Green Building Elements

When San Franciscans and anyone else living in the Bay Area hear about Richmond the first thing that comes to mind certainly isn’t anything related to Green, Eco, or Sustainable anything. That will hopefully change as the semi-rural farm Eco Village Farm Center, which already teaches sustainable farming and growing practices to underprivileged local youth, recently added a solar system to power the farm.

In a not so pastoral location surrounded by freeways and railroad tracks, the Eco Village offers a green sanctuary to local youth who wish to find a green place to learn and relax. The farm grows a variety of vegetation including: fruit trees, Oaks, Beach, Banana, California Buckeyes, Bay Laurels, Blackberries and Walnuts.

The recently added solar system not only will decrease their energy bill but many young Richmond residents received an opportunity to help install the system. The program sponsored by Solar Living Institute, Solar Richmond, Rising Sun Energy Center, Sun Light & Power, SunPower Corporation and Bay Area Air Quality Management District brought a human element to the system by providing access for disadvantaged children to gain skills and interest in the green business movement.

We’re big fans of this project not just because of the reduced carbon footprint but the program gives youth an opportunity to become more eco-literate, as it creates a cross cultural dialogue and moves across economic lines as well. Learning about Green power, grey water harvesting and urban food production isn’t just for people who can afford it.

We’d like to see more solar training and eco-literacy spread from the suddenly Green city of Richmond.

>> California residents, learn the solar potential of your home with Renewzle’s residential solar power calculator.

With new owners set to move into the the LEED light Arterra we throughout that we’d pay a visit to San Fran’s newest LEED certified condo. Arriving on bikes, we discovered that no bike racks exist for those wishing to inspect the demo models. Thus we had to pull out bikes into into the sales office. Walking though the corridors to the demo unit, we couldn’t help but smell the VOCs rising though the air. Kind of disappointing for a LEED-NC building.

Once we arrived at the demo unit, we felt sad to see granite countertops in both the 1 and 2 bedroom units. We asked the salesperson about the “Green” aspects of the condo and he didn’t know much about the Green aspects but he thought that most of the Green attributes (aka LEED points) weren’t located in the condos but we more part of the overall building. Give that man an organic cigar as most of the LEED points came about in the low hanging fruit (landscape, location and other interior elements) as the green aspects hardly appear in the living spaces. We noticed the dual flush toilets and triple pained windows but aside from that we didn’t note many green offerings.

With buyers scheduled to move in today or tomorrow, hopefully they don’t believe that they are moving into the greenest of the green condos. We’ve heard that the Arterra folks don’t really care about the whole LEED system other than using it as a marketing ploy. Too bad, as the sales figures for the Arterra sit at around 54% sold. Maybe people see it the Arterra for what it is, a very light Green housing option with a favorable price tag.

As we walked into the mammoth PCBC (Pacific Coast Builder Conference) at the Moscone Center in San Francisco we couldn’t help but notice the hanging banners with the words – Power. Forward. Sustain. Of course we could see Power and Forward, as we wouldn’t expect Weakness and Backward but then – Sustain. That omnipresent word like Green that has seeped into the mindset of builders and developers. Or has it? Is it part of the green spin or are things starting to move forward in a powerfully sustainable direction? We decided that “both” loomed as the right answer. For this installment, we decided to cover some of the unexpected and the questionable lower profile “green” products. Sorry about the ” ” around the green but you’ll see where we go with this idea.

We totally got buzzed about something so innocuous that we almost walked passed it because it didn’t have a bunch of Green banners proclaiming its greenness. This Verve living system offers what they called a living control system which in simple terms operates like a whole house lighting system. We’ve seen these before but this one operates on battery free, self sustaining technology or what they call energy harvesting radio frequency technology. Pretty scientific for us but the little gizmo works in a panel that reduces the power so that certain switches can come on at certain levels and times. The systems extends bulb life and new homes don’t need copper wiring installed if they use this system. We even like the parent control which operates like the driver’s control when it comes to locking and unlocking car doors. We’re locked for this system.

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In San Francisco, some well financed and publicized condo projects like the Arterra spend big marketing dollars to push its LEED – NC status (wonder why they didn’t shoot for LEED on its other project the Hayes?) while the EcoCenter at Heron’s Head Park LEED certified facility opened in relative obscurity.

This landmark youth education facility and environmental center sits smack in the Bayview Hunters Point neighborhood right next to the former PG & E power plant. Of all the areas in SF this area truly needs the Green building support. We’re psyched to report that the EcoCenter marks the first 100% off-grid green building in San Francisco, and boasts features that set the bar high for green building.

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Relaxation!
Fashion!
Celebrity!
Botox!
Booze!
Interiors!
Green!

Yes, most of this list refers to the Brit series Ab Fab but if Eddy and Patsy turned in their smokes and cocktails for organic and sustainable munchies then they too would be excited for the opening of the Epi Center MedSpa, the first LEED certified MedSpa in the country. (Another LEED spa exists in D.C. but it isn’t a MedSpa). So, because fictional characters from a long ago Brit TV series couldn’t check out this just opened San Fran based spa, I decided that I had to do it. Read the rest of this entry »

Restaurants here in San Francisco open, and close, almost as often as the fog rolls in so we don’t usually pay an extreme amount of our precious attention to another restaurant du jour. Mixt Greens recently opened but they don’t qualify for new kid on the block status nonetheless they do deserve green props. Thus I direct my attention to their third installment of the Mixt Greens empire.

