Green Building : Jetson Green

Reclaimed Space Prefab Minimizes Impact of Construction

Why not build a prefab almost entirely out of reclaimed materials?  That's what Reclaimed Space founder Tracen Gardner wants to do.  Mr. Gardner was in between contracting jobs and began constructing a portable building using primarily reclaimed materials.  In the process, he liked what he was doing so much that he decided to create Reclaimed Space to continue building modular, passively-designed cabins.  To start off with, the company will build spaces from 240 square feet and at prices in the range of $115 to $160 psf (min. $25k). 

Edificio BIP Computers, Simple Transitivity Design

I was blown away by Alberto Mozó's simple and clean design for the Edificio BIP Computers building in Santiago de Chile.  It's an unassuming three-story structure built on a lot that's zoned to allow a larger structure of up to twelve stories in height.  Knowing that the building may not last very long (due to the favorable location and zoning), the design makes use of standard-sized, laminated timber beams that can be dismounted and used to reconstruct the entire building somewhere else.  Mozo calls the idea "transitivity" -- designing structures that can be easily broken down and reconstructed elsewhere.

Solar Cities, Greenwashing Bamboo, Geothermal, + Greening Pre-Construction Activities [WIR]

• Bamboo a big tool for greenwashing.
• DOE spotlights new crop of solar cities.
• Should managers take a green Hippocratic oath?
• An architect's perspective on top green building innovations.
• The great forgotten clean energy source: geothermal.
• Waste diversion and salvaging promotes greener buildings.
• Missed opportunity: deconstructing or moving old buildings?
• Green building a growth industry.

*WIR = Week in Review; a Saturday showcase of excellent links.

Planet Reuse, Sourcing and Selling Green Materials

Have recycled or reusable materials to sell?  Looking for recycled or reusable materials?  Need materials that contribute towards LEED MR credits?  Well, starting on or about March 17, you're going to have a pretty nice looking resource to tap in the form of Planet Reuse.  Planet Reuse "aims to divert existing products and materials from landfills, create less waste and use of virgin materials entering the waste stream, and create a solution for designers, homeowners, architects and builders seeking to design, create, and use more environmentally responsible practices." 

People that have materials can go to the website and create listing to sell the product.  Buyers can then search for materials by location and various other categories.  After Planet Reuse attracts critical mass and community participation, it'll be a killer resource for LEED APs.  Great idea, Planet Reuse!

Chipotle, Minimal and Uniquely Green

I'm writing this article on Chipotle, and I can't help but think how nice a little midnight chicken burrito would taste.  I love this place.  Minimalist.  Exposed.  Clean.  And.  Green.  Ever notice the fact that no two Chipotle Restaurants look alike?  They put their restaurants in all sorts of locations, old and new.  We just got a new one in an old building, but the restaurant is nice.  It's fantastic.  Their napkins are made of recycled content, and if my memory serves correctly, I remember reading on one of their cups that they source their beans fair trade.  But that's not all.

[Video] Recycling On the Job, Deconstruction

There's a new online video show hosted by Alex Pettitt called Mainstream Green.  Their videos are high-quality and super informative.  Sometimes, it helps to see how things work, so I love to show video as often as possible.  The video above is on recycling and deconstruction.  The deconstruction guy says the cost of on-site deconstruction is comparable to waste removal.  That's a good.  Generally, people are self-interested and when it becomes profitable to do the right thing, more and more people will start doing the right thing.  Makes sense doesn't it?

