Green Building Elements

It wasn’t exactly a quite hush that settled over the San Francisco’s Moscone Center for the 50th PCBC convention but the crowds and exhibitors for this annual builders convention came in about one-half of last year. Nonetheless, in this era of minimalism and slimming down the show offered an array of notable speakers and some innovative products. Now of course, with the slogan “The New Age of Innovation” we hoped for more progressive Green products and not just in a marketing sense.

On the creatively intriguing side, we walked into the Icynene Inc. display booth only knowing that they create their Icynene LD-R-50 spray foam insulation partially from Castor oil. Honestly, we didn’t exactly know the origin of Castor oil. Castor oil comes from Castor beans (not true beans from Castor plant) and don’t serve a normal food source, so not food for insulation here. Castor crops don’t require pesticides or fungicides or even water to grow and are rapidly renewable. For this insulation, they use 15 percent castor oil (and unfortunately 85 percent polyglycol, which in our eyes is like using B15 biodiesel. Fifteen percent is better than zero percent but still a long way to go. This product helps eliminate dust, pollen and contains no VOCs as it is water blown. Most traditional cellulose insulation comes from 80% newspaper (up to100% post-consumer recycled) and 20% binders and fire-retardants, commonly borax, boric acid, sulfuric acid, ammonium sulfates and/or other chemical compounds. Smell the goodness.

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Last week, at the C40 Large Cities Climate Summit in Seoul, Autodesk, Inc., a world leader in 2D and 3D design and engineering software, announced that it will collaborate with the Clinton Climate Initiative (CCI) and the Microsoft Corporation, to provide visualization technology for Project Two Degrees. Project Two Degrees is an Internet-based application that provides cities with a set of tools to measure, compare, and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions at a local level.

Autodesk joins forces with the Clinton Foundation to build sustainable cities

Autodesk will provide the technology, initially based on Autodesk MapGuide Enterprise, that will act as the model-based visualization environment used to view, evaluate and compare the results of analysis and monitoring in the C40 city. Autodesk MapGuide Enterprise software is a powerful mapping solution for delivering information more quickly, easily, and cost-effectively via the web.

Green Building Elements had a chance to speak with Brett Smith of Autodesk and Olivia Ross of the Clinton Foundation.  Here is what they had to say.

GBE: How does the software track emissions?

Brett Smith (Autodesk): The Project 2° Emissions Tracker is designed to measure as many municipal and corporate activities as possible. Users enter data on emission producing activities such as fuel and electricity consumption, vehicle traffic, waste production, industrial processes and air and sea vessel fuel use. The software then converts the data into greenhouse gases, including tons of CO2 equivalent, taking into consideration the source and type of activity.

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In a recently released corporate responsibility report, the Disney company has set its sites on going green and reducing its carbon footprint.  The report looks at everything from the nutritional content of the meals it serves, to “green standards,” to the working environment of the manufacturer’s that make Disney licensed products.

Disney, which owns theme parks, resorts, a cruise line, and travel tours, has the ability to make a tremendous difference with its sustainability measures.  The recent report laid out immediate goals for the coming year, goals for the next three to five years, and long-term goals for the company and its holdings.

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If this had been announced before I wrote the Top 10 Dumbest Green Buildings on Earth, it would have easily taken the number one slot.

Yum! Brands has asked the United States Green Building Council to LEED-certify its Northampton, MA Taco Bell/Kentucky Fried Chicken location because the building includes rainwater collection, solar panels, LED lighting, and recycled building materials.

They neglect to mention in their press release that all food will still be packaged (regardless of whether patrons dine in or take out) and that they’ll still be serving lots and lots of factory-farmed meat — the number one known cause of global warming.

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The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act signed by President Obama includes an uncapped 30 percent tax credit for the installation of small wind turbines, such as Windspire, (www.mariahpower.com), a residential and commercial wind power appliance.

The tax credit, previously capped at $4,000, gives all American taxpayers (residents and businesses) credit based on the total installed cost of an installation of one or more wind turbines.  The legislative package includes more than $42 billion in energy-related investments.

“Wind power is critical to the President’s new energy initiatives, said Mike Hess, CEO of Mariah Power. “It is refreshing that the new administration recognizes the potential behind renewable energy as a part of this important new legislation. Windspire transforms an untapped form of power – wind – into a cost effective, practical, and smart energy solution that is well-suited to homes and businesses. This is the first step toward a future in which our daily lives will be powered by renewable energy.”

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What do get when you mix four of the Bay Area’s top green stars, a LEED certified location, lunch and corporate sponsor wanting to spread its green wings? The spirited Sustainable Symposium sponsored by Ace here in glorious San Francisco. The symposium, in short, brought some energetic and often useful ideas from the knowledgeable and spry panel (not to mention moderator and Chicago Ace Hardware store owner Lou Manfredini) and created solid dialogue in what could have been one of another “How to green this and that discussion.”

