Sustainable Architecture – Page 2 – Garavaglia Architecture, Inc.

2010 35th Annual CPF Conference

California Preservation Foundation is having their Annual Conference Preserving a Sense of Place in the Sierra Nevada this May. Garavaglia Architecture’s Principal, Mike Garavaglia will be speaking at the “Resource Stewardship for Non-Profit Organizations” workshop on preservation and stewardship of historic resources and necessary support. Our Preservation Services Manager, Becky Urbano, will be speaking at the “Working with Historic Material – A Case Study” workshop on practical hands-on techniques.

The tracks for this year’s conference include:

Sustainability
Past is Prologue: Preservation as a Sustainability Solution
Local Government
Bringing It all Back Home: Finding Preservation’s Place in Local Politics
Heritage Tourism
Eureka!: Discovering California Through Heritage Tourism
Economic Development
“Thar’s Gold in Them Thar Hills:” Melding Economic Development and Preservation
Local Character
Mining the Past: Local Character as Your Mother Lode

As in the past, the conference will also feature study tours, workshops, meetings and events. Awards presentations from the new Annual Youth Film Contest will also be presented during the Plenary Session. The Keynote address will feature Doug McConnell from Bay Area Backroads and Open Road with Doug McConnell.

Resource Stewardship for Non-Profit Organizations: Preparation, Planning and Partnering
May 12, 9:00a – 5:00p

Working with Historic Materials – A Case Study: A Primer for Building Owners, Stewards and Craftsman workshop at the same time
May 12, 9:00a – 5:00p

Preserving a Sense of Place The Sierra Nevada
2010 35th Annual California Preservation Conference
Grass Valley/Nevada City
May 12-15, 2010

For registration, visit the California Preservation Foundation registration page
http://californiapreservation.org/register_conference.shtml#navtop. Early bird rates end April 9th.

Nation’s first mandatory state green building standards

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced last month the adoption of the mandatory Green Building Standards Code (CALGREEN) by the California Building Standards Commission. It takes effect on January 1, 2011, and its intent is to create major reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, energy consumption and water use.

CALGREEN will require that every new building constructed in California reduce water consumption by 20 percent, divert 50 percent of construction waste from landfills and install low pollutant-emitting materials. It also requires separate water meters for nonresidential buildings’ indoor and outdoor water use, with a requirement for moisture-sensing irrigation systems for larger landscape projects and mandatory inspections of energy systems (e.g., heat furnace, air conditioner and mechanical equipment) for nonresidential buildings over 10,000 square feet to ensure that all are working at their maximum capacity and according to their design efficiencies. The California Air Resources Board estimates that the mandatory provisions will reduce greenhouse gas emissions (CO2 equivalent) by 3 million metric tons equivalent in 2020.

Upon passing state building inspection, California’s property owners will have the ability to label their facilities as CALGREEN compliant without using additional costly third-party certification programs.

In addition to the mandatory regulations, CALGREEN also includes more stringent voluntary provisions to encourage local communities to take further action to green their buildings to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve energy efficiency and conserve our natural resources.

Jennifer Caterino from the Architect’s Newspaper writes that “For now, the code only takes new construction into consideration, ignoring existing building stock.” In her article, she describes an industry thought that it will have to address the existing buildings, “if no other reason than to comply with Assembly Bill 32, the Global Warming Act.” There is an expectation to see some revision in the updated code in 2013, but how drastic the changes will be is hard to speculate, based on that this new mandatory code is not much variance from the earlier voluntary one.

Greenbuild 2009

Garavaglia Architecture’s Chris Lutjen attended the 2009 Greenbuild conference. He writes about his experience in Phoenix this November:

After first attending Greenbuild 2007 in Chicago, I wasn’t sure what to expect. In my preparation to attend Greenbuild 2009 in Phoenix, the largest sustainable design conference in the United States, even finding a hotel a week before the conference near downtown was a breeze, as was registering at the brand new downtown convention center. Phoenix’s new light rail system provided convenient mass transit between the conference center, airport and hotel. The seminar topics were not as enticing and interesting as when I last attended:

A presentation on the Bus Rapid Transit system in Cleveland, OH demonstrated how folks from different entities could form partnerships to see a former main street in Euclid Avenue reemerge as a new main street connector in a shrinking city.

The late addition of Master Speaker Tony Gale executive Tony Gale confirmed the Starbucks’ pledge to for all stores to achieve a minimum of LEED certification. The core idea behind the coffeehouses is “to create a place where people want to stay,” a sort of third living room. The familiarity factor certainly contributes to that objective as these stores become ubiquitous in many American cities.

It was exciting to see some local Bay area projects represented, including the award winning Gish Family Apartments in San Jose. Serious windows, Integrity Block and Philips LED lighting were among the regionally located product manufacturers highlighted in this and other local projects.

My dizzying trek through the two matrices of exhibit halls confirmed that Greenbuild has definitely grown from modest beginnings to a well-funded and sponsored corporate event. There are so many vendors it was impossible to thoroughly visit each one in a full day, so some strategic planning was required. My search for sound technologies and products led me to green roof, permeable pavers, solar sunshades and recycled glass tile companies.

The conference was better organized and more highly attended than one in Chicago. And I am hoping that there is some return to basic design principles and a somewhat less focus on documentation and analysis for the next Greenbuild. Anyone planning on attending in Chicago in 2010 should register early and sign up for their preferred seminars as soon as possible. See you there!