Green ArchiTEXT

The Living Building Challenge Roadshow Hits the Road

Living Building Challenge is sweeping North America, with more than sixty registered projects from coast to coast now pursuing certification under this rigorous performance standard as interest continues to rise. In response to frequent requests for introductory presentations, the International Living Building Institute (ILBI) is hitting the road to create an opportunity to share the tenets of the program with advanced practitioners in the United States and Canada.

Thirty cities throughout the United States and Canada will host Living Building Challenge Roadshow events this spring:

U.S

Kansas City, KS - 03/10/10
Atlanta, GA - 03/23/10
Los Angeles, CA - 03/23/10
Minneapolis, MN - 03/24/10
Albuquerque, NM - 03/25/10
San Diego, CA - 03/25/10
Portland, OR - 03/31/10
Anchorage, AK - 04/07/10
New York, NY - 04/21/10
St. Louis, MO - 04/21/10
Washington DC - 04/21/10
Seattle, WA - 05/05/10
Austin, TX - 05/24/10
Sacramento, CA - 05/25/10
San Francisco, CA - 05/26/10
Pittsburgh, PA - 05/26/10
Cleveland, OH - 05/27/10
Clermont, KY - 05/28/10
Detroit, MI - 06/01/10
Chicago, IL - 06/08/10
Phoenix, AZ - 06/08/10
Denver, CO - 06/09/10
Miami, FL - 06/09/10
Boston, MA - 06/10/10
Houston, TX - 06/16/10

CANADA

Toronto, ON - 03/02/10
Winnipeg, MB - 03/04/10
Vancouver, BC - 04/08/10
Ottawa, ON - 04/14/10
Montreal, QC - 04/15/10
Calgary, AB - 04/20/10

via ilbi.org

Seattle Bends Rules for "Living Buildings"

A new ordinance in Seattle will pilot-test exemptions for projects attempting to use innovative onsite water and energy strategies that currently run afoul of codes.

The ordinance will allow code exemptions for up to 12 buildings seeking certification through the Living Building Challenge (LBC). The exemptions will allow the buildings to meet LBC prerequisites that require techniques, such as onsite water treatment, that conflict with current land-use and building codes in Seattle (as well as in many other areas of the U.S.). City officials will use the review process to inform future code changes that could make the regulatory landscape friendlier to onsite water and energy strategies.

via www.buildinggreen.com

Bob Berkebile: On Responsible Design, LIving Buildings and Restorative Communities

The latest issue of Cascadia's terrific Trim Tab magazine features an interview with Bob Berkebile of BNIM. See "Bob Berkebile: A true pioneer in the sustainability movement".

Green building? Pshaw. Race is on in Capitol Hill to build WA's 1st "living building"

By Josh Mahar
Capitol Hill Seattle blog

How progressive is Capitol Hill development? A Capitol Hill project on Madison was hoped to be the first construction in the state to achieve the lofty standards required to called a Living Building. That's not going to happen. Instead, a different Capitol Hill project is now on track to be Washington's First Living Building. It's a hippie design geek wonderland up here.

via www.seattlepostglobe.org

Green Architecture: What makes a Structure a "Living Building"?

A Pacific Northwest organization has the defined an environmentally sound structure as one that generates its own energy, captures and treats all of its water, operates efficiently, and is aesthetically pleasing.

Over the past couple of decades, architects and builders looking to green their projects turned to the addition of various piecemeal elements to save water here or cut down on electricity there. Those who added more than a few green touches could apply for and get certified by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) under its Leadership in Energy and Efficient Design (LEED) program. While these efforts have been laudable—essentially launching the green building industry as we know it today—they represent merely the infancy of what green building might someday become.

via www.scientificamerican.com

Seattle Pilot Program to Focus on Living Buildings

"Program could lead to 12 new living buildings"

The Seattle City Council approved Monday a pilot program to encourage the creation of living buildings. The full council also approved a series of design changes for midrise and highrise developments.

via www.djc.com

Water 2.0 Aquatic Dysfunctions

By Jason F. McLennan

"The solutions to the water challenges we face exist today. It is possible to build living buildings (www.ilbi.org) and living communities that are completely water independent—even in the driest parts of the country. Living Buildings use water super-efficiently; they capture all of their water needs through rainfall and snowmelt. Water is then reused multiple times and treated on-site without chemicals in a nearly closed-loop process. As more and more projects are proving, it is now possible to completely transform our relationship with water and waste from a psychopathic one to one which is balanced and well-adjusted."

via www.arcadejournal.com

In Technoetic Arts, "Living buildings: plectic systems architecture"

The November 2009 issue of Technoetic Arts (Volume 7 Issue 2), features the essay "Living buildings: plectic systems architecture"by Richard Armstrong:

Modern building practices rely on Victorian construction methods founded on industrial technologies. This article asks how it may be possible to develop an alternative approach to the construction of our homes and cities that is more environmentally responsive, works with the natural energy flows within matter and which is connected to natural systems, not insulated from them. The approach of plectic systems architecture suggests that it is possible to create living buildings by re-examining the dynamics of terrestrial matter through a new approach to materials science and computation to engage in a fundamental re-visioning of what constitutes an architectural practice for the twenty-first century.

Also in this issue:

• “Surrealist complex systems, parallel biology and the greening of architecture”, Neil Spiller
• “The nautilus – evolving architecture and city landscapes for future sustainable development”, Rachel Armstrong, Michael Evan Goodsite and Ole John Nielsen
• “Protocells as smart agents for architectural design”, Martin M Hanczyc and Takashi Ikegami
• “Fabricating Nature”, Turlif Vilbrandt, Alexander Pasko and Carl Vilbrandt
• “Spaces of affinity”, Sylvia Nagl
• “Living technology today and tomorrow”, Mark A. Bedau

via www.intellectbooks.co.uk

Living Buildings & the Future of Architecture: Jason McLennan @ Bioneers

Cascadia CEO Jason McLennan addresses the Bioneers 2009 Conference this morning on the Living Building Challenge: making significant leaps and new standards by which metrics for architecture and the built environment should be measured – the “living building”.

“We have all the technology that we need now to build living buildings.”

The Living Building Metaphor:

A living building…

• Harvests all its own energy and water
• Adaptedd to climate and site
• Operates pollution free
• Promotes health and well-being
• Comprised of integrated systems
• Is beautiful

For more on the Living Building Challenge go here.

Walkthrough of the New Omega Center for Sustainable Living