GreenGeezer

Mixed-Use, Affordable, Sustainable Housing in Calgary, CA

The latest issue of Eco-Structure magazine features Vento Residences, designed by Busby Perkins + Will.  Calgary, Alberta demolished its general hospital and decided to create a green, pedestrian-friendly, transit-oriented urban community where the hospital used to be.  The community is certified LEED Platinum, and the homes are performing 44% better than Canada's Model National Energy Code.  Green features include:

• increased density in the inner city and surrounding the public transut
• pedestrian oriented design
• live-work units
• solar orientation
  
• low maintenance vegetation
• construction waste management plans
• water efficient irrigation
• indoor/outdoor bicycle parking
• low volume toilets and shower heads

Affordable units are included in the mix, as are small, local businesses on ground level Wouldn't it be great if Chicago decided to initiate a development like this out of the hulk that is Cook County Hospital?

Solar Verde Plans Zero Energy Homes in Chicago

Solar Verde, a development planned for South Chicago, IL will build Zero Energy Homes that will reduce energy costs for homeowners by 60-100%.  The partners in this enterprise include PureEnergy Alternatives, a company in Northbrook, Illinois.   Looking at the renderings, it is clear that the project plans to use thin-film technology in the form of solar roof shingles:

"These shingles contain solar cells; each cell will produce electric power when exposed to sunlight. These cells are manufactured in a high-tech process similar to that which is used to make computer chips. Solar shingles have no moving parts, are very reliable, and have a long life." (from the website)

The combination of solar roof shingles and super-insulated walls will create homes that are not energy consumers but energy generators.

Development in Sebastopol, CA Uses Gray Water System

Florence Lofts are designed for people who work from home and want to be able to walk to all the city's amenities. The lofts are beautiful and have been rated LEED Gold for their use  of environmentally friendly materials and their solar power system.  But what really interested me (because my mind is always in the gutter?) was the fact that this is the first gray water recycling system to be approved for use in Sonoma County.   As reported in Inhabitat:

"The impressive gray water recycling system ... [uses] recycled water from bathing, washing and laundry to provide 100% of the water needed for landscape irrigation. Given water shortages in Northern California, the estimated savings of up to 150,000 gallons of water per year go along way to conservation. In addition, rainfall and storm water brought on-site are cleansed naturally through a bioremediation system, reducing the pollutants and toxins that these two sources bring to streams and rivers.....[All] paved surfaces throughout the project are permeable, recharging the natural water table in the area."

Chapel Hill Development Employs Cradle-to-Cradle Principles

There is a new development planned for Chapel Hill, NC that fulfills our passion for green building and our love of the college town. It is also gratifying to see the development arise in town, where it will rejuvenate an area that needs it.  (At least that's what I read between the lines of the copy on their website.)   Note to developers who want their projects to be approved by town planning boards:  the local community loves this development.  The company vision of Greenbridge Developments is an inspiration, but should be a requirement for anyone planning to build dwellings for human beings:

"Greenbridge Developments aims to develop a new kind of community in existing neighborhoods that promotes human and ecological health. A community that restores the air, water, and soil on which life depends, and contributes to the quality, diversity, vitality, and prosperity of its neighbors. An essential component to this will be to embrace new construction methods, innovative renewable building materials, and forward-thinking renewable energy strategies capable of restoring our relationship to the planet."

Ecological Home Magazine Features Green Communities

The fall issue of Ecological Home Ideas has a great feature on Green Communities, including Atlantic Station in Atlanta which clusters affordable homes around businesses in downtown Atlanta close to dining, shopping and parks.  Hope it helps to reduce Atlanta's hideous traffic problems.  Rhapsody Cove near Kankakee promises prairie restoration and wetlands protection, but it's still way the heck out of town forcing people to drive just to buy groceries.  Sanctuary Place in Chicago, designed by Farr Associates, is an affordable housing complex for formerly homeless women that uses passive solar design and insulated concrete forms to keep the building snug even in cold Chicago winters.  "ICFs are hollow blocks, usually made of foam, stacked into walls that are then reinforced with steel rebar and filled with concrete.  The result is a highly durable, energy efficient wall..."  Tribeca Green in NYC also used concrete walls to help win LEED Silver status.

Tilting at Windows

The innovative architectural firm Studio Gang has designed  Windermere West , a 26-story condo building planned for the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago, which will reduce summer peak energy use dramatically by tilting windows away from the sun.  The August online issue of Wired has a nice picture.   

