October 1997
Program Manager--Doug Seiter
Editor--Jill Manlove Mayfield
The City of Austin is committed to compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. This publication is available in alternative formats. Please call 499-3545 for information.
Mark Your Calendars Now for the 1997 Green Building Conference Austin Convention Center
Thursday, Oct. 30
Pre-conference workshops, case studies, and discussion groups. Evening events--reception, judging of Best Low-income Green Homes.
Friday, Oct.31
Keynote speeches by leading green building experts.
Saturday, Nov. 1
18 speaker sessions and case studies on three tracks. Activities for children (grades 5-12) whose parents attend the conference.
Sunday, Nov. 2
Self-guided tour of green homes and commercial sites in the Austin area.
Oct. 31-Nov.1
Trade show of environmentally sound building products, services and books.
Cost
$70 All events in four-day schedule $35 One day $20 Architecture and construction students enrolled in college $5 Trade show only, children under 17are free with an adult $5 Tour of green-built homes and businesses
For complete registration information, call (512) 264-0004.
Keynotes Bring Experience to the Green Building Conference
A day full of keynote addresses from some of the powerhouses of the sustainable building movement will fill Friday, October 31. Each of these speakers has taken theory into practice in their respective businesses.
Pliny Fisk is co-director of the Center for Maximum Potential Building Systems in Austin, Texas. Known for linking practice with place, Fisk is on the President's Council on Sustainable Development.
Nancy Clanton, P.E., has over 20 years of experience as a lighting designer and energy efficiency expert. Her projects include the Denver International Airport, the Denver Central Library and the White House. She is president of Clanton Engineering in Boulder, Colorado.
Ray Anderson is the chief executive officer of Interface, Inc. in Atlanta, Georgia, the nation's largest commercial flooring company. Anderson's vision is to have Interface completely sustainable by the year 2000. This means harnessing solar energy, providing raw materials for the operation by recycling used carpet and other petrochemical products, while eliminating waste and harmful emissions from its operation. Anderson received the Global Green Award for Corporate Environmental Leadership in 1996.
Sim Van der Ryn is a leading authority on ecologically sustainable architecture and Professor Emeritus of Architecture of the University of California at Berkeley. As California's State Architect and Director of the State Office of Appropriate Technology in the 1970's, he initiated landmark programs in energy efficient building and environmentally appropriate technologies. His most recent design is the Real Goods Company's Sustainable Exhibition, located in Ukiah, California. A widely published author on environmental design, he is president of Van der Ryn Architects and the non-profit Ecological Design Institute.
Green Building Conference Workshops Offer Nuts and Bolts of Green Building
On Thursday, Oct. 30, there will be a series of pre-conference workshops and case studies at the Austin Convention Center. Cool Sense: Integrated Solutions to CFC Phaseouts in Commercial Cooling. Sponsored by the City of Austin and Lawerence Berkeley Labs. Building experts and utility representatives explaining the most economical approaches to meeting the ban on chlorfluorocarbons. Fee is $40,(8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.). Call Mollie at (510) 486-6386. Community-Based Green Building Programs. Mary McLeod of the City of Austin Green Building Program and David Johnston of the Denver Home Builders Association. Fee $20 (1:30-3:30 p.m.). Construction Waste: the value of specification in reducing construction waste. Cheryl Walker, AIA, and Greg Flynn. Walker and Flynn are the authors of Waste Spec, a model for construction waste reduction, reuse, and recycling. (1:30-3:30 p.m.) George Swanson, a builder and member of the City of Austin Green Building Program will present a case study on the Spiritual Center of America, a 7,000-acre meditation center near Boone, NC. The village was built using green building methods. (4 p.m.-5 p.m.) Peter Pfeiffer, AIA, will show how his firm has "linked practice with place" in his sampling of sustainable projects. A 20-year pioneer in sustainable architecture, he will demonstrate how his firm combines esthetics and practical green building to acheive striking and sound results. (4 p.m.-5 p.m.).
Saturday, Nov. 1, will feature a full day of workshops and case studies on a variety of green building topics. The speakers represent the doers, movers and shakers of the green building profession. There will be 18 speakers in three tracks. Here is just a sampling of some of the topics they will cover: Strawbale Construction, Choosing Green Building Materials, Rainwater Collection, Sustainable Communities, Environmental Health, Indoor Environment Management, Low-income Green Homes and several case studies on completed green building projects.
See Green Building in Action on the Conference Tour
The Green Building Tour is the place to see green building ideas put into practice. Sixteen residences and 3 commercial buildings will throw open their doors on Sunday, Nov. 1, beginning at 10 a.m. The tour is self-guided so you can choose the sites that interest you most. Both new and remodeled homes will be on the tour. Prices of the homes on the tour vary widely, from Habitat for Humanity homes to the upper-end price range. The price of the tour is included with the conference registration. If you wish to just attend the tour, the price is $5. This gets you the tour book and maps. Tickets for the tour will be sold at Whole Foods Market, 6th and Lamar on Saturday, Oct. 18, and Saturday, Oct. 25, at a table in front of the store from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. On Sunday, Nov. 2, the day of the tour, tickets will be available at the Whole Foods customer service desk beginning at 10 a.m.
Green Building Conference Trade Show
Are you a building professional looking for the latest in building products and services? Then make plans to attend the Green Building Trade Show. Over 200 exhibitors from all over the world will feature the latest in building and remodeling products, services, publications and information. It's an excellent way to get hands-on experience with green building products, see how they work and talk to the people who use them. The trade show is included in the conference fee. If you want to attend only the trade show, it's just $5.
