Obtainable Sustainable

Don’t forget to listen to edra’s weekly podcast. Links are listed on the right side of the page.

… but don’t know how to incorporate green building practices into your project? The U.S. Green Building Council and the American Society of Interior Designers’ Foundation have teamed up to develop Regreen, best practice standards for remodeling your home using sustainable design.

Right in your own back yard….

Many cities around the country are spurring local efforts to foster sustainable design. In Madison, WI local newspaper Isthmus is sponsoring Green Day, and expo highlighting sustainable design. The expo features speakers such as Kenneth Brown of HGTV’s reDesign, vendors featuring green building products and services and tours of the LEED certified, Frank Lloyd Wright designed Monona Terrace Convention Center. Check your local paper and our blog for more green building events around the country and in your area.

Through the integration and management of lighting in both commercial and residential buildings, the occupant’s health, comfort and productivity as well as their perception of space could be improved. The insertion of new windows or expanding on existing ones as well as skylights seem to be the trend in “green” design today. The U.S. Department of Energy estimates that lighting consumes one-fifth of the total electricity generated in the United States. With the integration of lighting in your home or office/commercial building, you can save money, feel better and be more productive. There is a science and art to finding the best possible place or area to insert your new lighting. There are three-dimensional computer simulations that can assist you in your decision-making process. Some information found that might be of interest to those involved on the commercial side of building construction is that research has been conducted that showed that retail sales have been affected and improved with the use and integration of sky-lighting and electrical lighting. This may be because of the fact that natural light and lighting features are aesthetically pleasing. So, save money and feel better about yourself and your environment.

Link to Podcast: https://podcast.uww.edu/users/s/smuddep/DS_20028.mp3

For more information: http://www.syska.com/sustainable/news/article.asp?Articles.ART_ID=452

For more information on EDRA: http://www.edra.org/

 March 19, 2008 - Wal-Mart unveiled a new store prototype Tuesday that will use nearly half as much energy as a conventional Supercenter.

The world’s largest retailer’s HE.5 prototype is the first to be designed around the store’s location and climate. It will use 45 percent less energy compared to earlier prototypes that achieved about 25 percent energy savings.

Wal-Mart is not only the world’s largest retailer, it also is the globe’s largest private electricity user, the Associated Press reported. The company has a goal of designing and opening a viable store prototype that uses as much as 30 percent less energy by 2009.

The western climate-specific prototype was designed for the arid weather typical of westerns states where water evaporates faster than in other parts of the country.

Click here for more.
http://www.wbcsd.org/plugins/DocSearch/details.asp?type=DocDet&ObjectId=MjkwNTc.

The EDRA Veracruz Chapter will host the 39th Annual Meeting of the Environmental Design Research Association at the Universidad Veracruzana in Boca del Rio, Veracruz, México, May 28 – June 1, 2008

The conference theme will be Linking Differences—Defining Actions. The theme revolves around the fact we all have contrasts, but we are working together to bridge those differences in order to begin defining actions with a shared responsibility. The conference will explore how environmental design can be used collaboratively to solve common challenges and help link different subcultures.

Click here for conference registration. Early Conference registration has been extended through April 11. After that, Conference registration fees increase by $50.

Click here for more info on EDRA 39

According to a joint Canada-US-Mexico report, “Green Building in North America: Opportunities and Challenges,” changes in building design and construction could cut greenhouse gas emissions by 35 percent in North America.

Politicians and businessman commonly focus solely on the transportation, oil, and gas industries, while ignoring problems in the building industry. North American buildings release 2,200 megatons of carbon dioxide each year according to the report. This is roughly 35 percent of all carbon released in North America. If we began building all buildings to a higher standard by 2030, the carbon savings would be equivalent to all carbon emissions of the transportation sector in the United states.

Click here for the full article

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The Environmental Design Research Association advances and disseminates behavior and design research toward improving understanding of the relationships between people and their environments.

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