Photo Credit: Courtesy of Altura Solutions
The Turner-Roberts Recreation Center in Austin, Texas, is designed to provide year-round activities for children and adults, including senior citizens. The building houses a 7,700-square-foot gymnasium, a full workout area, locker rooms for male and female participants, an arts-and-crafts room, a computer room, a kitchen area, a multi-purpose room, a meeting room, staff offices and a corridor art gallery.
However, other features of the complex are less noticeable. The facility has northern and southern exposures to maximize energy savings and cut costs. Renewable and recycled building materials are used throughout--often at a lower cost when compared to conventional materials--along with energy-efficient heating and air-conditioning systems. The restrooms have water-conserving fixtures.
Because toilets and urinals can be the most water-consuming items in a facility, installing fixtures that use less water than conventional fixtures is definitely a step in the green direction. However, this step--as significant as it is--is only the beginning. The green restroom of the future will incorporate many more environmentally responsible features, and many of these will likely prove to be a major cost savings as well.