Came across this article which really appeals to me , an approach to building that will take us a long way in reducing our footprint on this planet . For the lot of architects it means going for less resource hogging building , bigger constraints on how we design etc but I think it is an issue that needs some amount of scrutiny from all of us.


Excerpt from the article :
"The U.S. waste stream from demolition and construction amounts to about 150 million tons (136 million metric tons) annually. About 92 percent of this waste goes into landfills. In other industrialized nations, architects, the building sector, and regulators are doing more than in the United States to create a culture of building construction that reduces the future waste stream.

One strategy for such a reduction is to create buildings with components that are accessible to future recovery. In typical U.S. construction, too much material is trapped within building systems, making downstream disassembly impractical.

Germany has made significant strides in waste recovery in disassembling buildings. Working with a building environment in which 75 percent of structures are masonry, the Germans have a recovery rate in excess of 95 percent for many structures. They are also emphasizing the use of new technologies incorporating specialized machines to assist in dismantling buildings. These machines could cut in half the time needed to dismantle a building. This would be a critical advance because one of the main economic disadvantages of disassembly is that it tends to take much longer than simple demolition.

Germany also leads the way in requiring "extended producer responsibility" in manufacturing. Industrial producers are made responsible for the eventual disassembly and recovery of materials from the products they produce. This has inspired innovations in car design and construction, some of which could transfer into building construction practice.

Key features of this approach include: 1) identifying materials (especially plastics) so their composition is evident, 2) using fewer fasteners and using fasteners that are easily disassembled, 3) selecting reusable or recyclable materials, 4) reducing the number of types of materials, and 5) eliminating toxic materials as much as possible. ............"

Link:
http://www.architectureweek.com/2005/0921/building_2-1.html

Chen Hsien, an employee of Fenghua Ningbo Plastic Works Ltd., a plastics factory that manufactures lightweight household items for Western markets, expressed his disbelief Monday over the "sheer amount of shit Americans will buy."

"Often, when we're assigned a new order for, say, 'salad shooters,' I will say to myself, 'There's no way that anyone will ever buy these,'" Chen said during his lunch break in an open-air courtyard. "One month later, we will receive an order for the same product, but three times the quantity. How can anyone have a need for such useless shit?"

Chen, 23, who has worked as an injection-mold operator at the factory since it opened in 1996, said he frequently asks himself these questions during his workweek, which exceeds 60 hours and earns him the equivalent of $21.

"I hear that Americans can buy anything they want, and I believe it, judging from the things I've made for them," Chen said. "And I also hear that, when they no longer want an item, they simply throw it away. So wasteful and contemptible."

Among the items that Chen has helped create are plastic-bag dispensers, microwave omelet cookers, glow-in-the-dark page magnifiers, Christmas-themed file baskets, animal-shaped contact-lens cases, and adhesive-backed wall hooks.

"Sometimes, an item the factory produces resembles nothing I've ever seen," Chen said. "One time, we made something that looked like a ladle, but it had holes in its cup and a handle that bent down 90 degrees. The foreman told us that it was a soda-can holder for an automobile. If you are lucky enough to own a car, sit back and enjoy the journey. Save the soda beverage for later."

Chen added: "A cup holder is not a necessary thing to own."

Chen expressed similar confusion over the tens of thousands of pineapple corers, plastic eyeshades, toothpick dispensers, and dog pull-toys that he has helped manufacture.

"Why the demand for so many kitchen gadgets?" Chen said. "I can understand having a good wok, a rice cooker, a tea kettle, a hot plate, some utensils, good china, a teapot with a strainer, and maybe a thermos. But all these extra things—where do the Americans put them? How many times will you use a taco-shell holder? 'Oh, I really need this silverware-drawer sorter or I will have fits.' Shut up, stupid American."

Chen added that many of the items break after only a few uses.

"None are built to last very long," Chen said. "That is probably so the Americans can return to buy more. Not even the badly translated assembly instructions deter them. If I bought a kitchen item that came with such poor Mandarin instructions, I would return the item immediately."

May Gao of the Hong Kong-based labor-advocacy group China Labour Bulletin said complaints like Chen's are common among workers in China's bustling industrial cities.

"Last week, I took testimony from several young female workers from Shenzhen who said they were locked in a work room for 18 straight hours making inflatable Frisbees," Gao said. "Finally, the girls joined hands on the factory floor and began to chant, 'No more insane flying toys for Western pigs!' They quickly lost their jobs and were ostracized by their families, but the incident was a testament to China's growing disillusionment with producing needless crap for fat-ass foreigners."

Continued Gao: "As Chinese manufacturing and foreign investment continue to grow, and more silly novelty products are invented, we can expect to see more of these protests."

In the meantime, Chen continues to stew in bitterness. Though he dislikes his work, competition for manufacturing jobs in Fenghua is stiff and he must support his wife, mother, and 2-year-old son.

"My cousin Yuen is self-employed," Chen said. "He disassembles old computers that are acquired from overseas and extracts the traces of valuable gold and silver from the circuit boards. He asked me to join him. The work is very toxic, but at least I would not be looking at suction-cup razor holders and jumbo-dice keychains all day."

Chen added: "For now, I must refuse the job. Somehow, the only thing more depressing than making plastic shit for Americans is destroying the plastic shit they send back."

Taco Holder $1.99

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I'm wondering if I can use it to hold hot toasts... :wondering Maybe I should buy a hot toasts holder instead...

Chen Hsien, an employee of Fenghua Ningbo Plastic Works Ltd., a plastics factory that manufactures lightweight household items for Western markets, expressed his disbelief Monday over the "sheer amount of shit Americans will buy."

It is really sad. We are a small portion of the population of the world creating the highest portion of waste. It is getting worse. We no longer understand the idea of necessity. Here’s what you do. Charge a dollar a pound for trash collection. People will waste less. Seems to be the only thing that changes anything in America, hit us in the pocket book.

Charge a dollar a pound for trash collection. People will waste less. Seems to be the only thing that changes anything in America, hit us in the pocket book.

That is somewhat what they're doing in germany. They have a very meticulous waste system. They have been classifying trash for years now and charge more money to the people who produce more waste. It's typical to see people removing some of the envelopes in the products they buy after they went through the cashier.
And in the end what they did is just find the economic advantage that trash cand produce instead of being a service like water.

"insane flying toys," LOL!

We will eventually consume ourselves.
Look at the 22 million suv's on Americas roads.
Most get around nine miles per gallon.
Gas prices would have to hit eight bucks a gallon before
any one would even think of not buying one. :bang head

The gas guzzling cars is the utmost of consumption. Burning petrol for energy production is the most irrational thing humans do today.

The American cars alone consume as much energy as all the Chinese population does for any purpose.

Petrol is much more productive to use as a chemical product in the production of goods.

I read a statistic that compared the petrol consumption needed for industrial production of goods:
The relation was that you could produce for example with 1 liter of gasoline you can make about 30 shirts (synthetic fiber of course).

The gas guzzling cars is the utmost of consumption. Burning petrol for energy production is the most irrational thing humans do today.

The American cars alone consume as much energy as all the Chinese population does for any purpose.

Petrol is much more productive to use as a chemical product in the production of goods.

I read a statistic that compared the petrol consumption needed for industrial production of goods:
The relation was that you could produce for example with 1 liter of gasoline you can make about 30 shirts (synthetic fiber of course).

Many of the synthetic materials created by petrol cannot be recycled, and are not biodegradable. So we are changing from one problem to another. (I am not defending the use of petrol as fuel, just making a point) The bottom line is if it doesn't cost more to waste, or profit to change, or a combination of both, we won't.

