• The WindFloat prototype in the Sado River, Portugal during ballasting and connection to the offshore tug vessel Bourbon Liberty 228.  (Photo courtesy Principle Power Inc.)

    Wind Turbines Ride the Wave to Renewable Energy Future

    August 21, 2012

    Editor’s Note: Earlier this year, the first full-scale prototype of a revolutionary floating support structure for offshore wind turbines made its debut off the coast of Aguçadoura, Portugal.  It was inaugurated and celebrated by Portuguese government officials, clean-tech investors, and its engineers and builders. Each floating support structure, known as the WindFloat*, is a three-column [...]

  • Ecobuild 2012

    Ecobuild, What Happened to Green Innovation?

    April 25, 2012

    I only attended the last two days of Ecobuild in London this year.  On the first day there, I was fully absorbed in finding the booths that shouted “this is the Landscape Architecture section,” never really bothering to slow down and take a look around.  I found very few booths representing the field of landscape [...]

  • The Fallingwater mobile app produced by in-D Media LLC (Image courtesy in-D Media LLC)

    Fallingwater Goes Digital

    March 21, 2012

    It’s pretty neat to see a friend featured in the New York Times.  This February, NYT reporter Steven Kurutz interviewed Tim Sakamoto, my long-time friend and fellow alum from the UC Berkeley College of Environmental Design (CED).  The interview focused on his latest product, the Frank Lloyd Wright–Fallingwater mobile app. The What: Let’s call it [...]

  • IDeAs Z2 Design Facility/Office in San Jose, California: South Elevation with Sliding Glass Doors and  Solar PV Shades.  (Photo by David Wakely and photo courtesy Integrated Design Engineers and Associates)

    Drawing More Power Than You Think

    September 7, 2011

    Energy efficient building design has come a long way to improve building system energy performance. But what happens when the users move in? Additional equipment and appliances added after occupancy can dramatically impact actual building performance with surprising and expensive results. Plug loads and process loads have been long considered outside the design team’s scope [...]

  • Aerial View of Project near Completion (Photo courtesy LDG & GCHP)

    New Orlean’s First LEED NC-Silver Multi-Family Development

    August 10, 2011

    In just over two weeks, it will have been six-years since the the category-5 Hurricane Katrina crossed into the United States and rebuilding efforts continue to this day.  New Orleans, Louisiana, was one of the hardest hit areas along the Gulf of Mexico.  It received much attention from people across the country and many organizations [...]

  • At the Exploratorium’s construction site:  reinforcement for the new 8 feet-deep concrete pile caps located at the south side of the Pier 15 building.  (Photo by Oliver Shay)

    Exploratorium’s New Home Addresses Historic Preservation Design and Construction Challenges

    August 4, 2011

    When I was working as a construction manager, I was involved with a handful of complex historic preservation projects including the conversion of a historically significant church into affordable housing (Buena Vista Terrace) for seniors and the renovation of a small historic landmark (The Fireside) into a community center. Historic preservation often presents additional challenges [...]

  • EcoPath sustainable entryway mats created for Cricket Communications stores wait to set at EcoPath’s manufacturing facility in Dalton, GA. Picks hold the mats in place to allow drying time for adhesives to lock into the soy-based backing. (Photo courtesy of EcoPath)

    Find Your Ecopath to Cleanliness

    July 20, 2011

    Having been raised in an Asian household, I was trained to remove my shoes upon entering a home so that I wouldn’t track in any dirt and debris.  I have maintained this ritual throughout my life and most recently learned that many Canadian and Swiss households do the same thing.  Less debris equals less floor [...]

  • A rendering of the Exploratorium’s future new home at Pier 15 located between the Embarcadero and the San Francisco Bay.  This waterfront view looks at the new Observatory Building adjacent to the renovated Pier 15 building with the San Francisco skyline in the background.  (Image courtesy EHDD Architecture)

    San Francisco Exploratorium’s New Home to Become Largest U.S. Net-Zero Energy Museum

    July 7, 2011

    Salty air breezes off of the Bay.  Seagulls are flying about.  A six foot diameter concrete pile gets driven into the sea floor.  An energizing hum of activity reverberates throughout a waterfront construction site–the future new home of San Francisco’s Exploratorium. In October of 2010, the Exploratorium–the Museum of Science, Art and Human Perception, broke [...]

  • The wind turbine installed on top of SCU’s facilities building is being monitored for its effectiveness and energy production output.  Mr. Joe Sugg, Assistant Vice President of University Operations of Santa Clara University, gives scale to the size of the wind turbine.  (Photo courtesy Santa Clara University)

    Energy Strategy Brings About ROI for Santa Clara University

    June 22, 2011

    Few universities can claim to have a 1-megawatt solar PV system, a wind turbine, a 60-collector solar thermal system, and a smart microgrid system that monitors and regulates the campus energy sources.  Santa Clara University isn’t afraid of experimenting with renewable, clean technology that will help it work towards achieving reduced energy consumption and climate [...]

The WindFloat prototype in the Sado River, Portugal during ballasting and connection to the offshore tug vessel Bourbon Liberty 228.  (Photo courtesy Principle Power Inc.)

Wind Turbines Ride the Wave to Renewable Energy Future

August 21, 2012

Editor’s Note: Earlier this year, the first full-scale prototype of a revolutionary floating support structure for offshore wind turbines made its debut off the coast of Aguçadoura, Portugal.  It was inaugurated and celebrated by Portuguese government officials, clean-tech investors, and its engineers and builders. Each floating support structure, known as the WindFloat*, is a three-column [...]

