TL Green Fish

Peter Yost, Residential Program Manager of Building Green and Editor of GreenBuildingAdvisor.com, recently wrote a case study on the efficient and thoughtful designs TerraLogos created for over 50 home renovations in East Baltimore. Habitat for Humanity of the Chesapeake selected TerraLogos as their architect for the complex project because of our ability to meet the unique client and construction needs.

In order to meet sustainability standards and maintain affordable pricing, TerraLogos adapted the TerraLogos Green Rowhouse Renovation Template. The template provides versatility despite the difficult structural challenges of historic homes. With roughly 75% of the homes already finished or under construction, TerraLogos has demonstrated expertise in another positive step forward for Baltimore City development. See before and after pictures of one of the kitchens- completely outfitted with Whirlpool Energy Star appliances!

To learn more about our distinctive designs and commitment to sustainable and affordable architecture, check out Peter Yost’s case study.

This year 20 colleges nationwide and abroad have entered the US Department of Energy Solar Decathlon, a design-build competition for the most energy-efficient, cost-effective, and aesthetically pleasing solar-powered home.  These interdisciplinary teams were judged in 10 categories, including architecture, engineering, marketability, hot water, and energy balance.  Every school had something unique and exciting to offer, from Team Sci Arc/Cal-Tech’s experimental use of “outsulation” (versus insulation), to Team China’s use of shipping containers.  However, all have educated us in new and old ways of building green and living sustainably.  These green homes gave us a hopeful look into how the built environment can work well with and help conserve our natural environment.

This year’s first place winner was University of Maryland’s Watershed home.  Inspired by the Chesapeake Bay, Team Maryland designed this home to be its own “micro-ecosystem”—a watershed that efficiently collects, stores, and recycles both rainwater and grey water to irrigate the edible wall, surrounding landscape, and the environment beyond.  Two modules, linked by a bathroom and mechanical core make up the massing of the home.  The green roof and the solar-paneled roof that top the two volumes slope down into the constructed wetlands that run through the middle of the home.  These wetlands help to store water and filter any grey water (collected from laundry, kitchen, or bathroom usage) for later use.  Other exciting components included space-efficient furniture like the kitchen table and chairs that can be easily pulled out and stored away, or the desk that can be folded out into a bed.

Credit: Jim Tetro/U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon

This home definitely emphasized the fact that sustainability is not just about the tacking on solar panels.  It’s about integrating new and old building strategies as well as advances in technology to create an environmentally friendly home.

For more information about the competition and links to information about team designs:

http://www.solardecathlon.gov/index.html

For more information about University of Maryland’s Watershed design and story:

http://2011.solarteam.org/about

The TerraLogos office took the meaning of design/build literally last week! Located at 2412 Fairmount Street near both Patterson Park and the TerraLogos offices is the Habitat for Humanity of the Chesapeake Women Build home designed by TerraLogos. Unlike many of the other homes slated for renovation and rehabilitation by Habitat for Humanity of the Chesapeake under the NSP2 federal grant, this home will be primarily built by volunteers, including our office team (except for Trixi, whose paws aren’t conducive to hammers or chop saws).

Women Build projects are also unique because they encourage women in the community to band together to build homes for families in need. Men are also volunteers, but the mission of a woman strong construction project really drew our team in. We love that women are responsible for the design and (most of the) construction! All the lovely ladies in our office, Kim Schaefer, Irene Jorden Romero and Jessica Choi, picked up hammers and assisted in the project. Outnumbered by the ladies, Michael Stinefelt also swung a hammer and even led some of the construction team in reading the plans. This home will be built to enhanced green standards and be a certified Energy Star Home estimated to save over 30% in energy costs.

Sierra, our Project Manager from Habitat, supervised our crew as we hammered away at the 1^st floor ceiling joists, securing the “rat run” perpendicular to the joists. A “rat run” is a single board nailed to the tops of the ceiling joists to hold the position sure and stable against any twist or movement. They got their nickname from their notorious secondary use as a highway for rats in the ceiling, which of course this home will not have! We measured and cut 2×4 pieces with the chop saw, mounting the “dog legs,” blocking that supported the ceiling joists. After lunch we finished up the last of the ceiling work and helped with installing some of the 1^st floor wall insulation. Our office bonded over sore shoulders and fashionable hard hats. More than that, we enjoyed watching our design turn into a beautiful home for a family moving into our own neighborhood.

