Spray Foam Insulation

November 21, 2011 Uncategorized

Most of you are familiar with fiberglass, as it is the most common form of insulation. But time’s they are a-changing! With the constant increase in energy costs, what used to be ‘standard’ is now sub par. Below are a few key points about why you should choose spray foam insulation. You can visit Demelic’s website for more info.

  • Because it will save you money!  You will be astonished by the reduction in your heating and cooling bills, allowing you to spend your money how you please.
  • It will create an air barrier, keeping exterior moisture and unconditioned air outside!
  • It will help create a comfortable indoor environment by reducing outside pollutants, allergens and noise!
  • Spray polyurethane foam (SPF) insulation is a proven technology that has been in use for over 25 years in commercial, industrial and residential buildings.
  • SPF helps to seal all of the gaps, cracks and crevices in your walls and roof, unlike traditional insulation.
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Green by Design Recap

July 22, 2011 What We're Talking About






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Green by Design Workshop

July 8, 2011 Where We're Going

 

 

 

 

 

GreenTex Builders is excited to announce that we will be a part of the upcoming Green by Design event, presented by Austin Energy Green Building.

Need to find the perfect builder or designer for your project?

Want to learn how to effectively assess your families needs in the home?

Looking to make smart purchases on materials and appliances?

Than this event is for you!

At Green by Design, homeowners will have access to the leading professionals in the green industry and will learn how to improve energy and water efficiency, increase comfort, and reduce maintenance.

This one-day event is packed full with instruction from AEGB professionals and a comprehensive workbook you get to take with you; filled with all the green information and contacts you could dream of. To top it all off, you’ll enjoy breakfast and lunch, personal Q & A with industry pro’s (including us!) and awesome give-aways from local green businesses.

It’s all going down on July 16th at THE COMMONS CENTER. (JJ Pickle Research Campus,10100 Burnet Road, Austin, Texas 78758).

The deadline for registration is July 13, 2011 at 5:00 PM. Click here to register. Cost is $35 and seats are LIMITED, so sign-up now!

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China Says It Will Double Its Solar Power Output By 2015

June 14, 2011 What We're Reading



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

China is already leading the solar energy production market, but it looks like it is going to expand its lead with plans to increase its solar energy output to 10GW by 2015. China is also one of the most attractive countries in the world for renewable energy investors (according to a report from Ernst & Young) and all of these factors have led to a perfect environment for China to double its solar capacity.

According to a draft proposal submitted to the State Council for approval, the drop in costs in the solar energy market makes the 10GW output a realistic target. Dr. Hao Guoqiang, vice president of the Shanghai Solar Energy Energy Research Center said: “The drop in the cost of solar energy is about 10 per cent to 20 per cent each year. This is to say in 2015 the cost of supplying solar electricity is basically about the same as our electricity fees right now. That will be an era whereby solar energy is used on a large scale. ”

As a result, researchers are optimistic that this clean energy can be used more widely to ease China’s power shortage by 2015.”While the plan is not official just yet, if it goes ahead it will also affect China’s 2020 target and see the 20GW goal rise to 50GW. However, as with everything in China, policy approval is key.

“There are still big barriers. There is no standardised feed-in tariff and grid connection is a big problem without a standard policy,” Wang Sicheng, a senior solar energy researcher at China’s top policy-making body, the National Development and Reform Commission, said.

Here’s hoping the plan is approved!

by Timon Singh

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5 Tips to Green Your Living Space

June 7, 2011 What We're Reading

You’ve all heard the tired mantras about changing your lightbulbs and recycling at home in order to save the planet – are you yawning yet? Many consumers think that going green is a gesture of self-sacrifice that often comes at great expense and inconvenience – but nothing could be further from the truth. What many don’t realize is that going green is not really about doing something good “for the planet” but is instead about improving your own quality of life through making your environment safer and healthier. And one of the easiest places to start leading a greener and healthier life is in the home.

