AzSustainability.com » Green Building

ASU’s Global Institute of Sustainability building featured on Inhabitat

James Towner — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 20:27:46 +0000

Very cool little blog on ASU’s GIOS building over at Inhabitat. Head over there and check out some nice pictures of the building. Lots of cool green features in this renovated building. I remember when it was really dark and drab back when it was the nursing school building.

Old bequeaths new in the form of Arizona State University’s Global Institute of Sustainability, situated in the campus’ beautifully renovated former Nursing Building. Conceived by Lord, Aeck & Sargent along with Gould Evans Associates, the $6 million renovation included asbestos abatement and standard modernization for classroom use along with a bundle of environmentally and sustainable enhancements. Their innovation turned a once dreary, old and dark building into a new institute filled with enough daylight to inspire its new inhabitants as they look for ways to improve the environment, the economy, and the social challenges we all face today.

Inhabitat

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What it would be like to live in an Earthship?

James Towner — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 21:19:47 +0000

I don’t know, but thanks to a project in the works by the non-profit Arizona group Everlasting Marks we may be able to find out. They are raising money to build a earthship at Superstition Farm in Mesa. The construction is a training build that will train their future camp counselors the building process that they intend to use at the thier camps. Everlasting Marks eventual goal is to create international youth camps that promote cultural understanding and environmental awareness. When they complete the construction of the earthship it will be donated to the East Maricopa Natural Resource Conservation and be open to visits from the general public. This could be a great place for everyone to visit to see what life might be like living in a eco-friendly earthship without air conditioning. I know I’ll check it out because I really want to see one up close and see if it stays comfortable in the summer.

Everlasting Marks can’t complete this without help from the community, so if you want to help head over to their website and volunteer or donate some much needed funds.

If you don’t know what a earthship is check out our post about them here.

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Earthships: What are they and why would you want to live in one?

James Towner — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 15:46:03 +0000

Earthships are extremely energy efficient homes constructed from earth and recycled materials. They are usually off grid and collect their own electricity and water. They are a great mix of old and modern technology to create great sustainable structures to live in. I know there are some Earthship homes in Arizona, but have never seen one up close. I’m really curious if they stay cool enough without A/C here in the desert.

The two videos below show what these unconventional homes are all about.

Earthship.net

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Team in Philadelphia aims to build modern, green, LEED certified homes for $100K

James Towner — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 04:54:00 +0000

A development team in downtown Philly consisting of a developer, architect, and builder has set out to build a modern, green home for $100K in construction costs and another $100K – $150K for land. They came up with this plan because modern design with an eye for sustainability was important to them, however, homes of this sort currently do not exist in any affordable way. A total cost of around ~$200K seemed to be the “magic number” to them as it was a price they and their friends could afford. Depending on location and cost for the land these can obviously end up being more or less affordable. Here in Arizona it would probably be easier to find more affordable plots of land than in downtown Philly.

The team building these homes is starting with a pair of modest 2 story loft-style houses with 2 bedrooms, 1.5 baths, and 1000 sq ft of living space. This would be a great starter house for young couples, small families, or retirees looking to downsize. Back when I was house shopping a few years ago I didn’t come across any homes with green features for anywhere near this affordable price range and ended up settling on a conventional home that we could afford. Had these been available to us then we would have snatched one up in a heart beat!

The plan is also to make these homes as eco-friendly as possible and even strive for LEED platinum certification by the U.S. Green Building Council. LEED platinum certification is a stringent measure of many different factors, including energy efficiency, water use, building materials, etc. There are very few LEED platinum homes in the U.S. and probably none at the price point they are shooting for. The green features they plan to incorporate are:

Certification – LEED Platinum

Energy star – certified

Solar – solar thermal hot water

Water – rainwater collection, low-flow, dual-flush

Heating – radiant in floor

Air conditioning – passive, ERV & dehumidifier

Lighting – CFLs (compact florescent lights)

Insulation – SIPs (Structural Insulated Panels)

Finishes – low or no VOC (volatile organic compounds)

Landscaping - ivy “green wall,” drought tolerant & 100% permeable

Lets hope they are successful, I’d love to have options like this if I ever need to move again. To keep tabs on their progress and to get all the details of their plan check out the 100K house blog at http://100khouse.com/.

Here is a video of Nic Darling from the developer of this project, PostGreen, presenting the 100K house idea at Ignite Philly.

Know about any other projects like this? Leave a comment and let us know.

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Arizona State University’s fire damaged memorial union being renovated with sustainabiliy as focus.

James Towner — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 19:12:26 +0000

The Memorial Union at ASU’s Tempe campus was damaged by fire last November and as part of the clean up they are going to do some renovations with a focus on sustainability. This is exciting news, I can’t wait to see what it looks like when the construction is finished next Fall.

