Last Day for Build Boston 2009!

Friday November 20th is the last day to sprint to Build Boston and not miss a thing. I'll have to admit that last year Greenbuild was the talk of the town, but now that they are in Phoenix - Build Boston is the place to be if you are local. The exhibit hall is open from 9 am to 1 pm tomorrow and you shouldn't miss over 250 booths if you have been putting it off. With long waiting lists for Greenbuild, many green companies are flocking to other industry tradeshows such as Build Boston. Regardless, now that 'green' is heading in the mainstream direction, sustainability is a priority for nearly all exhibitors. Here are some Build Boston highlights for Friday, November 20th:

Inventor and innovator Dean Kamen, keynote speech. He’s creative, he’s fearless and his passion for “fixing things” is infectious. Yes, design, science and technology can unite us and inspire us to change the world we live in. How to start? Find out at Dean Kamen’s keynote address, 8:30–10:00 am.

Sustainability case studies. Find out why the challenge for us in New England is not to design new sustainable buildings, but to work with the old, historic ones we’ve already got! Hear how energy tax credits (and historic rehabilitation tax credits and new market tax credits) are helping to fund real projects. Learn how (and why) green building is done differently in Europe – using modular construction.

Economic stimulus through public art. Leading architecture, landscape architecture and public art professionals from New England and beyond gather for a one-day symposium on design excellence in public places.

How to design and build a perfect career... in a single afternoon! Launching a career is tough – roadblocks and pitfalls abound. This four-hour conference session offers fresh insights and practical advice from industry leaders tailored to young architects and others looking for their next opportunity. Writers with an interest in the economic realities designers are facing right now: this is a must-attend for you, too!

Yes, recycling has tangible benefits! Just ask the founders of Containers2Clinics. This Dover, MA company retrofits unused shipping containers and transforms them into health clinics for the developing world. Stop by this remarkable prototype at booth 1035 on the tradeshow floor.

Photo by John De Boer

House OKs 6.4 Billion to Make Schools Greener

Here is an article that was reprinted by USGBC about the greening of public schools (originally published on May 14, 2009, CNNPolitics.com, Ed Hornick author). Finally, something good for the schools:

Rachel Gutter, of the U.S. Green Building Council, says the benefits of an eco-friendly school will pay off economically.

"The typical green school saves $100,000 a year on direct operating expenses. In school terms, that's enough to hire two new teachers, purchase 200 new computers or 5,000 textbooks," Gutter said.

"So these are major savings. And that's just one year. The typical school lasts 40 years. And when you do the math, it starts to become some serious savings. ... It pays for itself after a few years of operation."

The council, on its Web site, lists several benefits of green buildings, such as improving air and water quality, conserving natural resources, reducing operating costs and improving employee productivity.

But Gutter says that part of the concern over green schools is the fear over construction costs.

"The research shows the greatest barrier to getting more green schools built is the perception that they cost more up front to build," she said. "The fact of the matter is that they don't. ... Building green doesn't have to cost more, and then everything else, all the savings over the lifetime, are just savings you get to put back in your community's pocket."

The legislation, if signed into law, would also help to create new jobs -- around 136,000 positions, according to calculations by the Economic Policy Institute.

But much more is at stake, Gutter says.

"It's about raising a new generation of leaders who inevitably are going to inherit the problems we will leave behind," she said. "So when you're actually able to use the school itself as a teaching tool, as an opportunity for learning, that's when the connections with curriculum really start to happen."

Read entire article here.

Babcock Ranch: Solar and Green Design of the Future

If everything goes according to plan, soon Babcock Ranch in Florida will be the archetype for solar and green design of the present. In essence it will incorporate everything I write about on this blog in regard to sustainability, including photovoltaics, water conservation, daylighting, and energy savings. It sets a precedent for Eco-friendly urban design, one that will not be easy to live up to. It will take about 25 years to complete and will probably be the greenest city around - literally, over half of the 17,608 acre city is alotted to greenspace such as parks, trails, and nature preserves. Even city rooftops will be 'green roofs' with vegetation to minimize cooling costs.

The city will be powered entirely by renewable solar energy. It will have the largest on-site solar plant in the world that will cost over $300 million. Electric vehicles will be charged at stations powered by the sun, and traffic will be eliminated thanks to the extensive system of pathways for alternative transportation, i.e. walking, biking, rollerblading, etc. No existing city would ever be able to retrofit to such high standards because the design is completed from the ground up taking into consideration all minute details before the site plan is even done.

While in my opinion 'green' and 'city' is an oxymoron, I've got to give them some credit for making a city - the epitome of consumerism and over spending, more sustainable. I still think it is 'greener' to live off-grid (solar and/or wind) in a rural area, raise and grow your own food, and collect rain water. Babcock Ranch is just a great attempt at taking the comfortable consumerism lifestyle and subtracting the guilt that some don't even feel while living like billions of others in the average city. It will be a great place for those who like city life but want to go 'green', which is impossible in any of today's cities.

