SUSTAINABILITY PRINCIPLES SHAPE SCHOOL DESIGN 
In 1997 the UK's Essex County Council and the Design Council sponsored a design competition for a primary school on a greenfield site in Great Notley. The project, with a L1.2 million budget, arose from the sponsors' interest in understanding how to use a design team to produce a sustainable building. Rather than dictate specific sustainability issues, the client asked the team to explore ideas that could be adapted for other projects. The resulting school, designed by architect Allford Hall Monaghan Morris and environmental engineer Atelier Ten, is a triangular, 1,044-square-meter, single-story building oriented to maximize solar gain. The six main classrooms and external teaching spaces face southeast, with perimeter and clerestory windows and skylights providing daylight, and brise-soleils controlling solar gain and glare at the perimeter. Operable skylights and high- and low-level windows provide natural ventilation. An Erisco Bauder roof system consists of pre-planted sedum mats laid onto the vapor barrier and insulation. The design team considered but rejected alternative energy options: onsite photovoltaics had a payback period of 200 years; the use of biomass for heating was too  labor intensive; and tall wind turbines faced objections from nearby residents. The Design Council monitored the design team throughout and plans to publish a model of the process that can be used to educate architects and designers. - Building Services Journal, Sep 99, p 18, by Alastair Blyth. [For more information email: <info@ahmm.co.uk>]

SHAKLEE CAMPUS KEEPS ENVIRONMENT IN MIND 
For its new 250,000-square-foot corporate headquarters in Pleasanton, California, Shaklee Corp.--an herbal and nutritional products manufacturer--didn't want to create a work environment that clashed with the company's health-conscious image. "Our business is selling natural products," says Kay M. Childs, vice president of human resources. "Shaklee has this mindset that you want to be the least harmful to the planet as you can be." Designed by Gensler and Associates, the 28.7-acre, $75 million campus includes a number of environmentally friendly features. Outside the building, native grasses were planted and oak trees were moved rather than destroyed when the site was graded. Inside, most ceiling ducts and pipes in the main corridors remain uncovered. Some rooms do have ceilings, but they're made of a wood fiber and resin material. All the wood comes from sustainably managed sources. Light shelves on south-facing windows bounce sunlight onto the ceilings, reducing daytime electricity use. Carpets and cubicle fabrics are made from recycled fiber that can, in turn, be recycled. Childs says Shaklee had anticipated that some workers might leave the company after the move from San Francisco, but instead the Pleasanton campus has served as a perk for recruiting. - Contra Costa Times, 28 Oct 99, by Psyche Pascual. [For more information email: <Lev_Weisbach@gensler.com>]

SWISS BUILDING BLOCKS TARGET D-I-Y MARKET 
Steko blocks, a Swiss-developed building system that uses waste wood from the floor manufacturing industry and needs no gluing or screwing, has been introduced to the UK by Construction Resources, a green building center. The system is primarily aimed at unskilled, do-it-yourself homebuilders. A Steko house can be built in three days, the manufacturer claims, and is cheaper and quicker to build than custom timber-framed buildings. Several layers of wood make up each block, with outer and inner vertical boards glued to horizontal-grain battens and vertical-grain studs. Blocks are stacked on top  of each other in rows. Dowels projecting from the bottom of the blocks fit into holes in the top of the blocks below, preventing lateral movement. The resulting construction is both weathertight and load bearing. The planed timber finish means that internal walls can be left untreated, or boards can  be fixed and plastered. Services run within the voids inside the blocks, which are then filled with cellulose insulation made from recycled newspaper. External insulation can also be added. - Building Design, 15 Oct 99, p 20, by Gareth Gardner. [Download fact sheet on Steko blocks: <http://www.ecoconstruct.com/>]

PAINT THE WORLD GREEN 
To choose paints and coatings with a minimal impact on the environment, consider these simple guidelines, adapted from the AIA Environmental Resource Guide. The best way to reduce life-cycle costs is to specify the most durable coatings possible, even if the surface is likely to be recoated before the initial coating fails. A coating that can support additional layers will eliminate the pollution associated with stripping. Also, opt for light-colored surfaces wherever possible. Inside, they reduce lighting needs. Outside, they lower the need for cooling energy by reducing solar gain. In addition, specify water-based coatings. They cause less pollution during production and release fewer VOCs during application and curing. To reduce demand for raw materials, embodied energy, and disposal problems, use recycled paint and donate unused coatings to nonprofit organizations. And add language to specifications requiring that all oil- or solvent-based coatings be handled and disposed of as hazardous waste and that all empty steel and plastic containers be recycled. - Architectural Record, Nov 99, p 131, by Charles Wardell. [Full text: <http://www.archrecord.com/>]

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ALAMEDA COUNTY WASTE MANAGEMENT AUTHORITY http://www.stopwaste.org The Alameda County Waste Management Authority and the East Bay/Oakland  Chapter of the Construction Specifications Institute (CSI) are offering a  one-day course, "It IS Easy Building Green - Specifying Green Products in  Commercial Buildings," on Tuesday, February 1st, in San Leandro, California. The curriculum includes: How to Specify Green Materials taught by Henry  Berg, CSI, SCIP, CCS -- product selection process, helpful industry  standards, methods of specifying, and information resources, and  Environmentally Friendly Finish Materials taught by Lynn Simon, AIA -- where green products can be used, identifying green products with an emphasis on  carpet and other flooring materials and other interior finishes. All  attendees of the seminar are eligible to receive CSI Continuing Education  Units and AIA Learning Units. Registration fee is $150. For more  information, go to <www.stopwaste.org> for on-line brochure and registration,  or call Ann Ludwig at ACWMA, 510.614.1699.

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY http://www.eren.doe.gov/buildings DOE, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the Partnership for  Advancing Technology in Housing are collaborating on a $200,000 field test  which could lead to a dramatic reduction in home heating and cooling bills.  This winter, local weatherization agencies in different regions of the  country will test several advanced duct-sealing technologies in about 100  low-income homes. They will monitor heating energy use and measure the  amount of saving from the different technologies before and after the ducts  are sealed. DOE expects the savings to be substantial, since up to 30  percent of a home's heating and cooling energy is lost through leaky  ductwork, costing consumers nationwide about $5 billion a year. DOE's Office  of Building Technology, State and Community Programs is working to make  buildings more energy efficient, comfortable, and affordable. For more  information, please see <http://www.eren.doe.gov/buildings> or call  800.363.3732

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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 written by Chris Hammer and Jennifer Roberts.

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