   Neighborhood community meetings have expressed concern about the height of the building, but let's hope that however tall the building is, the design stays intact.

"Green" McMansion vs. Brownfield Development

Friday's New Homes section in the Chicago Tribune showed how the term "green" has been completely co-opted; builder Robert Lord is creating a six bedroom, six bath, 11,000 square foot "green" home with multiple garage spaces, which will sell for $3.9 million.    Just let that sink in for a moment.   Even the Real Estate reporter was a little skeptical, asking:  "But isn't the essence of going green making less of a footprint on the Earth?"    As he ticked off the list of "green features"  in this St. Charles, IL home, the  builder pointed out that the buyer would save "as much as $7,000 annually" using his geothermal heating system.  Well, yes, it's easy to 'save' money on energy when you are spending a king's ransom on it in the first place....After nearly choking on my breakfast at the sheer obscenity of building a house like this in the middle of valuable farmland, I was heartened by another story on the same page.

Developer Gerald Snowden is reclaiming a former junkyard in downtown Traverse City, MI and turning it into a mixed-use building with shops, offices, and residences.

"Hans Voss, executive director of the Michigan Land Use Institute, praised the idea of reusing an inner-city location instead of gobbling up another cherry orchard on the outskirts of town.  'Putting up a green building where everyone drives 20 miles back and forth is not nearly as sustainable as putting it downtown where we can walk and not burn fuel to do our daily activities,' Voss said."

The  builder is developing the site to meet LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) standards established by the U.S. Green Building Council.  Way to go, dude.

 

Garden Atriums: Green Or Not?

The Garden Atriums at Poquoson, VA utilize one of my all-time favorite house designs: an interior garden.  However, since the house is not in sunny Spain, the garden must have a glass roof....Perhaps it's because I spent too much time staying at Hyatt Hotels, but the word "atrium" has always given me the creeps.  Nevertheless, there is a genuine attempt to conserve with features such as:

• Passive solar design
• PV solar to generate electricity
• "Special coated glass" over the atrium
• Rainwater harvesting to supply virtually all water needs

(No energy performance information is provided.) Still, it sure beats the classic American suburban house planted in the middle of a grass lawn.....

Green Armitage Development in Chicago's Logan Square

The Green Armitage development in Chicago is an example of leadership in green building. 

• "According to computer modeling, the building exceeds the EPA's Residential Energy Star standard by significantly more than 50% (project target is 85%), which gives buyers a significant energy savings over a similar conventionally-built unit.
• Revolutionary ELFI wall system for super-efficient insulation.
• ELFI exterior walls perform at R-40  and roofing panels at R-60 thermo-insulation values. (Chicago code requires only R-13)
• High-efficiency HVAC and tankless water heaters create a high level of comfort with less energy.
• Low or no-VOC paints, finishes and sealants as well as formaldehyde-free custom cabinets help prevent indoor air pollution."

Best of all, I didn't see a mention of the too-trite-for-words "granite countertops" anywhere on the website.  Instead they are using Paperstone, an FSC-certified product with the hardness of stone, made from post-consumer recycled paper.  This product is endorsed by both the Rainforest Alliance and Smartwood.  The builders have recognized their responsibility to deal with water conservation and runoff management:  plumbing systems are highly efficient, and "storm water runs to ground where it percolates down into the porous soil instead of Chicago's overwhelmed storm sewers." The team involved includes George Sullivan's Eco Smart Building .  George has been  a leader in the green building movement for several years and is now finding himself much in demand.

Vermont Green Retirement Community

I was happy to see that the folks who are planning the Gray and Green community in Vermont have linked to our blog, so I went to their site, which not only has a wealth of information, but also presents a philosophy that I support wholeheartedly:

"Don't hide behind the gates in an exclusive retirement enclave.  Retire comfortably and responsibly in a caring, life-affirming green community.  Share cooperative stewardship of a Vermont organic dairy farm. ....Farm and forestland preservation. A compassionate lifestyle.  Social and economic diversity."

They're giving a lot of thought to the things that matter:  "Green construction methods and careful planning will preserve our forest lands, and protect wildlife, soil, and water."  Planners seem to be wrestling with the key issue:  how does one justify taking up space in virgin farmland?   Can it be justified if, by living in an area, we also preserve and conserve?  It will be interesting to see what governing structure they employ to achieve their goals, as it doesn't look as if they are using the cohousing model.  I decided to sign up so I can follow their process and help publicize their effort.