The level of interest in and desire for ‘greener’ buildings is now pretty much mainstream. Consumers and businesses are taking seriously the benefits of operating in an environmentally responsible manner. As consequence it is becoming an expectation that companies will incorporate environmentally aware approaches in everything that they do, including their buildings.
So, why do it? Why does it matter and what is the business benefit?
DualWash is a two sided dishwasher which can also be used as a kitchen cabinet. Waiting to load dirtydishes into your dishwasher and then do it all over again with the rest dirty dishes is our current problem with convential dishwasher. DualWash makes it possible to use full washing performance immediately after a single person completing a meal without wasting your resources (electricity and detergent), simply use one side of this unit. However, when a guest visits you, this appliance offers the advantage of
I’ve seen several projects pursue both LEED Platinum and Passive House certification, but I can’t think of any that actually went through with the aim other than this Passive House, Platinum-certified home in Taos, New Mexico. The 2,400 square-foot home has three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a garage, and 1.1 acres of land with a serene, scenic view of Taos Mountain to the east, Truchas Peaks to the South, and pasture land to the west.
I think we can all agree that we probably have too much of something or items that serve no real purpose in our homes, whether it’s clothes, DVDs we never watch, unused kitchen gear, the list goes on. National charity organizations like Goodwill and the Salvation Army are always great places to donate, but while looking for more specific ways to donate some children’s toys I came across multiple websites for children’s hospitals that are collecting gently used books and toys for their waiting rooms and activity centers.
This got me thinking that there are likely lots of ways to donate items to fill a direct need. I find it incredibly motivating to think of de-cluttering in this way; if someone else can put my stuff to better use, that’s exciting.
Construction has begun on an infill project at 38 Harriet Street in San Francisco that its developer, builder, and module supplier believe could determine whether micro apartments remain a highly publicized curiosity or are seen as legitimate housing alternatives for young urban professionals seeking cheaper, greener, and walkable living spaces.
“There are a lot of eyes on this project, a lot of interest,” says Naomi Porat, president and co-founder of Zeta Communities, whose factory in Sacramento, Calif., is close to completing the 12- by 65-foot modules that will be used to construct an 11,775-square-foot four-story wood-framed building squeezed onto a 3,750-square-foot lot in this city’s South of Market Street (SoMa) district. That building will contain 23 micro apartments measuring around 300 square feet each, with nine-foot ceilings, kitchens and baths, washers and dryers, and multipurpose built-ins for storage and workspaces that can convert to sleeping areas.
A renewed push is underway in Atlanta to harvest rainwater and improve the management of storm water in an era of sustained drought.
Rainwater harvesting is one proposed response to the need for better management of water resources. Credit: Southeast Rainwater Harvesting Systems Association
Advocates say a regional rainwater harvesting program could produce more than 20 million gallons of water a day. That represents about 16 percent of metro Atlanta’s net consumptive use of about 125 million gallons a day, according to the latest figures maintained by the Atlanta Regional Commission.
Two efforts are ramping up to improve the management of the region’s water resources: The drafting of potential new storm water regulations in Atlanta that would apply to all new homes, and to certain additions to existing homes and commercial properties; And, a renewed push throughout the region to encourage property owners to harvest rainwater.
with a refreshing contrast to the seemingly budget-less, material extensive projects published around the internet, dan price’s
‘tiny house’ offers a more sobering sustainability in construction and consciousness. the concept revisits the basic principles of a site,
finding that perfect natural balance between sun, shading, ventilation, and a water source. ‘primitive living’ is above all a process of
discovery that requires time to intimately understand the terrain, the materials and more importantly your own personal needs.
the project challenges the very question of human necessity with regards to our culture of ‘living.’
the dwelling is embedded into the ground, with a larger perimeter than the actual oval form of the main living space to leave room for
future expansion and for ease of building. thick plastic covers the floor as a water barrier and wraps over the vertically placed 2×6
wood planks. paving stones line the inside of the partition to secure the footprint from shifting while thin strips are screwed laterally to
the upper sections to reinforce the circular shape. 2×4 wood members are stacked along their short axes to create a type of large laminated
beam as the roof, capable of supporting the soil that will eventually insulate the entire construct. holes are cut out of the shell to make
a door and angled skylight, inviting light and views, with flashing elements to seal the connections and keep wood and water separate.
from this point, each person possesses the ability to customize their new home to their individual desires as this is, after all, the basic unit of what every other project stems from.
