Dan Phillips out of Houston is doing some really daring things with recycled building materials – take a look at this insightful talk by this innovative builder:
Design
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December 16, 2010
May 16, 2010
Sustainable Cities Lessons for Nashville
Posted by MHH under Design, Infrastructure, SustainabilityLeave a Comment
The first volume of the United Nations’ Global Compact Cities Programme has been published. You can read the whole document by clicking here. The program, which currently has forty cities participating, is a broad-reaching effort that acknowledges the increasing urbanization of our planet and explores ways of managing that fact. It explores the four areas of human rights, labor rights, environment and anti-corruption and arrives at ten principles as a guiding framework.
In the wake of our historic flood here in Nashville, one item caught my eye in the report and that was the city of Milwaukee’s efforts to manage freshwater. Upon embarking on this effort, they discovered that there were some 120 agencies, businesses, non-profits and the like exploring the management, treatment and delivery of freshwater in a city of 680,000 souls. This type of wasted effort abounds everywhere, including right here in our fair city.
Metro Nashville waste water treatment facility
Looking at water alone, we have the Cumberland River Compact, the Urban Land Institute, the Cumberland Region Tomorrow, the Civic Design Center and numerous other outside agencies looking at growth patterns and the necessary infrastructure that will be required to sustain our population. Not to mention the noble work being done by our Metropolitan Planning Organization and the numerous government agencies all working on the same topics. Perhaps in the wake of the flood, we need to take a more regional look at our systems and look to create more interconnectivity across city/county/regional lines. We have the added layer of heavy Federal involvement through such entities as the Army Corps of Engineers.
Certainly there is an opportunity for public/private partnership structures to address current and future needs. There also needs to be a more centralized operational and communications structure for the government entities. While no one can anticipate an act of God (like a stationary weather front that drops 18″ of water on you!), we can start to put in place the framework to minimize the toll of future events. Government working together with non-profits and bringing in the best and brightest minds from business in a cooperative framework is a good place to start. Perhaps it’s time for Nashville to become a participatory city in the Sustainable Cities Programme?
March 26, 2010
After a fairly gloomy week, we are blessed with a spectacular Spring day in Nashville. The only thing that could improve the crystalline blue sky would be a plume of applewood smoke tinted with the succulent smell of simmering sausages. Oh, I know, we are not supposed to laud carbon emissions, so to compensate for my lustful vision, here are some links to sites of green retrofits. I got onto this subject because of a wonderful presentation that our ULI Sustainability Committee put on a couple of weeks ago where they brought in the group that was working on the renovation of the Empire State Building…bon apetit!
- Empire State Building renovation – go here and spend some time looking at the videos and interactive exhibits. This was a renovation done with care and passion.
- Jean Vollum Natural Capital Center – this was the first building to get a LEED Gold certification as a historic renovation. I visited the building several years ago and was impressed by the care they took in preserving the beauty of the original architecture while achieving a sustainable goal.
- The Old Mint Building – San Francisco’s “Granite Lady” is getting a facelift and conversion into a historical museum. This is a good summary article about the scope of the project, complete with a cool slide show.
- Madison Children’s Museum – This is a fascinating adaptive reuse and sustainable project in Madison, Wisconsin.
- Ford Rouge Factory – how about taking a 1915 auto production facility and bringing it up to LEED standards a century later? That’s what is happening at the Ford Rouge factory in Detroit.
That ought to get your green ideas flowing! Come to think of it, I might try some wasabi mustard on that bratwurst…
January 25, 2010
Let me be clear up front – I do not believe in anthropomorphic climate change – the notion that man, in our industrial wonder, is ruining the earth with global warming. I am a skeptic and my hackles come up when anyone in the scientific community (or political community) utters phrases like “it’s settled,” and “there can be no denying it.” Science by its very nature of being “science” is always in pursuit of the truth and if data exists that challenges a theory, the theory must be re-examined. My natural skepticism is being rewarded by the recent scandals at the University of East Anglia and NASA and now new findings that hundreds of data points that didn’t “fit the model” were left off the charts so that the global warming theory would be left intact. The Russians have been saying for some time that we had better be buying furs and not sunscreen for several years.
