GreenClips.200 09.11.02 REGENERATIVE DESIGN LOOKS BEYOND SUSTAINABILITY Up until now, sustainable design has been essentially an effort to minimize damage so that we can at least maintain what we still have. But some designers are looking beyond sustainability to a type of regenerative design that would revitalize the underlying systems -- both cultural and natural -- so that all can work efficiently and in concert to achieve and maintain a healthy environment. For a proposed power plant along the East River in Brooklyn, New York, a team of designers including artist Michael Singer, architect Marcus Springer, and engineer Calen Colby, came up with a conceptual design for a community-friendly power plant. The team began by considering how existing local systems could be enhanced by the power plant&Mac226;s available resources -- namely waste heat, storm water, and expansive roof and wall surfaces. A greenhouse system integrated into the building&Mac226;s vertical surfaces could take advantage of waste heat from the power plant. With this recaptured heat, plants would grow more quickly and all year around. Planting on the roof would also slow down storm-water runoff, with the phosphorous removed from this water used as a nutrient for the plants instead of polluting the river. Collected storm water would be stored in a cistern for irrigation. And the large vertical-emissions stack could double as a support for 65,000 square feet of photovoltaic panels. [Email: mspringer@cannondesign.com] Architectural Record, Sep 2002, p 173, by Nancy B. Solomon. TEXTILE NEWS: SOY-BASED CARPET BACKING, POLYESTER LCA STUDY Dow Chemical Company has announced the release of its BioBalance polyurethane for use in manufacturing carpet backing. BioBalance replaces about 25 percent of the petroleum-based polyols in polyurethane with a soy-based polyol from Urethane Soy Systems Company. Responding to market demand for reduced dependence on petroleum-derived products, 23 carpet manufacturers, including such major brands as Lees and Milliken, have already expressed interest in BioBalance polymers. Meanwhile, Interface Fabrics Group (IFG) recently announced the results of its lifecycle assessment study comparing the environmental impacts of virgin polyester with IFG&Mac226;s Terratex, a recycled polyester. The results, peer-reviewed by Arthur D. Little, show a remarkable difference in each of the 12 categories studied. Recycled polyester, for example, represents only 34 percent of the embodied energy, 54 percent of the global warming potential, and 61 percent of the human toxicity potential of virgin polyester. Environmental Building News, Sep 2002, p 9, by Jessica Boehland and Nadav Malin. [More: http://www.dow.com/carpet/news/20020531a.htm ; http://www.soyoyl.com ; http://www.terratex.com ] LIFECYCLE ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS FOR LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS Where should landscape architects begin when trying to evaluate the environmental impacts of a product or material? They can start by asking manufacturers and distributors a series of questions that will bring the major impacts and hazards to light. Key questions include considerations about end use and installation (durability, maintenance, hazards to workers); raw materials (extraction or acquisition impacts, recycled content, toxicity); manufacturing (energy use, waste, hazards to workers); transportation (energy use); and final disposition (reusability, recyclability, disposal). For example, when comparing paving materials for a hypothetical pedestrian plaza, three options might include an eight-inch thick concrete slab (Paving A), clay paving bricks on a one-inch sand bed set on a four-inch concrete slab (Paving B), and Unilock concrete unit pavers on a one-inch sand bed set on an eight-inch compacted aggregate base. All three options are fairly low maintenance and durable, although the brick and unit pavers are easier to replace. None of the materials are from rare resources. Paving C allows the most rainwater to infiltrate the soil below, while Paving A won&Mac226;t allow any infiltration. The embodied energy of the three paving types ranges from 960 million Btu (Paving C) to 1.16 billion Btu (Paving A) to 1.95 billion Btu (Paving B). This assessment process can be time consuming, but the questions can yield valuable data to help landscape architects make their selections. Landscape Architecture, Sep 2002, p 46, by Meg Calkins. [Email: calkins1@uiuc.edu] NEW SOFTWARE FOR EVALUATING RENEWABLE ENERGY AND EFFICIENCY PROJECTS Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has introduced ProForm, free software that assesses the environmental and financial impacts of renewable energy and energy efficiency projects such as wind turbine installations, residential lighting efficiency programs, and energy efficiency improvements in commercial buildings. The spreadsheet-based software calculates a project&Mac226;s expected financial indicators and avoided emissions of carbon dioxide and air pollutants. Proform allows users to investigate how changes in basic assumptions affect a project&Mac226;s key parameters. Proform can be used to help developers prepare proposals to submit to potential investors, financiers or regulators. More: http://eetd.lbl.gov/proform Green Business Letter, Sep 2002, p 2. TECHNIQUES FOR IMPROVING INDOOR AIR QUALITY There are four major factors to consider in designing for good indoor air quality: 1) Control and reduce contaminant sources; 2) Provide adequate ventilation to dilute and remove pollutant sources, and control moisture; 3) Commission buildings with a special focus on HVAC and electrical systems, and related materials; and 4) Provide ongoing building maintenance and establish procedures that enhance, not compromise, indoor air quality. Some good techniques for attaining acceptable indoor environmental quality include isolation techniques, such as negative pressure air machines, and floor-to-ceiling poly-sheet barriers, that help prevent contaminants from traveling to inhabited areas. Other prudent measures include removal of debris from the construction area, the addition of enhanced ventilation, correct air pressurization, and high efficiency particulate arresting (HEPA) filters. A proactive measure that is becoming increasingly common is the specification of mold- and moisture-inhibiting construction materials. A total systems approach that addresses design and architectural specifications (occupant use patterns, vapor barrier placement, etc.), materials specification (moisture and mold resistance), as well as routine inspection and maintenance of key building systems is the most sound approach for achieving satisfactory indoor environmental quality. The Construction Specifier, Aug 2002, p 30, by Huston Eubank, Gary L. Luepke, Daniel L. Price, and Valerie W. Bennett. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GreenClips is free of charge thanks to individual members and these sponsors: C&A FLOORCOVERINGS We choose not to just make carpet but to also make a difference. http://www.powerbond.com EPA'S ENVIRONMENTALLY-PREFERABLE PURCHASING PROGRAM Greening the government, one purchase at a time. http://www.epa.gov/opptintr/epp GREEN BUILDING SERVICES http://www.greenbuildingservices.com Green Building Services offers environmental design and energy efficient consulting services to help you design, build and market high-performance commercial buildings, through design charrettes, energy analyses and the entire LEED certification process. INTERFACE, INC. More than a carpet company. Much more. http://www.interfaceinc.com WSU ENERGY PROGRAM http://www.energy.wsu.edu Providing objective research, information and solutions. Washington State University Cooperative Extension Energy Program in Olympia, Washington. 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