COTE's Top Ten Green Projects Presentation at AIA'08
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| Michael Wentz being interviewed after the presentation |
Overheard at AIA'08
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"I kinda liked the expo this year. There seemed to be a lot of stuff." —a guy to another guy
| A piece of it. Just a piece. |
Canstruction (AIA'08)
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A foundation of the Society for Design Administration (SDA), Canstruction is a design/build competition currently held in cities throughout North America.
Getting more sunlight per watt
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Sunlight gives us light at no charge, which we can harness in our buildings to reduce our reliance on electrical lighting, while providing a more enjoyable indoor environment. Leave it to an engineer to tell us how much that sunlight actually costs us. Lumens per watt (lpw) is the measure of lighting efficacy, telling us how much light (lumens) we get out for how much power (watts) we put in.
Preparing for the 2030 Challenge (AIA'08)
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"Using case studies of recent high performance architecture, this session will identify key strategies required to increase sustainable methods to achieve zero carbon goals by the year 2030.
Product Certifications, and Social Justice (AIA'08)
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Nadav Malin and Scot Horst offered up a great, head-twisting presentation about product certifications called "It's Certified Green But What Does That Mean?" to about 500 people.
Has the time come for vinyl siding?
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I'm no fan of vinyl, but someone (actually a lot of someones) keep buying lots of it, year after year. Why? A recent article, "Vinyl makers push for New Urbanism market," in New Urban News looks at the benefits. Since vinyl is pretty much Evil (I picture it as the smoldering stuff in the toaster oven in "Time Bandits") in the environmental world, I thought this article was pretty fun.
Apparently there is a campaign afoot to get some respect for vinyl siding, and it's winning over people in the New Urbanist community.
AIA'08: The Exhibition Hall
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Now, having made that snarky comment about white guys in a previous post (for the record, I'm a white guy), I should say that the conference itself has a very nicely diverse attendance. Walking the trade show floor, you're surrounded by a range of ages, what seems like an almost even mix of sexes, and a good variety of ancestries.
Legally Green — Legal and Practice Issues of LEED (AIA'08)
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This morning began (for me) with a 7:00 (early!) session called "Legally Green: Legal and Practice Issues of LEED," presented by Betsy del Monte and William Quatman. The room had a capacity approaching 400, and got close to filling up. Betsy's presentation was, for the most part, understandably basic. The big majority of the audience, by show of hands, had not worked on a LEED certified project, or a LEED certifiable project, and were not LEED APs. They were there for continuing education.
AIA Convention 2008: Boston
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I came to Boston yesterday, giving myself plenty of time to check in at the sprawling Boston Convention and Exhibition Center (BCEC) for this year's AIA National Convention before heading out — pretty much cluelessly — to get a closer look at this historic city.
I'd been tipped off that the Freedom Trail, a walking tour following a thin red line that ties together many historic sites in town, was a good thing to do.