No one better epitomizes smart, healthy and stylish green living than Ecofabulous founder and cradle-to-cradle green designer Zem Joaquin. This eco jetsetter and green girl about town is well known for her phenomenal green parties, her insightful analysis of green products over on her site Ecofabulous, and her ability to make eco-friendly lifestyle choices feel glamorous and fun. We recently sat down with Zem to find out more about her gorgeous green home in the beautiful hills of Marin County, CA, and get her personal tips and tricks on how to make your home cleaner, greener and healthier through the power of smart design. Read on to find out about Zem’s secret tips for a green home, including – believe it or not – foot pedals on sinks!

Tip 1 – Install Foot Pedals on Your Sinks

Foot pedal sink

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Many people take access to clean drinking water for granted and don’t realize that water conservation is becoming a critical issue — as access to potable water becomes increasingly scarce, even in many parts of the United States. One surprisingly great way to cut back water usage while making your life more convenient (and germ-free) is to install foot pedal valves into your sink systems to control water flow with your feet! Not only can it save you money on your water bill, but it solves the whole soapy hand / turning faucets / teeth brushing conundrum with one elegant design solution – no more having to twiddle faucet knobs with sudsy hands! I chose PedalValve.com for my foot pedals, but if you aren’t quite ready for foot pedals but want an easy one-touch solution, Brizo also makes a great water-saving device called the ‘Smart Touch Faucet’ that I have used in a number of design projects with excellent response.

Tip 2 – Improve your indoor air quality for better health and well-being

VOC - free paint

 

 

 

 

 

 

Since we rarely have to remind ourselves to take a breath (although most of us could benefit from a deep inhale and exhale from time to time) it’s easy to overlook the importance of air quality. And that is unfortunate, because indoor air quality has a huge impact on our health and well-being. Just think about how much time each of us spends indoors every day (for most of us we’re talking around 18-20 hours per day). I learned this the hard way when my children started developing asthma. As I began to search for causes and tried to eliminate various toxins in the house, I learned about numerous culprits of indoor air polluters. The more I learned, the less I trusted traditional household products. This is why Tip #2 addresses steps you can take to make your air as fresh and clean as possible, and eliminate some of the common causes of indoor air pollution. Get ready, as there is a lot of information here!

PAINT
First always say no to VOCs in your paint. VOC stands for ‘volatile organic compound’ and includes a whole host of nasty chemicals like formaldehyde, benzene and acetone that off-gas particles into the air which irritate the skin and mucus membranes and cause many short- and long-term adverse health effects. Traditional paint is full of VOCs – that is the typical ‘new paint smell’. Happily, excellent quality, no-VOC paint is readily available these days in most big box hardware stores like Ace and Home Depot. My personal favorite brands are Mythic and Yolo Colorhouse. I also really like Benjamin Moore’s Natura, and you can find it almost everywhere!

FURNITURE
Another sneaky hidden culprit of indoor air pollution is MDF, a basic staple of most cabinetry and furniture. MDF, which stands for ‘Medium-Density Fiberboard’ is ground up wood pulp bound together with adhesives. Most inexpensive and mass-produced furniture, cabinets and wood floors are made from composite board these days, but typical MDF uses urea formaldehyde in the resin, and formaldehyde is a known human carcinogen that off-gases vapors into the air and has been associated with nasal cancer and leukemia.

The greenest piece of furniture is one that already exists.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When shopping for furniture and cabinetry, make sure that any and all MDF that you see is ‘non-toxic MDF’ which is made with formaldehyde-free resin. Additionally, look for products from companies that use non-toxic finishes (such as varnishes, paints and lacquers). Mainstream brands like IKEA and West Elm are great options for inexpensive low VOC furniture, but if you want something special that’s going to last many years take a look at some of the beautiful styles offered by Q Collection and Ironies.

I’m a huge advocate of vintage furniture. Not only is it more eco-friendly to reuse an existing product rather than get a new product, but most vintage furniture uses solid wood and is much better quality and craftsmanship than mass-produced furniture that is churned out of factories today. I love to browse antique fairs like the Alameda flea market, and shop on Ebay for vintage diamonds in the rough that I can refurbish myself and turn into treasures.

