“For the first time in the history of the world, every human being is now subjected to contact with dangerous chemicals, from the moment of conception until death.” Rachel Carson, Silent Spring, Houghton Mifflin, 1962
Some resources beyond architecture
www.climatemanual.org (climate research)
www.sustainer.org (multidisciplinary research)
www.sustainabilitydictionary.com (dictionary of terms)
www.saatchis.com/birthofblue (green vs. blue)
www.naturalstep.org (sustainability framework)
www.globalreporting.org (sustainability index)
www.ecoinvent.ch (life cycle inventories)
www.eiolca.net (life cycle assessment)
www.asknature.org (biomimicry)
www.pharosproject.net (materials evaluation)
www.ethiscore.org (shopping guide)
www.kld.com (sustainable investing)
www.grn.com (recycling network)
Design is the Problem, by Nathan Shedroff, Rosenfeld Media, 2009
California’s first net zero commercial building
One of the first zero-energy commercial buildings in the United States is David Kaneda AIA’s Integrated Design Associates (IDeAs) Z-Squared Design Facility. Opened in October 2007, this San Jose, California building was designed by EHDD Architecture to meet a net-zero-energy/zero-carbon-emissions (Z-squared) target. Z-squared performance was achieved through simple, affordable strategies, including daylighting, radiant heating, ground source heat pump cooling, advanced insulation and glazing and reduced computer and appliance loads through careful equipment selection and wiring.
www.ideasi.com
Biology is the new Architecture
Terms that you thought you wouldn’t need to be familiar with when you selected a college major in architecture instead of science.
Alkylphenols
Dichloro-dipheny-trichloroethane
Eutrophication
Organochlorines
Persistant bioaccumulative toxins
Phthalates
Propylene glycol
Some Rating Systems other than LEED
Japan | CASBEE (Comprehensive Assessment System for Building Environmental Efficiency), www.ibec.or.jp/CASBEE
United Kingdom | BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method), www.breeam.org
Australia | Green Star, www.gbca.org.au
Hong Kong | HK-BEAM (Hong Kong Building Environmental Assessment Method), www.hk-beam.org.hk
France | HQE (Haute Qualite Environnementale), www.assohqe.org
Netherlands | GreenCalc, www.greencalc.com
Singapore | The Green Mark Scheme, www.bca.gov.sg
South Africa | GBCSA (Green Building Council of South Africa), www.gbcsa.org.za
Portugal | LiderA (Liderar pelo Ambiente), www.lidera.info
Germany | Guideline for Sustainable Building, www.bbr.bund.de
Italy | Casa Clima, www.agenziacasaclima.it
Fundamentals of Integrated Design for Sustainable Building, by Marian Keeler & Bill Burke, John Wiley & Sons, 2009
Three environmental ideas you may not be familiar with yet
Blended Value: A term coined by Jed Emerson at Stanford University to describe social, financial, and environmental value created by all of an organizations’ activities.
Ceres Principles: This is a ten-point code of environmental conduct that is publicly and voluntarily endorsed by companies as an environmental mission statement or ethic. Formed in 1989, Ceres is a partnership among environmental groups, labor unions, and institutional investors.
Dematerialization: Reducing the total material that goes toward providing benefits to customers. May be accomplished through greater efficiency, the use of better or more appropriate materials, or by creating a service that produces the same benefit as a product.
www.sustainabilitydictionary.com
Number of megawatts California needs on a summer day – 40,000
Number of megawatts added to grid-tied solar power in California last year – 158
www.wsj.com
“The world we have created today, as a result of our thinking thus far, has problems that cannot be solved by thinking the way we thought when we created them.”—Albert Einstein
Originally published 3rd quarter 2009, in arcCA 09.3, “Beyond LEED.”