Now, before I get the pointing finger, “Night of the Living Dead” outing, let me follow by saying that I heartily support “green” building practices. I support them from the position of stewardship – we should minimize any impact we have, it is the right thing to do. Reduce the amount of forests cleared? You bet! Re-use existing buildings? Absolutely – done that. Reduce heat impact in a neighborhood? Of course – white and green roofs. And on it goes. I believe this is the responsible way to develop and manage real estate. Transit oriented development to reduce man’s footprint? YES. Somewhere deep in my core is a Celtic Druidic gene that enervates my sense that trees and forests are sacred. I am at peace paddling in a pristine river and I want those things to be there for my children, their children and beyond. We are stewards of this incredible planet, and for those reasons, I support the green movement.
I have concerns, however, when property rights and values are jeopardized by fluctuating standards either by government or non-government organizations. Such is the chilling case cited in an article this morning in the San Antonio Business Journal: “Risk of LEED Decertification Looms Large for Real Estate:”
As reported by the Villas County News-Review, a group of Wisconsin residents filed a 125-page complaint with the USGBC challenging the award of the LEED Gold certification to Northland Pines, which is generally credited as the first certified LEED Gold high school. The challenge was based on a little discussed provision in LEED 2009, which reserves the USGBC’s ability to revoke certification a project that fails to meet the program’s “Minimum Program Requirements,” which include requirements for minimum occupancy rates, site boundaries, and information-sharing about the project’s energy and water usage for five years after certification. It was reported that the USGBC sent independent examiners to Wisconsin to conduct on-site tests at Northland Pines to determine the project’s qualifications for LEED, and that a final determination on the school’s eligibility for LEED would be decided in early 2010.
Who are the “residents” who filed this complaint that got the ball rolling on potential decertification? Now this is for a public high school, but consider the impact on commercial property. This behavior opens the door for an irritated tenant to truly hurt the value of a building by filing a complaint with the USGBC over whether the owner is behaving properly green to maintain their LEED status. It is widely viewed in our industry that there will be a premium for LEED certified buildings over time (this is unproven so far), but I believe it will be a deal enhancer as our practices become greener. In an already badly roiled and potentially worsening market, we didn’t need this:
The ramifications of decertification pose significant threats to every party involved in a LEED project, including the owners, lenders, insurers, tenants, architects, engineers, consultants, contractors, and lawyers. As the LEED 2009 program is currently written, a project that achieved LEED certification today would never have absolute certainty that it could maintain that certification in perpetuity. That risk could threaten the validity of many of laws (like building codes), tax incentives, or financings that are currently tied to the LEED program. Given the many things that can change as buildings age — like air quality and energy efficiency — a LEED-certified building may perform as designed for years, only to lose certification many years later. This could result in buildings becoming unexpectedly out of compliance with building codes or with tax or incentive clawbacks (where incentives need to be paid back), and owners who find themselves in default under their leases and loans … overnight, without fair warning. Uncooperative tenants or failures in routine maintenance could lead to disastrous consequences.
The mission of the USGBC should be to promote responsible development, construction and operating practices for real estate.
This is best achieved with training and certification. They will hurt their reputation immensely if they decide to go into the snitching and inspection business. It also becomes enormously problematic if the rules are going to change year to year…that’s what “grandfathering” is for. Perhaps the solution is to date the certifications so the consumer will know, i.e. “LEED Silver 2009.” We don’t need shadowy figures taking tips from the neighbors on a foggy night – we need advocates and training to help us build a better product that has less impact on the environment…USGBC can do that.
