6 posts tagged “green building”
REGREEN is an initiative by the American Society of Interior Designers' Foundation a d the U.S. Green Building Council to develop:
Characteristics include:
"best practice guidelines and targeted educational resources for sustainable residential improvement projects. This program will increase understanding of sustainable renovation project practices and benefits among homeowners, residents, design professionals, product suppliers and service providers to build both demand and industry capacity."
- a whole-house, systems-thinking approach, focusing on "how systems or the whole building work together to reduce environment impacts" through "cross-listing of strategies by project and environmental category"
- integration of all building professions, by combining "content, resources and case studies that tie together best-practice design and construction"
- recognition that a green project must first be a quality project, and that "the beauty of a building or project ... is the starting point for durability"
- recognising the importance of designing for the specific climate and site
- emphasising the importance of decisions made at the very beginning of each project
Link: Promote Green Buildings for Biggest, Easiest Cuts in North American CO2 Emissions
A report announced in Vancouver by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation states that "Promoting the green design, construction, renovation and operation of buildings could cut North American greenhouse gas emissions that are fuelling climate change more deeply, quickly and cheaply than any other available measure."
Currently, North American buildings directly or indirectly result in the release of 2.2B tons of CO2. Rapid implementation of green building technologies could result in savings of 1.7B tons by 2030, roughly equal to the US transportation sector in 2000. A review by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development quotes John Westeinde, a partner in the Windmill Development Group in Ottawa and chairman of an advisory group that guided the report.
"The investments made for climate change benefit in buildings have direct payback, generally from the point of view of reduced energy costs and water costs as well the indoor health environment and increased productivity of the inhabitants of those buildings."
Barriers to rapid adoption include:
- limited application of lifecycle costing, often because capital and operating budgets are separately managed
- green building technologies often do not benefit the developer who pays for them
- higher perceived or actual costs
- higher perceived risk
- lack of expertise
- inconsistent government policies
- lack of investment in research
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2008/01/21 added link to course/instructor details.
Thanks to Melissa Ferrato for the information.
The TRCA will be hosting two 1-day seminars on Life Cycle Costing for Green Building design on February 11 and 12, 2008. Registration for this course will be on a first come first serve basis.
Registration fee: $300 per person (includes refreshments, lunch, course materials and any applicable taxes)
Date (two options):
Monday, February 11, 2008
Tuesday, February 12, 2008Time (same for both date options): 9:00 AM to 4:30 PM (Sign-in/Coffee starts at 8:15AM)
Location: Black Creek Pioneer Village, North Theatre, 1000 Murray Ross Parkway, Toronto, Ontario, M3J 2P3
**Course and instructor details are provided in an MS Word attachment**
The deadline for RSVP is Friday, February 1st, and all registration payments must be received by Wednesday, February 6th.To RSVP, please respond to Lisa Rocha (lrocha<at>trca.on.ca) and indicate the day you wish to attend the course (February 11th or 12th), the number of individuals attending, their full names, and the organization with which each person is affiliated. Also, in the event that your preferred date is full, please indicate whether you are interested in attending on the other date available. Please note that the seminar maximum is 20 participants on each day, so it is recommended that you RSVP as soon as possible to secure your spot on your preferred date.
Registration fees should be paid by cheque, made payable to Toronto and Region Conservation Authority. In the memo line, please write "Registration fee for Life Cycle Cost Training Seminar"
Payments must be mailed to:Attn: Lisa Rocha
Toronto and Region Conservation Authority
5 Shoreham Drive
Downsview, Ontario
M3N 1S4
Where: Gardiner Museum, Terrace Room, 111 Queen’s Park (at Museum subway station), Toronto
When: Monday, November 26, 2007 at 6:30 pm
ARCHITECTURE FOR HUMANITY TORONTO, in collaboration with the Gardiner Museum, is pleased to present a free public education lecture, “Green Building in an Urban Setting”, presented by Dr. David Moses of Equilibrium Consulting. Moses, whose work includes innovative commercial, residential and community-based projects, proposes the question “Why can't we all live and work in green buildings, right now?” He will examine the challenges faced by designers in North America when entertaining sustainable alternatives to standard building practice, including the biggest challenges of convincing clients, building officials, builders and even other designers of the long term benefits of sustainable design.