Interested in volunteering? Contact Habitat today!

TerraLogos is going to work in the field tomorrow! 

Instead of drawing wall sections we will be volunteering with Habitat for Humanity of the Chesapeake on the Women Build house in the Patterson Park Neighborhood to actually build a wall section.

We will make a full day of it working on the Women Build house at 2412 E. Fairmount Ave.

As the architecture firm responsible for the design and permit plans for multiple HFHC houses in the Patterson Park and McElderry Park neighborhoods, we are excited about our chance to actually work on one of the houses.  The whole firm is going and as a woman-owned business we are proud to participate in the actual construction of a new residence for a single mom and her son.

TerraLogos believes in the Habitat for Humanity mission that “brings people together to build decent, affordable homes that change lives, empower families and strengthen communities”. So we are ready to put on our work clothes (and work boots),and get our hands dirty for a great cause.

If you are interested in volunteering yourself or know someone who is, they can always use the help. See their website:  http://habitatchesapeake.org/

Please check back for pictures of tomorrow’s adventure. We are expecting to be well worked and plenty dirty!

Last month (8/10/11) we lost a true pioneer in sustainability, Ray Anderson, CEO of Interface Carpet the world’s largest producer of modular commercial floor coverings known to most of us as carpet tiles. In 1994 he read Paul Hawken’s book The Ecology of Commerce and had an epiphany. Mr Anderson realized that his business used too much energy, used too much water while damaging the regional water supply and relied almost exclusively on fossil fuel based petrochemicals to make his product.  Much like my own journey of sustainability, he saw the destruction and long term consequences of our rampant pursuit of profit and economic gain at the expense of natural resources, our lack of stewardship of our local communities and economies, and the utter wastefulness of American life and our manufacturing processes. Instant gratification, greed, and the pursuit of “I get mine first” profit does not make for a healthy and vibrant United States of America.
As a Georgia Tech industrial engineer and starting his 22nd year with the company, Mr. Anderson sought to reinvent his business using principles of sustainability(1):

• Cradle to cradle manufacturing – once the useful life of a product is complete, recycle the product into source material for something else – this is closed loop system thinking
• Do more with less (in this case using fewer natural or non-renewable resources like fossil fuels to make nylon fiber, invest in renewable energy)
• Reduce and recycle all waste streams. All systems use resources that create waste as a bi-product. Identify the waste streams and then figure out innovative ways to reuse the “waste” product, such as taking waste heat from equipment and preheating hotwater supplies.

Ray Anderson made this commitment while also promising to keep the company profitable (hence financial sustainability), work collaboratively with his employees (growing human capital) and maintain high design and product standards in the process (true long term sustainability). What was the result of this mid-career epiphany and “dumping of the apple cart”?

• Return on shareholder value – since 1994 doubled earnings, saved $450 million in costs and increased sales by 63% (2)
• Shared the knowledge through two books, several movies and serving on many boards and commissions including the co-chair of the first President’s Council on Sustainable Development.
• Established the “Mission Zero” program at Interface to demonstrate the company’s collaborative dedication to “. . . . eliminate any negative impact Interface has on theEnvironment by 2020”(3). Ray Anderson thought the company was about halfway to the goal inthe Fall of 2010.

Ray Anderson left quite a legacy behind, a changed landscape and way of doing business in the country and even the world. If a medium size carpet company in Atlanta Georgia can do it, so can all of us. It just takes courage, vision and determination.

Having been inspired by Ray Anderson for many years, all of us at TerraLogos: eco architecture continue to work toward creating a more sustainable and just community here in Baltimore and beyond.
We have adopted the 2030 Challenge to reduce energy use by 50% by 2015 in all of our work, and are working to revitalize communities in Baltimore City through sustainable design and active community engagement. If you would like to learn more about Ray Anderson’s legacy or our work in sustainable design and development please contact us or take a look at our website.