If your business is selling green building products, then participation in the Green Building Trade Show is a must. Building professionals, as well as consumers, are the primary attendees of this very successful and exciting trade show. Last year over 2,600 people attended the Green Building Conference and Trade Show. There are still booths available. For information on purchasing a booth call Lydia Patten at (512) 442-2341.
Author Christopher Day to Speak in Austin
When Christopher Day's book "Places of the Soul" hit the stands in 1990, he put the architecture profession on notice that the way it designed structures was fundamentally wrong. And, in many situations caused more problems for their inhabitants than good, such as depression and high crime rates in mammoth housing projects. According to Day, the buildings being designed and constructed in this century, especially since World War II, have been more and more monolithic and impersonal, dwarfing and often overwhelming the inhabitants. On Wednesday, Oct. 22, Day, an internationally known architect and author, will give a talk on his work and book at 7 p.m. at the Joe C. Thompson Conference Center on the University of Texas campus. The lecture is open to the public. A $10 donation is requested. Trained as a sculptor as well as an architect, Day has sought in his work to reinstate the human factor in the building equation. He has studied extensively how humans interact with space, both negatively and positively, and found solutions for architects to make structures, even very large ones, more physically and psychologically comfortable for the inhabitants. His book "Places of the Soul" details this research and gives a prescriptive for design that seeks to nurture the human spirit and be more ecologically sound. A native of Wales, Day offers world wide consulting on the development and rescue of places both indoor and outdoor. The lecture is sponsored by the Sustainable Building Coalition of Austin, the City of Austin Green Building Program and the Straw Bale Association of Texas.
Solar and Renewable Energy Events
Several renewable energy groups have activites planned for fall, many of which will interest members of the Green Building Program. Wind and Solar Workshop for Children. This will take place on Nov. 1, at the 1997 Green Building Conference in the Austin Convention Center. For more information, call (512) 451-7207.
Photovoltaic Design and Installation Workshop, Nov. 10-15, Austin, Texas. Sponsored by Solar Energy International. A comprehensive workshop that will teach system sizing, site analysis, hardware specification, component selection and field installation. For more information, call (970) 963-8855.
Texas Renewables Conference--Nov. 20, 1997, La Meridian Hotel, Dallas,Texas. Topics include: strawbale construction, practical solar energy applications, building green homes, wind energy fundamentals and energy activism. For more information call Russel Smith, (512) 345-5446.
For more solar and renewable energy events visit: www.infinitepower.com
Toilet Rebate Program in Effect Until February 1998
The City of Austin Water Conservation Program is offering residents a chance to conserve water and save money by switching out a common bathroom fixture--their toilet. Until February 28, 1998, the City will provide a credit of up to $60 on your utility bill for each old toilet replaced with a new 1.6 gallons per flush model. The offer is good on a maximum of two toilets per household. You must be a City of Austin water customer to apply. It's estimated that the low-flush models can save a four-person household $100 per year. For more information, call the City of Austin Water Conservation Program at 499-2199.
Green Building Articles For Your Reading Pleasure
Journal of Light Construction
January 1997
"Roof Framing With Wood I-Joists," p.23
"Latex Enamel Problems & Solutions," p.32
"Alternative Septic Systems," p.36
"On-Demand Water Heaters," p.51 February 1997
"Energy Efficient Cathedral Ceilings," p.26
"Engineered Studs for Tall Walls," p.30
"Controlling Termites and Carpenter Ants with Borates," p.49
June 1997
"Installing Hip Roof Trusses," p.33
"Controlling Termites," p.47 August 1997
"Controlling Moisture in Mixed Climates," p.23
"Alternative Roofing Materials," p.33
Fine Homebuilding
May 1997
"Framing Floors With I-Joists: whether you're building a new house or remodeling an old one, engineered lumber can give you squeak-free floors with fewer callbacks," pp.50-55
Summer 1997
Annual Issue on Houses An Environmentally Responsible House: a common-sense house in Austin, Texas proves that sustainable building doesn't have to be all or nothing," pp.76-79
June/July 1997
Choosing Ductwork: The kinds of ducts and the number and types of turns they make dramatically affect HVAC-system performance," pp.98-101
"Off the Grid in Tucson: With the Arizona Sun, this house makes all the electricity a family can use," pp.102-107
July/August 1997
"A Walk Through Wood Floors," pp.52-57
"Building a Curved Deck With Synthetic Decking," pp.64-69
"Pathway to an Economical House: an architect explains why good design doesn't have to mean expensive design," pp. 90-95
November 1997
"Green Building as a Marketing Tool," examples of Build Green program in Boulder, CO.,p.42
"Turning the Hose on Fiberglass," article on wet-spray fiberglass, p. 40
"Choosing a Toilet," pp.72-77
"Keeping Walls Steady in the Wind," how to deal with wind shear when walls are filled with windows, pp.86-89
"Replacing a Water Heater," by making a few simple upgrades, you can triple a basic water heater's life expectancy, pp.90-97
"The Harvested House," a home uses a multitude of materials taken directly from the site to make dimensional lumber, heavy timbers, flooring, cabinetry, etc., pp.108-113
"Two Products Made From Straw," Agriboard Industries and Natural Fibre Boards are described with examples of an installation in Austin by Green Building Member Lars Stanley, p. 126
Editor: Jill Manlove Mayfield
Green Builder Staff
Doug Seiter--Manager
Susan Barnett
Laurence Doxsey
Doug Garrett
Perrie Hodge
Jill Mayfield
Pat Mazur
Mary McLeod
The City of Austin is committed
to compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. This publication
is available in alternative formats. Please call 499-2501 for information.
Planning, Environmental and Conservation Services Department
206 East 9th Street
Austin, Texas 78701