To appreciate everything this city will have to offer you have to visit their outstanding website, the in-depth interactive presentation will answer all your questions and will leave just one - how can I get a place there?

Dell Children's is First LEED Platinum Hospital

Dell Children's Medical Center of Central Texas has become the first hospital in the world to receive the LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) Platinum designation, given by the U.S. Green Building Council.

Many consider building to LEED standards a waste of money and just a reason to brag, but it is clear that LEED buildings are actually money-saving, not to mention healthier to occupy. The poor building standards that have governed for such a long time result in the occupants developing chronic conditions such as asthma. We spend most of our time indoors in schools, office buildings, and hospitals, the air we breathe there has an absolute direct impact on our health. Here are some reasons why Dell Children's is superior to other hospital buildings:

"Dell Children's, which occupies nearly one-half million square feet on 32 acres that were once part of Austin's old Mueller Airport, opened in June 2007. Its environmentally-sensitive design not only conserves water and electricity, but positively impacts the hospital's clinical environment by improving air quality, making natural sunlight more readily available, and reducing a wide range of pollutants.

Inside the facility, sunlight reaches 80 percent of the available space. Outside, sustainable and indigenous building materials were used throughout the façade. A 4.3 megawatt natural gas-fired power plant produces 100 percent of the hospital's electricity, heating and cooling."

Read the full article here.

USGBC: 15 Year Anniversary

The USGBC (US Green Building Council) is celebrating 15 productive years! On their website you can view a great presentation highlighting the 15 individuals who have been involved in the making of the USGBC organization and shaping it to what it is today. Read about and watch video clips featuring Rick Fedrizzi, David Gottfried, John Picard, Bob Berkebile, Pliny Fisk, Susan Maxman, Mark Ginsberg, Alex Wilson, Auden Schendler, Bill Walsh, Peter Templeton, Scot Horst, Linda Cato, Martha Jane Murray, and Danniel Wallach.

One interviewer quoted Churchill whose words mark this point in time so well "You can always count on Americans to do the right thing after they have tried everything else and failed." The incredible thing about this 'green' movement is that it is not just about architecture or culture, it is a social movement. Likewise, the USGBC is not just about buildings, it is about people and lifestyle. Going forward, the organization hopes to continue their mission and avoid misrepresenting the current need for sustainable building, to avoid calling it mainstream when only 2-10% of homes can actually be called 'green'. This also involves exposing corporations that claim to be green without ever complying with LEED, they do not deserve a free ride just by masking themselves as environmentally friendly recyclers. The challenge ahead involves a lot of work on both new and existing buildings in America.

USGBC 15 YEARS PRESENTATION LINK

Boston Real Estate: the time to buy

Photo courtesy SXC

While most of us in the current economy will stay put in our dwellings, all around us we can see the great opportunities to invest in real estate with the prices still tumbling. If you were lucky on the timing, you are renting right now and on the look out for the best place to call home (or maybe you are that 2% of the population who can just keep on buying as many homes as you like).

Here are some of my top picks for luxury living in the Boston area, click on the links for more info:

Hammondswood: Chestnut Hill

Lexington Place: Lexington*

Macallen Building Condominiums Boston*

Northpoint Cambridge

One First: Cambridge

The Bryant: South End

The Durant: Wellesley

99 Winchester: Brookline*

*LEED building

New LEED worthy materials

If you have worked with the USGBC (US Green Building Council) LEED certification program, you are always subconsciously on the lookout for exterior and interior materials that can get you LEED points. Today I will highlight three interior products that are LEED worthy:

1. SILK DYNASTY WALL COVERING: "Because of this cotton-and-abaca textile's durability, flexibility, and resistance to water damage, it's versatile enough to be used in more than just sunny climes. The pattern is GreenSpec-certified; contributes to LEED credits for its rapidly-renewable, raw, low-emitting, regional material; and comes in six colorways."

Check out www.silkdynasty.com for more info.

2. UNICORK FLOORING (pictured above): This great alternative flooring material can score up to 3 LEED points. A blurb about it..."Unicork has exceptional physical properties including acoustical and thermal insulation, durability, resistance to mold and mildew, naturally hypo-allergenic, and easy to clean. Unicork is suitable for use in homes, offices, institutional,
healthcare, and retail environments, including stores, restaurants, and any other
commercial installation." Some of the environmental benefits of using cork are that it is a renewable natural resource, it is a natural thermal insulator, it resists mold and mildew, and is naturally hypoallergenic. What's not to love?

Look at http://tomkt.com/main.html for information.

3. ENVIROSLAB COUNTERTOP (pictured above): These affordable and unique countertop slabs are hand made with 100% recycled glass and porcelain and color-customizable resin in Texas and can be shipped to all fifty states and internationally.

www.enviroglasproducts.com