TIP 3 – Keep your floors healthy for all with eco alternatives

Blue cork flooring

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you are searching for healthy, eco-friendly flooring, then cork or wood are likely your best choices. They are easy to keep clean, don’t harbor mites and dust, don’t off gas and definitely beat out carpet in every department. The small fibers and deep crevices make carpet a sink hole that accumulate dust, mites and toxins over the years, and is really hard to keep clean. Most carpets are also made with unhealthy ingredients and treated with nasty chemicals that you don’t want JR crawling around on!

 

WOOD FLOORING
The best, most sustainable option for wood flooring is to simply make use of wood floors that were originally in a home (maybe even hidden under old carpeting – but always re-furbish with toxin-free finishes). Unfortunately, not all of us have this option. If you are planning to install new wood flooring, my first choice would be to use reclaimed woods from beams or fallen trees, or a rapidly renewable new material like bamboo. Bamboo may sound ‘green’, but don’t forget to closely examine the adhesives and finishes when working with bamboo – as a lot of cheap bamboo flooring on the market is not produced consciously. Three great brands to check out are Ecotimber, Teragren and Plyboo.

CORK
When you are sourcing a new flooring material and are looking for something soft and sound-absorbing, my hands-down favorite flooring material is cork. Cork is an amazing rapidly-renewable material that is taken off the outside of cork oak trees without harming them, and it grows back in 6-9 years. It is soft, durable, hypoallergenic, and provides great insulation. It has all of the things that people like about carpeting (kid-friendly, soft under foot, sound-absorbing), without any of the environmental or health concerns. In addition to cork’s awesome eco & physical attributes, the material is community sustaining as well. Almost all of it comes from Portugal where the cork industry sustains entire villages. My two favorite companies for cork flooring are
CorkConcepts and Wicanders.

GREEN CARPETING
The best carpeting options are natural fiber rugs (like wool, organic cotton and silk) that can be picked up, vacuumed under and cleaned when needed. For some sustainable and super stylish rug options check out SHAW carpet for a good nontoxic carpet option, or Odegard for carpets you can roll out.

Tip 4 — Green Your Bedroom

Eco-friendly bed

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On average, we spend almost 1/3 of our lives sleeping — that’s why it’s so important that we create healthy environments for rest and relaxation. But even the soundest night’s rest will not make you healthier if you’re breathing in dangerous toxins while you sleep. Fortunately, there’s an abundance of green products out there that will ensure your bedroom is a safe and environmentally friendly place to retire to at the end of the day.

GREEN MATTRESSES
Most mattresses are made with a variety of harmful, or potentially harmful, materials such as petroleum and fire-retardants. These chemicals, concentrated on the surface of the mattress, are absorbed through our skin and lungs. But don’t worry — there are plenty of eco-friendly organic mattress on the market. Some of my favorite green mattresses are made by Organicpedic by OMI, Green Sleep, Vivetique and InnoMax. Also when purchasing a new mattress make sure your old one doesn’t end up rotting in a landfill – contact one of these companies to take care of the hauling and recycling.

BEDDING
When creating the perfect healthy bedroom, one must also consider bedding. For organic bedding, I like Pottery Barn’s Organic Line, Amy Butler Design and VivaTerra (who makes duvets from peace silk). If co-sleeping is part of your routine and there’s a little one in the bed, you might want to consider Green Mountain’s wool peepee pads to protect your organic sheets and mattress.

Tip 5 — Treat Your Windows With Earth-Friendly Options

Vintage window curtains

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When it comes to saving energy, windows are one of the most important elements of your home in terms of regulating temperature and light — if they are not properly dressed they can easily contribute to heat loss or excessive solar gain. That’s why it is essential to consider eco-wise curtains and drapes that help regulate sun exposure while contributing to a healthy living environment and do not waste precious resources.

Avoid monstrous hybrids!

When picking out curtains or shades, it’s important to look for products made from organic materials that do not contain toxic adhesives — many companies that produce window treatments use petroleum-based materials. At all costs avoid “monstrous hybrids” made from blends of synthetic fibers like polyester and organic fibers like cotton. Many well-intentioned but uninformed companies think it makes a synthetic product slightly ‘greener’ to mix some organic cotton or linen into a polyester mix. They are wrong! Due to the very different physical properties of these opposing materials, absolutely nothing can be done with these blends at the end of their lifecycle and they are just destined for landfill. On its own, 100% pure polyester can be recycled – but not when it is mixed with cotton. On its own, 100% pure cotton can biodegrade back into the soil – but not when it is mixed with polyester. When it comes to window treatments (and most other products) opt for either a pure organic or a pure synthetic.

