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New Orlean’s First LEED NC-Silver Multi-Family Development
In just over two weeks, it will have been six-years since the the category-5 Hurricane Katrina crossed into the United States and rebuilding efforts continue to this day. New Orleans, Louisiana, was one of the hardest hit areas along the Gulf of Mexico. It received much attention from people across the country and many organizations…
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Exploratorium’s New Home Addresses Historic Preservation Design and Construction Challenges
When I was working as a construction manager, I was involved with a handful of complex historic preservation projects including the conversion of a historically significant church into affordable housing (Buena Vista Terrace) for seniors and the renovation of a small historic landmark (The Fireside) into a community center. Historic preservation often presents additional challenges…
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A Call to Reinvent the Toilet
It has been a long time since we have seen any technological changes in the design of toilets. We have come a long way since the 18th century when the first flush toilet was invented. The most recent major breakthrough in toilet technology is the dual-flush toilet which was created thirty years ago by Australian…
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Find Your Ecopath to Cleanliness
Having been raised in an Asian household, I was trained to remove my shoes upon entering a home so that I wouldn’t track in any dirt and debris. I have maintained this ritual throughout my life and most recently learned that many Canadian and Swiss households do the same thing. Less debris equals less floor…
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San Francisco Exploratorium’s New Home to Become Largest U.S. Net-Zero Energy Museum
Salty air breezes off of the Bay. Seagulls are flying about. A six foot diameter concrete pile gets driven into the sea floor. An energizing hum of activity reverberates throughout a waterfront construction site–the future new home of San Francisco’s Exploratorium. In October of 2010, the Exploratorium–the Museum of Science, Art and Human Perception, broke…
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Energy Strategy Brings About ROI for Santa Clara University
Few universities can claim to have a 1-megawatt solar PV system, a wind turbine, a 60-collector solar thermal system, and a smart microgrid system that monitors and regulates the campus energy sources. Santa Clara University isn’t afraid of experimenting with renewable, clean technology that will help it work towards achieving reduced energy consumption and climate…
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West Coast Green Brings Green Building Leaders to PCBC
San Francisco, CA – West Coast Green, the world’s leading interactive conference on green innovation, has partnered with Pacific Coast Building Conference (PCBC), the region’s largest building conference. The two will converge this week, June 22nd-24th, at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. With the collaboration of PCBC, a fellow leader in the conference industry,…
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StructureOregon 2011: Boost Your Knowledge on Innovative Uses of Wood Products in Buildings
PORTLAND, Ore. – Most architects and engineers know wood as a flexible, durable and beautiful building material. But in a state that leads the nation in the production of softwood lumber and plywood, do they understand how many different and creative ways they can use Oregon wood products in commercial, industrial and institutional structures? Boosting…
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A Green Transformation of Eichler House Model MS-134
My first in-depth encounter with Eichler homes was a few years ago on a blazing hot 90°F Saturday afternoon in Palo Alto, California. I participated in a self-guided Eichler Home Tour which benefited Habitat for Humanity. It was such a treat to get a glimpse into what lay within the Eichler homes that modernized the…
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Green California Summit and Exposition
California is a well known leader in green: building, technology, services, innovations, and so much more. Government agency purchasers, policy makers, facility managers, and product and service suppliers will be converging April 19th-20th at the Sacramento Convetion Center for the 2011 Green California Summit and Exposition. Sustainability and recovery are intertwined. This year’s theme is…
