GreenClips.26 07.05.95 AUSTIN'S GREEN GROCER The City of Austin, Texas recently expanded its GreenBuilder Program to include commercial buildings. The program began as rating system for residential construction in 1991. Whole Foods Inc.'s flagship store and headquarters in Austin is the program's first commercial building. The 60,000 square foot building features a native limestone exterior, a recycled metal roof, fly ash concrete, salvaged wood floors, and native plant materials. Highly efficient freezer units contain no CFCs or HCFCs. An energy management system controls air conditioning, heating, and daylighting. –In Business, May/June 1995, p. 10. BUILDING COMMISSIONING REDEFINED The commissioning process methodically tests a new building's mechanical, lighting, elevator, and fire-safety systems. Commissioning started in the 1980s to smooth out HVAC system startup problems. But with today's sophisticated computers and sensors controlling interconnected building systems, the commissioning process has become part of a more rigorous quality assurance process that begins with establishing performance goals at the project's outset. This whole-building process addresses the performance and interaction of numerous building systems to achieve energy efficiency and indoor air quality goals, among other things. And first-year seasonal evaluations extend traditional commissioning activities beyond initial occupancy. The longer and more comprehensive process promotes better team communication in a design and construction industry facing shorter delivery times, smaller profit margins, and a generally litigious atmosphere. - Architecture, June 1995, p. 123, by Nancy Solomon. WHITE ROOFS SAVE ENERGY Specifying a white roof can save energy and lower air conditioning equipment costs. New white coatings and integrally white single-ply roofs have an absorptivity of approximately 0.2 - they absorb only 20% of the solar energy reaching the surface and reflect 80%. White roof temperatures rarely exceed 100 degrees F, but because black roofs absorb more radiation they can reach 140. The Environmental and Conservation Services Department of Austin, Texas offers a white roofing rebate up to $10 per square foot. -The Construction Specifier, June 1995, p. 71, by Patrick L. Downey. BEPAC SELF-ASSESSMENT KIT The BEPAC Foundation is developing a self-assessment version of the University of British Columbia's Building Environmental Performance Assessment Criteria (BEPAC). Third party assessors use the original BEPAC to evaluate environmental characteristics of buildings and label them according to their performance. But soon the self-assessment version will help in-house facility staff evaluate their own buildings. The new version will offer an alternative to more expensive and complicated third party BEPAC assessments and will allow the staff to control the assessment process. The self-assessment kit will have three components - a document, software spreadsheets, and a program for user training. It will be available in mid-October. - Advanced Buildings Newsletter, June 1995, p. 1. TELECOMMUTING AND TELEVILLAGES Telecommuting reduces commute traffic and pollution by allowing people to work at home. Televillages designed to support telecommuting can bring economic opportunities to rural and isolated areas. These wired places offer the main benefit of urban life - access. Using advanced telecommunication systems, residents of televillages can serve as back-office clerical staff for big-city companies. Several new housing developments feature built-in advanced telecommunications - Amelia Park on Florida's Amelia Island, Montgomery Village north of Toronto, and an enclave of cottages in Crickhowell, Wales built by Acorn Televillages Ltd. -Metropolis, June 1995, p. 56, by Karrie Jacobs. RETRIEVING SUNKEN LOGS Before railroads dominated timber transport, logs floated to mills on rivers and lakes. But some logs sank, never reaching their destination. Today, salvagers retrieve sunken logs and convert them to handsome flooring and furniture. Northern California salvagers are recovering old growth redwood logs worth two to six thousand dollars each from the Big River. River wood differs little from wood taken directly from forests except for a characteristic smell and purple cast that diminish with time. New York furniture manufacturer The Knoll Group uses salvaged log veneers for its Cactus and Propeller table collections. - Understory, Spring 1995, p. 3, by Simon Watts.