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Green Building Comes of Age in South-East Asia

November 25, 2011 By Leave a Comment
southeast Asia

As green building and energy efficiency are becoming better understood, architects in Southeast Asia are designing to beat the sub-tropical heat and humidity. Cooling is the most important consideration, and good shading and ventilation can cut costs and increase comfort. Renewables are gaining momentum. Solar is used frequently, as well as wind power, bio-fuels, fuel cells, hydro-power and geothermal power. Marketing green building is a challenge, because appropriate materials are hard to … [Read more...]

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Earth Sheltered Homes

November 18, 2011 By 3 Comments
Earth-sheltered housing plan

Did you ever see a driveway leading to a small hill with no house in sight? Surely there is a home beneath that soil! It’s an earth-sheltered house. There are three kinds of homes built into the earth: Earth-sheltered – built into a hillside Earth bermed – built above ground and backfilled on north, west and east sides Underground – completely beneath the soil It makes a lot of sense to build with the planet, as my Soil Science teacher put it. Soil is a wonderful insulator. Earth-sheltered … [Read more...]

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Five Visions of Sustainable Low-Impact Homes

November 4, 2011 By 3 Comments
photo: Redesign Day (http://www.redesign-day.com)

Eco-homes literally come in all shapes, sizes and price ranges. Some are fantastically conceived and high-concept. Others are modest, and  certainly could be considered practical during our current era of shifting values when it comes to consumption. In this special guest post, writer Alex Levin expands upon five home designs that have sought to minimize the impact of a carbon footprint. Some of them are kind of wacky.  With every "wacky" idea, comes the potential for the future. Do you see … [Read more...]

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5 Green Built College Campuses

October 14, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Green City Leaf Illustration

As the 21st Century rolls forward, understanding that sustainability is our main mission as a species, green building and leaders in the construction industry have educated themselves in what it will take to build a future. One area where this is most dramatically demonstrated is in the halls of higher education in general. It has been American institutions of learning that have played a major part in leading the nation toward smarter, and more inexpensive, ways to build large scale buildings, … [Read more...]

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5 Green Architects, Architectural Firms & Frank Lloyd Wright

October 12, 2011 By 4 Comments
Photo: Jeff Wolfram

When I was a kid, I wanted to be an architect. I played with Lego® more than dolls, and I drew and redrew house plans for fun. When I was about 12, I remember hearing the word ‘organic’ tied to Frank Lloyd Wright’s work. I wasn’t quite sure what that meant, but as I got older, I understood. I also realized my own life was organic – living with the planet. I’ve studied Wright’s houses, environments and furnishings, and I see how the whole is a work of art. I especially appreciate … [Read more...]

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Tiny House Round-up

October 7, 2011 By 4 Comments
Tiny house round up

Small houses appeal to me for many reasons – small utility bills, less housework and maintenance, cozy, no wasted space. I’m talking less than 1000 square feet. Now the Tiny House is getting popular, and it can have less than 100 square feet! That’s a bit cramped for me, unless I’d be living in a location where it was summer year round, and shelter was a place to get out of the elements. I do find Tiny Houses intriguing, though, so here is a handful to entertain and inspire you. 1. … [Read more...]

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Green Building: Advanced Framing

September 7, 2011 By 2 Comments
OVE Advanced Framing

As I started researching advanced framing, or OVE (Optimal Value Engineering), I found a lot of technical data and wasn’t sure how to present it. This opening paragraph of an article at www.buildingscience.com summed it up for me: The current industry standard wall – a 2x4 frame at 16-inch centers with double top plates, three stud corners, jack studs, cripples and double headers – is being replaced by a 2x6 frame at 24-inch centers with single top plates, two stud corners, no jack studs, … [Read more...]

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Green Building with Insulated Concrete Forms (ICFs)

August 17, 2011 By 6 Comments
Illustration: http://www.homebuilding.co.uk

All green building materials are meant to save energy and natural resources, reduce emissions and create a healthy living environment for the occupants. Insulated Concrete Forms (ICFs) go one step further to reduce build time and maintenance. Building with ICFs is a one-step process to create walls for the building envelope, foundation and floors. The final product is a sandwich of two layers of polystyrene insulation and a concrete filling. There are no wall cavities to insulate. Interior and … [Read more...]

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Green Jobs: Architects and Interior Designers

August 10, 2011 By 2 Comments
Photo: Pablo Sanchez

Green building is becoming more and more popular as energy prices continue to be unpredictable. Once the economy has recovered and the housing market and construction pick back up, green building will be at the forefront. When that happens, I hope energy efficient features will be included in building codes, regulations and covenants. Then, there will be no option but to create buildings with reduced carbon emissions. Green architecture combines building science with green design methods. … [Read more...]

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Green Jobs: Commercial Building Construction

August 3, 2011 By 2 Comments
Green jobs building construction

Building construction is way down in most of the US, but when the economy recovers and building picks back up, green building will be the norm. In this recession, we have learned how to cut back on expenses,  including energy use. We discovered it wasn’t a big sacrifice; we were still comfortable in our homes. We’ve learned that our natural resources are finite and how important it is to conserve them. We have also learned that buildings are energy hogs. According to the US Environmental … [Read more...]

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