Our Green Streets Blog » green building

Low impact woodland home a delight to behold

grmeyers — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 04:12:43 +0000

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.”

Kitchen view

I recommend looking at the series of videos produced by this thoughtful gentleman and his family.

Few days renain to enter the 2011 Buckminster Fuller Challenge

grmeyers — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 01:48:51 +0000

Buckminster Fuller, designer of the geodesic dome Source: BFI

For those still considering creating one of this world’s next great solutions, there are but 15 days left to prepare and submit applications for the 2011 Buckminster Fuller Challenge. Those standing on the sidelines should run onto the plying field; our world needs the help.

This important global event is considered by some to be one of socially responsible design’s highest awards. This premier international prize program awards $100,000 to support the development and implementation of a solution that, broadly stated, “has significant potential to solve humanity’s most pressing problems.”

According to the BFI Challenge, entering creates “an opportunity to become part of a network that is advancing and accelerating the practice of whole systems thinking and design to develop the kind of high impact global solutions we so desperately need.”

The Buckminster Fuller Institute, named after Buckminster Fuller, creator of the geodesic dome, was created to share and advance imaginative work that might lead the way to solving problems for global housing and infrastructure requirements.

15 days remain to enter the 2011 BFI Challenge. SOURCE: BFI Challenge

According to BFI’s press release, “Past entries included bold, visionary strategies, from a radical solution to urban mobility in the world’s largest cities to a strategy to dramatically increase crop yields and economic development in the grasslands and savannahs of Africa. While the entries cover a broad range of topics, the common thread among them is a highly integrated approach to design— one that is simultaneously comprehensive, anticipatory and aligned with nature’s fundamental principles. This focus on integrated design strategies is what distinguishes the Challenge from all other prize programs. “

The jury for this year’s challenge will include “systems thinkers and design pioneers across a wide spectrum of human endeavor are invited from all over the world.”

Past jury members have included Janine Benyus, Sir Nicholas Grimshaw, Helena Norberg-Hodge, John Thackara, Hazel Henderson, Danny Hillis, Alan Kay, Hunter Lovins, Bill Browning, José Zaglul, William McDonough, Adam Bly, Greg Watson and Vandana Shiva.

For those wanting to review the criteria that drive the selection of the winning solution click these links:

Challenge Criteria Video http://challenge.bfi.org/Challenge_Criteria

Challenge Criteria Webpage http://challenge.bfi.org/criteria

MOA launches recycled materials internships & Element House exhibit

grmeyers — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 17:12:21 +0000

My friend, architect and sculptor, Doug Eichelberger, spoke to me about an upcoming Museum of Outdoor Arts (MOA) program paid internship he will oversee as artist/architect in residence called Design and Build. This is a public art paid internship program involving interns (high school seniors and college undergraduates) who commit a minimum of 15 hours a week for the duration of the six-week program.

According to the MOA, it sought “…nine interns for Design and Build: Spring 2010 for the “Recycled Dwellings Project”. Interns will collaborate on a design proposal while working with our professional artist/architect in residence. After the proposal process, interns will build their dwelling in a public space to be on temporary display through fall of 2010.”

Each intern will be awarded a $1,000 stipend. Engineering, architecture, design, art and carpentry were among skill sets that were sought from interns.

Eichelberger builds a barn with baled scrap plastic

“The goal is that the kids will learn about recycling collection and construction,” says Eichelberger, adding that the exhibit might serve as a springboard for other innovative projects that employ sustainable solutions. Eichelberger has used recycled materials in building project before, constructing numerous buildings on his ranch using various trash materials.

Concurrent with the launch of the internship program, this April 10, the museum will open Element House.

Source: Museum of Outdoor Art

Element House: Architecture for a New Ecology:

Element House architecture for a new ecology

Sat Apr 10, 2010 Sat Aug 14, 2010
Location: Indoor Gallery
Opening Reception: April 10, 2010 5-9pm Lecture at 4:30

A discussion with the architects, Principals Michael Meredith and Hilary Sample of MOS Architects will be held on Saturday, April 10th beginning at 4:30 p.m.

Exhibition continues through August 14th, 2010.

“This exhibition will showcase the revolutionary design of a multi-component, modular green home prototype. MOS Architects have an extensive international portfolio including institutional buildings, urban strategies, research, books, installations including MoMA’s PS1 and other projects that have been included in national and international publications such as DWELL.