For window treatments that are affordable, easy to install, and highly customizable, take a look at Smith+Noble. If you’re going custom-made all the way, check out the beautiful organic fabric from modgreenpod.

5 Tips to Make Your Home Safe, Green & Healthy from Zem Joaquin
by Jill Fehrenbacher, 05/13/11

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Desert-Topped Gateway Building Blends in with Magestic McDowell Sonoran Preserve

May 12, 2011 GreenTex Builders What We're Reading

This stunning, LEED Platinum and Net-Zero building by Weddle Gilmore Black Rock Studio really sets the tone for the majestic McDowell Sonoran Preserve behind it. Built with the help of 4,200 volunteer hours out of rammed earth and topped with a desert-cobbled roof, the Gateway treads gently and reminds bikers, hikers, and horse-riders to do the same. It also harvests 100% of the water required for landscape irrigation and produces all of the energy it needs to operate. Despite the modest construction so typical of park service buildings, this gateway to desert heaven is definitely easy on the eyes.

Rainwater is harvested and then stored in an underground cistern.

Paying tribute to its location, the Gateway is constructed from rammed earth, although it is every bit as energy efficient and cool as any modern home. Ninety percent of its construction materials were sent to be recycled and its energy is produced with an 18KW solar-energy system. As such, the LEED certified building has a net-zero impact.

The solar panels produce all of the building's required energy, making it a net zero project.

Everybody knows the desert is dry, but it won’t be here. A clever rainwater harvesting system combined with an underground storage cistern will ensure that 100% of the landscaping can be done without undue stress on existing water supplies. Dual-flush toilets and waterless urinals further ensure that the Gateway’s water footprint is kept to a minimum.

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U.S. Army Launches Plan to Make All Military Bases Net Zero

May 4, 2011 GreenTex Builders What We're Reading


Over the past couple of years, the U.S. Army has announced several initiatives ranging from solar-powered tents for troops to hydrogen-powered tanks, however this is their most ambitious program yet. With the help of the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), the U.S. Army is aiming to have all Army installations across the country be net zero.

With funds from the DOE’s Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP), the “Army Vision for Net Zero” program will aim to meet mandates to reduce energy as a result of Executive Order 13514. The order calls for all new buildings to be net zero energy by 2030, and it dictates a 30 percent reduction in water use and a 50 percent reduction in waste that goes to landfills. On top of that, the National Defense Authorization Act also mandates that the Army produce or acquire 25 percent of its energy from renewables by 2025.

“The first priority is less,” Assistant Secretary of the Army for Installations, Energy & Environment Katherine Hammack said. “If you use less energy, you don’t have to buy as much – or you don’t have to make as much from alternative energy sources or renewable energy sources. So if you look at energy, that is a focus on energy efficiency. If you’re talking about water, then that’s water conservation. Or even if you’re talking about waste, that’s reducing the amount of waste we have in the steam.”

The program already has a poster child in the form of Fort Bliss. The military base boasts solar daylighting in the dining facility, warehouse and gym, energy-efficient windows, utility monitoring and control for heating and air-conditioning systems in approximately 70 buildings, and plans to increase the on-site hybrid waste-to-energy/concentrating solar power plant from 90 to 140 megawatts. The City of El Paso has committed to provide 1 million tons per year of municipal solid waste, which will be transformed into energy by the base.

“The Army’s net zero vision is a holistic approach to addressing energy, water, and waste at Army installations,” Kingery said. “We look at net zero as a force multiplier for the Army that will help us steward our resources and manage our costs.”

