Green Building
The Green Building movement is gaining momentum across the globe as innovations in sustainable technology and green building materials become increasingly sophisticated, efficient, available and affordable. TNCC’s Green Building program encourages local contractors and homeowners to consider energy efficiency and water conservation in new construction and remodeling plans. By adopting sustainable building techniques pollution and construction waste are reduced and our natural resources are preserved.
Integrated Design Workshop: "Systems Thinking of Building Design"
with guest presenters:
James Pittman, whole systems designer, consultant, & educator
Eugene Wowk, architect, Integrated Home Design (live via internet)
This workshop is for anyone who should have a voice in the design phase of buildings, especially in high altitude (cold, dry climate) environments, including:
· Architects
· Engineers
· Designers
· General Contractors
· Owners
· Interior Designers
· Tradesmen
· Building & Planning Department Staff...
March 26, 2010
8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Wilkinson Public Library Program Room,
100 W. Pacific Ave, Telluride
MORE INFO & RSVP:
Kim Wheels, 728-5208 or energy.tncc@gmail.com
Cost: $20 (includes lunch)
Make checks to TNCC, PO Box 1625, Telluride, CO 81435
- This workshop will focus on the application of whole systems design and dynamic modeling for integrated design of green buildings for residential or commercial use.
- Participants will gain understanding and practical use of diagramming and modeling tools for decision support in direct collaboration with diverse stakeholder groups.
- Significant time will be devoted to analyzing specific design test cases that are a challenging component of sustainable design in the cold, mountain climate zones.
- Discussions will focus on design considerations including:
- Water consumption
- Electrical and HVAC systems
- Greenhouse gas emissions
- Building lifecycles
- Construction/renovation costs
- Overall economics of value optimization in sustainability design and management.
If you have never been involved in the design process, this is a great and affordable way to educate yourself and voice your insights.
If you are an experienced architect or engineer, come learn how utilizing systems thinking and integrated design can benefit you.
James Pittman is an ecological economist, whole systems designer and sustainability consultant with expertise in green building, sustainable business, environmental management and policy. He works with business, industry and government planners to design efficient, cost-effective strategies for economic, social and environmental performance optimization in buildings, business processes and new markets. James has over a decade of successful consulting experience including work with the United States Department of Energy and Department of Agriculture, the President's Council on Sustainable Development, the Washington State Department of Ecology in collaboration with several major paper and pulp mills, and a major Fortune 50 software development corporation among other private and public sector clients. He also has hands-on experience specializing in greenhouse gas emissions management and carbon market economics, renewable resource technology transfer with a focus in passive and active solar energy, ecosystem service assessment and valuation, Permaculture design and development, facility and regional scale water resource management as well as green infrastructure development for flood protection and stormwater management. James teaches systems thinking and dynamic modeling at Bainbridge Graduate Institute and the Ecosa Institute for Ecological Design.
Eugene Wowk has been a holistic designer, virtual modeler and BIM/CAD specialist for over 14 years. He specializes in integrated and sustainable residential design using the latest tools of the trade to achieve maximum design efficiency as well as increasing the overall visual perception of his designs. For the past 2 years, his primary focus has been on Building Information Modeling (BIM). Utilizing BIM has not only given him a new found passion, but has given his designs a level of perception and accuracy that hasn’t been previously achievable. His design/build company, Wowk Design, LLC (located in Oro Valley, AZ near Tucson), offers services for many types of design projects including architectural design, interior design, furniture design, BIM/CAD systems design and even webpage design. Integrated Home Design (www.integratedhomedesign.com) was created as a division of his company because this process needed its own identity. Integrated Home Design focuses primarily on the process of total integration in home design and how BIM is utilized and needed in this process. Most recently, he created a BIM Cooperative (www.bimcoop.com) to help educate and bridge the BIM community, and he is a regular guest speaker for ITT Technical Institute to introduce BIM and explain why BIM is the future of design.
