Fall 2007

Hello From Allen Associates

Allen Associates is pleased to offer our Green Building News quarterly e-newsletter, providing you with valuable information and inspiring examples of green building in action.  Awareness of human’s impact on climate and the planet’s natural systems has been brought to the forefront and many of us have been urged to take action by making our buildings and energy systems less harmful.

Green Building News features:

Sarah Susanka:  Live better, not bigger

• New and time-tested green products
• Steps you can take to help existing buildings perform better
• Educational events
• Stories of exemplary changes to a home, office, or lifestyle to inspire us in transforming our environment one step at a time

 “Green That House”
Discovery Channel series premiers this fall.

“Green That House” – a new half-hour series to air on the Discovery Channel this Fall - will show “how regular folks are greening their homes.”  Each 30-minute episode of “Green That House” will feature one residence that is in the process of being made more environmentally friendly.  Allen Associates will have not one, but two, homes featured on the show.  We are honored to be a part of this new television show that is designed to educate and inspire homeowners to go green.

The first Allen Associates’ project on the show is a modular home, designed by Bay Area architect Michelle Kaufmann.  At first, Discovery intended to focus its show on green remodeling projects, not new construction.  But when the producers learned about the unique greenness of the Andreas/Rockne family’s home on Pedregosa Street – they could not resist showcasing it.  This home was pre-built in a factory, significantly reducing the amount of construction waste generated.  It arrived in Santa Barbara in five pieces, with all the insulation, plumbing, electrical, flooring, bathroom tiles, and kitchen pre-installed.  Other green features include extensive use of sustainable building materials, abundant natural light, and cooling with natural breezes. 
» Learn more about Michelle Kaufman and her work at  www.mkd-arc.com.

 

Our second project is a whole house remodel of a Goleta tract home which will allow our client to move in and care for her aging mother.  Designed by Santa Barbara architect Paul Poirier, the home’s green energy features:

• A new radiant barrier and attic ventilation system that will reduce heat gain/loss by 25%
• Insulation made from recycled newspaper
• Energy efficient windows
• Energy Star appliances
• Water preheated with the sun’s energy, and
• Electricity provided by photovoltaic (solar) panels. 

Other green features focus on low water use and healthy indoor air and water quality:

• Dual flush toilets
• Tankless hot water heater
• Adhesives, paints and finishes that do not emit volatile organic compounds
• New cabinets and countertops made from sustainable materials that do not emit formaldehyde 
• Permeable paving

The Beauty of Built-to-Ship
Modular Homes Gain Popularity

At Allen Associates, we have our own green version of modular - our Built-to-Ship (BTS) Division. BTS makes custom pre-built homes designed to fit with local cultures and architectural styles – not the typical modular approach of “one design for all locations.”  BTS homes use less energy, last longer, are resource efficient, and create healthier indoor environments for greater comfort. 

Allen Associates has installed BTS homes in Hawaii and on the mainland (in Santa Barbara County and as far away as Calistoga, Napa, and Tahoe).  One recent installation, the Harris Home on the island of Molokai, Hawaii, has satisfied this client’s long time dream of living in a green home. 

This Hawaiian BTS home embodies the traditional plantation style:

• the home has a lanai (the Hawaiian word for a porch or balcony)
• is elevated and
• is oriented to take advantage of local trade winds.

These features allow for natural breezes to circulate around and under the structure, cooling the home and reducing moisture build-up, two important issues to consider in the warm and humid Hawaiian climate.  The home has an open floor plan with vaulted ceilings and Casablanca fans that further help to cool the house.  Operable, dual paned windows allow cooling breezes and plenty of natural light to enter the home.

An on-demand water heater, Energy Star appliances, and motion detectors on exterior lighting make the Harris’ home more energy efficient.  The home’s indoor air quality has been improved by using formaldehyde-free cabinets, zero-VOC paints and finishes, and ceramic tiles and bamboo flooring rather than carpeting.  Other sustainable materials used in the project include a recycled-content, standing seam metal roof with a 50 year life and recycled plastic decking.

» For more information on Built-to-Ship homes visit www.builttoship.com.

Local Effort To Reduce Buildings’ Contribution to Global Warming Moves Forward

Recognizing that the building sector is responsible for 48% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions annually, the Santa Barbara City Council has taken a major step to confront the global-warming crisis by voting unanimously to accept the “Architecture 2030 Challenge.”  

The “Architecture 2030 Challenge” is a global initiative officially launched by Edward Mazria, a long time advocate of passive solar design, that calls for all new buildings and major renovations to reduce their fossil-fuel energy consumption by 50 percent immediately, increasing this reduction to 60% in 2010, 70% in 2015, 80% in 2020, 90% in 2025, until finally in 2030, all new buildings are to achieve carbon neutrality.

Learn more about the Architecture 2030 Challenge at www.Architecture2030.org

City of Ventura Fast Tracks Green Building Permits 

The Green Building Council Ventura County (GBCVC), of which Allen Associates’ Vice President Steve Leu is a founding member, played a significant role in establishing this Program.  And now, as part of the Program’s on-going implementation, VCGBC members review the completed checklists, rate the green features of submitted projects and make a recommendation to City Staff whether to issue or deny the Green Building Permit.

Allen Associates has the distinction of receiving the very first Green Building Permit issued through the City’s Program – the Birney whole house remodel on Weymouth Avenue.  We are currently working on a project that will soon receive another Green Building Permit – a whole house remodel for Carol Coman on Homer Avenue.  

Featured Green Product:  Advancements in Lighting Technology – LED’s

While high costs currently make them unfeasible for most consumers ($50 to $100 for the equivalent of a 60-watt incandescent bulb), they make up the difference fast in energy savings, and their price should fall rapidly in the next few years.  Traditional lighting manufacturers such as Philips Electronics are getting into the LED arena in significant ways.

Allen Associates staff recently attended a seminar sponsored by the Illumination Engineering Society (IES) where the latest developments in LED lighting technology were presented by eighteen different companies.  The use of LEDs in outdoor lighting has been perfected – there is a wide selection of aesthetically pleasing fixtures and, once installed, you should never have to change the bulb.   There are under cabinet lights that meet Title 24 requirements using LED technology.  The most promising product we saw was a 3 watt LED recessed can light that can replace a 60 watt incandescent bulb.