2007 Lifecycle Building Challenge Winners

At West Coast Green in San Francisco last week, U.S. EPA Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response Assistant Administrator Susan Bodine announced winners of the first inaugural Lifecycle Building Challenge competition.  Winners were recognized for their cutting-edge green building ideas that aim to reduce environmental and energy impacts of buildings.  Ideas from the design contest will jumpstart the building industry to help reuse more of the 100 million tons of building-related construction and demolition debris sent each year to landfills in the U.S.  The winners are listed below:

• Sustainability by Design, Professional Unbuilt, People's Choice Award
• Pavilion in the Park, Professional Built, Buildings
• GreenMobile, Professional Unbuilt, Buildings
• groHome, Student, Buildings
• Demountable Tape, Profesional Built, Components
• Deconstructable & Reusable Composite Slab, Professional Unbuilt, Components
• Guidelines for Building with Reusable Materials, Student, Components
• ATHENA Assembly Evaluation Tool, Professional Built, Services
• Deconstruction Engineer, Student, Services

Congratulations to all the winners, honorable mentions, and participants.

SG Blocks Rolling Out Safe, Green Building System

Recently, I've had the pleasure of discussing the phenomenon of container housing with David Cross, Chief Business Development Officer for SG Blocks LLC.  SG Blocks, short for Safe and Green, is a sustainable building system made from containers.  Going beyond the trendy fascination with exposed container architecture design--modern, industrial, and extremely good looking, in my opinion, SG Blocks intends to use containers as a fundamental component to building construction.  A container home doesn't necessarily have to look like a container home (that's up to you), but it can have all the same advantages: comfortable, strong, green, and affordable.   

The home you see above is an example of container modules being used on a traditional home as a framing system.  From the outside or inside, you're not going to know that it was built with container modules.  The cost of framing a home built with SG Blocks is about $22-30 psf, which is roughly comparable to other forms of construction.  BUT did you know that recycling containers into steel beams takes nearly 8,000 kW of energy at a cost of roughly $800?  Rather, it takes about 400 kW of energy to turn containers into a home.  At about 5% of the energy when compared to straight recycling, that's not bad.  And right now, SG Blocks is in the process of rolling out their building system nationally.

New Haworth Center HQ Setting Green Example

I really like Haworth.  In short, Haworth is a leader in office furniture and architectural interiors.  They do everything with a commitment to appealing aesthetics, thoughtful ergonomics, and sustainability.  I came in contact with some Haworth employees when I was finishing my JD/MBA program in Dallas, and they gave me a personal tour of the super-stylish Dallas showroom (a commercial interiors office display built to LEED-CI Gold standards).  Now, Haworth is working on a major, award-winning overhaul of their Holland, Michigan Headquarters.  The 300,000 sf renovation was designed to meet LEED-NC Gold standards; some of the building's green features include the following:

• The new facade will have a sun-filled atrium and vegetated green roof, blending the boundary between the structure and natural environment;
• All of the interior 830 workstations will have access to daylight views;
• Over 99% of the existing materials collected during deconstruction and recovery are being recycled; and
• Although the footprint of the building will increase by 20%, energy use will remain at pre-renovation levels due to sustainability improvements. 

Of the green headquarters, Haworth Chairman Dick Haworth said, "The new Haworth Center will be a leading example of change. We’re not just building a better building … we’re building a better future."

12.5 Condos Bring Eco-Modernism to Portland

Quality modern, green projects just keep coming and there's no stopping them.  Here's a project called 12.5 Condos.  Why 12.5?  Well, there's going to be twelve 3-story townhouse condominiums and one 2-story condominium.  Designed by Holst Architecture and built by Portland green builder Barrs & Genauer Construction, 12.5 will be located in the MLK corridor.  With construction expected to finish by the end of this year, 12.5 is going to be an awesome example of green construction.  At least 90% of construction debris will be recycled.  Materials will include FSC-certified wood, recycled content site and structural metals, low-VOC non-toxic products, and fly ash concrete.  Appliances will be Energy Star certified, toilets will be dual-flush, and the HVAC system will be ultra-efficient.  Count on the skylights to usher in natural light, and everything will be super clean and linear.  Extremely sustainable and extremely good looking.  Look for these condos at the corner of NE Knott Street and NE 7th Avenue in Portland, Oregon.  Prices starting from $295k and $375k.