GreenDigs Blog

Plain Green 10 was a kick. Now we’re sifting through all the bytes of information needing organization and wrap-up, and the headless snowman napkin sketch I woefully described during the “good morning welcome” has emerged. Had we been able to bring this simple diagram up on the screen, it would have illustrated our intent and mission for the day.

It was a quick illustration by Brian Dunbar from the Opening Party the night before. Brian was explaining three very different places in the way we design our world.

Degenerate. The bottom of the illustration is where most of us reside, and usually design if that is our profession, and if we’re being honest.

Sustain. The middle is really a misnomer, but worthy target.

Regenerate. At the top is what the future holds for those who truly dream, stretch and look long into the future when designing and making our world.

The ‘belly button,’ by the way, is where Brian sees green building these days.

I’m sitting at my kitchen counter.  It’s 4 a.m. and there are whirling details and to-dos riding around in my head. It happens every year at this time, why should this year be any different? We have some incredible speakers coming to Sioux Falls from 8 states, both coasts and varied disciplines. I was recently telling my son who is an art major at USD about Dr. J (Dr. Mitchell Joachim) who has been artfully and architecturally dreaming about future possibilities for our cities, how and where we live, and what we drive – envision fluffy lamb cars that bump into you instead of squash you. I told him about Dr. J’s education spanning from Columbia to Harvard to MIT and that he’s coining words like carborexic, but I didn’t really get his attention until I mentioned that Dr. J has dreadlocks down to his a**… err, a passle of dreads. Now he is looking for a ride from Vermillion to the Washington Pavilion on Thursday April 29. I’m his mother afterall, and what do I know that might interest young creative types?

Gee whiz.

A colleague of mine sent me this clip regarding setting the ‘thinktone’ for incoming architecture students for the new School of Architecture at SDSU next fall.  It is about 15 minutes of an outside-of-box view of the progression of technology and how we use it.   Technology’s Epic Story  Bernard Tschumi said, “We have to teach both the technology of construction and the construction of technology.”

Btw, TED is the organization of the not-so-famous but very cool TED Prize, of which one and possibly 2 of the Plain Green 10 speakers has won.  Check out Cameron Sinclair April 29 at the Washington Pavilion, registration is http://plaingreen.org/ .

Wondering how to have a Merry Christmas but stay green at the same time? I stumbled across an article from Planet Green recently about how to do just that. Check out http://planetgreen.discovery.com/go-green/holidays/index.html for tips, such as reusing old newspapers by wrapping gifts with comics, and decorating your tree with energy-saving LED lights. These are a few of my faves, but check out the article for more green holiday ideas!

Archbishop Desmond Tutu

And so says Desmond Tutu in his latest book.  I just returned from GreenBuild 08 in Boston, which is the yearly get together for the 15 year old organization called United States Green Building Council or USGBC http://communicate.usgbc.org/2008/.  Mr. Tutu was the opening keynote speaker, where approximately 30,000 individuals from diverse backgrounds converged November 18-21, to learn more about and contribute to the greatest movement of our time.  What (in the h*e*double L) does a retired Archbishop of an African church have to do with buildings, and what is this movement anyway?!?  I’ll try to explain.

The Gist

The Archbishop opened and spent considerable time commending his audience for investing themselves and being part of a long, large outlook, one that is reaching out to the global environment rather than a myopic form of entrepreneurship within the building industry.  He diplomatically hinted at such a small population (United States) using a huge proportion of the world’s resources and at the potential we hold to make a difference.  Green building is an emerging industry, but it is also addressing a real problem of resource abuse on a resource-limited planet.  Buildings are the biggest resource users in front of transportation and industry, and each one of us lives and works in a building which in turn can’t help but effect our outlook and awareness.  Desmond Tutu, from his own long large perspective encouraged us in the concept of ubuntu, “I am human because I belong.  I participate.  I share.”  And that social harmony is the greatest good.  He spoke honestly about our connectedness and from the perspective of leading South Africa’s healing from apartheid - the man has heard and seen real horror we see only at theaters.

Well, so?

So we have a challenge and opportunity in front of us, to look beyond our feather pillow and kitchen counter and 4-door sedan, and beyond our home’s property line or our office desk.  It is a chance to take notice of a long and large outlook and then pull back to our everyday, because everything starts small and builds.  Recycle, turn the switch off, close the door, fix the leak, think globally and act locally, right?  When making decisions about your building, consider the outlook, consider your legacy and the connectedness we have to others in our community, nation, and world.  Be energy and water efficient, build timeless long-lasting buildings that are kind to their occupants as well as their surroundings.  It’s important, and it does matter in the bigger picture of our built environment, and ultimately in our own interactions with each other.

About 11% of electricity used at home supports our light hungry habits, not to mention our commercial addiction to kicking footcandles into the stratosphere.  Consider the alternatives.

Conservation - reduce the use, now there’s a concept.  Aside from sitting fireside while reading or doing the mending, the ‘energy efficient’ market is coming up with some great ideas for saving energy. 

