Design is the Problem?

Click here for an in-depth interview with Nathan Shedroff, author of "Design is the Problem: The future of Design Must Be Sustainable." The interview is by Editor-in-chief Allan Chochinov of Core77, design magazine and resource.

From the interview: "We need to say to the rest of the world, essentially, 'Look, we did a lot of this wrong. Try to take the best of what we've accomplished without the worst.'"

Related: "Green is the Old Standard"

Real Green, Real World: Builder/Architect Magazine November 2009

D+A Studio profile in the November issue of the Seattle Builder/Architect Magazine.

Green Products Slideshow

10 awe-inspiring, Sustainable Designs for a living world at Copper Hewitt, featured on Treehugger.com

Windmills on the Horizon

From a recent trip through central Washington.

It's Getting Cold Outside...But Not Below the Frost Line

The San Juan Channel House employs a geothermal system connected to a hydronic radiant floor heat, which sounds intimidating, but is a great way to reduce fossil fuel usage by relying on a renewable energy source: the ground.

The installation of geothermal heat for the SJCH includes a trench 5' deep, 65' long, and 15' wide (the frost line on the island is 12"). Three layers of coils are laid on top of each other in the trench, with 2' between each coil. All feed into a main line. The water is kept at a fairly constant temperature, about 54 to 56 degrees. Less energy is then required to get the water to a suitable temperature for heating in the hydronic system. The system is zoned for different areas of the house.

Hydronic floor heat pipes before the slab pour

One of the great advantages of hydronic floor heat from an energy use stand point is that is constant and cannot be quickly adjusted, therefore, when someone is cold they can bundle up instead of just cranking the thermostat. This leads to lifelong habits of adjusting yourself to the climate as opposed to having the climate adjust to you. Radiant floor heat allows for a constant temperature between the zone 1' below the ceiling and 1' above the floor.

The up-front cost is about $5,000 more than a traditional forced air system (using the trenching system outlined above, going deeper adds to the cost), but should pay for itself in 5-10 years, depending on local energy costs. Some of this up-front cost is made up for in the lack of duct work, including the improved air quality and ease of not accommodating duct work in the framing.

The geothermal heat is augmented by additional energy saving moves. The wood-burning fireplace is by Bodart & Gonay, a Belgian brand, and has an 88% efficiency rating. The fireplace is connected to a fan vent feeding outlets to the master bedroom above, allowing heat from the fireplace to naturally rise and heat the second floor as well as the first floor living area.

One disadvantage of the geothermal system is that the heat pump loses efficiency when the temperature dips below 25 degrees, which is very uncommon for our region. When this happens, or whenever the temperature drops suddenly, the residents use the wood fireplace. The wood stove heats the entire house with less wood and lost heat than a traditional open fireplace.

The geothermal heat system for the San Juan Channel house is also discussed in Seattle Magazine
and At Home Magazine.

Termites as Architects

"Tiny Architects:" A great take on green building from Living on Earth (broadcast on KUOW presents). Biologist J. Scott Turner discusses the termite's building and ventilation techniques. Architect Mick Pearce says that when designing a building, architects should study how local animals have intuitively adapted their living spaces to a particular climate.

Click here to read a transcript or listen to the interview.

What Makes it Green? news

The San Juan Channel House is going on tour! The AIA Seattle and the Committee on the Environment (COTE) What Makes it Green? 2009 Top Ten Green Awards winners will be exhibited throughout the northwest. More details coming on dates and locations.

The Exhibition Tour is sponsored by BetterBricks.

Single Family Neighborhoods of the Future (and Past)

Last week I attended "Design for Livability: Sustainable Cities," presented by AIA Seattle, Cascade Land Conservancy & the UW College of Built Environments. Presentations included discussions of Ecodistricts, Eco System services, and health and built environments.

One presentation that I found very relevant was "Transforming Single Family Neighborhoods." Seattle has been feeling this transition for many years with the introduction of infill townhouses, condos, and changes to the code regarding accessory dwelling units. This trend will most likely continue as more people move into cities (about 13% of the world's population 100 years ago, now about 50%) and cities continue to densify. While I believe that this is probably inevitable in order to conserve outlying land (as with the Growth Management Act) and allow for efficiencies in a city, I am a firm believer that this can happen without sacrificing the quality of life of those who live in single family neighborhoods.

Here is a great project presented by Sandy Fischer of EDAW, for Portland Metro's "Integrating Habitat" Competition.

Bungalow Courts (AKA Pine Street Cottages) in Seattle is an example of a pre WWII compact single family neighborhood (10 houses on a 15,000 SF lot) that is once again in fashion, thanks to a revival by developers Kucher/Rutherford. This document by the Housing Partnership, "The Right Size Home," includes this project and is a very comprehensive look at small single family home alternatives around Seattle.

Chris Jordan: Running the Numbers & Other Trash Talk

Chris Jordan is one of my favorite modern photographers. I am not good at visualizing large amounts (for instance, we use 2.2 million pounds of whatever a year). His series "Intolerable Beauty: Portraits of American Mass Consumption" is a stunning visual assessment of waste.

Chris Jordan, Crushed cars #2, Tacoma 2004 44x62"

Exhibit at the Pacific Science Center in Seattle, Oct 3rd - January 3rd.

More about Chris Jordan.

Part my passion for green building is driven by my fascination with trash and the waste stream. It is exciting for me to figure out how things can be re-used or re-purposed. My husband has had to endure me experimenting with this on a small scale, such as making shelves out of leftover wood floor boards and closet organizers built of tomato boxes (these are the most sturdy cardboard boxes, I have had them for years).

I have read some great books on the subject which I highly recommend. They are a great glimpse into the world that we don't often think about but is as prevalent a part of life as the items are before they become trash.

 
Garbage Land, Elizabeth Royte

Gone Tomorrow: The Hidden Life of Garbage, Heather Rogers

"Beyond the Bounds" Case Study

We will be presenting about our addition of Design Build to our traditional design services at "Beyond the Bounds" for the AIA Committee on the Environment. Velocipede Architects will also present.

October 22, 4-6 pm

For information about the presentation:
http://aiaseattle.org/node/3301

Map:
Office of Velocipede Architects

3104 Western Ave, Seattle, WA 98121