GreenClips.243 06.23.04 READ ON! Don't stop reading at the last news Clip. Scroll down to our sponsors' section for new announcements on conferences, products, and consulting services. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . THINK BY STEELCASE: A CHAIR DESIGNED FOR DISASSEMBLY When designing its new Think chair, Steelcase began at the end -- consulting its network of recyclers. "We asked them, 'Realistically what would you recycle from a chair?'" says Ken Tameling, head of marketing for seating at Steelcase. "They said, 'Well, if I could take a common hand tool and get a lot of materials from the chair in five minutes, then I'd do it. But if it takes longer than that, forget it.'" From that response, Think's ethos was shaped. The midpriced ($600-$1,200) contract chair, which will be available for order in July, is made to be disassembled so that after its useful life components can be easily accessed, sorted and returned to the raw-materials stream. Steelcase is also debuting the "Steelcase environmental partnership," a combination take-back and brokerage scheme that taps into a nexus of suppliers, charities and recyclers in the United States and Europe to help keep Steelcase products out of landfills. The process starts with customers answering a series of questions about the age, condition, amount and location of the furniture involved. Based on those answers, Steelcase suggests one or more scenarios: refurbish the chair, sell it to a third party, donate it to a charity, or recycle its component parts. Metropolis, p 114, July 2004, by Julie Taraska. [More: http://www.steelcase.com] RESOURCES TO HELP SPECIFIERS DEVELOP GREEN BUILDING EXPERTISE Demand for green design is growing, and this momentum should drive all construction practitioners to become familiar with the field's concepts and terminology. For the construction specifier, many resources available for understanding sustainable design, including both ARCOM and CRSF specifications. ARCOM's master guide specifications and evaluations provide important guidelines for documenting LEED and related requirements in project manuals. See the AIA's MasterSpec 01352-LEED Requirements and 01524-Construction Waste Management (2003) at http://www.arcomnet.com. The Construction Science Research Foundation (CSRF) publishes the master guide specifications Spectext (http://www.spectext.com). Its sections on environmental requirements include 01351-Sustainable Project Requirements, with overall project goals, product requirements, and documentation to support LEED certification, as well as other sustainability models; and 01810-Commissioning, with administrative and procedural requirements for commissioning selected systems. The Construction Specifier, June 2004, p 32, by David J. Wyatt. HVAC AND PLUMBING PRODUCTS PLAY KEY ROLE IN GREEN BUILDING STRATEGIES HVAC and plumbing systems can contribute to a building's sustainability in a variety of ways. Fans and pumps, for example, are often discarded with every renovation cycle a building experiences. But sometimes reusing, rather than replacing, a pump or fan may be a more sustainable, resource-efficient approach, especially if combined with a motor upgrade that improves efficiency and power factor. Other life-cycle enhancing opportunities include selecting fans and air-handling units at low face velocities; conservatively sizing pipe and duct mains from a pressure-drop standpoint; and configuring distribution pumps for optimized performance at multiple operating points. Some common products generate many types of savings. For example, extended-surface-area air filters have the potential to minimize initial pressure drop and save energy. And their additional dust-holding capacity allows them to last much longer than conventional filters, thereby saving labor and reducing filter consumption. With duct and fitting fabrication, greenness is more an issue of how a material is used than the material itself. For instance, a 2-in.-pressure-class duct that is 12 in. by 70 in. can carry 10,000 cfm at 0.2-in. wc every 100 ft. So can a 26.5-in.-by-26.5-in. duct using about half as many pounds of sheet metal. Fitting design can yield similar benefits. In some instances, a fitting with radically improved pressure-drop performance (i.e., lower pressure drop/lower energy) requires less sheet metal than other options. "Engineering Green Buildings," a supplement to HPAC Engineering, May 2004, p EGB24, by David A. Sellers. [For information about HPAC Engineering's upcoming conference, "Engineering Green Buildings," scroll down to the GreenClips sponsor's section.] TWO COMPETITIONS INSPIRE GREEN SHELTER DESIGN The 2004 Ecohouse Design Awards competition is open to any student, or group of students, in a school of architecture. The challenge is to design an Ecohouse able to survive without relying on a great deal of fossil fuel. Deadline: August 31, 2004. More: http://www.architecturalpress.com/companions/ecohouse. Ecoshack has announced the Green Tent Design Competition for the design of an environmentally sustainable camping shelter for use in the Mojave Desert and in and around Joshua Tree National Park. Winning entries will receive cash prizes and will be prototyped on Ecoshack's 5-acre demonstration site in Joshua Tree, California. Deadline: August 11, 2004. More: http://www.greententcompetition.com. Architecture, June 2004, p 89. TRADE ASSOCIATION ADOPTS