As far as $8/gal fuel prices go, swami is right. Part of me is glad that gas is going up, because I can at least have the hope it will result in change. The problem is that it hurts those who have to drive and can't afford it more than SUV owners. The only solution I can see is to ration gas. If you can only buy "X" gallons in a given time span, then you are going to try to get the most miles out of that gallon. It is time that Americans see that just because we can doesn't mean we should be so wasteful. Yes, as a matter of fact I do live in a dream world.

Excellent story Swank-e . Apart from its anecdotal value and the hint of a coming revolution , it hits the nail right on the head . We are getting a great high from the amount we can buy and just throw away .
Remember Roger Waters' " ..the species has amused itself to death.. " ? This is exactly where we are headed with our frivolous consumptive behaviour .
When I was a kid , growing up in India we used to be so amused by the Americans who didnt need to repair their radios or reuse their shavers or toothbrushes . In India on the other hand even the garbage is very poor , nothing is thrown away unless its cannot be repaired or used for something else , anything that can be recycled is recycled ( very often at the expense of the 'scavengers' ) . I believe this frugality inculcated certain values that influence me in my work or the way I see things at work . I would like to see architecture to acknowledge the need to slow down this break neck consumptive behaviour . Who needs houses that are 200 sq.m with five bedrooms with attached toilets which will be remodelled after five years and torn down after another ten ? The rubble obviously will go to some landfill where the glues and the paints will gradually leach into the groundwater . Then of course we will continue to upgrade the level of heavy metals deemed harmful forhuman consumption . I digress , lets get back to architecture when I can think more clearly.

"Why the demand for so many kitchen gadgets?" Chen said.


Supply and demand. And because they are so cheap due to the communist, qusi-capitalist, government imposed, slave labor of those skinny-ass Chinese. :rolleyes:

Where did this article with such inflamatory, anti-US rhetoric come from?

Hoooray for those girls who quit working 16 hours a day making that crap. :rock on:

Supply and demand. And because they are so cheap due to the communist, quasi-capitalist, government imposed, slave labor of those skinny-ass Chinese. :rolleyes:

Where did this article with such inflammatory, anti-US rhetoric come from?

Hoooray for those girls who quit working 16 hours a day making that crap. :rock on:
I believe it today's world we are all responsible. Certainly all members here are part of the "affluent" 10% of the worlds population.
The "flooding" of Chinese made goods in Latin America has rendered even our workers "expensive"!

Of course, the USA concentrates this consumption, an average American uses the double fuel than a German, for example.

"Where did this, anti-US rhetoric come from?" Well :wondering let me see...

Supply and demand. And because they are so cheap due to the communist, qusi-capitalist, government imposed, slave labor of those skinny-ass Chinese. :rolleyes:

Where did this article with such inflamatory, anti-US rhetoric come from?


You will be surprised how easy it is to convince people what they need and create this demand . Read a story about how the CEO of Mercxx , the drug company , had this vision about 40 years back to sell medicines to people who are not sick . I am happy to report that they sell a whole array of medicines to healthy people beginning righht from the 'supplements' to drugs that keep the cholesterol level in check to whatever they can dream of. No surprises for who was laughing all the way to the bank . :mad:
As for the anti american rhetoric , i think the americans are just everybody's favorite whipping boy with no reason whatsoever :rolleyes: .

It is important to understand that "anti-American rhetoric" is not necessarily against the American people.
From my part, there are many cultural references and links to the USA people, a country I love.

This said, why do Americans all wrap around their flag as soon as someone points out something they could "improve" of their system?

I can understand it is not nice to have your nation criticized by foreigners, but I believe your global position gives USA an extra responsibility in the way things are in this world.

Primocordara’s posts:

“The American cars alone consume as much energy as all the Chinese population does for any purpose.”

“Of course, the USA concentrates this consumption, an average American uses the double fuel than a German, for example.

’Where did this, anti-US rhetoric come from?’ Well let me see...”

“This said, why do Americans all wrap around their flag as soon as someone points out something they could "improve" of their system?”

For every dollar spent on catastrophe and humanitarian relief the developed countries spend an average of 14 in Military armament!

”The USA tops the list of course, 26 U$ on armament for every dollar on disaster / humanitarian relief.
This is coming to light of course due to the late response to the Catrina catastrophe.”

“After all , it's their taxpayers money that pays for this imperialist army, and their government is elected after all.”

His post from another sourse:

“The pathetic official response to Katrina has shocked the world. How will it change America?"

"both Republicans and Democrats were appalled at Mr Bush’s failure to grasp the scale of the catastrophe; shocked that his senior staff were absent, or on holiday, while thousands of Americans were stranded without food and water"

"Barbara Bush, the president’s mother, earned no thanks from him for her remark that because many survivors “were underprivileged anyway”, their Astrodome quarters are “working very well for them”. Some white Texans (including many in the Republican base) will “feel that we’ve got enough minorities in Texas already,” "

"Yahoo! News drew flak for picture captions describing a black man as “looting” and whites as “finding” goods. "

“After all , it's their taxpayers money that pays for this imperialist army, and their government is elected after all.”

Ok, you say that we are a country you love, yet it seems you get joy out of posting things that make America sound horrible. Then you say that you don’t mean to offend, or that you love the American people. Well, if you don’t want to offend me, an American, then don’t post anti-American rhetoric. I don’t believe that we are a “country you love”, I think you love to criticize America. America isn’t a government, it isn’t a body of land, it is a people, the very people you claim to love. I can list many things that America has done for the rest of the world. Why don’t you try that for once.

I am not even saying that you are wrong on some of these issues. I agree, as you can see from other posts of mine. I just don’t need you to tell me what is wrong with my country. Others in this forum have criticized America, but I read nearly every post, and you write more negative about America than anyone.

“This said, why do Americans all wrap around their flag as soon as someone points out something they could "improve" of their system?” It is like talking about my mom. I can complain about my own, but you had better not.

it's an open forum, i believe primocodara has the right to point out those problems and as a result, you have a right to defend.

let's just be civilise about it and not get personal.

it's an open forum, i believe primocodara has the right to point out those problems and as a result, you have a right to defend.

let's just be civilise about it and not get personal.

I don't feel like I got too personal. I tried not to. I can move on from here just needed to speak my peace.

You can criticize America and not expect a backlash from me. I do think that we should hold ourselves to a higher standard, and deserve much of it. The Americans in this forum are aware of our problems. When you tell us we are wasteful, we don’t fall off our chairs in disbelief. Just don’t criticize constantly then turn around tell me how much you love my country. That is my point.

Of course, the USA concentrates this consumption, an average American uses the double fuel than a German, for example.

out of curiousity, have primocordara compared the size of Germany with that of the U.S.?

there seems to be this thrust, feeling if you will, that the American automobile (to include SUV's, pickups, vans) are the cause and effect of our spoiled culture and wasteful attitudes. the trucking industry uses far more fuel than our cultures personal automobiles. put simply, we burn in our cars what is for sale at the pump. if our cars would burn trash, then that's what we would buy. I don't enjoy paying $75 dollars a tank for my suburban, yet it is one of the safest cars on the road for my family of 6 and growing! wasteful or responsible. I purchase cars for the safety value, not the economy. I would be more than happy to use vegetable oil or water or solar or wind or whatever, if available and applicable. I live in Montana. I drive over 300 miles, over 5 hours to see my family back on the farm. we are a big state. i would love to have a rail pass and use the monorail or train to get home - oh but we don't have a train that travels north/south in montana, only east/west. I would however, contend that our greed and laziness has lent itself to automobile minded and driven cities, buildings and homes. a majority of residences here in Montana, greet the visitor with a garage. many buildings greet visitors with expansive parking lots with minimum landscaping. art is thought of as a painting in the entryway and the blue of a handicap symbol on the ground.

our country is unwilling to state how much profit/money is enough and cap the corporations that hold their profit margins to the expense of the world (cheaper labor abroad, higher prices at the pump). we don't fix things, we throw away things. unless you live back on our farm and then you resuse as much as possible, growing gardens, welding and creating parts to over-used, out-dated machinery. while our movie stars and sports stars continue to pull down millions, while us less gifted ones, make crumbs of their wages, our country won't change. everywhere you look, "stars" and the wealthy promote their own agendas (some being worthwhile) and all the while, promoting a very lavish, "cushy" lifestyle, yet their voices are silent when it comes to challenging their wage against a teacher or bank teller or architect! many of the same stars that want more animal rites, have invested in the corporations that continue to add to the landfills, dependency on foreign oil and the like.

a great book to read is pj rorke (sp-forgive) "devalueing of America". without value for what we have, then apathy, greed, envy (all the sins) run rampant. europe and germany value what they have, it came at a huge price. 911 caused some of that, however a mere 4 years later, its business as usual.
i'm done.

