properties in NYC. Through detailed monitoring and reporting, Corgan's Midtown can serve as a case study to further the decarbonization of its landmarked home.

Monday, October 19, 2026
Half Day: 1:00 PM – 5:00 PM ET

This guided tour of the PENN DISTRICT showcases New York City’s model for low-carbon, transit-oriented redevelopment through adaptive reuse. Beginning at PENN 1, a LEED-certified office tower featuring social stairs and direct Penn Station connectivity, the tour continues to PENN 2 to experience the Perch and Town Hall—spaces that pair reuse with tenant activation. Outdoors, Plaza 33, Moynihan Train Hall, and Penn Station illustrate how public realm and multimodal transit drive district-scale emissions reductions. Attendees will see how LEED and LEED for Communities principles align energy, mobility, and public space into a replicable framework for sustainable urban transformation.

Monday, October 19, 2026
Half day: 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM ET

This tour is an immersive exploration of one of New York City’s most ambitious urban transformations. Built over active rail yards, Hudson Yards stands as the largest private real estate development in U.S. history. Through a guided tour, guests learn about the history of Hudson Yards with a focus on art and architecture across the campus and how sustainability has been integrated throughout this LEED Gold Certified Neighborhood. Stops will include The High Line, the public plaza to view The Shed and Vessel, the lobbies of some of Hudson Yards most iconic buildings, and our latest office tower under construction.

Monday, October 19, 2026
Half day: 1:00 PM – 5:00 PM ET

Etihad Park will be a 25,000-seat, fully-electric soccer stadium that will serve as the home of New York City FC. New York City FC is privately financing the construction of Etihad Park, which will be the first-ever soccer-specific stadium in NYC and the first fully electric MLS soccer stadium. It will be completed for the 2027-28 MLS season.

Friday, October 23, 2026
Half day: 1:00 PM – 5:00 PM ET

This late 19th century townhouse was retrofit in 2018 and achieved Passive House EnerPHit certification from the Passive House Institute. The house is airtight, well-insulated, and has a constant supply of fresh filtered air through its energy recovery ventilator. Other sustainable components include triple glazed windows and skylights, solar panels, induction cooking, heat pump hot water heater and dryer, a green roof, and an ethanol burning fireplace, and reclaimed wood flooring. During this house tour, project Architect Jane Sanders will review the design principles of Passive House and show how they were implemented in a retrofit project.

Friday, October 23, 2026
Half day: 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM ET

Built 100 years ago as a hotel, 17-story Rubin Hall now houses 700 first-year NYU students. A 2024 LEED Platinum certified renovation added air conditioning and ducted outdoor delivery to each room, making it all-electric and the largest retrofit Passive House (EnerPHit) certified project in the world. Onsite heating energy was cut by 70%, and all-building energy use by over 50% - including the addition of air conditioning. The Passive House retrofit was approved by the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission. Attendees will see the historic wood-paneled lobby, student lounge, rooftop and basement mechanicals.

Friday, October 23, 2026
Half day: 1:00 PM – 5:00 PM ET

Step inside NYU Langone Health’s Manhattan campus to see how a world-class academic medical center rebuilt after Hurricane Sandy to withstand future climate threats. Participants will explore real-world resilience strategies across a dense, 24/7 healthcare campus, including hardened infrastructure, flood protection, emergency power, and staff preparedness. The campus features a LEED Platinum hospital and research laboratory building and has earned PEER Platinum certification campuswide, underscoring its leadership in sustainability and resilience. The tour also includes a hurricane readiness tabletop exercise, offering practical insight into how resilient design, operational continuity, and decarbonization can work together in mission-critical environments.

Friday, October 23, 2026
Half day: 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM ET

Explore the pioneering Ice Heat Project at 55 Water Street, a 3.5 million square-foot LEED Gold office building in the Financial District. This tour highlights an industry-first heat recovery and electrification retrofit, achieving an 80% reduction in district steam and a 17% cut in GHG emissions. Attendees will discover how new chillers and modular heat pumps repurpose waste heat from data centers and space cooling to offset perimeter heating loads. The project is integrated with 134 existing ice storage tanks for dynamic heating capacity. The tour will feature a presentation and guided walkthrough.

Friday, October 23, 2026
Half day: 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM ET

Discover Javits Center’s 6.75-acre green roof, part of our LEED Gold and Silver certified buildings, and explore how partnerships transformed the rooftop into a model of sustainable design. Hear from partners who help bring the roof to life. From sedum and solar panels to the rooftop farm and bird habitat that make this space a living ecosystem. Learn how biodiversity, energy efficiency, climate resilience, and community impact come together, demonstrating the connection between the built environment and natural systems.