Greenbuild Recap: Mannahatta & the Mtigwakki

Greenbuild 2010 started today in Chicago and I attended a seminar featuring my former employers, Bill Browning and Chris Garvin of Terrapin Bright Green, as well as James Patchett from the Conservation Design Form and Eric Sanderson of the Wildlife Conservation Society.  I can objectively say that it was a fascinating panel centered around Mr. Sanderson's book Mannahatta: A Natural History of New York. One of the main reasons I applied to the Biomimicry program was to learn more about ecology, so Mr. Sanderson's career as a landscape ecologist is very interesting to me. 

The thesis of "Mannahatta" centers around the reconstruction of Manhattan ecology to when it was first discovered by settlers.  Based on research, Mr. Sanderson layers the native ecological systems and the current grid of concrete and steel in order to discuss the habitat needs of previous and current occupants.  Food, water, shelter, and reproductive resources create a habitat be it for humans or other animals.  He also discusses the need for meaning in our existence and how that makes a habitat a home.

Mr. Browning applied this information to a project he worked on where a building was unknowingly built over an indigenous stream in Manhattan over seventy years ago, so massive sump pumps were employed over the building's lifespan to remove this ground water to the storm sewers.  By recognizing the native ecological footprint of the site, the owners can now use this information to make use of this clean, cool water to replace existing potable and non-potable uses, saving money and resources. 

Mr. Patchett gave a stirring account of the habitats that native plants cultivated when they were indigenous to the area but now that humans have "broken the botanical law" by polluting these habitats, they are no longer able to thrive.  In particular, he spoke of the rhizosphere, the 6' or so below the surface where roots hold water in native landscapes, that has been destroyed by development and advocates for responsible land management.  He believes strongly that "water is everything" and restoring the water cycle to its previous balance it is the key to ecological restoration. 

My favorite quote from the session:

"When we try to pick out anything by itself we find that it is bound fast, by a thousand invisible cords that cannot be broken, to everything in the Universe."  - John Muir

The Meaning of the Name "Liquid Triangle"

Liquid Triangle, based on the Golden Triangle

The name "Liquid Triangle" was born in 1994 during my Calculus 1 class at the University of Illinois.  I was sitting next to a friend who would later become my husband trying to decipher the hieroglyphics that our teacher was scribbling on the chalkboard.  Our professor wrote something that looked like "liquid triangle" on the board.  We didn't know what she was talking about, but we thought it would be a really cool name for a band.  Since neither of us played an instrument anymore, we thought - how about an architecture firm!  More than fifteen years later, that dream is still a work in progress, but we're getting closer.  My husband is no longer an architect; in fact he never practiced as one after getting his MBA; and I am in the process of a career transition that will take me to places yet unknown.  But we are both naturally inspired and we came upon by accident, or fate, a name that has great meaning for us. 

Bruce Rawles describes a "sacred geometry" that permeates the universe as geometric templates that reveal the nature of forms in the world.  These forms he says are, under it all, interconnected and inseparable.  The Golden Ratio, or the Fibonnaci ratio, (1.618 to infinity) is the ratio of growth where the ratio of the larger portion to the smaller portion is the same through multiple generations. This pattern of growth is seen as the pattern for reproduction in much of nature. 

• how limbs branch on trees
• how leaves radiate from a stem
• the arrangement of a pine cone
• sunflower and artichoke florets
• the family tree of the honeybees

I learned about the Golden Rectangle in architecture classes and studied how this geometry was the basis for much of early Greek and Roman architecture.  In fact, one of my masters design projects was a spirituality center, in which the progression to the sacred space followed the spiral that emerges from this geometry.  I have recently come across its relative, the Golden Triangle, from which a spiral emerges.  To me, this is the perfect representation of a liquid triangle:  growth in nature, introducing the fluid and organic to the built environment.

As my calculus classes can attest, I am not a mathematician, but I find the underlying geometries of growth and reproduction in nature to be inspiring.

Amy

References:
Sacred Geometry by Bruce Rawles
Wikipedia

Passively Conditioned Houses

I happened to read a fascinating article in the New York Times this weekend called "Beyond Fossil Fuels: Can We Build in a Brighter Shade of Green?"  Except for one notable residential exception, most of my work as an architect has been in large scale building projects.  Recently, I have been fascinated to learn as much as I can about greening single family homes for one primary reason:  because I now live in one.   

As anyone who owns a home will know, home improvement work is never done.  Well, double that for an architect.  We are always thinking of projects and changes we want to make, even to a relatively new home!  This article, however, is not about something I can do to make my current home more environmentally friendly (although I do have my takeaways for renovation at the end); it's a whole new paradigm of building green from the onset.

Image copyright: Mika Grondahl and Guilbert Gates / The New York Times

I had not heard of the Passive House Standard before reading this article, probably because there are only 13 certified in the United States in the last two years since the standard's creation, although according to the article they are prevalent in Europe.  I have heard of and admired the requirements of the Living Buildings Challenge, a strict standard into which the passive home standard would fit into nicely. 

The above graphic illustrates highly insulated walls (17 inches compared with the building standard 6"!) with two air barriers - one on the interior and one at the exterior.  An air exchanger is combined with a heat exchanger to provide fresh air while reheating outdoor air with conditioned indoor air.  Using the Passive House Planning Package as an energy model, design and construction decisions are modeled and trade-offs are made in real time.  By doing this, passive homes can use up to 90% less heating and cooling energy than standard homes built to code and completely eliminate the use of fossil fuels through solar energy collection and water heating.  And Habitat for Humanity is doing one in Vermont!

This is great, but how does this affect the house I live in now - a builder's special built barely to energy code?  Here are my takeaways:

1 - Hire a professional to conduct a blower door test to find out where your air leaks are.  When about $500 in cash frees up, I will do this.  By blowing air into your home and testing the pressure it takes to do so, you will get a good idea of how tight your house is and where it is leaking (likely, the attic). 

2 - If you have an unfinished attic or basement, as I do, add as much insulation as you can and combine it with an air barrier.  Rigid spray foam works great as both and you avoid the problems that can sometimes be caused by a plastic vapor barrier. See Joe Lstiburek's insights - he is a brilliant and entertaining educator on all things building science.   

3 - Think replacement cycle.  For example:

• When your heating system wears out, replace it with an efficient version that takes in fresh air from outdoors and exchanges it with stale air from indoors.  
• When your windows fail, replace them with triple paned glazing with insulated frames.  
• If you need to replace your roof or wall shingles, add one or two layers of 2" rigid insulation on the outside of your studs and an air barrier.

Even if your existing home or building can't be completely passively heated, I believe that in most cases it is better to reuse what you have than to start over, as long as you leave it better than you found it.

Further Reading from a somewhat contrary, but well respected, point of view:
Passivhaus Building Science by John Straube
Further Reading on Passivhaus by John Straube

        

A big reason to love and miss mayor Daley

Streetscape beautification in Chicago

Pretty

I love the dreamy ginko trees against the climbing vines. The natural
overtaking the man-made is beautiful to me. Building at Lake Street
and the river in Chicago.