This said, why do Americans all wrap around their flag as soon as someone points out something they could "improve" of their system?


Who is wrapping themselves in the flag?

There are many things to criticize about american culture. Grotesque waste is just one. Americans themselves are among the most voiciferous critics of their country and are proud of and exercise their right to free speech.

My objection is to the promulgation of hateful, narrow-minded, crude rhetoric wheather its anti-American, anti-Jew, anti-Muslim, anti-Black, anti-anything.

it's an open forum, i believe primocodara has the right to point out those problems and as a result, you have a right to defend.

let's just be civilise about it and not get personal.

With all due respect Swank-E, that was a very uncivilised article to post in the first place.

Or would you have me "Shut up, stupid American." like the article says?



:peace:

the joy in criticizing and critiqueing and calling to mind all the woes of our nation can only lead to 2 roads - continued negativity and complaining and "oh what the hell! pay taxes and die! OR using the constructive criticism and forging ahead as painfully as necessary toward answers/solutions. albeit, it isn't as easy as architects banding together and refusing to build prisons to cause social correction (if you build more prisons they will be filled - attitude). it is far more layered (autocad terms) than boycotts and sit-ins. nevertheless, we should at this "juncture" (quoting a good man and President) form solutions - creative, far reaching, impacting and wholistic. much like loosing your baby teeth, painful at first but necessary for a better bite.

I guess i wasn't done! :clap:

wow, this is pretty impressive. It's amazing how defensive everyone gets. Being Belgian, married to a US citizen, and living in the US I can honestly say I love America, but I also like to criticize it when I don't agree with the way things are going.
I do the same thing with the Belgian government or any other country for that matter. This has nothing to do with lack of patriotism, just common sense. I like to think that my own opinion matters and that it doesn't have to be in line with the government or the majority of the people.
That said, I think the posted article was completely acceptable because it doesn't only apply to America but to all of the western world.

This origional article does strike at the very core of the world's, and especially America's, rediculously mindless consumption.

Link: Chinese Factory Worker Can't Believe The Shit He Makes For Americans (http://www.theonion.com/content/node/31049)

Chen rokks!

With all due respect Swank-E, that was a very uncivilized article to post in the first place.

Or would you have me "Shut up, stupid American." like the article says?

:peace:

I agree with Peter. The "1st world rubbish" post was meant to be defamatory to Americans from the get go. Typical.

On the other hand, I don't disagree that Americans have too much shit, spend too much money on houses that are twice as big as they need to be, and burn fuel like there is no tomorrow. Every time I see someone in my neighborhood firing up their 2-cycle, gas powered leaf blower I cringe. Ever hear of a rake? There was contest in California between and elderly woman and a man with a leaf blower and the woman won and did a better job. Leaf blowers are in the same class as the taco holder-unnecessary and stupid.

ps:
Big shout out to Chen! Does your country recycle tanks when they get done using them to run over students.

Not meant to be anti-Chinese. Just keep things in perspective Chen... puuuulllleeeaasse.

This has nothing to do with lack of patriotism, just common sense.

Common sense? Yes, the whole world needs a bit more of this.

.
That said, I think the posted article was completely acceptable because it doesn't only apply to America but to all of the western world.

The first post yes, the second post no.

The second post honestly didn't offend me. However, I am not sure of the intention or motivation of the poster. Swank-e can weigh in if he so chooses. So a Chinese factory worker thinks that we are a bunch of idiots for what we use over here. He is right. I think it highlights differences between what primordara correctly refers to ad the “affluent 10%” and the rest of the world, the difference between necessity and excess. In America, and much of the western world, the standard of living is so different. The word standard is key here. If someone in America has one car, a tv less than 19”,no central air conditioning, and no cell phone, they are living below the standard. However, any one of those things poorer countries would be living much above the standard.

Empathy in a viewpoint from another part of the world does make many of our spending choices seem very trivial. I can enjoy my tacos without a taco holder.(I am not sure exactly how to use a taco holder, does it hold them while they await consumption, or does it hold them while they are being prepared?) I think it is wise to think about the things we buy and try to see the future of that particular item. I do try to think about the life cycle of things I buy. I think us 10-percent-ers should.

:eek: :confused:
Just woke up from a terrible hangover (I partied until 5AM las night!), and found this!!!!!!!!!


Well basically my position is that of Crazybelgian, I stand by my right to give my opinion about anything.
It becomes to sound rather Orwellian when someones opinion is simply disqualified as Anti-American rhetoric.

I try not offend and REALLY have no particular animosity against the USA AS A NATION.

There is a fact: It if the "Biggest" on every statistic you make, just because of their size and economic power!!!

will continue...

from a joke internet news paper.
Doesn't anyone read "The Onion" anymore.

once again here's the link : The Onoin (http://www.theonion.com/content/node/31049)

And thier main page :Main (http://www.theonion.com/content/index)

There is no Chen!

HaHaHa, everyone calm down!

Good one Swank-e!

Dear imasayer:

You listed several quotes of post, but the majority of them I DID NOT WRITE!

I was never in New Orleans, so I cannot have an opinion on what happened.
If you go to the thread you will note:

1- I removed my first post that referred to the bad handling of the situation and the military spending because it offended someone.

2- Then someone else posted a picture of "The Bushes" it is spamming the mails across the world in case you didn't get it.
3- to this post I replied with an article and the last cover of THE ECONOMIST, its cover story: "THE SHAMING OF AMERICA"

I explained the opinions of this article are not necessarily mine, though of course I considered I a good article and I trust this magazines accuracy.

Is the Economist also anti-American "rhetoric".

It is scarry to find this 19th centrury patriotism and lack of perspective on world affairs.

As Buckmister Fuller called it, we are all aboard "Spaceship Earth"

will continue...

from a joke internet news paper.
Doesn't anyone read "The Onion" anymore.

once again here's the link : The Onoin (http://www.theonion.com/content/node/31049)

And thier main page :Main (http://www.theonion.com/content/index)

There is no Chen!

HaHaHa, everyone calm down!

Good one Swank-e!
:confused:

It's HERE (http://www.theonion.com/content/archives/10//) (June 15,2005)

No wonder he didn't answer me when I asked where it came from.

:D

from a joke internet news paper.
Doesn't anyone read "The Onion" anymore.

Good one Swank-e!

sweet, the Onion rocks.
My opinion remains the same though.

I love The Onion, but I didn't read that one. Certainly not as good or funny as the Stoner Architect who created an all foyer house.

http://www.theonion.com/content/node/38734

One of my all-time favorite Onions.

ps. Look closely at the floor plan.

It is really sad. We are a small portion of the population of the world creating the highest portion of waste. It is getting worse. We no longer understand the idea of necessity. Here’s what you do. Charge a dollar a pound for trash collection. People will waste less. Seems to be the only thing that changes anything in America, hit us in the pocket book.

