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 [...]
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 [...]
My first in-depth encounter with Eichler homes was a few years ago on a blazing hot 90°F Saturday afternoon in Palo Alto, California. I participated in a self-guided Eichler Home Tour which benefited Habitat for Humanity. It was such a treat to get a glimpse into what lay within the Eichler homes that modernized the [...]
During a road trip from San Francisco to Southern California, I observed the many facets of the landscape: beautiful rolling valleys, pervasive big box stores, and stockpiles of vehicle tires piled high and awaiting their uncertain future. Sound familiar? Unfortunately, this is prevalent throughout the United States scenery. California has been actively finding ways to [...]
Can the construction industry help divert plastics from the world-wide waste stream? Could a green replacement for plywood be one of the ways to help solve the problem? During my attendance at Ecobuild 2010 in London earlier this year, I came upon a smartly designed exhibitor booth. I was drawn to its interactive displays, see-through [...]
The evolving technology of green roofs has been leading to the use of greater diversity in their designs. After years of implementing green roof designs, the industry has seen a steady move towards more diversity in both elements of construction and plant materials. What is most fascinating of the improvement in green roof design is [...]
How can architects, developers and builders know for sure that lumber for building their projects comes from sustainably managed forests? Sustainability is defined internationally as: meeting the needs of the present generation without compromising that ability for future generations. Translated to forestry, sustainability strives to balance the interdependent and sometimes competing interests of the environmental, [...]
LED (light emitting diode) is a solid-state semiconductor device that converts electrical energy directly into light. Its development started in the 1960s and has been typically utilized as indicator lights in numerous electronic products, signage and flash light applications. Just in the last few years as its technology advanced, LEDs are now used in real [...]
I’ve been reflecting on my whirlwind tour at Ecobuild 2010, a conference and tradeshow focusing on sustainable design, construction, and the built environment, as I sit at London Heathrow airport awaiting my delayed flight. During my two and a half days traversing London Underground’s network of tubes (a.k.a. subway lines), attending numerous educational sessions, and [...]
I have subscribed to the Environmental Building News for the last 15 years and it is my favorite subscription that I read religiously. I appreciate it for presenting good, solid research and am a huge fan of Mr. Alex Wilson, the Executive Editor of Environmental Building News and the GreenSpec® Directory, and the Founder and [...]
Walking through many a jobsite, I have always felt at home with the smell of wood dust, the whirring noise of circular saws, and welding sparks flashing in the distance. These features are results of materials being cut and/or fabricated on site, and often times lead to unnecessary waste, whether it is due to un-intention [...]
To work on a project in Antarctica—how awesome would that be? A team of engineers was charged with the task of upgrading the heating system in the U.S. Antarctic Program Building #155. They decided that radiant floor heating was the correct solution, but they required a system that would provide reliable warmth, be efficient with [...]