This third location, located in SoMa, just opened and used zero-VOC paints to improve the air quality, and I could definitely smell the food and not the fumes. They even used recycled paint to cover their ceiling. I didn’t find any bamboo or cork for the flooring but something better as they used an unfinished concrete floor with 50% flyash content. That high flyash content along with the fact that the floor will last a long time (plus it’s easy to clean) makes that choice a no-brainer. Read the rest of this entry »

San Francisco’s Union Square may be noted for its abundance of shopping, hotels, tourist joints, and even outside movies; but, a Green Home? Don’t call your Green Real Estate agent quite yet. The temporary green home occupied the prime real estate last week as part of the Better Homes and Gardens & Green Works Living Green exhibit.

The green traveling exhibit offered surprisingly educational and eye-catching examples of various water savings devices, energy star appliances, sustainable countertops, flooring, and furniture. Even though I didn’t stick around to hear the speakers (some of whom I know) the lineup offered an impressive array of green builders, designers and other knowledgeable types in the green industry.
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It is possible to learn something in school. It’s even more possible to learn about sustainable building if you happen to be a student at Stanford or walk through the campus. In another push toward collegiate sustainability Stanford University proudly unveiled the Y2E2 (or for those less technical, the Jerry Yang and Akiko Yamazaki Environment and Energy Building). Yes, the same Jerry Yang of Yahoo! fame.

The design engineers project the Y2E2 to use 56 percent less energy and 90 percent less potable water for fixtures than a comparable “dirty building.” How will it do that? From foundation to rooftop, the building offers various energy recovery and on-site power generation, as well as passive and active systems.

From top to bottom, Y2E2 has an array of sustainable features that fall under five categories: load reduction, passive systems, active systems, energy recovery and on-site generation. These five approaches are expected to slash the building’s power consumption by more than half. The four large atriums which serve as central light wells made us and the interior bask in the glow of natural light. Although not as glamorous, the nifty light shelves catch additional light and reflect it into the building.

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Daahling you look fab and Green. That’s what people may be saying after experiencing treatments in San Francisco’s eco-chic Epi Center MedSpa. Yes, the whole concept sounds soooo Los Angeles to me, too. Some of us don’t even get the whole mani-pedi thing so it might take a little coaxing to have some lipo or botox thing, even at this truly green spa. A facial might not be for all of us but we’re positively glowing when it comes to the soon to be certified LEED interior.

The Epi Center MedSpa will open its doors in April to commemorate both its 10th anniversary and Earth Day. We’re impressed with the project and the creative Green help, namely SF-based Organic Architect, Eric Corey Freed, (who’s now part of the literati with the recently released Green Building and Remodeling for Dummies), Eco-Fabulous founder and style guru Zem Joaquin who served as the “green style police,” and lead architect Justin Martinkovic.

Even though the spa isn’t quite finished we can see the Greenness with evidenced by the fact that the construction team lacks the surgeon-looking masks that can be seen on many construction jobs to protect from toxic substances and dust. Why? The air scrubber being used (see photo) maintains the healthy air quality on the site and keeps dusts and dangerous particles, the HEPA filter for tiny particles, and a charcoal filter for fumes and odors. Enough filters for ya?

Besides the whole clean air thing, the spa includes eco-creativity. I like that instead of using wood or bamboo panels the crew utilized recycled newspaper panels that they stained, sanded and cut into the ceiling panels. They went cradle to cradle by using carpet from Bentley Prints and natural tapped rubber for the cushions, which do not offgas and biodegrade. And even though they used marble, the fact they used recycled marble flooring and countertops, gave me reason to smile. Thank goodness that the powers that be decided on water filters versus those annoying unsustainable small plastic water bottles that so many spas offer.

Maybe now I’ll feel a little better about that tuck.

Here in the Bay Area, it’s not just Berkeley who’s showing Green Big Brother mentality. Green home building will be required from all new homes built in the unincorporated region of San Mateo County. The county supes this week voted to add sweeping green regulations to green construction requirements to take effect later this year.

The new regulations will cover homes and industrial projects. The Green commercial and industrial buildings can pass under the LEED system while residential properties can be gauged under Build it Green’s “Green Point Rated” system. Green Point Rated, a residential, Green rating system created by the Berkeley-based non profit, uses various point categories to achieve certification. For example, installing a range of Energy Star appliances is worth nine points and using low VOC paints and wood-coatings can garner six points. Homeowners can combine various point categories, as long as they add up to the magic 50 point total.

To be fair, this program does have its costs. Homeowners will have to pay a specialized green building inspector to verify their project for the county which will set them back about $800 to $1000, and for commercial owners it will cost from $2500 to $3500. Applicants will also be required to post a $5,000 bond prior to receiving a building permit, which will be released when the 50 points are verified.

Although I like this program, it does have shortcomings, however, such as not affording homeowners the incentive to obtain more than 50 points. Many people find the same issues with LEED rating system. People may think, “Why should I try for 60 points if it’s just going to cost more?” Home and commercial building owners may try for more points without considering the up-front cost, but it wouldn’t be a bad scenario if the County of San Mateo offered further incentives for higher points.