Chris Spagnuolo’s EdgeHopper

Lance Armstrong and LiveStrong’s trademark color may be yellow, but their new headquarters in Austin, Texas is looking pretty green. Aside from the amazing work they do in the fight against cancer, they are also committed to sustainable design for their new building. The building was designed by the San Antonio-based architectural firm Lake-Flato. Lake-Flato designed the first LEED Platinum for new construction project in Texas and Indiana’s first LEED Gold for new construction and in 2006 and 2007, three Lake-Flato projects were selected as Top Ten Green Projects by the national AIA Committee on the Environment.  Overall, the new design features great reuse of existing materials at the site. There are literally tons of reused materials, including the building’s foundation, most of the original structure, and repurposed floor and ceiling wood. In fact, according to the Austin American-Statesman, “In all, more than 75 percent of the materials taken out of the building will be re-employed and at least half of what cannot be used will be recycled and salvaged.“  Tomorrow, I’ll be posting a 30-minute interview with Greg Lee, Chief Financial Officer of the Lance Armstrong Foundation and Livestrong about the new headquarters in my first ever EdgeHopper podcast. But until then, check out these three videos of Lance Armstrong in a slightly different kind of Tour than you’re used to seeing him in:

In addition to the tour of the facility, if you’re a bike geek like me, you also get a sneak-peek at Lance’s new time trial bike that he’ll be on when he wins the Time Trials at the Giro d’Italia this year!

There is also a great conference room that Livestrong is going to make available for any Austin-area non-profits that want to use. Such an awesome commitment to non-profits! Giving back is what it’s all about.

I’m also really impressed with the open and collaborative space. You’ll notice no offices and glass walls on the conference rooms; total visibility and transparency. It’s so great to see so many organizations incorporating collaborative practices directly into their spaces.

For more green goodness, you’ll notice lots of natural lighting to help lower the use of electricity for lighting. And check out the low-walled cubes with half-glass partitions that allow the light (and good collaboration) into the work spaces. And as you’d suspect, the building has a nice gym and shower area too. I love it!

And if you’re in Austin, Lance has invited anyone to stop by for a tour of the building. The headquarters is at Sixth and Robert Martinez Streets on Austin’s East Side.

At the Lance Armstrong Foundation, we fight for the more than 28 million people around the world living with cancer today. There can be – and should be – life after cancer for more people. That’s why we kick in at the moment of diagnosis, giving people the resources and support they need to fight cancer head-on. We find innovative ways to raise awareness, fund research and end the stigma about cancer that many survivors face. We connect people and communities to drive social change, and we call for state, national and world leaders to help fight this disease. Anyone, anywhere can join our fight against cancer. Join us at LIVESTRONG.org.

About the LIVESTRONG Global Cancer Campaign

Lance made the decision to return to cycling because he thrives on competition. For his Foundation, the competition is the global threat of cancer. Cancer is poised to become the world’s leading cause of death by 2012. The Global Cancer Campaign is a worldwide initiative uniting everyone from survivors like Lance to world leaders and policymakers who must commit to the effort to avoid a public health catastrophe. To put it simply, we’re going to build a global movement against cancer, and we’re going to win.