Archive for May, 2009
May 29th, 2009
This is the first of a new series of articles from Robert McLaughlin, founder of House Virescent and co-founder of KCmodern, who will report on green building efforts in Greensburg, Kansas and Kansas City.
Studio 804, the graduate level design-build studio from the University of Kansas School of Architecture and Urban Planning, followed up its successful Modular 1,2,3,4 houses and the 547 Art Center in Greensburg, Kansas with the 3716 Springfield House. It’s another great looking house seeking not only to be LEED Platinum, but to be off the grid as well. Also known as the Buffalo House, the Kansas City, Kansas project attempts “a holistic approach to sustainability“ and uses active solar and wind technologies to power itself.
This project breaks a four-year tradition for Studio 804 of building modular buildings in a warehouse near the University of Kansas and then shipping the units to the site. This new site-built project is a two-level home with a basement and an integrally attached one car garage. It uses sustainable features such as a vertical axis wind turbine, roof-mounted photovoltaic solar panels, geothermal heat pump, framing wood recycled from an ammunition plant, and a underground rainwater reclamation system.
Visually one of the most noticeable features is the building’s cumaru wood rain-screen cladding. This cladding has become a signature element on Studio 804 projects, and it allows water to pass behind the wood skin of the building. A similar rain-screen detail is used over the metal roof of the building to give the roof and wall skin a uniform appearance. The rain-screen is then flush with the photovoltaic solar panels on the roof. Integral gutters and downspouts are hidden behind the rain-screen and carry rainwater to underground tanks.
The home also features passive solar heating through large expanses of south facing glass. These windows are protected from the summer sun with fixed sun louvers made of steel and cumaru wood. Low south facing operable windows and north facing roof-top skylight vents create a thermal chimney effect.
Epoxy coated gyp-crete floors provide interior thermal mass for the passive heating and cooling, while composite recycled paper countertops wrap the kitchen cabinets.
A three-level steel frame with glass “shingles” encloses the staircase and provides daylighting and spatial separation between the front rooms and the baths of the house. Nighttime lighting is handled with a low-voltage cable system.
At some sensitive fenestration, the rain-screen carries over the glass for solar protection. This large west facing window has a steel armature to hold the rain-screen.
The vertical axis wind turbine, a Windspire by Mariah Power, will help supply power to the building when it becomes operational.
Photo credits: Robert McLaughlin.
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May 29th, 2009
Image via: Odwalla
To Do list items for the week: walk the dog, pick up dry cleaning, wash the car, oh and plant trees in State Parks across the US. Don’t worry, the last one is easy and you can do it from your desk with the click of a mouse. …
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May 29th, 2009
Here are today’s picks for what’s wow in green. Enjoy!
Who said taking the train was boring? Swinging on San Francisco’s BART!
Get ready for new auto mileage and emissions rules.
Pelosi’s new tactic: Telling China Environment is a Human Right.
*Photo courtesy of Audrey Penven, CC
May 29th, 2009
You’ve taught your kids well – please and thank you, bedtime means just that, and they share their toys… with everyone. Rather than curb their compassion when you see a toy-filled hand stretched out in offering to the family dog, just give the toy a quick post-slober spray with Fields Organics Toy Cleaner and rest assured that your little one won’t be sucking on doggie germs or harsh chemicals.
Fields Organics is a complete line of modern, organic, non-toxic household cleaners designed especially with kids in mind. From Laundry Detergent to Floor Cleaner to Stain Odor Remover, the plant based, phosphate free, ph balanced, biodegradable cleaners are effective, eco-friendly and kid-safe – so you won’t have to worry when you catch your child licking the toilet bowl (or at least you won’t have to worry about the toxic ingredients they may be ingesting!).
May 28th, 2009
Last November, Project FROG demonstrated their FROG Zero classroom at Greenbuild 2008, and it was quite impressive. Now, the company has a couple projects in the works, and they just broke ground on a new Center for Science and Global Citizenship at the Watkinson School in Hartford, Connecticut. The 4,000 square-foot science center will generate more energy within its footprint than is required to operate the systems. To do so, it will rely on some of the following active and passive strategies:
- A living roof;
- Photovoltaic array;
- Design to reduce energy-demand by 75 percent; and
- Windows (with glare control) that allow abundant natural light.