Considering that defense is a massive cause of national debt, the plan serves two purposes – reduced spending and “greening” national security. If the military can get on board with renewable energy, it makes you wonder why other areas of government are having such trouble.

by Timon Singh

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Pecan Street Project, NREL and UT begin design of Home Research Lab

April 28, 2011 GreenTex Builders What We're Reading

Pecan Street Project announced today that it has acquired a site and will soon begin construction of a smart grid interoperability research facility. Researchers from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) will lead the programming and technical specification development for the facility, which will be located in Austin’s Mueller community.

Pecan Street Project executives leading the development and operations of the lab are John H. Baker, Jr. and Ariane Beck. Prior to joining Pecan Street Project earlier this year, Mr. Baker was Austin Energy’s chief strategy officer and Dr. Beck was the assistant chair of the University of Texas Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

The Home Research Lab will serve as a neutral third-party research facility. Researchers from Pecan Street Project, The University of Texas, NREL, multiple utilities and private sector companies will be able to use the lab for testing and evaluating interoperability industry standards along with testing performance and integration of multiple companies’ home smart grid systems with electricity, gas and water utility distribution and back office systems. Specific technologies that will be tested include electric vehicles, home energy management systems, smart appliances, home storage, rooftop PV and advanced metering. The facility will also include public education programming.

Construction is scheduled to begin in September 2011 and active operations to commence in March 2012. Pecan Street Project has contracted with Austin-based custom homebuilder The Muskin Company to develop the Home Research Lab. Architects for the facility are University of Texas School of Architecture faculty Matthew Fajkus, Ulrich Dangel and Tamie Glass, Department of Architectural and Environmental Engineering professor Atila Novoselac and Austin-based architects Michael Hsu and Kevin Stewart from Michael Hsu Office of Architecture.

Nationally unique features of the Home Research Lab include:

  • The active involvement of Tier 1 research university and national lab researchers from UT and NREL
  • The lab’s neutral third-party position as a facility for multiple utilities and private sector technology companies to work collaboratively in a consortium environment with these university and national lab researchers
  • The opportunity for companies to test their solutions’ interoperability with utility distribution systems and with products from multiple companies
  • Access for University of Texas students to participate in lab research and collaboration
  • The lab’s ability to connect with NREL for ongoing real-time research collaborations between the Austin-based lab and NREL’s Golden, Colorado facilities

Pecan Street Project will build the lab in a three-story live-work unit site across the street from the former Mueller Municipal Airport’s air traffic control tower. The tower, which was preserved after the airport’s decommissioning, has become an iconic structure in the green-built Mueller community.

“This lab will provide an opportunity for University of Texas researchers and students to collaborate with utilities and the best researchers from the private sector on the technologies that will solve our toughest energy, environmental and economic challenges,” said Pecan Street Project executive director Brewster McCracken. “Having the lab’s development led by our partners from NREL, an accomplished, visionary utility executive like John and an outstanding researcher like Ariane ensures that this lab will provide significant value.”

“Our intent is to develop not just a demonstration lab, but a true research and testing facility,” said UT engineering professor and Pecan Street Project board member Dr. Tom Edgar. “This facility will be a unique opportunity for our researchers and the private sector to help shape the future of energy delivery and management.”

“Our researchers at NREL are excited about their involvement with Pecan Street Project,” said NREL senior research engineer Dr. Bill Kramer, who will lead NREL’s work on the research facility. “We see this new home research lab as a way to complement our existing research facilities with real-world performance and utility data.”

NREL’s researchers are part of Pecan Street Project’s customer-focused smart grid demonstration project at Mueller.

“The straightforward simplicity of our overall building design allows for the flexibility of complex laboratory research and simulated living scenarios,” said UT School of Architecture assistant professor Matthew Fajkus. ”The building will be highly sustainable in its capacity for adaptation as well is in its integrated technology and smart grid implications.”

“Here, in one of the country’s most forward-thinking communities, this lab will allow researchers to test some of the most forward-thinking ideas in home design, operation and construction,” said Alan Muskin, president of The Muskin Company. “We look forward to being part of this unique collaboration and to helping bring the future of American homebuilding to this great neighborhood.”

“During my years in the utility industry, I wished we had had access to an outstanding research facility and the opportunity to collaborate with top-flight researchers,” said Pecan Street Project director of utility systems research John Baker. “I am committed to developing a lab that will provide this kind of opportunity not just for Pecan Street Project’s own researchers, but also for UT researchers, innovative companies and utilities from across the country.”

