Green/Sustainable Design

[Sharabella Fini]

Talking to a potential client today reinforced the willingness to share some thought with you on Green and Sustainable Building Design; which is my ultimate intention in every project; some persuasion is necessary at times though! I just want to share a few brief areas considered in planning to build on a site as it relates to the nature and land.

A sustainable future needs a sustainable built environment. We need buildings that take less from the earth and give more to people; imagine homes, offices and communities that are producers of energy, food and clean water and air; that can have a natural beauty through harmony with the earth; how wonderful is that!!

For a sustainable, conscious design, many areas should be considered as far as site protection;

1-Plants and vegetation have to identified and if there are valuable species they should not be removed and need to be preserved
2- Existing trees have to be protected from damage; they are great shading device and reduce the energy costs and the heat on paved areas
3- If branches have to be stripped; they need to be chipped to be used as mulch
4- Existing trees should be incorporated into the design as much as feasible and the design has to allow for their growth
5- Topsoil is an important part of the ecosystem and should not be mixed with other materials and if it is stripped, it should be reused
6- Changing the slope radically should be avoided to reduce soil erosion, and area should be provided for absorption of rain water and roof run-off.

Wanted to make it as brief as possible. I plan on sharing more, as time allows.

[Rachel Butler]

Great post. We are working on a potential project downtown and would love your input!

[Sharabella Fini]

Thanks Rachel, and sure, any time, just let me know. Love

Rachel Butler said:

Great post. We are working on a potential project downtown and would love your input!

[Ty Mellon]

I REALLY like this post! There are some projects we are looking at this spring such as the 360 project where this info will be extremely helpful!!

Thanks for Posting Shari!
Ty

[Sharabella Fini]

Thanks Ty, glad you like it. Let me know if you need my help.

[Camilo Garcia]

Great post. This is the model HEB should have followed when they built in Elgin -- instead they turned a forest into a parking lot. It was painful to watch, knowing that their model of design and construction is the norm.

I will be interested in reading your updates and finding out more about what you are working on. You are so right, sustainability has to be the key concept in everything we do from now on, not just in food production. I can't really know, but it does seem like sustainable food production would not even be possible long-term in a society that does not practice sustainability nor even understand what it means. Currently, we are in that society, so we have a lot to do to get where we need to be. Onward through the fog, as they used to say in Austin. I'm glad you're in on this.

And to Ty and Rachel: both of you mentioned projects you've planned that tie into this. Can you direct me to pertinent links or otherwise fill me in as things develop? I am trying to be a conduit to people I know over here in eastern Travis and Bastrop counties. There is a lot of interest and not as much organization. One thing I do to help is to funnel info to our school for potential field trips. My focus is educating the next generation to take up the sustainability work.

[Sharabella Fini]

Thank you Camilo, and I definitely share your disappointment when witnessing sustainablity concepts not being practiced as much as it should, or not at all!! We can all take responsibilty and do our part; which clearly you are by being conscious and acting as a channel to spread the importance and shaing the knowledge. I strongly believe that sustainablity should be a prerequisite in schools.
Now and then I share thoughts on different areas of green building design and will continue with part 3 in near future.
Glad you are interested.