Our Green Streets Blog

Vermeer drove a mobile CEB press from Iowa to the Rocky Flats CEB production site.

TSC Global, championing its innovative “Roofs for the World” program, met in Denver with a group of earth building advocates, including Partners Worldwide and Iowa-based Vermeer Tractors for a full production test run of the Vermeer’s mobile compressed earth block machine press.

Brad Wells, TSC executive director, says Vermeer drove its equipment from Iowa, setting up a mobile production facility to manufacture over 1000 compressed earth blocks (CEBs) which TSC will then use to complete the walls on a demonstration unit at its Denver headquarters. Wells believes this represents a new building paradigm for impoverished areas in the world.

The CEBs were manufactured on facilities west of Denver that had been donated by Church Ranch, where the team used “a mountain of blue ribbon dirt!” says Wells. The goal of this endeavor is to build durable, inexpensive structures that will resemble the Ugandan units developed by Moses Musaazi Kampala, as shown in this photo.

This October, a group of international business people gathered to observe Vermeer’s portable CEB press – the 714 Dynabloc Press. Vermeer and Faith Tech Connect developed the machine to use in worldwide poverty areas to build low-cost CEB homes and provide jobs to local residents in the process.  The blocks are produced using a mixture of clay-based soil and a small amount of cement for bonding.

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Philip S. Miller Library, Castle Rock, CO Photo: Sunflower Corp.

Those wishing to have the best natural light for interior spaces may want to take a look at Sunflower Corporation and its Sundolier^®, a lighting system designed to deliver high quality indirect daylight to large spaces.

The line of “daylighting” products developed at the Boulder, CO-based Sunflower Corporation are designed with this objective: to provide sustainable natural lighting that meets the high quality lighting demands of education, office, retail and industrial markets.

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Simon Dale's low-impact home in Wales

This marvelous and imaginative home was built in Wales by Simon Dale.

He writes: “This building is one part of a low-impact or permaculture approach to life. This sort of life is about living in harmony with both the natural world and ourselves, doing things simply and using appropriate levels of technology. These sort of low cost, natural buildings have a place not only in their own sustainability, but also in their potential to provide affordable housing which allows people access to land and the opportunity to lead more simple, sustainable lives. For example this house was made to house our family whilst we worked in the woodland surrounding the house doing ecological woodland management and setting up a forest garden, things that would have been impossible had we had to pay a regular rent or mortgage.”

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Africa: compressed earth water towers

Author and architect, Ronald Rael, says, “Currently it is estimated that one half of the world’s population—approximately three billion people on six continents—lives or works in buildings constructed of earth. And while the vast legacy of traditional and vernacular earthen construction has been widely discussed, little attention has been paid to the contemporary tradition of earth architecture. “

As a result, Ronald Rael, an assistant professor of architecture at The University of California, Berkeley, founded Eartharchitecture.org as a web clearinghouse of information on the subject. He also published a book on the subject.

Both the website and book provide the kind of information any sustainable architect or builder should have on hand.

Specifically, both the website and book provide visitors with a history of building with earth in the modern era. It focuses on projects constructed in the last few decades that use rammed earth, mud brick, compressed earth, cob, and other techniques.

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This is a good story to read from Simone Preuss. It starts:

“The Great Mosque in Djenné, Mali is not only the world’s largest mud brick building but also a model of ecofriendly and sustainable architecture. Though the current mosque was ordered to be built by the French colonial administration in 1906, its style follows African ones of the region. In fact, the mosque is considered by many to be one of the finest examples of the architectural style found in the very dry Sahel and Sudanian regions south of the Sahara, where Islamic influences are abundant. Other examples include the Agadez Grand Mosque in Niger and the Larabanga Mosque in Ghana.”

Thanks for this story, Simone!

TSC Global's hypar roof is located next to the light ril tracks, just south of downtown Denver

Evidence of new buildings featuring an innovative and cost-effective roof can now be seen in a growing number of African nations, including Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, and Sudan, as part of a Roofs for the World initiative.

This roof is called a Thin Shell Composite Hyperbolic Paraboloid, or TSC Hypar, thus the name, TSC Global, which proclaims  the building methodology using this roof has the potential for revolutionizing roofing and construction in the most impoverished and remote parts of the globe. TSC Global executive director, Brad Wells, says that compared to the corrugated steel roof structures seen everywhere in the developing world, TSC roof construction requires a minimum in cut lumber, demands no power machinery for construction, and leaves almost no carbon footprint. In addition, buildings featuring these roofs are significantly quieter in rain and windstorms, and can be earthquake resistant.