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Energy Star challenges all employees to reduce the energy use at their places of work, through its newest promotion, “Bring Your Green to Work.”  The corresponding web site offers employees the chance to register themselves and their company for the challenge and learn more about how to reduce energy use.

The child in me likes the “virtual office” application that offers several tips for lowering energy use.  Ideas include unplugging cell phone chargers when not in use, using window shades to block or allow light and heat into the space as necessary, and, of course, using Energy Star rated equipment.  It is presented in an easy to use interface, in which users click on blue stars placed throughout the “office” to receive the tips.

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Can a bad economy save the planet?

Let’s be honest, construction companies and home builders are facing terrible times.  New building construction has ground to a halt and the subprime mortgage fiasco resulted in plummeting home values, leaving many builders with homes that were worth less than the cost of construction.   The longer the recession - some say through 2010, some say longer - the more companies will have to lay off employees or go under altogether.  There’s not much of a silver lining to this dark cloud, but one good thing looks to come out of it.  The green building market, which had been slowly increasing its share of the overall construction market prior to the market slowdown, is poised to provide a much needed spark in the construction market through a new public works program proposed by Barack Obama that will include a focus on energy efficiency in buildings.  With a national movement toward green building practices, there is a very real possibility that once the current recession is over, the majority of new commercial buildings and houses will be much more energy efficient, sustainable, and healthier than current building standards.

An Opportunity for Change

For those with long term vision, a market slowdown can be good for an industry.  It is an opportunity for a reevaluation of business practices.  When things are going well, there’s no incentive to change, even if those changes can mean greater energy efficiency and more of a focus on sustainability and health.  But a slowdown gives companies not only the time to research new innovations but the financial incentive to seek new revenue streams.  Consumer behavior is trending green, with 73% saying they would pay more for products that are better for the environment and 89% saying they’d pay more for products that will reduce heating and cooling costs, according to a survey done by the Opinion Research Corporation. Read the rest of this entry »

As Bugs Bunny used to say “What’s up Doc?” In the newly opened chiropractic office the reply would be “green”, as in green building. Yes, green building continues its march into the homes and offices across America and some doctors realize that sustainable interiors means healthy patients (or at least healthier). Take for instance, the new Executive Express Chiropractic designed by Martinkovic Milford Architects and built by Peacock Construction. A small place to be sure but the designers make good use of space to mention the healthy additions.

When we entered, we couldn’t help but notice the curved leather wall. We even stuck our grills right against the wall to smell the leather. Yep, it smells like leather. It actually is. But the green minded architects didn’t lose their minds, they used EcoDomo, which uses real leather scraps from shoes, and other leather manufacturing facilities, then grind it into shreds. They use water and other natural binding ingredients (mostly natural rubber and acacia wood bark) then eventually deliver them with a sticky peel-off back that requires no off-gassing adhesives.

We never claimed to be interior decorators but we can appreciate the Maya Romanoff paper wall covering that smartens up the treatment area. The covering looks even smarter when considering that it comes by way of stamping rayon fibers on wet wood pulp, which produce an attractive wall covering that displays both texture and depth.  The wall covering comes from rapidly renewable materials, particularly Mulberry, and is 100% biodegradable.

The designers added several other green elements including:  Benjamin Moore Eco-Spec paint, the treatment room dividers come from the 3-form “full circle” line that uses a form of fair trade for the families in Nepal who helped raise the silkworms to create the striking panels, and even the artwork and mirror framing employs FSC certified wood.

One thing kind of bugs us. The marble countertops and shelves come from EuroStone which create these products from and combo of 90% recycled marble chips and a polyester resin as binding agent. Excluding the resin as a natural element, it’s walking a pretty thin line to claim that using marble chips from quarries would be considered green. If they didn’t mine the resource in the first place then no chips would exist.

Who’s next in the waiting room?

Mostly when we talk about LEED certified buildings we think about office buildings or government centers but here we scope out another first. The Advanced Data Center building in Sac-town already became the first data center to be pre-certified LEED Platinum. Surprised? You bet. Most people think that these data centers with all of the computers are huge energy hogs, and they’re right. That’s why the firm had to work extra hard to create efficient cooling systems. They designed a cooling system called an “air-side economizer” that reduces energy use through careful airflow, and water-flow design and to utilize outside air because the temperature and humidity reamin in the correct range for 75% of the year.

Besides being so cool with the air side efficiency, we like their H2O technology savings effort. They utilize recycled (grey) water from a local municipal water system and captured roof rainwater for landscaping, restrooms and cooling tower backup. They even went so far as to install low- and even better no-water fixtures in restrooms.

Someone was either thinking about LEED points, just doing the right thing or perhaps tax breaks but the fact that the ADC built the location on a brownfield in the former McClellan Air Force Base shows some real foresight and green thinking. It didn’t even scare them that the site contains polluted groundwater 350 feet below the building.

Perhaps the military should take a clue from companies such as ADC when considering how to use (or abuse) the land that they seem to be protecting.