Jetson Green - Technology

Portland City Storage Brings Big Solar (S2)

I sat on this post for a while trying to find up-to-date information on its status but was unable to locate anything. This is a storage facility planned for the east bank of the Willamette River. Typical storage facilities can take up to 30 acres, but this one, designed for house boats, recreational vehicles, and storage pods, is going to be maxed out on 3 acres. The taller tower rises 22 stories into the sky and uses a giant mechanical arm capable of lifting 40,000 lbs. Interestingly, the project is planning construction to LEED Platinum standards and will include more than 175,000 sf of solar panels (making it the largest solar facility in the northwest). With the estimated project costs at about $40 M, Portland City Storage also plans to rehabilitate the riverfront property adjacent to the towers.

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By Jetson Green|September 9th, 2007|Gadgets, Land Use, LEED, Modern architecture, Skyscraper, Solar|0 Comments

Vehicle to Grid Technology – Power to the people: run your house on a Prius.
Fitter. Happier. Better. Greener. Science shows sustainable design does more than help the Earth, it makes you feel better, too.
AlwaysOn Going Green 100 – a first annual list of the hottest private companies in greentech.
There’s a new trend in residential energy: being the first small wind turbine on the block.
Aspiring to be America’s greenest city, state commitment helps Sacramento rank No. 2 in energy efficient office space.

By Jetson Green|September 8th, 2007|Energy Efficiency, Gadgets, News, Week in Review, Wind|0 Comments

PieceHomes is a new modern prefab offering by Davis Studio Architecture + Design, set to debut in about a week at Dwell on Design. Notice the interesting tagline — "pH: for a balanced home." Nice. PieceHomes plans to distinguish itself among the pack by providing custom and standardized, modern, modular architecture that is green and affordable. With a variety of home designs taking shape, pieceHomes will be available this fall and manufactured by XtremeHomes. Take a gander at the website and some of the home designs. I’m particularly intrigued by the Container House, 3×4, and Solar Passage (all pictured in this post). Like many prefabs, pieceHomes also will be designed to incorporate solar panels, green roofs, and other environmental features that fit home site conditions. It’ll be nice to see some of these renderings in real life.

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By Jetson Green|September 7th, 2007|Container Design, Materials, Modern architecture, News, Prefab, Solar|0 Comments

It looks like construction on the WIRED Livinghome began this morning and there’s a webcam documenting the process. There’s an archive of stills at frequent intervals, so you can click over and view the entire process from the beginning (or every thing that’s been completed so far). All the main parts are supposed to be complete by September 7, and we’ll be able to get a pretty good picture of what the final home will look like. Also, if you’re interested in green prefab, the official WIRED LivingHome website, which fully launches on September 25, has some videos on deconstruction and factory-built homes.

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By Jetson Green|September 5th, 2007|Gadgets, Materials, Modern architecture, News, Prefab|0 Comments

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."

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By Jetson Green|September 4th, 2007|Commercial Interiors, Corporate, Gadgets, LEED, Modern architecture, Modern design, Nature, News|0 Comments

You may have heard of Jay Leno’s Green Garage, but have you heard about him installing the Delta II wind turbine on the building to generate electricity? Delta II is an American-made, vertical axis turbine designed by PacWind. It’s a 9 foot, 500 lb. beast with the ability to produce 10 kw of power at 28 mph winds. One of the benefits of this design is that it can start producing electricity at lower wind speeds … to get a more specific idea, feel free to watch this installation video at Popular Mechanics.

Jay’s Green Garage was recently on the newest episode of Living with Ed, and according to the show, Jay plans to expand his arsenal of Delta II wind turbines. We’ll keep an eye on the news to see how many he adds to the building. What does this mean? It sounds like he’s happy with the turbine’s performance, which is a good thing because the small wind industry is still trying to gain momentum and traction. Delta II MSRPs for a cool $19,995.