This is Project FROG’s first foray into a cold climate with their modular system — a system comprised of mostly recyclable components. The school will feature three, flexible classrooms that can morph into lecture, seminar, or lab instruction spaces. But no matter what the activity, the baseline LEED Silver design will serve as a springboard for students and faculty to discuss sustainable design, energy efficiency, and green construction.
[+] Take a photo tour of a built FROG Zero classroom.
Rendering credits: Project Frog.
May 27th, 2009
Earlier this month, Hardwick G.C. of Orlando received a Multifamily Remodeling Project of the Year award from the NAHB for converting an old single-family bungalow into a green duplex. The existing 1920s home was about 800 square feet, and the renovation added about 250 square feet and a garage. In addition, an attached home of about 2150 square feet (and its own garage) was added to the rear and second floor. Here are some of the green features of Amherst Place:
- Lyptus kitchen cabinetry;
- Energy Star appliances and windows;
- Cambria GREENGUARD certified stone countertops;
- Low-VOC paints, stains, and finishes;
- Light colored roof to reflect the sun;
- Carpeting from recycled plastic bottles;
- Four 55-gallon rainwater collection drums;
- Use of captured rainwater on drought-tolerant landscaping; and
- Use of ~80% of framing, flooring, and plaster walls in old house.
The renovation focused on resource efficiency while still maintaining the traditional look and feel of the neighborhood. Both homes of the duplex received certifications from the Florida Green Building Coalition, as well as from Energy Star and Florida Water Star.
[+] Cottage remodel wins green award by Orlando Sentinel.
Photo credits: Hardwick GC for Orlando Sentinel.
May 27th, 2009
Update 5-27-09: Michelle Kaufmann explains what’s next.
A short few hours ago, an article popped up on the LA Times website breaking the unfortunate news that Michelle Kaufmann Designs is shutting down by the end of this week. Despite the fact that the article was written by Christopher Hawthorne — pretty much the most authoritative architecture critic on the West Coast, the news was hard to process. This is the firm that’s built 40 green prefab houses, including the mkLotus, mkSolaire Smart Home, and a number of other beautiful green prefabs! MKD can’t close its doors! But in an email late this afternoon, Michelle confirmed the news.
Hawthorne explains the nitty-gritty: “Kaufmann sold the factory last year and in November trimmed the size of her Oakland office to 17. She thought those moves would help see the firm through the recession. But two factories MKD worked with have gone out of business since then, and clients and potential clients have found it almost impossible to get financing.“
A confluence of several factors became too significant to handle: closed factories, lack of home financing, abundant labor pushing down the cost of stick-built construction, tough market conditions …
But MKD followers can all take comfort in the fact that, although the firm is
closing, the ideas and people behind them will continue to contribute
to this still fledgling industry. In an email, Michelle said she’s working with
builders and developers to scale the designs that have already been
created. And she’s going to focus more on sustainable communities as well.
These are tough economic times. Although lately it seems that there’s been a trickle of more positive financial news, today’s headline indicates that we still have some hurdles to clear. Jetson Green wishes the staff and everyone affected by MKD’s closing a quick and speedy recovery.
Photo credit: John Swain Photography.
May 27th, 2009
Photo: Wikipedia, CC
Next Step: Bat Houses?
Farmers in Israel are doing some eco-judo, turning a problem into a solution. BirdLife International reported that many birds of prey in the region were dying because they were eating rodents that had been poisoned by pesticides. But now, there is a will to reduce the use of these poisons and instead us the birds of prey (owls, kestrels) as natural pest controllers. Good for the birds, good for the farmers. Probably not so good for the rodents, but you can’t please everybody… Read on for more details. …
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May 27th, 2009
photo: lana.japan via flickr
Under a new plan being worked out by conservationists, a vast swath of the Ecuadorian Amazon, under which lies about 20% of the nations oil reserves, would be set aside so the nation could reap profits in the future carbon offset market. The Washington Post (via Yale e360) provides the detai…
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May 27th, 2009
Image via Live Science
As easy as plucking fruit from a tree, sperm whales can steal cod off deep sea fishing lines. And they’ve been caught red handed, er, finned, on video!…
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