EDUCATING ARCHITECTS FOR A SUSTAINABLE ENVIRONMENT
A new Web site offers alternatives to the prevailing models of architecture education. Marvin Rosenman, chair of Ball State University's architecture program, founded the Educating Architects for a Sustainable Environment project. The EASE Web site is the brainchild of Rosenman and Joseph Bilello, associate dean of Texas Tech University's College of Architecture. Region 5 of the US Environmental Protection Agency provided major funding for the project. The EASE site lays out 140 reform ideas, the product of three conferences between 1994 and 1996 that attracted students, educators, and industry leaders. Many are provocative and practical - assembling more multidisciplinary juries, using technology to break through the isolation and clannishness of the studio culture, awarding student prizes for effective teamwork. Beyond piecemeal suggestions, the EASE site includes five model interdisciplinary curricula, each based on principles of sustainable education and building design. The site's goal, says Rosenman, "is to get all schools to do something. There is not a single right place to start or a single right approach. Any of these ideas would be a step in the right direction." Visit the EASE site at <http://www.ease.bsu.edu>. - Architectural Record, 03.98, p 44, by Lee D. Mitgang.

DESIGNERS CHOOSE NATIVE LANDSCAPES
A 1994 executive memorandum from President Clinton requires the use of regional plants on federal grounds and in federally funded landscaping projects. Beyond this mandate, Minnesota landscape architects are turning to indigenous flora to perpetuate biodiversity, to save operating costs for their clients, and to control erosion and filter storm-water runoff. "Many of our native-plant species are in peril, some in danger of extinction," says landscape architect Bob Kost of BRW in Minneapolis. For him, using native plants speaks to the credo that landscape architects are stewards of the land. For clients, landscaping with native plants can save significant operating costs. Prairie Restorations, Inc. estimates that installing sod turf with irrigation costs $19,500 an acre, plus $1,200 annually for mowing, water, and fertilizer. But a "level 8 prairie" planted by PRI costs only about $7,955 an acre with annual maintenance costs of $300. This includes seeding 5 to 8 grass and 12 to 25 wildflower species and planting 2,500 seedlings of 20 to 30 different species. Though initially not maintenance-free, native plantings are hardier than nonnatives and have a better chance of surviving. After four or five years they require hardly any care. For some landscape architects, indigenous plants are integral to working with the landscape as a system. Native grasses have deeper root systems than nonnative species and more effectively control erosion on slopes. Native wetland plants naturally filter chemicals from storm-water runoff. [For more information on Prairie Restorations, Inc., call 612.389.4342.] [The Prairie Reader is a quarterly journal on prairie landscaping, restoration, and preservation. For subscription information, email camille@visi.com.] - Architecture Minnesota, Mar-Apr 98, p 15, by Camille LeFevre.

GRAY WATER A LIQUID ASSET IN UK
Responding to rising water costs from shortages in the UK, the British company Aquasaver has developed a practical, plumbed-in system for recycling gray water in houses and hotels. The Aquasaver system diverts and cleans waste water from wash basins, baths, and showers for safe reuse in non-drinking applications like toilet flushing, clothes washing, car washing, and garden irrigation. The low pressure system consists of a manifold incorporating a valve and two low-voltage submersible pumps, all fitted behind panels in the bathroom. The pump propels the gray water through a series of filters that remove soap, detergents, and other impurities, then to an attic holding tank. The collected water then undergoes weir and trickle filtration before treatment with non-hazardous cleaning agents. Before reuse, it passes through a carbon filter network. Aquasaver is electronically controlled and totally independent of the potable system. The company says its Aquasaver system for a house with one bath-shower, one toilet, and a washing machine costs roughly L950 with a payback period of about two to three years. A water company has bought a major share in Aquasaver, hoping that the system will allow the utility serve its share of the 4.4 million new homes planned for water shortage areas in the next 20 years. - Building Services Journal, Feb 98, p 30, by Brian Sims.

LHB FOCUSES ON HEALTHY-BUILDING DESIGN
The design of LHB Engineers & Architects' Minneapolis offices underscores the Duluth-based firm's commitment to its specialty in energy efficiency, resource efficiency, and indoor air quality. The idea of cultivating healthy-building design as the firm's raison d'etre emerged five years ago in a Minneapolis staff brainstorming session on the practice's future. Now, the 85-person firm is on a growth track. LHB's healthy-building experience began with Health House '94, a prototype home sponsored by the American Lung Association. It broadened with the Green Institute Material Reuse Center, Northland College's Environmental Living & Learning Center, University of Minnesota's Research House in Cloquet, and Erickson Diversified Corporate Offices in Hudson, Wisconsin. Though not every client embraces healthy-building design ideals, the firm strives to integrate elements of its creed into most projects. "We'd love to arrive at the point," says LHB's Rick Carter, "where healthy-building design is the norm rather than a specialty." [For more information, go to <http://www.lhbcorp.com>.] - Architecture Minnesota, Mar-Apr 98, p 40, by David Anger.

FIRST LOW-FLOW, NOW NO-FLOW
Toilet fixtures today use much less water than they did just a few years ago. The No-Flush waterless urinal from the Waterless Company of Del Mar, California uses none. Urine flows into an EcoTrap, where it passes through a lighter-weight liquid the company calls BlueSeal. A layer of BlueSeal provides the trap, effectively keeping odors from escaping into the room. A water supply line and flush valves aren't needed. The No-Flush does need special cleaning and maintenance but may be more hygienic than conventional urinals. The BlueSeal fluid, a proprietary mixture of biodegradable oils and alcohols, needs replenishing about twice a month. The recyclable plastic EcoTrap insert needs replacing two to four times a year. The US Bureau of Reclamation says three heavily used waterless urinals installed at the Glen Canyon Dam Visitors Center annually save about 225,000 gallons of water each and have forestalled expansion of the site's sewage treatment system. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Barstow, California has installed more than 300 Waterless urinals. No-Flush urinals cost about $500 directly from the manufacturer. Some city water departments offer rebates. For more information, visit <http://www.waterless.com>. - Environmental Building News, Feb 98, p 5.

COMPACT FLUORESCENT LAMP NOW DIMMABLE
With size difficulties largely overcome, energy-saving compact fluorescent lamps are now more versatile with the introduction of the Earth Light Dimmable CFL from Philips Lighting. The light output of the 23-watt lamp with integral electronic ballast can vary from 10 percent to 100 percent. It has a color temperature of 2700 K, a color rendering index (CRI) of 82, and initial light output of 1500 lumens. This CFL works with standard wall dimmers, photocells, and switching devices - even those marked "incandescent only". An important application will be recessed-can downlighting in homes and retail showrooms. At $23.95, the Earth Light's retail price is about the same as comparable non- dimming Philips CFLs. For more information, visit <http://www.lighting.philips.com/nam>. - Environmental Building News, Feb 98, p 9.

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ENERGY RESOURCE CENTER
http://www.socalgas.com/erc "VOC V: Eliminating VOCs in Industrial Cleaning - Regulatory Challenges, Technological Solutions," a seminar to be held at the Energy Resource Center in Downey, California on Wednesday, April 29, can help you find the answers you need. An update of South Coast Air Quality Management District regulations on volatile organic compound (VOC) regulations will be offered, followed by discussions of cutting-edge technologies and options available for reducing or eliminating VOCs in industrial cleaning operations. For more details on the $95, 8 am-4 pm seminar (seminar #2812), call the ERC's Fax-On-Demand at 1.800.858.5597. To register, call 1.800.427.6584 and press option one, or dial direct to 562.803.7500.