An amazing structure, conceived by John Hardy. After meeting in indonesia, john hardy and his wife cynthia conceived of the ‘green school,’ an educational village community amongst the jungle and rice fields of bali, to spread their sustainable altruistic message through an alternative education system to locals and foreigners alike. they called on balinese practice PT bamboo pure to work out the technical design aspects of the entirely bamboo structure. the plentifully supplied asian wood was utilized to benefit from the potential of all its properties to become structural, decorative,
recreational, used as flooring, seating, tables and several other fixtures. the local vernacular finds a new relationship fused with contemporary
design strategies throughout the assembly of the components that make up the entire campus.
the design of the ‘heart of green school’ finds itself anchored around three lineally located nodes from which all other programmatical
elements radiate in a spiraling organization. at each anchor point, interweaving bamboo light columns span the full height of the structure
ending in a wooden ring framing a skylight with intricately ornate mullions. a fluid helical thatch roof stems from each main
vertical support corkscrewing to allow light to reach every space, with deep overhangs to protect the open air interior. three main
staircases serve three floors with multi-functional areas and varying levels of privacy to accommodate the various activities.
For people who think Passive House is a Fad.
On Monday, August 20, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced a newpartnership between the DOE Challenge Homeprogram and the Passive House Institute US to cooperate on the promotion of various levels of high-performance buildings on the path to zero net-energy.
This news is a huge development for the passive house community and for PHIUS. The endorsement of PHIUS+ passive house certification through the DOE instantly makes passive house the most energy efficient option for builders, designers and developers who want to achieve a zero energy building. This recognition will go a long way toward making passive house mainstream.
This took a lot of time and effort, and we owe thanks to Sam Rashkin, Chief Architect at the DOE, whose knowledge, vision and determination were critical to the effort. (Sam was the keynote at last year’s North American Passive House Conference.)
So, how does this partnership change current PHIUS+ passive house certification and what do consultants need to know?
In a nutshell: not much. A passive house already fulfills most of the Challenge Home requirements – certification essentially remains the same process with a few minor additions! Those additions are very good improvements, making the home even better. Indoor air quality requirements ask for low VOC materials and the water efficiency requirements establish a reasonable savings baseline, all good things.
The Challenge Home requires rigorous third-party, on-site verification, which already is part of PHIUS+. PHIUS+ certified RESNET Raters already use an advanced passive house checklist created specifically for passive houses. (This testing protocol is actually more rigorous than the one the Challenge Home is using.)
What Challenge Home brings to the table that PHIUS+ did not before is a more formalized exterior water management and flashing checklist. Having seen quite a few bad water management details during certification so far, we are happy to add a more formalized process to assure the long term durability of the house. QAQC is crucial to assure quality in execution, actual performance and peace of mind for the client we found.
Passive solar design begins with the simple idea that you can build a house that uses natural heating, cooling, ventilation and daylighting. These homes require much less fossil fuel energy to heat and cool than conventional homes do, which is better for the environment and saves passive solar homeowners money. Passive solar homes are comfortable to live in because they are designed to radiate heat in winter, maintain a comfortable year-round temperature, ventilate naturally, and let in plenty of natural light.