NOW THIS IS ANTI-AMERICAN RHETORIC !!!!

If you check my post I was actually claiming responsibility for us all !:

I believe in today's world we are all responsible. Certainly all members here are part of the "affluent" 10% of the worlds population.
The "flooding" of Chinese made goods in Latin America has rendered even our workers "expensive"!

Of course, the USA concentrates this consumption, an average American uses the double fuel than a German, for example.

"Where did this, anti-US rhetoric come from?" Well :wondering let me see...

This last phrase was intended as a joke, I thought you were used to anti-US rhetoric by now!

All foyer, LOL! :rock on:

NOW THIS IS ANTI-AMERICAN RHETORIC !!!!

If you check my post I was actually claiming responsibility for us all !:

I believe in today's world we are all responsible. Certainly all members here are part of the "affluent" 10% of the worlds population.
The "flooding" of Chinese made goods in Latin America has rendered even our workers "expensive"!

Of course, the USA concentrates this consumption, an average American uses the double fuel than a German, for example.

"Where did this, anti-US rhetoric come from?" Well :wondering let me see...

This last frase was intended as a joke, I tought you were used to anti-US rhetoric by now!

For the record I did say that you quoted those from another source, check the post. I don't want to get into an online pissing match. I agree that you have a right to your opinions. I have the right go get mad and go on a rant. If you read my other posts you can see that I too am critical of much American life and our government’s policies. This is not blind patriotism.

Let me just say that the “imperialist army” comment really set me off. I had read several of you posts in the last couple of weeks and found many of them critical of the US, and it just started to get to me. This comment just was the last straw for me, and I went off. Maybe I should have addressed that one comment, but it seemed like a patern to me.

I don’t want to debate these items with you, debating policy and politics isn’t really what this forum is about. I don’t want to make it personal. In the end it will only generate more heat than light.

As I said in my original post, most of the things you have stated are indeed true, and not open to debate, others are. The part that is hard to swallow is that it is coming from an outsider.

I should not have placed all of or comments under the rhetoric category and for that I apologize, because I agree with you on some.

All foyer, LOL! :rock on:


Did you spot the "Master Foyer" on the plan?

from a joke internet news paper.
Doesn't anyone read "The Onion" anymore.

once again here's the link : The Onoin (http://www.theonion.com/content/node/31049)

And thier main page :Main (http://www.theonion.com/content/index)

There is no Chen!

HaHaHa, everyone calm down!

Good one Swank-e!

Swank-e you bastard! I wrote a heartfelt response to that bs. LOL, you got me....but then again what was you motivation for posting it.... :cheers:

Did you spot the "Master Foyer" on the plan?

Yeah, that was too much!

I saw that article years ago and it still rokks!

Put yourself in my shoes, with the blows America has taken in the past few weeks (and the one we are about to take) it just seems to be in poor taste.

Isn't criticism always considered poor taste by whoever is being criticized?

Isn't criticism always considered poor taste by whoever is being criticized?

No, criticism is valuable otherwise we would not be posting our work on this forum(it can be brutal at times) but I do think timing is important. However, that sentence in my post did sound like a coppout and I took it out.

Let me just say that the “imperialist army” comment really set me off. I had read several of you posts in the last couple of weeks and found many of them critical of the US, and it just started to get to me. This comment just was the last straw for me, and I went off. Maybe I should have addressed that one comment, but it seemed like a pattern to me.


I should not have placed all of or comments under the rhetoric category and for that I apologize, because I agree with you on some.

Maybe you are right, the "imperialist army" comment is unnecessary offensive and I take it back. (I'll see if I can delete it)
I realize now that I should be more polite when addressing national issues of foreign countries, as I said USA appears in every world statistic simply for its place in the world!

As an anecdote I tell you that when I read a comment by a British reader of the BBC criticizing my country (Uruguay) I got really mad too!:)
(When the banks collapsed he said -"that's the way things are in those countries, I cannot imagine the banks collapsing in Britain..."- Actually British banks collapsed around 1890)

Maybe you are right, the "imperialist army" comment is unnecessary offensive and I take it back. (I'll see if I can delete it)
I realize now that I should be more polite when addressing national issues of foreign countries, as I said USA appears in every world statistic simply for its place in the world!

As an anecdote I tell you that when I read a comment by a British reader of the BBC criticizing my country (Uruguay) I got really mad too!:)
(When the banks collapsed he said -"that's the way things are in those countries, I cannot imagine the banks collapsing in Britain..."- Actually British banks collapsed around 1890)

Thank you. No hard feelings on this end.

Thank you. No hard feelings on this end.

No hard feelings on my part too,thank you.

BTW the Bank crisis I mentioned was solved by a 1.5 billion dollar loan President Bush decided overnight for my country... he then pressed the World Bank and the IMF that were undecided on whether to help Uruguay or not.

Some in my country call this is Pro-American rhetoric, others geopolitical strategy, but anyway, he saved our asses that night!!;)

it looks like everyone's just taken their "Richard's dicso biscuits". all kiss and make up now. that's lovely. :cool:

from a joke internet news paper.
Doesn't anyone read "The Onion" anymore.

once again here's the link : The Onoin (http://www.theonion.com/content/node/31049)

And thier main page :Main (http://www.theonion.com/content/index)

There is no Chen!

HaHaHa, everyone calm down!

Good one Swank-e!

I know it's over now, but it's not a joke.
Yes there is a Chen. Check post #29.

Did you spot the "Master Foyer" on the plan?

:cheers: :rock on: "Sadly, the field of stoner architecture is usually dismissed by conventional architects, who insist on clinging to such tired, ossified notions as functionality, coherence, and basic structural integrity,"

Great article Jake!!

BTW were do I subscribe to the Stoner Architectural Digest?

I originally received that article as an email from the Industrial Design Practice Group (IDPG), part of the Design Institute of Australia (DIA).

Regardless of whether this interview took place, if you have been to China and have seen it for yourself you would know that's just a typical story.

And if you have problem distinguishing the difference between my title of that post '1st World Rubbish' to what appears to be the original title 'Chinese Worker Can't Believe The Shit He Makes For Americans', then I believe what primocodara said is correct about you guys being way too defensive as soon as any mention of the problems of USA in any open discussions.

I believe this is the reason for such defensiveness, it's understandable enough!

http://www.theonion.com/content/node/30993


"American students traveling abroad confirm the findings of a study indicating that Washington's unilateral approach to foreign policy has seriously undermined Americans' chances of getting laid. "

"I've been in Amsterdam for two months and have yet to begin a conversation with a cute girl that hasn't ended in a lecture about how big, evil America is taking everyone's oil," said college sophomore Brad Higgs, a participant in Johns Hopkins University's study-abroad program. "I offer to buy them a drink, and they tell me I shouldn't just stand by and watch Bush destroy the world.

"American students traveling abroad confirm the findings of a study indicating that Washington's unilateral approach to foreign policy has seriously undermined Americans' chances of getting laid. "
"Last week, I was making out with this Italian girl at a concert. It was all going great until the music ended and she heard my American accent. I swear to God, I went from the cusp of a hand job to, 'Why won't your country sign the Kyoto Treaty?'" :D :D :D :D :D :D

Now THAT is definately going too far.

WHOW! Is that banner real or Photoshop magic??:rock on:

Well it seems that everyone has kissed and made up till someone gets touchy again . The original idea that this thread addressed was incorporating reusability in design . I intended it to go in a direction where one would voice his opinions about this issue , not how unfairly someone is being criticised . In no way was it intended to hurt someone intentionally or unintentionally.

Well it seems that everyone has kissed and made up till someone gets touchy again . The original idea that this thread addressed was incorporating reusability in design . I intended it to go in a direction where one would voice his opinions about this issue , not how unfairly someone is being criticised . In no way was it intended to hurt someone intentionally or unintentionally.