Read More

Greenbuild 2012 Call for Volunteers

Greenbuild 2012 Call for Volunteers

May 10, 2012

Greenbuild has always been one of my favorite conferences dedicated to green building.  Greenbuild 2012 will be held in San Francisco, California at the Moscone Center this year from November 14-16.  The USGBC will offer free conference attendance to volunteers who complete 8-hours of volunteer time during the conference.  Volunteers must be a full-time student [...]

Read More

Ecobuild 2012

Ecobuild, What Happened to Green Innovation?

April 25, 2012

I only attended the last two days of Ecobuild in London this year.  On the first day there, I was fully absorbed in finding the booths that shouted “this is the Landscape Architecture section,” never really bothering to slow down and take a look around.  I found very few booths representing the field of landscape [...]

Read More

Green California Summit 2012

Green California Summit 2012

April 25, 2012

It’s not too late to register online!  The Green California Summit and Exposition will take place at the Sacramento Convention Center in California from April 26th to the 27th.  The Keynote, the Expo, and the Green Leadership Awards Reception are free to all registrants.  Speakers include Kevin Johnson (Go Bears!), the Mayor of the City [...]

Read More

The Fallingwater mobile app produced by in-D Media LLC (Image courtesy in-D Media LLC)

Fallingwater Goes Digital

March 21, 2012

It’s pretty neat to see a friend featured in the New York Times.  This February, NYT reporter Steven Kurutz interviewed Tim Sakamoto, my long-time friend and fellow alum from the UC Berkeley College of Environmental Design (CED).  The interview focused on his latest product, the Frank Lloyd Wright–Fallingwater mobile app. The What: Let’s call it [...]

Read More

IDeAs Z2 Design Facility/Office in San Jose, California: South Elevation with Sliding Glass Doors and  Solar PV Shades.  (Photo by David Wakely and photo courtesy Integrated Design Engineers and Associates)

Drawing More Power Than You Think

September 7, 2011

Energy efficient building design has come a long way to improve building system energy performance. But what happens when the users move in? Additional equipment and appliances added after occupancy can dramatically impact actual building performance with surprising and expensive results. Plug loads and process loads have been long considered outside the design team’s scope [...]

Read More

Aerial View of Project near Completion (Photo courtesy LDG & GCHP)

New Orlean’s First LEED NC-Silver Multi-Family Development

August 10, 2011

In just over two weeks, it will have been six-years since the the category-5 Hurricane Katrina crossed into the United States and rebuilding efforts continue to this day.  New Orleans, Louisiana, was one of the hardest hit areas along the Gulf of Mexico.  It received much attention from people across the country and many organizations [...]

Read More

At the Exploratorium’s construction site:  reinforcement for the new 8 feet-deep concrete pile caps located at the south side of the Pier 15 building.  (Photo by Oliver Shay)

Exploratorium’s New Home Addresses Historic Preservation Design and Construction Challenges

August 4, 2011

When I was working as a construction manager, I was involved with a handful of complex historic preservation projects including the conversion of a historically significant church into affordable housing (Buena Vista Terrace) for seniors and the renovation of a small historic landmark (The Fireside) into a community center. Historic preservation often presents additional challenges [...]

Read More

A Call to Reinvent the Toilet

A Call to Reinvent the Toilet

July 25, 2011

It has been a long time since we have seen any technological changes in the design of toilets.  We have come a long way since the 18th century when the first flush toilet was invented.  The most recent major breakthrough in toilet technology is the dual-flush toilet which was created thirty years ago by Australian [...]

Read More

EcoPath sustainable entryway mats created for Cricket Communications stores wait to set at EcoPath’s manufacturing facility in Dalton, GA. Picks hold the mats in place to allow drying time for adhesives to lock into the soy-based backing. (Photo courtesy of EcoPath)

Find Your Ecopath to Cleanliness

July 20, 2011

Having been raised in an Asian household, I was trained to remove my shoes upon entering a home so that I wouldn’t track in any dirt and debris.  I have maintained this ritual throughout my life and most recently learned that many Canadian and Swiss households do the same thing.  Less debris equals less floor [...]

Read More

A rendering of the Exploratorium’s future new home at Pier 15 located between the Embarcadero and the San Francisco Bay.  This waterfront view looks at the new Observatory Building adjacent to the renovated Pier 15 building with the San Francisco skyline in the background.  (Image courtesy EHDD Architecture)

San Francisco Exploratorium’s New Home to Become Largest U.S. Net-Zero Energy Museum

July 7, 2011

Salty air breezes off of the Bay.  Seagulls are flying about.  A six foot diameter concrete pile gets driven into the sea floor.  An energizing hum of activity reverberates throughout a waterfront construction site–the future new home of San Francisco’s Exploratorium. In October of 2010, the Exploratorium–the Museum of Science, Art and Human Perception, broke [...]

Read More

The wind turbine installed on top of SCU’s facilities building is being monitored for its effectiveness and energy production output.  Mr. Joe Sugg, Assistant Vice President of University Operations of Santa Clara University, gives scale to the size of the wind turbine.  (Photo courtesy Santa Clara University)

Energy Strategy Brings About ROI for Santa Clara University

June 22, 2011

Few universities can claim to have a 1-megawatt solar PV system, a wind turbine, a 60-collector solar thermal system, and a smart microgrid system that monitors and regulates the campus energy sources.  Santa Clara University isn’t afraid of experimenting with renewable, clean technology that will help it work towards achieving reduced energy consumption and climate [...]

Read More

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