From the desk of Alex Vondeling.
I’ve heard of voided concrete, but not yet used in any project. This product by Cobiax USA Inc seems like a pretty intriguing green option. I would assume it would not cost more and perhaps less than conventional structural concrete systems. I checked with CVM (structural engineers). While they are familiar with voided concrete they have not used it in any of their projects – perhaps since steel and wood seem to be far more common structural materials.
From the desk of Alex Vondeling
Check out the NYTimes article about the rebirth of the ipe wood from Coney Island’s boardwalk. Berks County Community Foundation Headquarters in Reading PA was ahead of the trend when it scored some of the reclaimed wood in 2009 for its grand staircase. Looks like it’s also been installed in the new Barnes Foundation Museum. Click on the Image to read the article.
From the desk of Jenn Rezeli
Drew was looking at this for JLL’s feature wall…an interesting panel product: Kerie Windfall
From the desk of Michelle Robinson
Niagara Conservation has a 0.8 gpf toilet out that can flush 600g. At 0.8 gpf you get 50% wastewater reduction and therefore qualify for WEc2.
From the desk of Bryan Astheimer
Three green-building certification systems received a stamp of approval from the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) this week for use in federal projects. The U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED rating system; Green Building Initiative’s Green Globes; and the International Living Future Institute’s Living Building Challenge got the OK. In 2007, LEED was the only certification system to pass the review.
Every five years the U.S. General Services Administration is required to review current green building certification systems to help identify a best system for federal use across all governmental buildings. The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA), which calls for the system evaluations, states that GSA-endorsed systems are those that the director of the GSA’s Office of Federal High-Performance Green Buildings “deems to be most likely to encourage a comprehensive and environmentally sound approach to certification of green buildings.” The purpose of the review is to evaluate how different systems help the government meet its green building objectives.
From the desk of Drew Lavine
Something exciting in the energy world is happening. When Lucid started in 2004 the untapped potential for building occupants to impact energy use by changing their behavior was barely on the radar as an outlet for energy efficiency. After much pushing, prodding and proving, we are seeing behavior change and occupant engagement move into the mainstream. Learn More…
From the desk of Michelle Robinson
The WEc3 Water Use Reduction template has a field for “Percent of male restrooms with urinals,” which has always been an issue if there was one unisex bathroom compared to the multiple user male restrooms and how to complete this.
We just received a review comment that talked about entering “the percentage of males anticipated to use restrooms that contain urinals.” I like this way of viewing it much better and feel that it more clearly explains what they’re looking for in the template.
From the desk of Neil Young
Laura Raymond and Michelle Robinson worked to get this school across the finish line for a LEED Platinum certification. Their efforts paid off, last week the school was announced as one of the first-ever U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools. (Read on…)
From the desk of Drew Lavine
Re:Vision’s project with the JLL Philadelphia Office is moving forward at breakneck pace. Demolition is complete in the existing space on the 25th floor of 1650 Arch. The building permit application has been approved and layout has already begun in the space. Design is still ongoing but with no time to spare our team is working collaboratively with JLL and their contractor to deliver information in a fast-track approach. Construction is scheduled to end by the third week in June so things will start taking shape quickly!
Re:Vision Architecture Blog 