Sorry to steal your thunder. I did think about later about what a great topic that you were introducing after the fact. I think that it is a wonderful idea, but not one that will soon be embraced in the states, sadly. Small countries like Germany are forced to think about landfill space more that a large country like the US. We should think more about it but we have no shortage of space or natural recourses. It is too bad that we will be concerned when it is too late.

Hey wait a minute....touchy? What the hell is that suposted to mean? You son of a.....!! J/K ;)

I know it's over now, but it's not a joke.
Yes there is a Chen. Check post #29.

Sorry dig,

Given that China does exports tons of rubber vomit every year,
stories from "The Onion" are entirely fictitious.
Quite funny though.

Check this one out, my alltime fav - Pudding-Factory Disaster Brings Slow, Creamy Death To Town Below (http://www.theonion.com/content/node/29194)

Lika an old Italian saying goes:

"Se non e vero, e ben trovato."

If it is not true it is based on hard facts...

Small countries like Germany are forced to think about landfill space more that a large country like the US. We should think more about it but we have no shortage of space or natural recourses.

Granted that smaller countries have to have a more conservative approach to their resources but availibility of land and resourcesis not the issue , imagine all the chemicals leaching into the groundwater , into to the waterways , into all this lovely freshwater fish that we all love . By the way Israel the country I reside in at the moment has absolutely no special programme for recycling/reuse and it is not a large country .
Ideally the best way to build would be with materials that we just borrow from nature for instance earth , wood , agricultural wastes but this i dont think find a lot of favour in a progressive design forum . So in a case like this we must explore ideas where a manufactured resource can be reused a number of times .

We should think more about it but we have no shortage of space or natural recourses.
Are you serious?

NRDC.org (http://www.nrdc.org/air/transportation/default.asp)

Go watch 'The Corporation (http://www.thecorporation.com/)' by Mark Achbar, Jennifer Abbott and J. Bakan.

Are you serious?

Well he said recourse and not resource ;-D

Well he said recourse and not resource ;-D
I missed that one. :D

Just for the right perspective:

The world's fish populations are collapsing at alarming rates. Ninety percent of large fish such as tuna and swordfish have now vanished from the world's oceans thanks to industrialized fishing.
Although roughly 90 percent of the public land in the Rocky Mountains is open to oil and gas development, the Bush administration wants to open still more, including some of our most treasured wildlands.
Sprawling land development is gobbling up the American countryside at an alarming rate -- around 365 acres per hour according to government figures. In most communities the amount of developed land is growing faster than the population. This pattern of growth forces us to be overly dependent on automobiles, increasing the pollution and damage they cause. It also destroys farmland and open spaces and pollutes more and more watersheds. At the same time it contributes to a range of serious social problems, particularly for urban populations left behind.

More from 'The Onion': Love those guys.

Bush's Oil Dependency Plan (http://www.theonion.com/content/node/37464)

My 2 cents...

Me and mine (and that includes the firm that I work at) are trying daily to be good stewards of our planet. We will continue to do so. I was a little bent from some of the comments, but that is because they were dead-on! I am continually angered and embaressed about America's 'world view', or lack of it.

Trust that there is a undercurrent of sustainable architecture and a community attitude of accountibility in my country and it will only get bigger and better.

Me and mine (and that includes the firm that I work at) are trying daily to be good stewards of our planet.
Ryan , care sharing how you and your firm contribute to our planet ? I am terribly strait jacketed at my work , we start with good intentions and as we go along the bosses do away with the good intentions under the pretext of design considerations or the programme as defined by the client .
Would really appreciate it if you can showcase some work as well . Thanks.

Granted that smaller countries have to have a more conservative approach to their resources but availibility of land and resourcesis not the issue , imagine all the chemicals leaching into the groundwater , into to the waterways , into all this lovely freshwater fish that we all love . By the way Israel the country I reside in at the moment has absolutely no special programme for recycling/reuse and it is not a large country.

Are you serious?

I did not mean that we have enough land and resources to be wasteful. I meant that that is the mindset in the US. (that we have enough land and resources, not recourses, my bad) American builders and developers for the most part are not going to do something like this because it costs more, and it isn’t easy. We should be doing this. Most of the US’s buildings are meant to yield the highest profits, or get the most area for the least amount of cost. That is evident in the design or lack thereof. In that equation there is no room for a program like this. I am not defending this mindset; on the contrary, I think it is horrible. My fear is that things won’t really change until the damage is done, until we have used all/most the land and resources. There are those out there that are fighting for such change, but they are by far the minority. I am sorry if my last post wasn't clear about this.

I missed that one. :D


Sprawling land development is gobbling up the American countryside at an alarming rate -- around 365 acres per hour according to government figures. In most communities the amount of developed land is growing faster than the population. This pattern of growth forces us to be overly dependent on automobiles, increasing the pollution and damage they cause. It also destroys farmland and open spaces and pollutes more and more watersheds. At the same time it contributes to a range of serious social problems, particularly for urban populations left behind.
[/list]

I went to school in a little mountain town called Bozeman pop. 30,000. Just a beautiful place. The problem is everyone wants their 20-40 acres of wilderness. Then they build there multimillion dollar vacation homes in the mountains. It is so sad to watch. In the 6 years I could not believe the amount of development that occurred. The land that was once open agriculture land is now covered with sprawling homes. This is happening all over the US.

When farmers/ranchers can no longer compete with the corporate owned farms/ranches they are forces to sell. They can sell this land that had been in there families for a hundred years for millions, at which point the desirable portions are subdivided for home tracts.

Read “Fast Food Nation”. It gives some valuable insight into the reasons behind this trend. I think that this is a book every concerned American should read, or for anyone in the world to understand corporate culture in American agriculture.

Very interesting resources of green construction and sustainability in the USA. A series of articles in Architectural Record.

http://archrecord.construction.com/resources/conteduc/archives/0409usg-1.asp

The land that was once open agriculture land is now covered with sprawling homes. This is happening all over the US.

This is not a US probelm. It's global. Germany and even the Netherlands (a country that has claimed a lot of its land from the sea) are subject to this sprawl. The sprawl is even subsidised here in Germany.

This is not a US problem. It's global. Germany and even the Netherlands (a country that has claimed a lot of its land from the sea) are subject to this sprawl. The sprawl is even subsidized here in Germany.

In south America there is the phenomenon of Megalopolis:
In 10 years from now huge cities will form uniting Sao Paulo with Rio, Buenos Aires with Rosario. Mexico city was 1 Million in 1960 now is over 20!

In my country by contrast, land is not scarce (we are 12 times the size of the Netherlands with only 3 million inhabitants, no mountains or deserts, all grass and rivers).
Even though, the spraul of urban land generates an increase in infrastructure while the existing one is underused.

We even recentely had environmental problems of lead contamination on children who lived on land used for housing were toxic wastes were buried by industries decades before, an incredible irresponsibility with so much land available!

Importing oil boils down to money.
As long as oil rich Arab nations wish to satisfy US oil demands by
selling oil for less money per barrel than we can produce, that's what oil companies will buy.

More corporations and the military are having developers seek architects that are LEED (http://www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CategoryID=19) certified to produce buildings that are sustainable.

The motive behind this trend is likely more about PR value than anything though :puke:

This is not a US probelm. It's global. Germany and even the Netherlands (a country that has claimed a lot of its land from the sea) are subject to this sprawl. The sprawl is even subsidised here in Germany.

I wasn't aware that you were having problems like this in Europe(at least not on a large scale). Is it the same attitude as the states, where many people want their own little slice of wilderness? What is generating it?