December 1, 2009
I use the Readitlaterlist application on my browser (and on the Blackberry), and some down time over Thanksgiving gave me a chance to get caught up on a few items. Here are a few articles that might be of interest to those of you in the real estate biz:
1. “The Architect as Totalitarian” – a stinging indictment of Le Corbusier. Cleverly written, the author equates the architecture of the “great” Le Corbusier with Pol Pot.
2. “Why This Real Estate Bust is Different” – a thorough analysis by the folks over at Investor’s Insight, “Real Estate Bust 2.0” paints a pretty sobering picture of where we may be heading. I can’t decide if I am becoming a cynical pessimist or a pessimistic cynic.
3. “The Limits of Transit” – the good folks over at New Geography are taking the proponents of mass transit to task on the cost/benefit of mass transit. Bottom line it is not a panacea and should be approached by each municipality with caution.
4. “Let’s Handcuff the Property Cops” – a short missive against over-bearing HOA’s from the stable of good writers over at the Land Institute. This one from a green perspective, takes to task the nosy neighbor’s harmful intrusions into private affairs.
5. An Interview with Wendell Berry – I have always been a big Wendell Berry fan – I think it’s my inner Agrarian surfacing from time to time – this is a nice interview with the writer on his views of local farming, greed, the consumer society etc.
There were a few others, but honestly some of the stuff I had tagged to read later I was scratching my head about – does that ever happen to you? Set an article aside to read later and then wonder why you clipped it in the first place? Thought so.
Enjoy!
October 23, 2009
If the rain will go away, we should have some good grilling weather this weekend! Here are some thought provoking links to share around the barbecue:
1. Structure – this is an interesting site to peruse. This link takes you straight to an article about building the tallest (nine story) stick frame building. If we could get that technology down, imagine what it will do to overall cost!
2. Spain’s Green Jobs – this is a link to a PDF of a study about the effect on employment that Spain’s push to be “all things green” has had. Before you drink anymore of the environmentalist Koolaid that says we are going to create a green employment nirvana, you’d better have a look.
3. Off the Edge Humor – we all need a laugh – especially these days. This simple blog offers up a daily dose of good cheer!
4. Notes from a Hospital Bed – “Traction Man” is a British journalist who is in traction for several months in a UK hospital – he shares images of his food and other thoughts about living with socialized medicine. I confess, as a foodie, I am astounded at how bad this slop looks and obviously tastes!
5. Yugoslavian Greenbrier – If you’ve ever been to the Greenbrier resort in West Virginia, I hope you have had the privilege of touring the nuclear bunker that was built there for our bureaucracy. Guess the Yugoslavians had the same idea. I wonder what’s going to happen in a couple of hundred years as more of these old shelters are found – what will they think?
Enjoy the weekend!
October 8, 2009
The air is getting a little chillier – might need to wear some fleece when you retrieve those succulent sausages off the Weber this weekend, but to help get you there, here are the offerings of links for the week:
1. Wall Stats – this site offers an innovative way of looking at complex information. Be sure to study their “Death and Taxes” poster…you won’t care about cholesterol content after that!
2. Evernote – this is a neat application that I use a lot. It syncs with your Blackberry or I-phone, and it is a place for clippings from articles you’ve read, bookmarks, etc. They recently upgraded the platform to make it even easier to file and find various notes.
3. Read it Later – while we are on the subject of cool applications, Read it Later allows you to bookmark an article and, as the title suggests, read it later. You can access your account from any computer or a smart phone, so it’s great when you are traveling and you want to get caught up on your reading.
4. Solar Decathlon – With all the focus on solar power – why not have a race to see which team could build the most energy efficient house that uses solar power? OK, let’s do that! Department of Energy is doing it – check it out.
5. E-Book – release your inner Wordsworth and write an e-book! Here marketing guru, Seth Goodin tells you how.
OK, I’m stuffed with all this good information, hope you enjoy it. Have a great weekend!
