Green Building Is Dead

I just read a post by Paul Eldrencamp entitled, "Green Building Is Dead."

When I first skimmed it, I indignantly thought, "Well maybe he should try making buildings that work." Then I read it again, and again... and stewed on his credentials... and I have to say I agree, and am very much looking forward to reading his posts on this subject.

As a longterm fan of, and volunteer for, historic preservation groups and history nonprofits, I value historic preservation and how it can benefit a locale's charm and become a resource, promoting character vs. another bland "could be anywhere" cityscape for the community.

I am also a fan of what has been recently termed "Refab." Lloyd Alter's take on Refab Philosophy is practical and right on the (frugal waste-ye-not) money. (You may have noticed that I'm BIG on practical livin'...) ; )

I sell buildings.
I sell buildings that are passive solar design, that are supposed to function, to work.
How do I reconcile this with my preservation / non-waste philosophy?

Maybe we should look at crop tree release.

If we approach construction as we do crop tree release, we might be able to help our industry flourish by removing the ineffective, non-functional "weed" buildings, while preserving the ones that are of value. In crop tree release,

"...woodland owners have many different reasons for owning and managing their woodlands. Some desire woodlands that provide habitat for a variety of wildlife. Others want a woodland that supports particular types of recreation such as hiking, hunting, and bird watching. Still others want to harvest timber and non-timber products from their woods for home and farm use or to provide periodic income. Most aspire to maintain or improve the health, vigor, and attractiveness of their forest. For many private woodland owners, the ability of their woodlands to provide these and many other values can be enhanced through crop tree management. " (from http://ohioline.osu.edu/for-fact/0050.html)

Now I'm no timber-er. But using crop tree release I will better the woods and land, benefiting the wildlife and strenthening the ecosystem.

Maybe we should look at construction business models:

• Does your business sell to people who come to you with an existing need, where you provide a product that will work for generations or
  
• Do you develop blocks of buildings people might not need or want that do not take smart-growth or passive solar design into consideration?
• Are you building to just sell or fufilling a specific asked-for need?
• Does your business mass grade soil on land parcels?
• What does your business do to reduce waste?
• Do your architects design for the product (i.e. the width of a SIPs panel) utilized vs. cutting, creating waste?
• Do you encourage reuse and recycled materials when possible?
  

These are my first thoughts, and I look forward to musing over Mr. Eldrencamp's writing more. What do YOU think?

 

Modern Passive Solar House Kit with Cladding

Here are the latest pictures of our modern passive solar house kit!

Handsome Husband returned from the land with these pictures of the cladding as it is going up. I couldn't resist just letting this post be pictures / video of the modern house and not the post I had planned- a business analysis on why finding affordable, national distributors of cladding for residential use has been so difficult.

Hope you enjoy our Supa Mod House Kit Update!
As you go through the modern passive solar house pictures, remind yourself that all of this: putting together the structural insulated panels (SIPs), the shiny super mod cladding, the passive solar design... all of this is being done by... the Amish!

Pretty crazy, huh?


Here's a slideshow, click on it if you want to get all up close and personal.


And here he walks us through the affordable green house interior...


And the modern house exterior...

 

Wanna See My Basement? A Preview Glimpse Of Modern Design Crafty Finds For Our Off Grid Modern House!

Shhhhhhh!
C'mere!

Want to see my BASEMENT?

Aw, ok, maybe it's not that exciting to YOU, but for ME, it is the depository of years of thrift store crafty finds that we will recycle and reuse in our off grid passive solar house kit.

We will start in my lovely, dusty pantry, where I am on my last jar (sob) of brined tomatoes from the garden (and check out the beautiful Amish pepper jelly! I love that stuff!), head on down the stairs where Handsome Hubby has been rearranging and cleaning all day, to view the disheveled and in-dire-need-of-repair-but-glorious reclaimed finds.

Well, guess we have quite the project while we ready for the house kit completion!
: )