It is subsidised here as well. My sister, much to my dismay, moved several miles out of town from an historic neighborhood in favor of a new house. She recieved a very low interest loan through "rural development". I wanted to know why the hell anyone should get a loan like that, why encourage sprawl? Why not urban development?

In south America there is the phenomenon of Megalopolis:
In 10 years from now huge cities will form uniting Sao Paulo with Rio, Buenos Aires with Rosario. Mexico city was 1 Million in 1960 now is over 20!

In my country by contrast, land is not scarce (we are 12 times the size of the Netherlands with only 3 million inhabitants, no mountains or deserts, all grass and rivers).
Even though, the spraul of urban land generates an increase in infrastructure while the existing one is underused.

We even recentely had environmental problems of lead contamination on children who lived on land used for housing were toxic wastes were buried by industries decades before, an incredible irresponsibility with so much land available!

Whats the fishing like?

BTW sigue2000, you keep sprawling your farmland and buy your groceries from developing nations like mine!!

Just eliminate agricultural subsidies now!

I'm into Anti-European rethoric now!!!:D :rock on:


(BTW I'm Spanish too;) )

Whats the fishing like?

There is a fishing industry, but it must be done in the ocean more to the south, the Antarctic currents (there is an agreement with Argentina for this).

Fish is better in the Pacific though, Chilean seafood is incomparably much better!

Ryan , care sharing how you and your firm contribute to our planet ? I am terribly strait jacketed at my work , we start with good intentions and as we go along the bosses do away with the good intentions under the pretext of design considerations or the programme as defined by the client .
Would really appreciate it if you can showcase some work as well . Thanks.

OK. This was a good one. We are proud of this one, but not all clients are so receptive to these ideas.

This project was an expansion and renovation to an existing city hall. The community is on the outskirts of Cleveland, Ohio, USA.

We work with LEED Certification as a standard for design practices if the client is going for tyhe actual certification or not. Usually they are not, but it is becoming required for most municipal projectas More on LEED here: LINK (http://www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CategoryID=19)

So, we incorporated the following:
Bicycle commuting facilities, ultra-high energy efficient heating and cooling systems, geo-thermal well fields for conditioning of building, low VOC materials and adhesives, Limitless lighting studies for placement and size of sunshading devices, drip-irrigation in planting areas, no lawn irrigation, sensored and low-flow plumbing fixture, waterless urinals (yeah, I siad water-less), maintained existing shell and core, locally manufactured materials, and instituted a construction waste management program. The lighting system was crazy! Lights are on timers and sensors. If you walk through the building in the early evening, or late morning, when the lights are needed...you don't have to touch a single light switch. They lights turn on as you approach a 'district' and turn off after you have left, after waiting a specified amount of time. Very cool!

We are proud of the project, and try our best to continue all of these practices whenever the job can incorporate them.

The pic is looking from the side at the main entrance.

What is your experience with time shifting the consumption of electricity?

In my house I have expensive electricity form 17 to 23hs, the rest of the day 1/4 of the price.
I understand this is used in many places in Europe with special equipments for this?
I just use timers to switch off heating (winter isn't so bad here!) and use laundry and the like in the morning.
Any experiences there?

I've been reading about green roofs lately, any experiences there?

http://www.greenroofs.com/
Check out this beach house buit in Uruguay for example.

I've been reading about green roofs lately, any experiences there?

My idea of a green roof is in a dense urban situation where every rooftop becomes a green surface . There is a time tested technique of doing so , I just have to dig for the relevant link . It works with a 15-20 of gravel/topsoil and is treted like a hydroponics culture . The advantages are manifold :
Roof tops in a dense urban area can be as high as 20 % of the whole area . All of this exposed surfaces absorb heat and radiate it in the night increasing the heat island effect. A roof top garden reduces this effect
A properly laid roof garden can take care of the insulation , thermal as well as water .
During heavy rains urban drainage systems cannot at times cope with the tremendous amount of water being discharged from the rooftops, a roofgarden slows down this discharge enabling the drainage system to cope with heavy downpours .
I can think of many other examples . What you show here is in a rural setting , the only real reason i can see for doing it would be thermal insulation. Any other reason for doing it ?

We have yet to use green roofs on our projects. We have done drawings and specs for it on two projects, but no bites. It keeps getting 'value engineered' out.

We don't have electric shifting either. That sounds pretty cool. I have never even heard of it. Is it used to slow electricity consumption all together, or eas the typical surge times, or both? Interesting solution...like a cellular phone bill and peak hours.

Have you seen the waterless urinals? They freak people out their first visit to the restroom.

Ryan thanks for telling about practices adopted by your firm .
I am aware of water less urinals . They are quite effective in conserving water . If you interested in wasted disposal here is an interesting link
http://www.agroecology.org/cases/humanmanure.htm
which deals with solid waste which to my mind is a much bigger issue and infinitely harder to sell to a client .
Speaking of water , one cannot skip rain water harvesting . In
India in the larger municipalities it is mandatory to incorporate rain water harvesting in every new construction . There are two ways to do it , either set up a tank on the site or to set up a system where the rain water is fed directly to the acquifer. Here in Jerusalem all old houses had water storage tanks to hold rain water but now it is against the law to do so :bang head :bang head

Yes, green roofs are being studied in universities in USA and Germany for urban environment. In the Seville expo. in Spain, they controlled the expos climate with green pergolas with water sprays, reucing temperature by as much as 8-10 ºC (about 16-20 ºF).

This house I placed here was made with adobe and the green roof was for thermal purposes only. This is mainly a summer house, so the roof keeps the water from the rain and evaporates it slowly reducing the temperature of the house.
It also helps in winter since the earth works as insulation.

The electricity shift idea is quite widespread but depends on the way it is produced. Thermal and Nuclear plants cannot be switched off during the night, even water dams cannot be easily closed down.
you therefore must produce electricity for the peak hours, and "loose" electricity the rest of the day.
If you achieve a large section of the population (mainly industries here) to shift consumption you may avoid building a new plant in the long run.

here for example we produce electricity with water and have petrol ones for backup. Avoiding to turn the thermal ones on is the objective of this policy.

Chicago's Mayor Daley has been pushing Green Roof Technology in the downtown.

http://www.asla.org/meetings/awards/awds02/chicagocityhall.html

Link to Project http://egov.cityofchicago.org:80/city/webportal/portalDeptCategoryAction.do?BV_SessionID=@@@@11250 70088.1127764237@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccceaddfjmdkmljcefecelldffhdffn.0&deptCategoryOID=-536889314&contentType=COC_EDITORIAL&topChannelName=Dept&entityName=Environment&deptMainCategoryOID=-536887205

Never seen water less urinals! I've read that as much as 40% of a household consumption of water is the WC!

Recently I saw a system that recycled the water from the shower to a tank for using it in the WC, quite smart and relatively cheap to implement!

Never seen water less urinals! I've read that as much as 40% of a household consumption of water is the WC!

Recently I saw a system that recycled the water from the shower to a tank for using it in the WC, quite smart and relatively cheap to implement!

We have waterless urinals at work and they work okay. The problem is that there are also a few regular urinals and people tend to pick those when given the choice... not sure why. Then again, the waterless urinal smells a little while used. It doesn't stink up the bathrooms though.

Thanks for the link Jake . This is the advantage of a forum like this , it provides many many eyeballs to dig up info .

Yes Jake, now I remembered the city in the US was precisely Chicago.!

Water is not an issue in my country thanks god, there's plenty of it and i is very cheap- (I pay 15U$ a month for a household of 6, plus half of it as sewage tax!).

City Hall's green roof is an island of life, 12 stories above the street. Photos in this montage by Dennis Light.http://chicagowildernessmag.org/issues/summer2004/images/cityhallroof.jpg

Birds on a
Cool Green Roof

There is a fishing industry, but it must be done in the ocean more to the south, the Antarctic currents (there is an agreement with Argentina for this).

