In my last post, I identified factors that should be considered when installing a green roof (i.e. desired function, type of roof, whether structural modifications must be made to accommodate extra weight, composition of the roof system, proper substrate formula, appropriate mix of vegetative species, and desired time to maturity/planting method). In this post, I will begin to investigate …
Now that New York is installing a lot of green roofs the main question is how much weight a green roof has. I had my ideas but two professors from Virginia Poly did some great research into the subject. Their findings were published in the Fall 2008 Journal of Green Building, which I’m only now …
American Clay is a great company that is reviving a millenia old building technique of applying clay to building walls. They have a strong local culture and associate themselves strongly with their Santa Fe roots. But to grow as a company they also ship anywhere. They are very helpful with advice too. Shaylor at American …
When this whole things started I didn’t know if I was pro or con the Gowanus Superfund designation. I now know that my uncertainty was due to very well funded PR information that almost managed to pull me away from my common sense that immediately thought a superfund designation for Gowanus would be a good …
Gowanus Canal and Super Fund – Don’t Believe the Hype Read More »
Green Gardening Magazine is a special issue by Taunton’s publishing which puts out all sorts of gardening, woodworking and house related DYI things. I subscribe to some of their magazines. They are ok, very practical “how to” things (how to install a door etc). But the Green Gardening Issue was great. It was everything I expect from …
Here is my take on green building in Brooklyn over the next 5-10 years. It is actually a lot wider than Brooklyn, but that is my focus. Rising fuel costs will drive people back into the city, this means there will be an influx of people into Brooklyn. This will keep housing prices more elevated …
The book “150 Best Apartment Ideas” is interesting in that you get hundreds of images of apartments. It is for visual people like architects and designers. Lots of visual stimulation and little text. The book actually should have been called “150 Best MODERNIST FIRST WORLD Apartment Ideas”. After a while the apartments all blended together …
One strategy for addressing impacts associated with urban development is to reduce the functional area of developed surface. The European community, and especially Germany, has opted to do so by re-vegetating roofs. Green roofs have been associated with a variety of environmental and economic benefits, including the ability to retain precipitation, filter pollutants, reduce maximum rooftop …
Lighting can account for 15-20% of your monthly electric bill. With recent advances in LED technology we are able to reproduce the same level of brightness for 1/5- 1/10th the power. This is a huge savings. If we all work together we can reduce this country’s electrical draw by 10%! That equates to a lot …