• Use LED lights now available in white light and a wide range of styles.  They are very energy efficient and improving all the time.
• Use low mercury CFLs (compact flourescent lights) or low mercury T8 lamps such as Philips ALTO II for the office or shop instead of incandescent bulbs.
• Light switch motion sensors can effectively be used in low traffic areas to automatically turn lights off when not needed.
• Meet IESNA (Illuminating Engineering Society of North America) standards, but don’t exceed them.

Task Lighting – There are some very hip and/or sleek focus lights out there to put the lumens right where you need them. Even some LED tasks lights are available now, which only use 9 watts of power and last for 60,000 hours. (See Herman Miller – Leaf Light)

Use the power of the SUN, turn the main lights down (or off) and cool down the watts.  Harvest free light when it’s available. 

• If you’re building, place windows to strategically take advantage of indirect light when possible. 
• Use solar shelves or louvers at window interiors to bounce light deep into long spaces.

 Be proactive about lighting at home or work, or in your next project, and reap the benefits of lower electrical bills and better quality light.

One last Kick:  Better daylighting makes us feel… well, better.

Hurry and sign up to attend Plain Green on September 25 and 26 at the Washington Pavilion in Sioux Falls…only 5 days left to get the early bird rate! Register now to reserve your spot. Visit www.plaingreen.org.

P.S. Did you know we’re also offering a pre-conference workshop on September 24? Join us for the LEED New Construction Technical Workshop at the Museum of Visual Materials.

During the March 2008 National Board of Directors meeting, approval was given to require American Institue of Architects members to complete four (4) hours of Sustainable Design SD Learning Units which would be included as part of the 8 hour/ HSW or 18/8 LU hours already required (no added hours).  This requirement will run until 2012 and be evaluated.

Rules are being finalized by the AIA/CES and will be based on the following definition (take a deep breath):

Sustainable design is achieved through an integrated design and delivery process that enhances the natrural and built environment by using energy sensibly with a goal toward carbon neutrality, improves air and water quality, protects and preserves water and other resources, and creates environments, communities and buildings that are livable, comfortable, productive, diverse, safe, and providing enduring value to our community and society as a whole.

Breathe.  Here’s more.

To qualify for SD Learning Units or SD LUs, the content must meet 4 thresholds:

1.  It must address the AIA the long definition of sustainability.

2.  It must be a structured (third-party) program (i.e. no self-study)

3.  At least 75% of program content must qualify as HSW.

4.  Its primary purpose must address at least one of the AIA Committee on the Environment (COTE) Measures of Sustainable Design. 

I think this is a good move on AIA’s part.  You’ve heard about product ‘greenwashing’, sad to say it happens within the design professions also.  The key to knowing GREEN and providing clients with better service is education, education, and education.

To this end, we’re arranging for an official day-long LEED for New Construction Technical Workshop on September 24 in conjunction with the Plain Green conference.  Workshop Registration

Koch Hazard has been using LEED for New Construction (LEED NC) for 4 years.  Just like codes, LEED is updated and then re-released as the next version through the US Green Building Council.  Courthouse Square and Museum of Visual Materials are Version 2.1, and Cherapa Place is Version 2.2.  Each successive version works through kinks, incorporates new technologies, and responds to user comments to improve the rating system.  The next release is LEED v3, and has just opened up for public comment before officially being published.

LEED 2009 resets the bar for green building leadership because the urgency of our mission has challenged the industry to move faster and reach further than ever before.  LEED 2009, coupled with an expanded third-party certification program and significant enhancements to LEED Online make up a multi-faceted initiative that we refer to as LEED v3. ~ Rick Fedrizzi, CEO USGreen Building Council

Major areas of change include:

• Harmonizing the different rating systems (NC-new construction, EB-existing buildings, CI-commercial interiors, CS-core&shell, H-homes, S-schools, etc) to alleviate credit/prerequisite conflicts as a move towards standardized credits
• Incorporating updates on a set schedule – possibly instead of published revisions necessitating the purchase of new books??
• Weighting credits through an overlay framework considering the relative importance of environmental impacts
• The indoor water savings credits (WEc3.1 and 3.2) could only be achieved if 30% is reached, with 20% becoming a prerequisites
• Switching to a 100 point system plus 10 for innovation and regional context
• Choosing materials based on life cycle analysis (LCA) is a goal but won’t be considered as part of this change

For more details, go to the BuildingGreen article http://www.buildinggreen.com/auth/article.cfm/2008/5/20/Next-Generation-of-LEED-Out-for-Public-Comment/

The plaingreen08 website is up and running including registration for the conference September 25 and 26. The cost is $50 until August 24, then $75 (students $25 all the way) but we only have room for 300 so don’t delay. 

At the time of our first writing, we were trying to entice Stephanie Herseth-Sandlin to speak, but she has important DC business during those dates (imagine), so SDSU president Dr. David Chicoine is considering.

The September 24 pre-conference LEED NC Technical Workshop registration is not yet available, but stay tuned.