Fish is better in the Pacific though, Chilean seafood is incomparably much better!

Industry, who cares about that? ;) I want to know about fly fishing. I was refering to the rivers you talked about.

We have yet to use green roofs on our projects. We have done drawings and specs for it on two projects, but no bites. It keeps getting 'value engineered' out.

My firm has to go through the "value engineering" process frequently. Sad that monetary is the only measuring stick of value.

NPR (National Public Radio) aired a story about designating a wildlife refuge that is comprised of individual home owner's compliant backyards in a county.

LINK (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4612399)
The creativity in problem solving, without the cost, is what we are all looking for. We want to practice it and offer it to our clients.

Great thread and keep the links coming!

Don't forget the guru of green in the US:

William McDonough (http://www.mcdonough.com/)

Here's another green roofs site. Oddly enough it's named greenroofs.org.

http://www.greenroofs.org/

Industry, who cares about that? ;) I want to know about fly fishing. I was referring to the rivers you talked about.

Ja ja, not that kind I'm afraid. There are no mountains or snow.
Sea fishing is more common. Even sharks!

We also make "whale spotting", taking pictures and watching from observatories:

There is an Antarctic current that comes up by the end of the winter so we get to see whales, dolphins sea wolfs and penguins very close to the shore.
The poor penguins wander by the beaches and eventually return or die.
I guess they travel long distances on icebergs which melt further south!
Even in sumer the water is freezing cold for bathing when this current passes by. You swim for some minutes and then lay at the sun!

Ahh, summer is comming at last!!!:rock on: (Am I out of subject?? sorry admin!)

How's the sea bass tasting?

I wasn't aware that you were having problems like this in Europe(at least not on a large scale). Is it the same attitude as the states, where many people want their own little slice of wilderness? What is generating it?
The stupid thing is: You move out of a grown neighbourhood where you could reach things by foot, to a suburban grid with a patch of 'private wilderness' running around your house, only to find out you are now spending the time you wanted to sit in your garden in a car, to work and back, shopping taking the kids to whatever.
It is subsidised here as well. My sister, much to my dismay, moved several miles out of town from an historic neighborhood in favor of a new house. She recieved a very low interest loan through "rural development". I wanted to know why the hell anyone should get a loan like that, why encourage sprawl? Why not urban development?
They are thinking of changing the scheme here, so that the refurbishment of city apartements should become more interesting. A lot of cities here are slowly depopulating due a general decrease in population and the migration into the countryside.

Melbourne is the world's second largest city in terms of area but with only 4 million people. The world's largest is LA but that has a much much higher population than here. What's sad is that Melbourne is still sprawlling!

Melbourne is the world's second largest city in terms of area but with only 4 million people. The world's largest is LA but that has a much much higher population than here. What's sad is that Melbourne is still sprawlling!


Everyone is sprawling and no one gets it. Duany offered to help with the reconstruction of the battered coastal areas in Louisiana and I'm sure it will fall of deaf ears. Here's a chance to start new, optimize neighborhoods and create communities, ease traffic issues etc. and I'm sure it will be nothing but doublewides and strip malls supplemented by very bad government-style planning.

10 acre green roof. :eek:

The keystone of the site stormwater management system is the plant's 10-acre (454,000 sf) "living" roof --- the largest in the world. This green roof is expected to retain half the annual rainfall that falls on its surface. The roof will also provide habitat, decrease the building's energy costs, and protect the roof membrane from thermal shock and UV degradation, thereby extending its life.

An innovative and inexpensive hanging trellis with deciduous climbing vines envelops many areas of the plant's exterior, creating both shade and additional habitat.

Worker amenities inside the plant include light monitors and skylights that ensure abundant daylight on the factory floor. Above the activity of the main work areas, mezzanine-level walkways house team rooms and a cafeteria.

An innovative air delivery system, in which the building serves as a giant pressurized duct, produces breakthroughs in energy use, operational flexibility, and worker comfort.

With the sound of nesting songbirds chirping over factory workers’ heads, the new Dearborn Truck Plant offers a glimpse of the transformative possibilities suggested by this new model for sustaining industry.

I think they make SUV's here. :bang head

I think they make SUV's here. :bang head

Its a start, I'll take what I can get. Any change for the better I will welcome with open arms.

for australian car users, you can check out GreenFleet (http://www.greenfleet.com.au).

you can work out the amount of fuel you consume a year (as well as household energy consumption), works out how much carbon dioxide emission per year, and how many trees does that emission equate to.

for about AUD$2 a tree, they join major tree planting or revegetation schemes in Australia. an average car in australia equates to 17 trees, which isn't a huge amount of money to ask, just for the balance of co2 vs trees.

I think they make SUV's here. :bang head
Well thats the way it works , earrn a few brownie points by jumping on the green/ sustainable bandwagon.

In any case the building uses materials with very high embodied energy. Embodied energy is the energy consumed by all of the processes associated with the production of a building, from the acquisition of natural resources to product delivery. This includes the mining and manufacturing of materials and equipment, the transport of the materials and the administrative functions. Embodied energy is a significant component of the lifecycle impact of a home.
em_energy.jpg

Here is a very useful ozzie site for those interested in green/ sustainable building .
http://www.greenhouse.gov.au/yourhome/technical/index.htm

About 5 years ago I attended a conference held by these people:

http://www.bioneers.org/

It was at the famed Marin Convention Center. I was there to take photos, but the building was more interesting that alot of the events (slide shows notwithstanding).

Mostly I was impressed at how these people had found creative and practical ways to take up the very difficult challenges of greening capitalism. I remember thinking that they were way ahead of the curve. I probably even felt some despair that Joe Public would never be exposed to their solutions/alternatives in light of the superstore phenomenon.

If places like Wholefoods (has anyone seen the renderings for that new luxury residential tower development in Miami?) are refered to as "whole paycheck", then people are gonna just vote with their wallets and chose the affordable option over the more expensive one. Despite the caveats that the "real costs" (carbon use, landfill space, etc..) actually make the cheaper goods more expensive, until cash register receipts show that kinda thing, there will always be more cars in the wal-mart parking lots of this world.

Having said that. I think it's better to look at the research and reports of independant scientists and the like and be critical of ANY system, administration, agency, etc. who would rather spin the truth or deny the importance of pursuing it.

I applaud all of the pros out there who are attempting to green your projects. It must be difficult considering the speculative nature of development. And to all us students out there, I hope that we can cultivate and hold onto the belief that design can make a difference.

Respect,

gV

And because that's all a bit Hippie Dippy;( big shout out to No. Cal! Leaf People squatting in the trees!! Ukiah massive boosting us on solar voltaics!! Hydrogen power heads driving SinclairCVs up in Arcata!!! )

http://outreach.missouri.edu/edninfo/sustain.htm

Here is a green architecture web portal to keep all the specifiers and detail junkies searching like Skywalker for answers to these most serious and vexing questions.

By the way, this is proof that within the problem lies the solution. And arn't we all living under the same atmosphere anyway?

Respect,

gV :peace:

I applaud all of the pros out there who are attempting to green your projects. It must be difficult considering the speculative nature of development. And to all us students out there, I hope that we can cultivate and hold onto the belief that design can make a difference.


Hear hear :clap: :clap:
I wish I could proudly proclaim what great work we have done but like I said earlier we begin with great intentions and end up with 'tried to make a difference' which somehow doesnt help .

This is a good article about America's thirst for energy, and petroleum specifically. I have been rather negative in previous posts about the prospect of change in America; this article will show you why. I am afraid that the US is going to have to unprecedented hard times to truly affect change.

http://www.slate.com/id/2126981/nav/tap1/

This is a good article about America's thirst for energy, and petroleum specifically. I have been rather negative in previous posts about the prospect of change in America; this article will show you why. I am afraid that the US is going to have to unprecedented hard times to truly affect change.

http://www.slate.com/id/2126981/nav/tap1/

Practically speaking, the only hope of changing America's driving habits is a hefty price increase that lasts. For, oh, five years...

