[Greenbuilding] The Coolest Buildings Aren't Green

Mon Dec 1 11:56:22 CST 2014

I work full time to help clients live a greener life. And then I fly from
NYC to the Dominican Republic to holiday. Which basically blows all my
green credits to hell in jet fuel. What to do.

On Monday, December 1, 2014, <conservationarchitect at rockbridge.net> wrote:

>    Very good points with regards to location.  Another part of that is
> the lifestyle of the occupants.  If you are in a rural location, work at
> home and produce most your own food, that green field location can indeed
> be green.  Also, that reduced density reduces the problems of runoff,
> allows natural vegetation cooling and allows the diverse natural ecology to
> manage the adjacent forest from which we can harvest meat and forage food
> from.   However, the same location where you are commuting, not so much.
> Reciprocally, if you are in an urban location such a Brooklyn, you are in a
> setting that has no natural ecology.  Therefore, all products need to be
> brought to you.  Stability must be maintained by human managed systems such
> as sewers, utility water, storm drains (very rapid runoff), roads, police,
> et.  There is also the heat island affect of concrete without vegetation.
> These footprints have to enter to equation.
>
> I live in the country and work at home in my pretty efficient retrofitted
> thermal envelope and grow most of my food.  However, my wife is not as
> content to stay at home and is volunteers with benevolences in town.  I am
> the husband, not the dictator.  Therefore, fair enough,we loose points on
> our location score.
>
> Another part of the location score relates to extended family that you
> choose to maintain periodic in the flesh reunions with.  If they are far
> away, the travel footprint is significantly increased.
>
> I think the sweet spot is small towns with high density multifamily units
> (low ratio of thermal envelope area/occupant) facing green spaces that
> allow good day lighting, solar energy production, natural ecology,
> separation from vehicles, with home gardens, limited shopping, cultural
> events, schools and employment within walking distance with professional
> farmers just outside of town managing the ecologically grown food with
> human waste recycling. Extended family lives with the region.  This has the
> potential of giving us a greenhouse gas neutral sustainable niche in the
> ecology.
>
> It would be even better if these settlements evolve from existing
> communities that upgrade and replace existing buildings.
>
> Eli
>
>  *From:* sanjay jain
> <javascript:_e(%7B%7D,'cvml','sanjayjainuk at yahoo.co.uk');>
> *Sent:* Friday, November 28, 2014 5:11 PM
> *To:* Green Building
> <javascript:_e(%7B%7D,'cvml','greenbuilding at lists.bioenergylists.org');>
> *Subject:* Re: [Greenbuilding] The Coolest Buildings Aren't Green
>
>  Indeed - very good presentation. Interesting use of the words "Green
> Bling"
>
> He asks us to ask 3 questions:
>
> 1) How good is it?
> 2) Where is it located?
> 3) What does it replace?
>
> I'd add a 4th, the Zero'th question if you will - how does it make people
> behave greener?
>
> For example does a home in a good walk score actually encourage it's
> occupants to give up their cars?
>
> ~sanjay
>
>   ------------------------------
> *From:* Gennaro Brooks-Church - Eco Brooklyn <info at ecobrooklyn.com
> <javascript:_e(%7B%7D,'cvml','info at ecobrooklyn.com');>>
> *To:* Green Building <greenbuilding at lists.bioenergylists.org
> <javascript:_e(%7B%7D,'cvml','greenbuilding at lists.bioenergylists.org');>>
> *Sent:* Thursday, November 27, 2014 8:40 AM
> *Subject:* Re: [Greenbuilding] The Coolest Buildings Aren't Green
>
> Very Nice.
>
> On Wednesday, November 26, 2014, Bruno M. <brunom1 at telenet.be
> <javascript:_e(%7B%7D,'cvml','brunom1 at telenet.be');>> wrote:
>
> imo a must see video for the real greenbuilder, ... & beyond
>
> greets
> Bruno M.
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> The Coolest Buildings Aren't Green | Bryn Davidson | TEDxRenfrewCollingwood
> <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEUShQ7r_tE>
>
> The Coolest Buildings Aren't Green | Bryn Davidson | TEDxRenfrewCollingwood
>
> Published on Nov 26, 2014
>
> This talk was given at a local TEDx event, produced independently of the
> TED Conferences. Creating 'greener' buildings will help address climate
> change... right?
> Green buildings can make a difference, but only if we start asking the
> right questions. If we can start to see the whole story of how our
> buildings impact the climate then we can start to make strides toward real
> 'net-positive' change. The technology isn't new, the strategies aren't
> rocket science - the hard step is shifting our thinking about what it means
> to build 'green'.
>
> Bryn Davidson wears many hats. Sure, he's a LEED-accredited building
> designer, sustainability consultant and small business owner with degrees
> in Architecture (UBC) and Mechanical Engineering (UC Berkeley). But he
> doesn't stop there. He's also one of the co-founders of Lanefab Design /
> Build; a Vancouver-based design and construction company that built the
> city's first laneway house in 2010. Since then, Lanefab has continued its
> specialization in energy efficient green homes and infill 'laneway houses'
> by completing over 40 of the small infill homes. Bryn Davidson has been on
> the leading edge of the laneway house industry, and we don't see him
> slowing down anytime soon.
>
> Twitter: @lanefab
> Facebook: Lanefab
> Email: bryn at lanefab.com
> Website: www.lanefab.com
> ========================================================
>
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>
>
> --
> Gennaro Brooks-Church
> Director, Eco Brooklyn Inc.
> Cell: 1 347 244 3016 USA
> www.EcoBrooklyn.com <http://www.ecobrooklyn.com/>
> 22 2nd St; Brooklyn, NY 11231
>
>
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-- 
Gennaro Brooks-Church
Director, Eco Brooklyn Inc.
Cell: 1 347 244 3016 USA
www.EcoBrooklyn.com
22 2nd St; Brooklyn, NY 11231
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