I became interested in sustainable design, specifically passive solar design, as a young architect
Zehnder America announces that it has completed the 3rd party testing of the Zehnder ComfoAir 350 HRV and has joined the Home Ventilating Institute (http://www.hvi.org) who is making these test results public. This breakthrough is the confirmation that Zehnder America is leading the way of the next generation of Heat and Energy Recovery Ventilation Systems in North America. Zehnder’s ComfoAir 350HRV with its counter flow heat-exchanger recovers over 90% of the room temperature. As a result, during a cold winter day, the incoming fresh air into the ho
With extensive benefits, natural lighting is a key focus for the modern interior designer. Natural lighting in green buildings is even more important, and the balancing act between natural light allowance and solar shading is a challenge for designers around the world.
A clever piece of innovation from a Japanese architectural firm, however, demonstrates that extensive natural lighting does not have to mean thermal gain. Architectural firm Takeshi Hosaka architects have developed the ‘Daylight House’ in Yokohama
‘Tis the season to enjoy al fresco dining, but first you might need to re-stain your deck or patio furniture to enhance and protect the natural beauty of the wood. If water doesn’t bead up on the surface, it’s time to protect it from the elements to ensure it’ll last a long time.
Opt for stains and finishes that aren’t comprised of harsh chemicals that may be harmful to your kids, pets and the environment.
Whether you’re looking for
Energy costs are the single largest expense for commercial buildings. IMT seeks to develop and deliver new methods and approaches for appraisers and lenders to use in considering the influence of energy performance on commercial and residential property values. IMT works with appraisers, real estate agents and other real estate professionals to increase the recognition of energy costsand energy performance in commercial property valuation. IMT’s work in this area includes research, continuing education for professionals and promoting enhanced methods of documenting and benchmarking
We know that ventilation is incredibly important in developing comfortable and practical interior design – but when we’re dealing with a passive house; a highly energy efficient building that is known for its key feature of airtight insulation – the means of ventilation are paramount.
The passive house design means that through high levels of insulation and window energy efficiency, airflow into of out of the building is limited. A complete lack of fresh air amounts to an unliveable building.
Equally important as this highly energy efficient design – which generally gets all the media attention – are the ventilation processes that, as anyone who deals in passive design development knows, are the key element in providing liveable interiors.
However, air quality issues are not the only problem that faces a building that doesn’t ‘breathe’. Moisture can develop, causing mold and.
LEED consultants are paid to lend their expertise to achieve a project’s LEED certification goals. Their decisions focus on achieving credits and their participation is absolutely vital to the project, but some can actually work against the project’s sustainability goals. Here are the top six problems I see.
#1 Discouraging bidding by specifying unrealistic LEED requirements
When a specification requires a regional source, a recycled content percentage, and certain certifications for a product, the specifier has to be certain that conforming products exist. On a recent project, the only bidder
A green heating system that doesn’t heat. LEED-certified units that meet fewer than half the requirements for certification. Clients suing construction firms because of lost tax breaks from promised green buildings.
Welcome to green construction. Even as the green construction movement is taking wing, legal experts are warning of the dangerous territory ahead.
Some such territory includes lawsuits like this: A builder is sued by the client because the client lost a tax break for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification, because the building ultimately did not meet the LEED level asked for by the client. Other lawsuits include a luxury condominium complex in Battery Park City, N.Y., where its owners are suing developers for $1.5 million for fraud and breach of …..
As the housing market entered its steep decline during the latter part of the past decade, it took home sizes with it. While there was much to bemoan about the state of the industry, among designers and architects it seemed the one bright spot was what appeared to be the demise of the McMansion and an increased focus on efficient functionality. Between 2007 and 2010, the average size of a new, single-family home in the U.S. fell from 2,504 square feet to 2,381 square feet, according to U.S. Census data. It was the rise of smaller and smarter.
Or was it?
“For all these years, the trend was going [down], and then in 2011 it got reversed,” says Rose Quint, assistant vice president of survey research at the National Association of Home Builders
Beat the heat: how a new type of eco home is helping tackle global warming The Ecologist The heat storage capacity of different materials is one of the most important features of building a passive house , explains Swift, which is why several of the designs on the site are partly buried underground, to make the most of the constant …
