Eco Building and Zero Energy

Prefabricated building components can be efficiently produced in factories and distributed in containers.

The assembly at the building site can be fast and combined with local materials.

Bioenergy could be a part of the package.

Simple and minimalistic design should be applied.

We need a new mindset to fight climate change and waste of material and energy.

Building of Straw: The Fallsburg Project

The benefits of straw bale homes.

1. Building is great
2. The idea fits perfectly
3. Told about the program
4. Enjoyed doing it
5. Do sustainable building technology

Ecobuilding: A Growing NW Trend

Helge: I've been scanning through ecobuilding sites in Europe and North-America. The trend is evident. These aren't weak signals anymore.

Ecobuilding: A Growing NW Trend: "Ecobuilding: A Growing NW Trend by Cameron Woodworth When it comes to protecting the environment, just about the most important influence we can have is in our homes and offices. Some of the most severe environmental impacts, in fact, stem from our buildings.

Changing the way we build and operate our homes and workplaces can have profound benefits for the planet and our well-being. David Malin Roodman and Nicholas Lenssen, writing for The Worldwatch Institute, argue that the modern buildings we live, work and shop in rival cars and manufacturing as sources of harm to the environment.

Modern construction techniques contribute greatly to deforestation, global warming, overuse of water, acid rain and other environmental problems. In 1990, Kirk Smith, founder of the Greenhouse Crisis Foundation in Washington, D.C., wrote that United States homes and apartments account for the largest share of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere by all industrial, commercial and residential sources worldwide.

Buildings that are unhealthy for the environment, not surprisingly, often cause illness in people, too. Thirty percent of newly built or renovated buildings suffer from 'sick building syndrome', exposing occupants to stale or mold- and chemical-laden air, Roodman and Lenssen say. Many homes built in this century contain radon or asbestos. The EPA estimates that lead-based paint was applied to approximately two-thirds of the houses built in the U.S. before 1940 and one-third of the homes built between 1940 and 1960.

Largely because of these environmental and health reasons, ecobuilding has become a hot trend in the 1990s.

Professional Builder magazine reports that 60 percent of buyers want "healthy house" features in their new purchase, and 25 percent say it is important to buy a home constructed with "green methods".

A green home can reduce environmental impact by as much as 60 percent compared to standard houses, according to Howard Associates, a building environmental science and technology firm in Maryland. Green buildings are more energy efficient, and use recycled, renewable and reused resources as much as possible.

Ecobuilding is a broad field, encompassing numerous innovative ideas. Almost any aspect of housing, remodeling and construction can fall into the category of ecobuilding. Even the household cleaners and paints we use make a substantial difference to the environment and our well-being.

The Environmental Home Center, a store just south of the Kingdome in Seattle, sells a wide array of eco-friendly supplies.

The products—which include paints, adhesives, wood and timber, flooring materials, cabinetry, tile, insulation and roofing, sheet goods and decking materials, furniture, bedding and appliances, and even carpeting—share one or more of the following qualities: they are low-toxic, biodegradable, non-polluting, recycled and recyclable, energy- and resource-efficient, sustainably grown or manufactured, renewable, promote social and economic sustainability, or a combination of these factors."

Ecobuilding

Ecobuilding: "Welcome to the Ecobuilding Homepage The idea of this website is to present results of EU-Thermie target projects in the building sector and other important solar low-energy demonstration projects in Europe.

• low-energy
• solar powere
• demonstration projects
  

At the moment this website includes information from 8 different EU target projects as well as 10 other solar low-energy demonstration projects. In the website you can download final project reports, e.g. from the EHEN93 project and there are links to different target project websites and other websites, as well as to the greenglobal21.com website with the Green Build energy and environmental point system and examples of best available technologies.

The 'Ecobuilding' website has been established with partly funding from the EU-Thermie B project 'Ecohouse-Rom- Net'. The aim of the 'Ecohouse-Rom-Net' project has been to establish a working tool, which includes solar low-energy demonstration projects and also a possibility of using Cenergia's 'Optibuild' tool.

'Optibuild' is a computer programme that can optimise the best possible package of energy saving measures for buildings, which have the lowest lifecycle costs. An interactive version of 'Optibuild' can be downloaded from the website or it can be obtained from Cenergia on a CD-Rom. More information about ecobuilding.dk website and relevant links."

Northwest EcoBuilding Guild - Home

Northwest EcoBuilding Guild - Home: "Welcome to the EcoBuilding Guild! The Northwest EcoBuilding Guild is an association of

1. builders,
   
2. designers,
   
3. homeowners,
   
4. tradespeople,
   
5. manufacturers,
   
6. suppliers and
   
7. others interested in ecologically sustainable building.

Collaborate, Innovate, Create

Green Future Annual Members' Retreat 2007 October 19-21 Mark your calendars now! Save the Date! This year’s Retreat is gonna be Great! Join us October 19th – 21st at Pilgrim Firs Conference Center outside Port Orchard, Washington, for a weekend full of fun, learning, and camaraderie! For the program and more information see the retreat announcement."

Actualite 20 septembre 2007 | News Performance Energetique | Eco building 2007

Actualite 20 septembre 2007 | News Performance Energetique | Eco building 2007: "Actus marche 20 septembre 2007 Actu Environnement Remise des Grands Prix du Salon Ecobuilding Performance Le Mentionné 2007 de ce prix récompense la Cité-jardin du Petit Bétheny (Bétheny, achevé) qui concerne 111 logements individuels et 100 logements collectifs dont l'Architecte est BCDE.



Le Grand Prix Bâtiment de Très Grande Hauteur a été attribué à la Ville d'Issy-les-Moulineaux, pour la Tour Mozart qui concerne la déconstruction/reconstruction d'une tour obsolète et amiantée. "

Ekorakentaminen on ollut Ranskassa ja Saksassa nousussa pitkän aikaa. Pariisissa järjestettiin alan messut 20.9.2007. Emme ehtinee sinne, mutta kokemuksesta tiedän, että suomalaisilla olisi annettavaan ekorakentamisen pippaloissa.

Le salon professionnel international de la performance énergétique et environnementale des bâtiments et du développement durable des territoires, Ecobuilding Performance se tient du 18 au 20 septembre 2007 à Paris Expo. Le 18 septembre, Jean-Pierre Bardy, inspecteur général des Ponts et Chaussées, sous directeur à la direction générale de l’Urbanisme, de l’Habitat et de la Construction, directeur de la qualité du développement durable de la construction, ministère de l’Écologie, du développement et de l’aménagement durables, a remis les Grand prix EcoBuilding Performance.

Les Grands Prix Ecobuilding Performance visent à mettre en avant des actions concernant les performances énergétiques et environnementales des bâtiments et le développement durable des territoires. Les Grands Prix récompensent les équipes d'acteurs ayant contribué à des opérations de construction, d'adaptation ou de gestion de bâtiments ou des projets d'aménagement, de renouvellement ou de gestion du cadre de vie bâti des territoires. Toutes ces opérations sont réalisées ou à minima décidées.