“I know from working with UT research programs how critical a sophisticated, independent research facility is to fact-based applied research,” said Ariane Beck, project manager for Pecan Street Project. “This lab will provide a technically excellent proving ground where utilities, companies, researchers and students can collaborate in a neutral, third-party setting.”

About John H. Baker, Jr.

John Baker joined Austin Energy in 1994. He served in various roles during his tenure, including vice president of customer care and marketing, process manager of system operations and reliability, manager of distribution system support, and manager of distribution engineering and design.  From 2002 until his retirement from Austin Energy in 2010, he served as chief strategy officer, leading the development of the utility’s aggressive long-range renewable energy and energy efficiency goals.

In addition to overseeing the home research lab, Baker will manage the organization’s Industry Advisory Council, a collection of technology and energy companies that are participating in the organization’s smart grid research. He will also serve as the primary liaison for utilities on the organization’s Technical Review and Advisory Committee, which includes ERCOT, Bluebonnet Electric Coop, CPS Energy, Oncor and Pedernales Electric Coop.

About Ariane Beck

Prior to joining Pecan Street Project in 2011 as the organization’s project manager, Dr. Ariane Beck served as the assistant chair of UT’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering in the Cockrell School of Engineering. Her work at UT included managing development of lab facilities and space construction, leading the department’s successful accreditation review and managing the day-to-day operations of the university’s sixth largest department (with 66 faculty, 30 staff and 1,900 students).

Dr. Beck holds a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from The University of Texas at Austin. Her research accomplishments include designing, fabricating and characterizing wide band gap UV avalanche photodiodes (APDs) in SiC, GaP and AlGaN/GaN material systems for use in biological agent detection and non-line-of-sight communications under the DARPA SUVOS program, and designing processes for recessed window and thin-metal structures to enhance carrier collection efficiency.

About the National Renewable Energy Laboratory

NREL is the Department of Energy’s primary national laboratory for renewable energy and energy efficiency research and development. NREL is operated for DOE by The Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC.

About the Smart Grid Demonstration Project at Mueller

In November 2009, the Department of Energy awarded Pecan Street Project, Inc. a $10.4 million regional smart grid demonstration grant to deploy an advanced smart grid project at the Mueller development in central Austin. The Mueller neighborhood – a public-private joint venture between the City of Austin and Catellus Development Group – is located at the site of Austin’s former airport.

The demonstration project will integrate with Austin Energy’s next generation smart grid platform to create, operate, and evaluate an open platform Energy Internet – a type of smart grid that allows two-way electricity and information flow and is modeled on the architecture of the Internet.  Residential and commercial participation in the project is voluntary.

The project will analyze these results against control groups and distribution feeder systems in other locations in the City of Austin to quantify how the integration of these technologies impacts electricity usage and bills, the utility’s finances, environmental outcomes and overall system performance.

In February 2011, the organization completed systems installation and went live with the first phase of its smart grid demonstration project in Austin’s Mueller community.  Deployed by Austin-based Incenergy LLC, the home smart grid systems capture minute-to-minute energy usage for the whole home and six major appliances or systems. The project achieved an installed cost per home of $341 ($241 for equipment plus $100 for installation).

The systems are deployed in 100 homes at Mueller, all of which are green built and 11 of which have rooftop solar PV systems. This spring, Pecan Street Project will deploy Incenergy systems in a second group of 100 homes outside Mueller that are at least 10 years old. All participants in both groups are volunteers.

The data collected from these first 200 homes will provide a baseline against which the organization can compare the impact the technologies and services to be tested will have on energy consumption.

About Pecan Street Project Inc.

Headquartered at The University of Texas at Austin, Pecan Street Project Inc. is a non-profit 501(c)(3) smart grid and clean energy research and development organization.  Incorporated in 2009, the organization’s board includes representatives from The University of Texas, Austin Energy, Environmental Defense Fund, the Austin Technology Incubator, the City of Austin and the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce.

