GreenClips.42 02.28.96 RICHARD MEIER DESIGNS GREEN Richard Meier is not known for environmental sensitivity, but recent European commissions have forced the architect to rethink building energy and environmental performance. Meier has responded to stringent German and Dutch regulations governing natural ventilation, daylight, and energy consumption with energy-efficient cladding and day lighting systems, operable windows, and integrated sunscreens. The Hypolux Bank Building in Kirchberg, Luxembourg taught Meier partner Thomas Phifer how much European clients value efficient structures. "The Europeans are maniacs about building performance," explains Phifer. "If they use one more ounce of energy than was calculated, they go nuts." Other environmentally sensitive Meier buildings featured are Swissair Headquarters in Melville, New York; the Museum of Contemporary Art, Barcelona, Spain; Euregio Basel Building, Basel, Switzerland; US Court house and Federal Building, Islip, New York; and US Courthouse and Federal Building, Phoenix, Arizona. - Architecture, February 1996, p. 131, by Raul A. Barreneche. PLINY FISK LIVES GREEN Architect Pliny Fisk 3d is known for a nonprofit "earth lab" called the Center for Maximum Potential Building Systems that he has run in Austin, Texas for the past 20 years. Now he is working on an Advanced Green Builder Demonstration house that will open to the public - and to his family – later this year. Their 2,000-square foot, $250,000 demonstration home will use energy-efficient appliances, composting toilets, and photovoltaic roof panels for electricity. Fisk conceived the house as "a kit of parts that you can adapt" with many parts playing multiple roles. Its galvanized steel roofs, for example, provide shade and a system to collect rainwater, the family's only water source. And, a plant and gravel landscape will naturally purify waste water. While most regional architectural features are stylistic, the house's breezeway is a functional idea drawn from the Texas vernacular. Fisk also uses local materials, such as straw from Texas grasslands for the home's straw clay and straw panel walls. In his backyard he concocted experimental cements for columns and beams from an aluminum smelting byproduct called bottom ash and from fly ash, a coal burning byproduct. The usual Portland cement releases too much carbon dioxide, he contends, contributing to global warming. - The New York Times, February 15, 1996, p. B1, by Patricia Leigh Brown. FIVE IDEAS TO REVITALIZE THE NEW YORK REGION Seeking to avoid long-term economic decline, this month the Regional Plan Association, a Manhattan-based planning organization, issued a 25-year agenda for its 31-county, three-state region. The group studied metropolitan areas all over the world for urban ingenuity, identifying five important lessons for the New York region - 1 San Francisco's Necklace of Space. An active citizenry, ambitious long-term planning, and money spent to buy important tracts of land have yielded the 900,000-acre greenbelt circling the urban San Francisco Bay region. 2 London's Rider Pass. A single pass called a "travel card" unifies London's transportation system by giving the bearer access to bus, subway, and commuter rail lines. 3 Portland's Metro Government. Portland, Oregon's regional government called Metro is an elected organization that draws up plans for metropolitan Portland's three counties and when necessary forces municipalities to live up to those plans. 4 Tokyo's Contained Sprawl. Tokyo's reliance on train commuting helps planners push new development in high-density centers on the transportation system. And, highways head toward Tokyo in a star pattern, focusing development at the urban center. 5 Pittsburgh's Job Training. "School to job site" programs train students for jobs shifting from steel mills to high-technology, biomedical, and service industries. - The New York Times, February 26, 1996, p. A8, by Stephanie Strom and Andrew Pollack. INDOOR AIR QUALITY CHECKLIST Environmental Building News' Nadav Malin offers architects this indoor air quality checklist - 1 Stick to fresh-air levels recommended in ASHRAE standard 62-1989. 2 Allow individual user control of fresh air and temperature as much as possible. 3 Locate air intakes and primary air-handling components away from loading docks or other potential sources of air pollution. 4 Specify continuous mechanical ventilation in houses. 5 Seal off any spaces undergoing renovation. Ensure isolated areas are separated from the air-distribution system. 6 Seal air-distribution ducts and cavities to minimize unintended air leakage. 7 Prevent air from leaking into elevator shafts, stairwells, or other vertical spaces. This keeps stack-effect pressures from undermining the air-distribution system. 8 Demand VOC off-gassing test results for interior materials. 9 Avoid materials for which recommended maintenance requires repeated VOC exposure. 10 Check the HVAC system design for ease of maintenance and accessibility of components. 11 Insist on a comprehensive building-commissioning program to ensure that all systems are operating as designed. -Architectural Record, February 1996, p. 36, by Nadav Malin. NATURE AND DEVELOPMENT, SIDE BY SIDE The Endangered Species Act compels builders to wrangle with federal regulators and environmentalists over imperiled habitats tract by tract and species by species. This piecemeal approach satisfies no one. Focusing on just one or two threatened animals or plants, it fails to preserve the landscape's entire assembly of species. And, it costs developers time, money, and endless frustration. A compromise between Southern California environmentalists and developers is in the works. It would create a regionwide system of nature preserves between Los Angeles and Mexico and free thousands of acres for unfettered development. The proposed preserve consists of 39,000 acres in central and coastal Orange County, 150,000 to 160,000acres in greater San Diego, and 40,000 acres in southern Orange County. Development pressure here is unusually strong - the real estate in question is some of the most valuable in the world. If these plans go forward, the compromise will signal that similar arrangements can succeed just about anywhere. - The New York Times, February 27, 1996, p. B7, by William K. Stevens. VIDEO SHOWS RECYCLED MATERIAL USE The video "Recycled Content in Commercial Construction" demonstrates how recycled content building materials were used cost effectively to construct the 68,000-square foot Central Market in Poulsbo, Washington. The video is available for $10 from EnviroVision, 800.475.3057 or 360.373.3057. -Resource Recycling, February 1996, p. 79. ECO AWARD ENTRIES DUE Entries to the Ecology Design Awards (ECO Awards) competition are due March1. The awards recognize ecologically sound, visually appealing, and comfortable contract and residential interiors projects. Wilkhahn, Inc. sponsors the competition. Call 212.486.4333 for details. – Architectural Record, February 1996, p. 106.