October 7, 2009
I confess, I have been a Leon Krier fan ever since I read about his involvement with Seaside. Now, in the words of Charles Frasier, that development has become the world’s “largest horizontal hotel,” but it certainly has served as a case study for new urbanism. I just finished Krier’s newest book, “The Architecture of Community,” and I am impressed. Krier is setting forth the case being made in all the development publications that our future development patterns will be mixed-use, dense and town centric.
Krier is a fan of classical building patterns – obviously more at home in a piazza in Italy than a suburb in Indiana. He decries the modern building form as “sterile and limp.” and when you look at some of the office buildings I see out my window, including the gleaming new Pinnacle tower which blinds you if you are coming in on Franklin Road at 4PM, I can’t say I disagree. But then, maybe I’m an old fogey in my tastes. I agree with Krier that our very souls are crying out for something that really feels like home, not the thousand acre subdivisions with garages staring back at us along every street.
James Howard Kunstler, who writes the afterward of this intriguing book concludes far more directly than I could:
The debate over these things – traditional architecture and urbanism versus modernism and suburbia – is now concluded. The future can now reconnect with the past to create that dwelling place I call a hopeful present. This book is Mr. Krier’s gift to the coming generations – who, otherwise, have been left saddled by us with little more than extravagant debts in every way you could imagine. They are going to have to inhabit what remains of this planet, along with whatever remains of its resources, when we are gone, and Mr. Krier’s heroic, often lonely labors, have produced this indispensable beacon of principle and methodology to light their way home.
Buy this book and read it…absorb the thinking of a visionary man. Perhaps we can use these valuable lessons when the market finally does turn around again. Click on the image below and it will take you straight to Amazon. Enjoy!
October 1, 2009
A regular smorgasbord of delights awaits your clicking fingers for this week’s edition of the Grill:
1. Futurity – I was never a big Sci-Fi nut, but I love reading about technological break-throughs. This site assembles news from the leading research universities around the world and sums them up.
2. Entrepreneur Center – The Nashville Chamber of Commerce has launched this on-line platform to help entrepreneurs establish their businesses. There is a cupboard full of great links and ideas.
3. State of the Cities Data System – Want information about crime, population trends, demographics of your city or region? Check this nifty little data base out!
4. Recycling Suburbia – this is an insightful and thought provoking article by Ellen Dunham Jones (author of Retrofitting Suburbia).
5. Corpse of a Thousand Houses – I blogged on this earlier…not going to lie, it’s a little depressing, but we need to read everything we can about what is going on out there so we can better prepare for the future.
Enjoy the weekend – cold beer?
September 17, 2009
Last week’s little adventure up in the Blackwater Preserve kept me away from the weekly grill, but we will do our darndest with this fresh batch of links to get caught up! Even though it is after Labor Day, we can still keep the Weber on the patio and offer up some weekly delicacies:
1. Museum of American Finance – I have visited a lot of museums in New York, but this one has escaped my perusal. I promise to allot some time next trip to take this in. Their section on “tracking the credit crisis” is particularly intriguing.
2. Feld Thoughts – Brad Feld is a serial entrepreneur and one of those thinkers that flies at about 30,000 feet. I enjoy browsing his blog periodically for interesting thoughts and ideas. He is the founder of Mobius Venture Capital and the Foundry Group.
3. Freakonomics – I loved the book, Freakonomics, but did not realize there was a blog that featured content from the every whacky world of economics. Worth the bookmark and a periodic browse! If you haven’t read this book, click this image below and get yourself a copy! Who can resist a book authored by a “rogue economist?”
4. The International Living Building Institute – an off-shoot of the Cascadia Region Green Building Council in British Columbia, this site is still a little “green,” but if you are up for the membership fee, I expect it will grow as a resource going forward.
5. “How the Crash will Reshape America” – this is a link to an article in the March edition of the Atlantic Monthly. I had put it on my “Read it Later” list and got caught up on the flight up to Baltimore last week. It’s a sobering analysis of where we have come from and where we might be going.
Enjoy the links! Pass the mustard…
M2H Musings 