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HIGH PERFORMANCE BUILDING WORKSHOPS
See High Performance Building in action within a new LEED certified classroom building, which has been described by Xcel Energy as the most energy efficient commercial building in Western Colorado. High Performance features include:
* Ground source heat exchange system
* Air-to-Air energy recovery units
* Demand controlled ventilation that adjusts outside air rates in response to building occupancy
* Daylight sensors that adjust electric lighting based on the availability of natural light
* High efficiency landscaping that thrives in Grand Junction's high desert climate
AGENDA
With the goal of creating energy champions across the state, the workshop will:
Provide an overview of the High Performance Building Program which includes public education, outreach and partner participation.
Demonstrate how integrated design brings all stakeholders to the planning table.
Offer strategies to maximize energy efficiency in your new construction projects.
Feature examples and success stories from around Colorado.
Identify funding opportunities.
Strengthen your networking community.
BENEFITS
Discover opportunities to partner with the Governor's Energy Office: High Performance Building team on your project.
Learn about financial, social and environmental advantages of High Performance Building.
Uncover resources available to projects with state-mandated LEED requirements.
Network with other regional professionals implementing high performance building techniques within similar organizations.
Get to know GEO representatives currently working in your area.
WHO SHOULD ATTEND: Planners, funders, designers, builders, operations and maintenance managers responsible for state-funded building projects.
Event information and registration.
“NEW GREEN BUILDING CODE REDEFINES THE STATUS QUO IN MOUNTAIN VILLAGE ”
San Miguel and Ouray Counties, Colorado (March 6, 2009) – It’s been said, quite famously, that “it's not that easy being green,” beginning next month, however, new buildings in Mountain Village won’t have a choice thanks to a new Green Building Code passed, unanimously, on February 19, by Mountain Village council.
What’s unique about the code, says Kim Wheels, Energy Specialist from The New Community Coalition (TNCC), “it is a prescriptive code, which is a mandatory check list and not a point based code.”
Point based codes are difficult to enforce and administer, requiring additional personnel a third party oversight according to Wheels. “Many other jurisdictions, such as Aspen, have adopted point based codes and have struggled with enforcement. Several of them are now considering a switch from code to the prescriptive.”
Checklist items vary from Energy STAR requirements such as a tightly insulated thermal boundary to a mandate that 100% of a home’s electricity be provided by renewable energy. “This is a big step up from what we had before,” says Wheels. The previous plan having been adopted in 2007.
Homes over 5000 sq feet are required to maintain a rating that is 30% more efficient than the 2004 International Energy Conservation Code, the status quo for most other building codes. Mountain Village’s new code is stricter, says Wheels, “because of our unique environment and the energy savings to the region,” says Wheels.
Commercial buildings, over 5000 sq. feet, face even stricter codes and must be LEED Silver certified. Currently LEED certified buildings are the exception and not the rule throughout the region.
The strict code is especially exceptional when you consider Mountain Village’s famed affinity for the log home. So, when the code was originally presented to Mountain Village Town Council in January, the Council opted to first explore whether or not the lionized cribs would be able to withstand the kind of strict rules associated with the green building code. The findings, presented by local energy company, Lotus Energy Solutions, revealed, to everyone’s surprise, that log homes can, in fact, be built responsibly and efficiently for the 21st century, when special attention is spent on construction detail.
This isn’t the end of green building work for TNCC, who worked alongside Mountain Village and San Miguel Building officials to develop the code. Wheels is already hard at work developing means to increase construction recycling, water conservation measures and to promote additional use of green building materials for area contractors.
Oh, and that famous green guy who waxed about his affliction, it’s worth noting that he also said “green can be big like an ocean, or important like a mountain, or tall like a tree,” and now, perhaps, cozy like a log cabin.
READ MOUNTAIN VILLAGE AND SAN MIGUEL COUNTY'S CODE