Denver-based TSC Global was created to build, promote and fully develop this construction method, with the belief that there is real potential to dramatically enhance the overall quality and affordability of structures used by millions if not billions of people worldwide. It is now focusing on a potential rebuilding program for Haiti.

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Innovative new ways of including lush and visually intoxicating gardens in homes or buildings are surfacing – no longer on plots of land but on sections of vertical walls.

Vertical garden on French building from Patrick Blanc Photo: Blanc

Credit for inventing the vertical wall goes to French botanist and inventor, Patrick Blanc,  shown in this building photo.  According to Blanc’s website, the vertical garden was conceived from watching natural environments – many in jungle locations – and watching how plants can grow without soil. The vertical wall can also functions as an air purification system.

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Photo of Chang's Hong Kong apartment Source: Marcel Lam

Architect Gary Chang has implemented some stunning solutions for small-space living in his Hong Kong apartment. To get a first-hand glimpse of Mr. Chang’s take on how spaciousness in a small space might look and feel, look at this You Tube video clip: story from Hong Kong.

This compact living space represents an inspiring case study for anybody considering the challenges of living in inner city areas with limited space. From the standpoints of density and functional practicality, this Chang design offers great potential. Consider that Chang’s apartment contains not just one room, but 24 rooms in one.

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Taking the roofs-first approach, a kitchen is built in Rwanda. Source: George Nez

On one Denver, Colorado back lot a visitor will encounter an unorthodox-looking roof that just might help meet the housing needs of displaced people worldwide.

The roof, shaped like a hyperbolic paraboloid, was constructed on the ground and then lifted in place by African student builders who wanted to build similar structures in locales like Rwanda and Sudan.

Remarkably strong and weather resistant, this new age shelter contains few structural elements, can be constructed without electrical power, and costs very little money.

George Nez is the developer of this roof system, simply calling it a “hypar roof.” Those familiar with his work – especially those builders in Rwanda and Sudan – fondly refer to this structure as the “Nez roof.” The roof is built using latex-modified concrete that is painted over a mesh backing. A video interview with Mr. Nez can be seen here. Read more of this >>

I wish to thank Dan Grifen for contribution this story about Chicago following a greener path. – GRM

Post from D Grifen
– Supporter of all things green and progressive

With some of the brightest young engineers coming straight out of  the University of Illinois, it’s no wonder why the city is involved with major green initiatives. This includes the development of land conservation efforts driven by the Chicago Department of Environment, and some significant advances in Green Space/architecture during the 21^st century.

Chicago’s demand for greener jobs is being answered by companies like the West Pullman Plant, the largest urban solar planet in the U.S. In a report filed by the Chicago Sun Times, Jim Amedeo, Lead Supervisor, states “Solar plants are only going to get smaller and more efficient, and solar energy will get cheaper to use.”

Residential areas are progressively doing their part to ensure a smarter, energy efficient planet by exploring solar alternatives. With the housing tax credit extension, homeowners are definitely more inclined to enhance their efficiency and find new ways to go green. Reports substantiated by NBCNC of Chicago find that American homes generated twice as much power from rooftop solar panels. This is especially true in Chicago; hopefully with the expansion of plants like West Pullman, we’ll see an increase in solar powered homes and renewable energy.

Leading the way in green civil design in large is Niranjan Shah, CEO of Globetrotters Engineering Corporation out of Chicago, IL. Globetrotters has been granted monies in excess of $13.7 million, all for city consulting and engineering contracts since March 1994. “For over three decades, the firm has provided a full range of professional architectural and engineering consulting services we have also been active in program management, construction and energy management; property and facilities operation and maintenance; and technology integration and development.” (GEC) In building, the firm abides by USGBC guidelines; further promoting sustainability.

The rest of our nation keep an eye on the initiatives being taken in Chicago. Miniscule Individual lifestyle changes, such as brushing your teeth with the water off, are a step in the right direction. With the implementation of land conservation and Green Space, Chicago, along with the rest of the nation will effectively see costs go down in the long-term. This will in turn lead to a relatively fast economic incline.