WILD ATTRACTION WILD ATTRACTION - Earthstar

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Top Green-Building InnovationsOne Architect’s ViewpointBy Kathy Price-RobinsonIasked green-leaning Berkeley architect RobertNebolon to make a list of the top green-buildinginnovations from his perspective. Of course, hehad to make two lists—architectural and nonarchitectural—andif you know any architects,you’ll know it’s pretty typical that he did more than wasasked for. Robert also consulted a colleague, SteveMeans, a certified energy analyst.Here are the two lists Robert came up with:My list of top architectural green-buildinginnovations includes:1. Site planning—This takes advantage of each site’smicro-climate to assist in cooling and/or heating ahouse. Arrangement of rooms can strongly affect thecomfort of the occupants.2. Downsizing the house—People have come to realizethat a smaller, well-designed house can be as livable andpleasant as a much larger house. Since smaller housesrequire less energy to operate and make a smaller impacton the environment, smaller well-designed houses with“green” features are becoming popular.3. Informal floor plans—Informal floor plans tend tohave rooms with multiple uses instead of rooms dedicatedto one use, like a formal dining room, for example.Building costs being what they are, it is best to mergemany activities into one or two rooms. This reducesenergy costs since unused areas of the house are notheated.4. Architectural form—By simply applying somesmart architecture, reliance on mechanical systems forthermal comfort (heating and cooling) can be reduced.Use of major architectural elements, such as atriums,courtyards, massing of the building, in conjunction withthe local micro-climate, can greatly reduce dependenceon mechanical systems for thermal comfort all yearlong. Simply introducing a breeze can make a hot environmentmuch more tolerable even if the temperaturedidn’t decrease. Look to structures constructed beforethere was air-conditioning and forced-air systems to seehow they dealt with heat loss and heat gain.5. Architectural details—Use of minor architecturalelements, such as eaves, shading devices, well-placedoperable windows and skylights, covered porches,breezeways, all in conjunction with the local micro-climate,can greatly reduce dependence on mechanical systemsfor thermal comfort all year long.6. Landscaping—Well-placed trees and plantings canreduce the heat gain by any building.My list of the top non-architecturalgreen-building innovations includes:36 EARTH STAR OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2009 www.earthstarmag.com
1. Hyper-efficient (ninety-two percentor better) heating/cooling systems,including ground-source heatpumps (systems that use the earthas a heat sink and as a heatsource—not the same as geothermalheat pumps).2. Cool roofs and radiant barrierroofing, which reduces solar heatgain.3. Tankless natural gas waterheaters., Ph.D.Kathy Price-Robinson has writtenabout remodeling for seventeen years,focusing both on the process of homeimprovement, as well as the product.She writes for both consumer and contractormagazines, and her award-winningseries, Pardon Our Dust, hasappeared in the print edition of theReal Estate section of The Los AngelesTimes since 1997. Her blog at www.latimes.com is a spin-off of that column.Kathy lives in a house with goodbones and a lot of potential, and sharesher life with one husband, one dog, twohorses and three quite exceptional stepdaughters.Pure Home CenterYour resource center for NaturalNON-TOXIC PRODUCTS******www.learnreiki.orgAFM Paints & SealersAFM Stains & FinishesAir & Water PurifiersEco Wool Carpet & PadsMarmoleum & Cork FloorsEco Timber & FloorsRt 16 / Village Plaza at Holliston508-429-5255www.purehomecenter.comwww.earthstarmag.comOCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2009 EARTH STAR 37
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WILD ATTRACTION WILD ATTRACTION - Earthstar

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