In September 2009, it received funding from the University of Texas and a grant from the Capital Area Council of Governments through an award from the Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration. In November 2009, the organization received a U.S. Department of Energy stimulus award for a Smart Grid Demonstration Project at Austin’s Mueller community. In November 2010, it received an award from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation to research the impact of energy efficiency retrofits in older homes.

In March 2010, it released a report of recommendations for how to spur energy system advancements. The recommendations were the product of joint industry-university-utility-public sector working groups. For more information or to download the report of recommendations, visit www.pecanstreetproject.org.

Posted on April 26, 2011 in In the News, Project Updates with Tags: , , , , 

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10 Best Green Buildings of 2011

April 26, 2011 GreenTex Builders What We're Reading

The American Institute of Architects Select the 2011 COTE Top Ten Green Projects

The 15th annual COTE Top Ten Green Projects program celebrates buildings that not only use few resources but don’t harm their sites, have healthy indoor air quality and connect to public transit.

Cherokee Studios, Los Angeles

This urban infill, mixed-use, market-rate housing project was designed to incorporate green design as a way of marketing a green lifestyle. The design maximizes the opportunities of the mild, Southern California climate with a passive cooling strategy.

First Unitarian Society Meeting House, Madison, Wis.

The 20,000-square-foot addition to the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed national historic landmark Meeting House is approximately 40% more efficient than a comparable base case facility. The new building design features recycled-content and locally sourced materials.

Kiowa County K-12 Schools, Greensburg, KS

Greensburg, Kan., a town  nearly flattened by a May 2007 tornado chose a bold strategy in rebuilding their classrooms:  to combine their schools into a single K-12 facility that would align with the town’s sustainable comprehensive master plan. The facilities design optimizes daylighting and natural ventilation in all classrooms, which increases student academic performance/potential and focus.  A 50-kilowatt wind turbine provides a portion of the electricity needs while the remaining power is generated at the wind farm located outside of town.

High Tech High Chula Vista, Chula Vista, Calif.

This public charter school serving 550 students in grades 9-12 with an approach rooted in project-based learning uses a building management system that integrates a weather station and monitors and controls the lighting and mechanical systems of the facilities, in addition to the irrigation and domestic water systems.

LIVESTRONG Foundation, Austin, TX

Lance Armstrong’s LIVESTRONG Foundation in Austin, Texas, which used 88% of the materials from a 1950s warehouse to help build — on the same site — a multi-functional office space for 62 employees. Achieving LEED Gold certification, the project reflects the LiveStrong mission “to inspire and empower people affected by cancer.”

LOTT Clean Water Alliance, Olympia, Wash.

While most sewage treatment plants are invisible to their communities and separated by a chain link fence, the LOTT Clean Water Alliance Regional Service Center is a visible and active participant in the public life of Olympia. …Methane generated from the plant’s waste treatment process is used in a cogeneration plant to generate electricity and heat.

OS House, Racine, WI

Occupying a narrow infill lot in an old city neighborhood at the edge of Lake Michigan, this LEED Platinum home demonstrates how a small residence built with a moderate budget can become a confident, new urban constituent. Taking advantage of the lake breeze and the site’s solar exposure, outdoor rooms were created to reduce the house’s depth, allowing for maximum natural cross-ventilation and daylight to wash the inside.

RSF at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, Colo.

With the goal of creating the largest commercial net-zero energy structure in the country, the building is meant to serve as a blueprint for a net-zero energy future and influence others in the building industry to pursue low energy and net-zero energy performance.

Step Up on 5th, Santa Monica, Calif.

This mixed-use project provides 46 studio apartments of permanent affordable housing and supportive services for the homeless and mentally disabled population in the heart of downtown Santa Monica. The density of the project is 258 dwelling units/acre, which exceeds the average density of the Manhattan borough of New York City by more than 10%.

Vancouver Convention Centre West, Vancouver, British Columbia

As the world’s first LEED Platinum convention center, this project is designed to bring together the complex ecology, vibrant local culture and urban environment, embellishing their inter-relationships through architectural form and materiality. The living roof — at 6 acres it is the largest in Canada — hosts some 400,000 indigenous plants.

By Matt Tinder

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