Newsletter | Jul/Aug 2007
Volume 35:4 | SearchIf you would like to see corrections to this newsletter or to submit articles or suggestions for future newsletters please contact the Newsletter Editor at newsletter@owa-usa.org.
In this issue: | In Memoriam: Vera E. Jansone (1915-2004) - Inge S. Horton New Book on Green Architecture - Mui Ho The Greening of StopWaste.org - Suzanne Stewart |
New Book on Green Architecture
by Mui Ho | Share #55I would like to call your attention to an important new and useful book by one of our former member Alison Kwok , titled The Green Studio Handbook.
I met Alison when she attended UC Berkeley's graduate program in 1987. By then she has already taught high school science for 7 years. Being a seasoned teacher, Alison knew
how to be a good student. She was gifted and an outstanding student among her peers but most importantly, she combined her science background with her architectural training. After
practicing three years in architecture, Alison went back to
UC Berkeley for a Ph.D. in Building Science-a perfect combination of technology and design.
After finishing her Ph.D. Alison taught at Cornell University
and is now a tenured professor at the University of Oregon. She co-authored the gigantic book, a bible, for architectural students titled Mechanical and Electrical Equipment for Buildings. The recent 10th edition, adds her name to this well-respected reference book.
The Green Studio Handbook: Environmental Strategies for Schematic Design (Architectural Press, Oxford, 2007) is not intended to serve as a green building checklist nor as a textbook for environmental technology, but as a guide to provide the necessary information needed to make design judgments about the appropriate use of green strategies, to validate design decisions regarding the all-to-often used
"magic arrows", and to provide a resource of ideas on how the strategies are used in place, visually.
Co-authors Alison G. Kwok, a University of Oregon Professor of Architecture and Walter T. Grondzik of Florida A&M University, a former visiting professor at the University of Oregon, collaborated on the book in its early stages through a technical teaching seminar at the University of Oregon.
The book contains 422 full-color photographs and line drawings illustrating the application of green strategies during the schematic design of buildings. the bulk of the book includes 40 environmental strategies (e.g. green roofs, shading, permeable surfaces, passive solar design), with brief descriptions of principles and concepts, step-by-step design procedures, annotated tables and charts to assist with preliminary sizing, as well as a summary of key issues to be addressed and references to additional resources. Nine case studies selected for geographic diversity and a range of building types are also included to show how it all goes together. Practitioners, students, faculty and even the lay public will find this useful to help understand implementation in schematic design.
Postcard from Vietnam
Share #56Dear Members,
Our flight was totally full and we had a short stop in Hong Kong Airport before continuing on to Ho Chi Minh City. We arrived at 10 in the evening and the temperature was a pleasant 58?.
We are staying in this wonderful French Colonial Hotel facing the Saigon River. There is a fairly wide promenade along the river. Hundreds of barges hauling sand, logs, and other heavy materials travel up and down the river all day long. Traffic on the river is more dense than on the motor roads!
May is not the hottest month in Vietnam, March is usually hotter. June and July see a lot of rain. We had a little rain shower late in the afternoon.
Within Ho Chi Minh City the vehicular traffic is not terribly congested. Cars cost about two and one half times more than they do in the U.S. The people that can afford cars like to buy Japanese or German cars. Most people travel by bus or ride a moped. There is a lot of pedestrian traffic. The most impressive feature about the city is the very wide sidewalks that follow the Parisian model. Sidewalk cafes are popular.
The city is not that large and quite manageable on foot. The City Hall building is another good example of French Colonial building style. Most housing stock is new since 1976.
Fondly, Mui
The Greening of StopWaste.org
by Suzanne Stewart | Share #57The members who came to the June event at StopWaste.org got a personalized tour and presentation by OWA member Karen Kho and her colleagues at this innovative organization. They practice what they preach. We were asked not to bring beverage cups as they already had enough and didn't want to add more waste. A small but an important detail. They renovated instead of building anew, chose a location near a Bart Station, dedicated a parking space for a car-share vehicle, and offer secured bicycle parking.
They started out striving for LEED Silver, one step above the basic certification. Initially they wanted to show how green building principles could be applied to an ordinary building with a typical design and construction budget. Early on they realized they had bypassed Silver and were well into the Gold range. From there they made the commitment the spend more money and a lot more effort to go for the top: LEED Platinum! They produced a carbon neutral building that uses a minimal amount of water. The energy savings exceeds 40% compared to a similar conventionally built and run building.
Some of the ways they achieved their goals were by
*preserving 95% of the original structural elements
*recycled 75% of debris from demo and construction
*new concrete with 15-40% flyash (recycled waste product from coal-fired power plants)
*eliminated superfluous building materials
*installed recycling bins at every workstation
*hired a moving company that uses reusable and recyclable
moving containers
Other resources
To learn more about this organization and others check out these websites:
StopWaste.org
BayFriendly.org
GreenPointRated.org
BuildItGreen.org
Retreat Reminder
Share #59The OWA Annual Retreat is next month! If you have not signed-up yet please do so ASAP. This year's theme is Sustainable Careers. The retreat will be held again in Sonoma County at the Westerbeke Ranch on Friday September 14 through Sunday September 16th.
Announcement: UFIA Conference in Bucharest
Share #60The 15th International Congress of the International Union of Women Architects will be held October 1-6, 2007 in Bucharest, Romania. More information may be available at this website: uifa.fr
Annual Planning Meeting
Share #61This OWA event was formerly called the Annual Business Meeting. Since last year's attendance was low we've re-named this important meeting to: The Annual Planning Meeting. This is essentially an all OWA member Steering Committee meeting. The goal here is to inform membership of the year's finances, goals, annual donation, etc. Some of the topics we plan to cover are :
Annual Holiday Donation: I know a lot of you were very vocal at last year's party when we asked for a ratification vote. To date that money has not been awarded to any charity. At this meeting we will be looking for a vote on IF we should donate money at all.
2008 Calendar: While the Steering Committee is working on next year's calendar we want to hear which programs you especially liked, do you want more tours, presentations, all architecture or life issues (e.g. Estate Planning). What would you like to see or hear?
New Steering Committee Members: We strongly encourage any members, new or long time who have an interest in serving on the SC to attend and let a member(s) of the SC know of your interest. Some of the roles on the Steering Committee are: Newsletter Editor, Website Editor, Event Photographer, Event Host, Meeting Minutes Recorder, and other one-time roles. The time commitment is manageable as we meet for couple of hours every other month. Each Steering Committee member is responsible for organizing one calendar event. Of course we help one another as we can.
So please mark your calendars for this meeting. Let us hear from you!
OWA Calendar Jul/Aug 2007
Share #62See the complete 2007 calendar here.
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