“We had to repair the fire damage. Why not use the opportunity to upgrade the building as well?” she said.

ASU spokeswoman Leah Hardesty added that many of the University’s efforts will focus on sustainability.

The University will be going for a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED, certification in commercial interiors, she said.

LEED certification is given to buildings that have achieved high degrees of sustainability in terms of construction that recycles and reuses materials and buildings that make use of energy-efficient designs and appliances, among other factors.

The new dining facility is tentatively named the Starlight Terrace and Eco-Fresh Café, Lowe said.

The restaurant will make use of local organic foods and environmentally friendly practices such as recycling.

“We’re still mostly conceptualizing on the Starlight Terrace,” Hardesty said. “But we do know it will be entirely sustainable.”

[ASU Webdevil]

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Arizona Universities Piloting STARS.

James Towner — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 19:31:46 +0000

The Sustainability Tracking, Assessment, and Rating System (STARS) is a rating system similar to LEED that helps universities gauge their progress towards sustainability. ASU and UA are listed as participating in the pilot and while NAU isn’t listed in the pilot they are highlighted on their page for their achievements in sustainability.

Northern Arizona University (Flagstaff, AZ) is our current spotlight campus! High-efficiency LEED certified buildings, campus recycling, a food surplus donation program, reclaimed water and a master transportation plan are among NAU’s efforts to become a more sustainable institution. NAU has committed to climate neutrality through participation in the American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment. Learn more

I can’t wait until these ratings come and and we can see how our Arizona schools are doing. It seems that all three are making great strides at becoming more sustainable.

Here’s an article about STARS at University of Arizona. [Click Here]

Here is the STARS site if you’d like to find out more. [Click Here]

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Home builder’s ‘net zero energy’ houses include solar panels.

James Towner — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 14:00:32 +0000

A home builder in the west valley of the Phoenix area is building what they call ‘net zero energy’ houses. They are doing this by building typical houses you see in Phoenix, but by adding more insulation, energy efficient appliances, and installing solar panels on all the homes. The builder claims the occupants shouldn’t see energy bills above $20 a month. This seems like a good step in the right direction and these features should be very desirable to home buyers especially in the summer. Here’s an article about this builder in the Arizona Republic.

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Nearly Self Sustaining In Arivaca Arizona.

James Towner — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 16:50:37 +0000

I just ran across an article on azstarnet.com about Kyle Young, a man that has built his own house, is an organic farmer, and is nearly self sustaining.

A pioneer in the natural-building movement that took off in the late ’70s, Young built his 600-square-foot home in Arivaca entirely from natural materials such as cob and bamboo, creating a weather-proof fortress that is both environmentally friendly and cost-effective.

“Most of the materials came from excavations at the building site,” says Young, now 54. “I just dug in and added a little bit of straw for reinforcement.”

[Read More]

Kyle Young’s Natural Building, Sustainable living website.

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Global Water Center Is Pinal County’s First LEED Certified Building.

James Towner — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 15:16:47 +0000

This building is in my own back yard, and within walking distance of my house. It’s great to see that the water company that serves Maricopa is making an effort to be more sustainable.

The new Global Water Center is the first LEED certified utility facility in Pinal County. The LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Green Building Rating System is the national benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high-efficiency green buildings. LEED promotes environmentally conscious building by recognizing six key categories:

sustainable sites

energy and atmosphere

water efficiency

indoor environmental quality

materials and resources

innovation in design

More on Global Water’s Resource Center

“The Global Water Center uses a high percentage of recycled water, recycled building materials, and takes advantage of natural light and high-efficiency heating and AC, so it uses only two thirds of the electricity and one sixth the water of an average comparable traditionally constructed commercial structure. We are extremely proud of this achievement and are committed to taking a leadership role in green practices.” says Trevor Hill, President & CEO of Global Water Resources.

Press Release

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Manzanita Village awarded grant to enhance its urban forest

James Towner — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 14:36:15 +0000

Just a couple days ago I posted about cohousing and today I noticed this story about Manzanita Village in Prescott. They are receiving a matching grant from the Arizona State Land Department to enhance it’s urban forest and to expand it’s networks of information sharing. They are going to achieve this by hosting workshops where they install cisterns to collect rainwater that falls on their common house. They will be using this to water new forest garden catchment basins that they will also be installing at the workshops. On April 26th and 27th Andrew Millison, local permaculture expert, and Prescott College Instructor, and Macrae Nicoll, of High Desert Rain Catchment will lead the workshops at Manzanita Village. For the full story head over to www.readitnews.com.

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