... it's no wonder that few people change their behavior when gas prices spike temporarily.

I believe that increasing world wide demand, not hurricane Katrina, will continue to increase the price of oil. I'm optimistic that alternatives will become relatively affordable in the five years this article speaks of and begin to reduce oil consumption.

We'll see.
:)

I believe that increasing world wide demand, not hurricane Katrina, will continue to increase the price of oil. I'm optimistic that alternatives will become relatively affordable in the five years this article speaks of and begin to reduce oil consumption.

I share your optimism man . I dont know if it is wishful thinking or it is true that a lot more people are 'talking' about alternative forms of energy . And for those of you who have diesel guzzling SUV here is an alternative that takes care of all the oil after you done frying your french fries :-)
http://journeytoforever.org/biodiesel_make.html

I believe that increasing world wide demand, not hurricane Katrina, will continue to increase the price of oil. I'm optimistic that alternatives will become relatively affordable in the five years this article speaks of and begin to reduce oil consumption.

We'll see.
:)

I agree with you assessment that demand will effect oil prices over the long term and Katrina’s for the short term. I don’t share you optimism about alternative fuels in that short a time line. Hydrogen fuel, although progress is being made, still requires tremendous amounts of energy to extract from sustainable sources. (i.e. sea water) Ethanol is a good alternative, but creating enough to make much of a difference starts to deplete food supplies. I think the only thing that is going to make a big difference in the short term is an attitude change about consumption. I really hope I am wrong. I do see more awareness and that is a good starting point.

Well, our first brief of the year involves designing cycle stations for a greenway being cobbled together by these people and their cohorts in France (and lots of other agencies, charities, etc.):

http://www.sustrans.org/

We are going to visit a village near Dieppe next week and survey a disused railway station. It is proposed that it will be remodeled into a cycle station, although the architect who has been getting alot of press relative to this greenway project is proposing "sustainable" cyclestations which are newly built.

See it here(go to Project Research): http://www.fourthdoor.co.uk

More positive than roadbuilding in any case.

greggV

I agree with you assessment that demand will effect oil prices over the long term and Katrina’s for the short term. I don’t share you optimism about alternative fuels in that short a time line. Hydrogen fuel, although progress is being made, still requires tremendous amounts of energy to extract from sustainable sources. (i.e. sea water) Ethanol is a good alternative, but creating enough to make much of a difference starts to deplete food supplies. I think the only thing that is going to make a big difference in the short term is an attitude change about consumption. I really hope I am wrong. I do see more awareness and that is a good starting point.

Well, maybe not for cars, but certainly for buildings which use half (?) of our energy demands. As it becomes more expensive to operate a car, more reasonable patterns of development (less sprawl) and mass transport will become financially attractive.

The technoology is there or can be developed if there is a will to use it. This "will" is defined in economic, not moral terms (supply and demand).
In this respect I am very conservative; it is economics and the marketplace which ultimately change society.

I share your optimism man . I dont know if it is wishful thinking or it is true that a lot more people are 'talking' about alternative forms of energy . And for those of you who have diesel guzzling SUV here is an alternative that takes care of all the oil after you done frying your french fries :-)
http://journeytoforever.org/biodiesel_make.html

Bio-diesel :rock on:

After covering more than 10,000 miles of highways and byways across the continent in a vegetable oil powered vehicle, the 15 Dartmouth students of "The Big Green Bus" (BGB) team came back to Hanover on Friday, August 5. Their odyssey or, as one team member described it, "the Cockamamie Scheme that became a Reality," began four years ago on the sidelines of an Ultimate Frisbee tournament in Maine. Cold, tired, worried about graduation, they were struck at the same moment with the same idea: go on a road trip to demonstrate the joys of Ultimate Frisbee and the possibility of turning tons of waste cooking fat from restaurants into a viable fuel source.

Some of these are my daughter's friends from highschool.

Well, maybe not for cars, but certainly for buildings which use half (?) of our energy demands. As it becomes more expensive to operate a car, more reasonable patterns of development (less sprawl) and mass transport will become financially attractive.

The technoology is there or can be developed if there is a will to use it. This "will" is defined in economic, not moral terms (supply and demand).
In this respect I am very conservative; it is economics and the marketplace which ultimately change society.

Excellent point and I agree with you. That leaves much of the weight on the shoulders of those of us who shape the built environment. Green buildings is something that we can do now, with little additional cost to reduce energy use.

I do not think that the road to development (less sprawl, more mass transit) of this nature is going to be an easy one however. High energy costs are going to hurt those who can't afford it (i.e. intern architects) the most, while those with money are going to keep on wasting. I am afraid, as much as I hate the thought of it, government is going to have to step in and take action to effect this change. I don't see the free market making this change with out distroying the poorer classes.

I am afraid, as much as I hate the thought of it, government is going to have to step in and take action to effect this change. I don't see the free market making this change with out distroying the poorer classes.

:eek: You mean like the way the government stepped into New Orleans, or Iraq, or education... no thanks.

We're straying from architecture into politics, but please have faith in individuals in general, not big, bureaucratic, governments. I thought Montana was still the home of rugged individualism. :)

:eek: You mean like the way the government stepped into New Orleans, or Iraq, or education... no thanks.

We're straying from architecture into politics, but please have faith in individuals in general, not big, bureaucratic, governments. I thought Montana was still the home of rugged individualism. :)

Did I sound like I liked the idea? As I look into the future that is what I see. I really hope that I am wrong. Look at emissions standards. That is government regulated. Those are the types of things I am refering to. Industry is not going to police itself if it cost them money. (in general, there are always exceptions)

P.S. I'm rugged as all get out! :cool:

In continuation to the discussion about building green , here is an article about specifying green .


"Spec'ing Green

by Michael Cockram

"Architects have the ability to change entire industries with the stroke of a pen. If we specify a material with low carbon dioxide emissions in its fabrication — say, floor tile, carpet, gypsum board — industry will respond. This is the American way. Architects are consumers; they're not always aware of the incredible power they have to change the way products are manufactured."
— Ed Mazria in Metropolis Magazine."

Link
http://www.architectureweek.com/2005/1109/environment_1-1.html

"insane flying toys," LOL!

We will eventually consume ourselves.
Look at the 22 million suv's on Americas roads.
Most get around nine miles per gallon.
Gas prices would have to hit eight bucks a gallon before
any one would even think of not buying one. :bang head



This pretty much hits the bullseye. Who cares about natural resources! I'd buy a Dummber H2...I mean Hummer H2 if I had $60,000. Heck, I'd get one for my blind grandmother, she'd drive better than 80% of the population.

My origional post revived for a second.

www.pushpullbar.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1222

A good case of reuse
Big Dig engineer turns highway refuse into a striking home for his family
I suppose it had to occur to someone. Why not build a house out of some of the junked material that was once Boston's Central Artery?

''It was a graveyard of materials," says John Hong, speaking of the piles of steel and concrete that rose when wreckers pulled down the Artery. Hong is an architect in the youthful firm of Single Speed Design, in Cambridge.

''They didn't know what to do with the material, and they were running out of land to store it on," says Paul Pedini, the owner of the house, who came up with the idea.

So Pedini found a site on Moon Hill in Lexington. Working with Hong, he designed and built a house for himself and family.
Read about it here (http://www.singlespeeddesign.com/works/residential/bigdighouse-2/)
and here (http://www.boston.com/realestate/news/articles/2006/03/26/the_house_that_the_central_artery_built/)