Here’s to you Ray Anderson, you will be greatly missed and thank you for your vision, courage and dedication to making the world a better place!
(1) As outlined in The Ecology of Commerce, Paul Hawken (1990)

(2) http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/aug2011/2011-08-10-091.html

(3) http://www.interfaceglobal.com

For the past year and a half, I have commuted by bus through Baltimore, and I couldn’t agree more with the man, waiting at the bus stop with me, who concluded that the MTA (Maryland Transit Administration) may as well stand for “Might Take Awhile.”  On one hand, I’m saving gas money and reducing my carbon footprint.  On the other, I could drive to work within 15-20 minutes, but commuting by bus takes a good 45 minutes to an hour.

Baltimore offers many public transit options—the MARC train, the light rail, the metro, the buses, and now the free Charm City Circulators.  But cars still seem to rule the streets, especially because there aren’t enough buses or they run off-schedule.

The city is showing signs of hope of a less congested and more strongly-connected community.  The Red Line—a new east-west light rail—is coming to link neighborhoods all the way from Woodlawn in Baltimore County, through downtown, to the Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center.  The Red Line is potentially a big step towards integrating not only Baltimore neighborhoods but our existing public transit systems as well.  Hopefully, this addition will decrease traffic congestion, increasing ridership and getting more cars off the road.  It’s also encouraging to see more and more bike commuters streaming through new and existing bike lanes, of which I have started to join.

With many being unable to afford a car and all its additional expenses, I’m grateful that Baltimore even has a public transit system.  And while current buses consistently “might take awhile,” I do have hopes for Baltimore becoming a more livable city, through an efficient, effective public transportation system.

For more information about the red line:

http://www.gobaltimoreredline.com/

TerraLogos is working as the sustainable consultant to Rogers Marvel Architects(New York City) to develop an innovative K-8 facility for the East Baltimore Community School.  Rogers Marvel won the design competition and planning is underway to build a landmark school in the East Baltimore District.  The facility will originally be run by the John Hopkins School of Education and the project team is actively meeting with representatives of the board to develop a facility that will integrate the curriculum from day 1.

This 100,000 square foot $40 million facility will not just be another new school.  It will redefine how children are educated in East Baltimore.  As sustainable consultant TerraLogos is helping to define how each student will connect to the natural environment on a daily basis.  Active exterior learning spaces will be incorporated into the design, including science/art terraces, roof gardens, playing fields, student gallery, weather stations, school garden and orchard.

Through this project TerraLogos is helping to define how a neighborhood will grow.  We believe that this new school will become a hallmark  of the revitalized East side and a tree center of the community.

Rogers Marvel Architects

Read more about the design competition.

Below are two concept design images produced for the competition.

Written by Kim Schaefer, principal of TerraLogos

I have been saving up bits and pieces of scrap metal in my basement since moving in July 2002.  Scrap pipe from my renovation, the odd bolt and screw, random found hubcaps and even some aluminum tubes.  I finally got it together with help from my friend Mike and a borrowed truck from my neighbor Steve’s. Our goal was to haul it out of the basement and take it to the closest recycler possible, Cambridge Iron and Metal Company on South Kresson Street, for my big windfall in hard cash for metal recycling.

What an operation! Cambridge Iron and Metal Company, an organized hive of activity, had huge trucks coming in to get weighed and then sort their load into piles of steel, wire and fencing, copper and aluminum.  Cranes, electromagnetic lifts and multiple forklifts running around the yard to sort, reload and process all kinds of metals shipped to mills that create new steel and metal products.  Our little load and truck found our way around and we hand dumped our steel, adding to a ginormous pile of miscellaneous scrap steel (one of many at the yard). The bottom line? — a total of $28.98 in cold cash for nine years of collection and four man-hours of work. If you’re trying to get-rich-quick, heavier amounts of metal is necessary, but for our  “Moral of the Story”: it’s the principle that counts, recycling valuable commodities even for small amounts of cash, helps to conserve natural resources and keep valuable waste out of the landfill.

