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{Re}habitat
Learn how adaptive reuse and upcycling can add hip design to your home, apartment, or yard with the Go Green channel's {Re}habitat series. Follow host Rachael Ranney as she shows you how to repurpose salvaged and found materials, adding fun and function to your space without breaking your budget.
Henning Larsen Architects' state-of-the-art Denmark Herlev Hospital
Written by Kristin Dispenza Mon Aug 29 2011The healing power of nature plays a large role in Henning Larsen Architects’ winning design for an extension to Denmark’s Herlev Hospital. Here exterior spaces are as carefully planned as interior ones, affording occupants in all areas of the extension some contact with the outdoors. The organizing principles of the new addition also accommodate state-of-the-art developments in patient care.
Anyone who has glimpsed New Zealand’s picturesque beaches or the rolling green hills and mountainous terrain showcased in films like "The Lord of the Rings" can imagine why New Zealanders value their country’s natural beauty and enjoy spending time outdoors. Team New Zealand is competing in the 2011 Solar Decathlon and is comprised of Victoria University of Wellington students from the Schools of Architecture, Design, Marketing, Commerce, Tourism Management, and Building Sciences. Their entry is titled First Light because “New Zealand is the first place the morning light shines at the start of a new day,” and it conveys the students’ pride in their country to attendees on the National Mall in Washington, DC, all the way on the other side of the world. In fact, First Light is the Solar Decathlon’s first and only entry from the Southern Hemisphere.
Another Successful Lean Delivery Project: The Temecula Valley Hospital
Written by Morey Bean, AIA, LEED AP Fri Aug 26 2011Upon first blush, the term “Lean Construction” seems to lack the hype usually associated with the latest and greatest, best and brightest product of construction firms interested in getting the attention of their clients, who always want to save money and receive greater value in the buildings. The relentless quest for ways to improve the often provincial construction processes at work for projects from the large to the small, from the simple to the complex. Indeed, the construction industry is haunted by the constant beckoning of high-tech solutions; in most other primary industrial arenas, factory lines, supply chains, and sophisticated “back office” functions have created greater efficiencies and much better products.
Is Your Construction Project in Good Shape?: 10,500 Questions to Ask
Written by Andrew Kimos Thu Aug 25 2011Originally developed as a checklist to be used during development and execution of Engineering, Procurement, and Construction contracts (EPC’s), Mike McMahon’s EPC Checklist has broad application -- whether you are developing project punch list items, ensuring separate tasks are scheduled by engineers, vendors, contractors and project managers, or providing construction inspectors a list of work items to validate in the field, this comprehensive list of questions will add value to your project. Sometimes construction project solutions and positive outcomes are all about knowing the right questions to ask -- here are 10,500 of them, organized by 176 subjects of construction work type.
I have been advocating for and designing green infrastructure and LID solutions for a number of years now. In those years one of the most common things I hear is "So what's it going to cost me?". The assumption is always that it's going to cost more, and often they expect it to cost a lot more. Fortunately, its often less expensive rather than more expensive. This is especially the case with civil engineering (stormwater infrastructure, grading, parking lots, landscape design, etc.). Clients are naturally incredulous when I tell them that it's going to cost less, so their next statement is usually " Really!?, how much less?". In answering that question I have found that "well, that depends", doesn't always fly, so I have put together some general cost comparisons for several green vs traditional design elements.
Civil engineers design them, landscape architects loath them, developers wonder why we need them and municipal engineers often require them - I hate them. Retention and Detention ponds have become the standard for stormwater management on commercial and residential projects throughout most of the US. They were originally intended for flood control and were later incorporated into water quality requirements as well. They serve in their capacity to attenuate peak flows from new development reasonably well, but their usefulness stops there. Here are a few of the reasons that I'm not a fan of detention/retention ponds:
Green Building Performance: Benefits to Post Occupancy Assessment
Written by Michael Tolson MBA, LEED AP Thu Aug 25 2011The performance of green buildings is a very hot topic in both the construction and real estate industries. As owners demand lower operating expenses, more and more new construction and existing building retrofits are being designed to a very high standard. However, as owners are finding out, those high design standards create only the opportunity for a green building. It’s what is done with that opportunity that defines both a building’s operations and the occupants inside it.
Houses are stationary objects, so using terms like “passive” and “active” to describe them initially seems a little odd. These terms actually embody design strategies that create comfort for occupants while drastically cutting down on energy use.