ABOUT DR DAVID MOSES
David Moses is a structural engineer specializing in timber engineering. After joining Equilibrium Consulting Inc. in Vancouver in 1999, he moved to Toronto to open an Ontario office for Equilibrium. A growing number of his projects involve green design, where timber is often the material of choice. David received his PhD in structural engineering from UBC in 2000 and has published research articles on timber design and wood composites. He has contributed general interest articles to Wood/Le Bois and Wood Design & Building magazines and sits on a number of CSA committees.
ABOUT ARCHITECTURE FOR HUMANITY TORONTO
Architecture for Humanity Toronto (AFHTo) is a volunteer organization that provides support for architectural and design solutions to social and environmental problems. Using advocacy and public education, we strive to build a sustainable and socially equitable living and working environment in Toronto. AFHTo is a local Canadian chapter of Architecture for Humanity International, a non-profit organization, founded in 1999 to foster architectural solutions to global, social and humanitarian crises.
For more information, see www.architectureforhumanity.ca or write to info@architectureforhumanity.ca.
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Capital E "is a premier provider of strategic consulting, technology assessment and deployment, and advisory services to firms and investors in the clean energy industry." They published Greening America's Schools: Costs and Benefits (Gregory Kats, October/2006), a 28 page article that "conclusively demonstrates the financial, environmental, and other benefits of using green technologies in schools."
A review of 30 'green' schools found the cost increase was less than 2% or $3/square foot, on an average national cost of $150/square foot. This generated direct savings to schools of about $12/square foot (energy/water consumption, teacher retention, health costs). Total savings were estimated at about $70/square foot which included various community benefits. The largest factor ($49/square foot) was increased future earnings of students, due to an improved learning experience. Various non-quantifiable benefits are also explored.
Thanks to Melissa Ferrato (CaGBC, TRCA) for the pointer!
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TVOntario is running six 30-minute programs on green design Thursdays at 07:00pm and 07:30pm.
October 18th:
- The Green Apple 1 of 6 Combatting the myth of the bustling city as "concrete jungle", some of Manhattan's most prominent and technologically advanced structures illustrate how the ubiquitous skyscraper can, surprisingly, be a model of environmental responsibility.
- Green for All 2 of 6 Architect and activist Sergio Palleroni's mission is to provide architectural and design solutions to global crisis regions. In East Austin, Texas, and Sonora, Mexico, he and his student team teach rural communities to build their own homes and reduce the cost by being resourceful.
- The Green Machine 3 of 6 Mayor Richard M. Daley aims to make Chicago "the greenest city in America." He built the city's most prominent "green roof" atop City Hall and created an entire municipal office charged with overseeing the city's many environmental initiatives. The city is adopting green technologies in both residential and corporate sectors.
- Grey to Green 4 of 6 The value in recycling on a grand level: Paul Pedini, a civil engineer on Boston's "Big Dig," had the idea to build his own home from some of the massive amount of waste created by the $15 billion project. This has sparked plans to create an office complex in Massachusetts from the same recycled material.
November 1st:
- China: From Red to Green? 5 of 6 Steven Holl's "Linked Hybrid" project in Beijing will be the largest residential geothermal heating/cooling and greywater recycling system in the world. Award-winning architect William McDonough talks about his plans to make China entirely sustainable and to demonstrate the ways architecture can be both profitable and environmentally intelligent.
- Deeper Shades of Green 6 of 6 A look to the future with three remarkable thinkers and designers of our time: Kenneth Yeang, Werner Sobek and William McDonough. Each is radically changing the face of not only architecture but also environmentalism in the attempt to construct human habitat in harmony with nature and ultimately change the world we live in.
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