Picture from the Cambridge Iron website

Kim at Cambridge Recycling

Recycling Metal Receipts

The brief history of solar power plants has been a roller coaster ride at best.  Facing constant budget and environmental issues many different projects have become stalled or were forced to greatly downsize from their original designs.

There are currently several solar power plants under construction around the world.  One that claims to have a low environmental impact is the Ivanpah Solar Generating Plant in the Mojave Desert.

The Ivanpah project does not use a typical solar array.  The solar complex will use low impact heliostats (mirrors) to focus the power of the sun onto 3 different towers in order to create steam and run a turbine.  The project will be using a new thermal system developed by Brightsource that will consume 90% less water than conventional systems.

However there is an environmental concern with this project on the building site.  It is being built in the habitat of the endangered desert tortoise.  The US Fish & Wildlife Service is watching the project with a critical eye and enforcing many regulations to protect the endangered desert tortoise.  Unfortunately there have been accidents and regardless of any protective actions taken their habitat will be permanently affected.

Are the long term benefits of a solar power plant worth damaging the habitat of an endangered species?  How do we weigh these risks against strip mining for coal, fracking for natural gas, or oil sands?  These are questions that we have to ask ourselves moving forward.

You can learn more about this project and get construction updates at http://ivanpahsolar.com/.

I also encourage you to search for independent sites to learn more about the conservation efforts of local organizations and get the story behind the scenes.

Our May edition of TerraLogos Time held on May 24^th, focused on extreme green components for the exterior of buildings, especially Baltimore rowhomes,  with guest presenters Michael Furbish of Furbish Company and Anne Fleshman of Baltimore Contained.

Photos: Canal Street Malt House balcony makeover on the left and Fleet Street planters on right by Baltimore Contained.

Anne Fleshman started Baltimore to address the unique needs of the urban gardener. Baltimore Contained offers solutions to gardeners and non-gardeners alike:  flowers and plants and vegetables and herbs suited to containers and small spaces; organic soils and fertilizers sized for the smallest or largest containers; materials that save water and lighten the weight of the planter.  You select materials in quantities that suit your needs.  Just want a small plant and pot?  You can get just the amount of soil, fertilizer and mulch that you need rather than lugging home a 40 pound bag of potting soil.  Anne also offers maintenance and coaching services tailored to your needs.

Baltimore Contained is dedicated to offering products that contribute to a sustainable environment, and use local, organic and eco-friendly products whenever possible. At TerraLogos Time, Anne highlighted some of her urban gardening projects and offered some tips for Baltimore gardeners, including:

1. Natives are naturally hardier plants.
2. For beginners, sedums need little water and can survive Baltimore heat in the summer.
3. Investing the money in a drip irrigation system will help your plants flourish in the dry summers of this region.

For additional tips, make sure to check out Anne’s Information/Tip Section on her website:

<http://www.baltimorecontained.com/Baltimore_Contained/Information_Tips/Information_Tips.html>

Continuing the conversation of alternative gardening and urban exterior greening approaches was Michael Furbish, since Furbish Company specializes in living roofs and living walls. Michael detailed the triumphs and tribulations of expansive green roofs. Furbish Company designs and installs both intensive (deeper than 6” of growth media) and extensive (shallower planting systems less than 6”) living roofs. Aesthetically pleasing to anyone with a bird’s eye view, living roofs also help with storm water management, absorbing and /or filtering water runoff, depending on the scale and design; they reduce the heat island effect, and in cases of expansive roof surface area can create a thermal barrier, resulting in energy savings.

Michael also spoke on his company’s work with living walls. Working with a local manufacturer, Furbish Company designed a building block style retaining wall that allows for vegetative growth within its checkerboard-like pattern, called Smart Slope.

A 4,600 square foot example of Furbish’s living retaining wall prototype, SmartSlope, at The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC.

The discussion resulted from both Anne Fleshman and Michael Furbish’s project experiences encouraged project partnerships and urban greening. We look forward to the continuation of this exploration and thank both presenters for an informative and interesting dialogue.