“The modular homes will be “off the grid”, or capable of operating independent of all traditional public utility services, and will be designed for pre-fabrication, utilizing strict LEED™ design criteria and limited to 1500 square feet or less. The “Element House” is derived from the Fibonacci sequence, which in itself is a describer of developmental patters in living organisms. This mathematical series was applied in order to explore the idea of recombinatory growth in building forms and the economics of spatial compartmentalization.

“The Museum of Outdoor Arts is located at 1000 Englewood Parkway (at Hampden and Santa Fe – only a few minutes from downtown Denver) and is accessible from the Englewood light rail stations.

“The Museum of Outdoor Arts is Free and Open to the Public Monday – Thursday 9 – 5 p.m. and Fridays from 9 – 4 p.m.”

Two Earthship webinars scheduled

grmeyers — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 22:45:55 +0000

For those who do not know Earthship, one of these scheduled webinars might be a great time to visit. And the price is exceptionally good, as is the subject matter! GRM

Earthship logo

“Long Way Home and Architects for Humanity will present world-renowned founder of Earthship Biotecture, Michael Reynolds (http://www.earthship.net/home/begin-here.html) as part of BuildBoston 2009 at the Seaport World Trade Center in Boston on Nov. 18, 2009 from 7 until 8 pm.

“Reynolds is best known for starting Eathship.net, a socially conscious construction venture that builds homes out of garbage with yearly utility bills under $100.”

Nov 16 and Dec 15 events:Nov 18 Webinar with Michael Reynolds
(venue in Boston, MA) Followed by Q/A, approximately 2 hours. Anyone in the world with an internet connection can virtually attend. You can also have people physically gather together and have a laptop with projector on site so everyone can see. $10 per person (per connection).

Dec 15 Webinar With Michael Reynolds
(venue in Melbourne, Australia) Followed by Q/A, approximately 2 hours. Anyone in the world with an internet connection can virtually attend. You can also have people physically gather together and have a laptop with projector on site so everyone can see. $10 per person (per connection).

Students build affordable solar home

grmeyers — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 18:20:33 +0000

"We want to show people on the National Mall that they can do this now, not get excited about something that they can have in five or 10 years," said Matt Thoms, the project director for engineering and photovoltaics at the Curio House and a Tufts student. Other students said they wanted to avoid "gimmicks" that would be built only for the competition. source: CNET.com

Cardboard Office in Amsterdam

grmeyers — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 15:33:39 +0000

Cardboard office story from Sustainable Life Media

From Sustainable Life Media:

A designer in Holland has revamped the interior of Amsterdam ad agency Nothing with interlocking cardboard. (via PSFK)

The office redesign by Joost van Bleiswijk used 500 square meters of reinforced cardboard and did not use glue or screws to interconnect the 1,500 separate pieces.

Put Trash to Use & Build a House

grmeyers — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 16:35:21 +0000

Doug Eichelberger built his barn at Lucky Ranch using baled scrap plastic and scrap paper - source: Doug Eichelberger

There is plenty enough in the way of complaints about the trash we create and how wasteful we happen to be. But not much in the way of solutions.

So meet architect, Doug Eichelberger, a person who built a a good part of his Lucky Ranch barn out of trash. He used scrap plastic for the foundation blocks, then erected walls of baled trash paper. The wall materials were inexpensive and provided excellent insulating quality.

Construction in process at Lucky Ranch

Eichelberger and some of his associates see plenty of possibilities for this type construction in the developing world. The materials were virtually free, excluding transportation. The majority of the cost was labor, which is plentiful in the developing world, he points out in his PowerPoint presentation.

Some of Eichelberger’s conclusions:

* Plastic waste is in abundance and could be taken out of landfills and used to build structures
• Plastic bales are weaker than conventional methods, but where materials are not available (i.e. Tsunami stricken areas) could be useful
• With more compaction and investigative testing plastic bale strength could surpass that of straw bales

LAB TESTING

Some lab testing on plastic bales was completed in the spring of 2005 at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Engineering students completed a number of tests on numerous bales. Their paper/ results can be viewed at. http://www.edc-cu.org/ppt/PlasticBales.pdf. Since the wall system required a panelization/ post tension approach, lab tests should be completed on bales configured in those conditions. From those results design loads per span etc. can be established. Further tests could evaluate a bale’s insulative qualities. Stuccoing each side of a bale will capture air between, this dead air becomes that insulative quality.