I’ve been following Matt Risinger’s blog for about a year, because he’s sharing great videos about high-performance homes in Austin, Texas. Take this video about using old pine siding from a home built in 1935. The siding is in a condition to be reclaimed because it’s had enough air to dry when wet over the years. Now that it’s being re-used, Risinger shares the vented rainscreen he used to make sure the siding lasts another 80 years.
It seems like manufacturers are turning to third parties to validate environmental claims with increasing frequency lately. For example, I just learned that DuPont expanded their Corian Terra line of solid surfaces and five colors have at least 20% pre-consumer recycled resin content, according to Scientific Certification Systems. Several other colors have at least 13% and the rest have a minimum of 6% pre-consumer recycled resin content. In addition, all colors are GREENGUARD certified; they’re non-porous and do not promote the growth of mold, mildew, or bacteria, according to DuPont.
This container structure was on display earlier this month at Abitare il Tempo in Verona, Italy. The architects, Studio Astori De Ponti Associati, used discarded containers to build a home that is meant to “propose an alternative starting point for reflection,” as opposed to “a definitive and absolute solution to the question of sustainability.”