ORGANIC FIBER PROCESSING STANDARDS After nearly five years of work, the Organic Trade Association (OTA) has adopted organic fiber processing standards covering all post-harvest processing, from storage of organic fiber (such as cotton or wool) at the gin, to spinning, wet finishing and labeling. OTA and industry members developed the standards after reviewing and modifying international standards governing organic fiber. One of the important differences between the OTA fiber processing standards and those in other countries is the inclusion of a detailed materials list stating which finishing materials are permitted or prohibited. Green@Work, May-June 2004, p 9. [For a fact sheet on the standards, visit: http://www.ota.com/AmericanOrganicStandardsforFiber.html. For a directory of certified organic products (including fibers and textiles) and services, visit: http://www.theorganicpages.com/topo/index.html] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GreenClips is free of charge thanks to individual members and these sponsors: ARMSTRONG CEILING SYSTEMS http://www.armstrong.com/commceilingsna/article10790.html Armstrong offers an expanding portfolio of sustainable ceiling products. Through the Ceiling Recycling Program, an industry first and only one of its kind, old tiles are shipped to an Armstrong plant, not a landfill; 20 million square feet recycled to date. ENERTIA HOMES http://enertia.com/ Utilizing the energy storing properties of the resin in Southern Yellow Pine, Enertia Homes heat and cool themselves! Enertia Building Systems Inc. designs and manufactures solar/geothermal homes as easy-to-assemble kits, of 100% renewable material. See floorplans and photos on our website. ENGINEERING GREEN BUILDINGS CONFERENCE http://www.hpac.com/products/egb.htm Earn 12 AIA/CEU Learning Units at the first national conference on green buildings for engineers and facility managers! This first-ever national engineering green building conference offers intensive/interactive sessions on green-building design for new construction, renovation and O&M. July 20-23, 2004 Cleveland, Ohio. 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. JONATHAN ROSE COMPANIES http://www.rose-network.com Jonathan Rose Companies is a network of planning and development firms that provides environmentally and socially responsible planning, development and project management and investment services throughout the metropolitan region. LIVINGREEN http://www.livingreen.com/ Livingreen is an excellent resource for alternatives to standard building and finish materials for healthier homes and work environments. A variety of sustainable materials from flooring to home furnishings are available through our retail store in Santa Barbara, California or visit http://www.livingreen.com/ WORLD RESOURCES INSTITUTE 10th ANNIVERSARY BELL CONFERENCE http://www.wri.org/ The 2004 Business Environment Learning Leadership Conference will be hosted by IIT Stuart Graduate School of Business, Chicago on July 22-24, 2004. This year's theme, Building a Sustainable City Through Sustainable Enterprise, will bring together academic, business and community leaders to discuss relevant case studies, research and teaching methods. For details visit http://www.stuart.iit.edu/bell/ WSU ENERGY PROGRAM http://www.energy.wsu.edu Providing objective research, information and solutions. Washington State University Cooperative Extension Energy Program in Olympia, Washington. Subscribe to GreenClips and other mailing lists on energy and the environment at http://listserv.energy.wsu.edu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GREENCLIPS NEEDS YOUR SUPPORT! Twice a month GreenClips is distributed electronically to over 10,000 readers interested in sustainable building design. But we can't do it without the financial support of our sponsors and members. If you find GreenClips valuable, please consider becoming a sponsor or voluntary member. Email chrishammer@greenclips.com for details. ABOUT THE PUBLISHER: Sustainable design consultant Chris Hammer publishes GreenClips in San Francisco. Ms. Hammer helps her clients with environmentally responsible approaches to urban planning and development, and to building design, construction, and operation. GreenClips is edited by Jennifer Roberts, author of "Good Green Homes: Creating Better Homes for a Healthier Planet" (http://www.goodgreenhomes.com). To CONTACT THE PUBLISHER: Email chrishammer@greenclips.com or call 415.928.7941. BACK ISSUES Two Internet sites host GreenClips archives for reference and research: http://listserv.energy.wsu.edu/greenclips/visit.html (keyword search) http://www.greenclips.com (browse contents) REDISTRIBUTION Please do not redistribute or post copies of GreenClips regularly. Encourage readers who receive GreenClips from you to subscribe directly. Continuing sponsorship depends on accurate reader counts. SUBSCRIBE / UNSUBSCRIBE To subscribe via e-mail send a blank message to subscribe-greenclips@listserv.energy.wsu.edu To unsubscribe via e-mail send a blank message to unsubscribe-greenclips@listserv.energy.wsu.edu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Copyright 2004 Sustainable Design Resources. All rights reserved. Republishing GreenClips in print or on a web site, in whole or in part, or commercial distribution in any form requires advance permission of the publisher. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .