Stockholm Library Render
Just some other thoughts about our solar panels:
March 2011 was a very, very rainy month as has been since the start of 2011, but the stats for my solar panels was so telling – with no snow cover during the month at all we still saved 322 pounds of carbon offset which is similar to planting 4 huge Evergreen Trees. Our electricity bill was not huge even with the flash flooding on our street one day and the sump pumps running continually for nearly the whole of the month – and the heat pump. Our panels were still producing power.
Now we just have to give warning that the solar hot water tank when the sun is shining – is so hot and the water comes right away that we need to keep turning it down so that no children will get burned!
There is so much snow pack in the mountains this year, that several of the state’s wind farms are being turned off as there is enough energy even for California!!
How are you doing with your power bills with all this unusual weather? I would like to know…
Tags: architecture, design, energy consumption, flooding, hot water, rain, snow pack, solar, weather
Thu, June 30 2011 » Discoveries » No Comments
Bill Sloan
Bill Sloane took us on a sail boat ride out to Boston Harbor this past week so that I could show our part of Puget Sound – AKA The Salish Sea – to our Danish friends. Although cloudy with almost no wind, it was one of the most relaxing days we have experienced out on the calm waters.
The children were delighted with the Harbor Seals resting and showing off and we enjoyed seeing a Blue Heron take flight and I was amazed at the huge build up of houses along the shore line. It had been 12 years since my last boat trip this direction! What a change and what huge monster houses!
Lots of jellyfish floated by.
On the way back home a dolphin began breaking through the water going the opposite direction from our boat and everyone was delighted. I do not think I have ever seen a dolphin in Puget Sound. The only Orca whales that come into our shallow bay are coming to die. This one was quite alive and well.
Then Sightline Daily had this article posted just today: Boston Dolphins spotted off Boston Harbor – Puget Sound
I was born at a little cabin at Boston Harbor because C-Sections were not allowed then at our only hospital which was Catholic! I loved hearing that foghorn and seeing the light from the lighthouse as a child.
I have been reading and gathering a slew of articles on ocean pollution and know that synthetic estrogens are truly creating a problem for the wild and ocean life in our area – but sometimes I seem to be alone in my concerns. Does your laundry soap contribute?
Then I found this poignant article by Al Gore in Rolling Stone Magazine. Have you seen or read it? Al Gore’s Climate of denial
So what did you do for the solstice? Are you thinking about water and the oceans these days?
I think folks have been too distracted by a Congressman’s underpants and missing the environmental issues.
Tags: dolphins, environment, inspiration, oceans, Puget Sound, sailing, Salish Sea, solstice, wisdom
Thu, June 23 2011 » Discoveries » 2 Comments
Our neighborhood is busy with tree pruning and removal this year – partly because of so much rain and the problems this is causing for the trees.
Our huge evergreen trees drink about 500 gallons of water a day, but will send roots into sewers and buckle the sidewalks getting enough space and fluids. Our city has been taking out diseased and dying trees and replacing them with hybrid street trees. These new trees may change our environment too because they are created trees and not just nature’s plantings.
Some of the 100 year old cherry and plum trees have just fallen down with so much rot within.
One or two of our neighbors have filled their yards with even more trees and with planning and care they have created some beautiful, restful, private space around their homes. They got help, suggestions and free trees from our fabulous Urban Foresters
Then again, daily I walk past a house that has yet to mow the grass or repair the roof or indicate any sign of care for the space. The apple trees in our neighborhood are so full of coddling moth and apple maggot that we can no longer afford the organic sprays to keep our fruit edible and usable. We use homemade traps but they are not doing a big enough job.
I think some of my neighbors will just wait until a diseased tree falls down. A local Mountain Ash tree came down fortunately while everyone was at work; it pulled down the fence and heavily damaged the garden. If the remaining parts of the tree come down too, it could take out the garage next door. I would think a penny spent on care would provide more peace of mind and value than waiting for home owners insurance to rebuild a neighbor’s garage.
Not everyone’s vision is the same, so where do we draw the ultra fine lines of what is properly maintained, being a good neighbor, and intervention? Is it not the role of the architect to teach within the community ongoing management of buildings?
The teaching role of the architect seems to be huge and maybe quite neglected currently. Folks do not understand their relationship to trees and the environment that surrounds them – and they appear to be not interested in learning. I do not think that many understand their responsibility to an energy efficient home and how to use proper cleaning and caring techniques to keep the building at optimum function. Even more toxic chemicals are being put in the washing machines and on yards than ever before, even with the efforts of educators and government officials.
How do we teach and promote understanding even after the design? How do we develop the sense of our integration with our environment – responsibility?
How will people ever understand living buildings or will it take the trees falling down and the polluted waters flooding, with not a drop to drink?
Do you think it will need to go that far before there is major correction?
Tags: apple maggot, architects role, care, coddling moths, education, environment, living building, planning, teaching, trees, urban foresters
Thu, June 16 2011 » Discoveries » No Comments
I do not know about you, but life has been rather intense the past few weeks around here – I thought I could use a good laugh. This one came into my inbox this week and it did indeed make me laugh – several times.
Clever fellow and great comeback:
A man boarded a plane with six kids.
After they got settled in their seats a woman sitting across the aisle from him leaned
Over to him and asked, “Are all of those kids yours ? ”
He replied, ” No Ma’am, I work for a condom company…
These are customer complaints. “
Have you got a funny to share and get us all laughing… We would love it in the comments section here.
Thu, June 9 2011 » Inspiration » No Comments
I saw this wonderful blog post by Paul Coelho about writing a story in 6 words and in 30 minutes he had over 350 stories in his comments section all within 6 words and all very expressive.
See the blog post here: http://paulocoelhoblog.com/2011/06/01/a-story-in-6-words-uma-historia-em-6-palavras/
I thought I would follow this fine example and write a Blog post in 6 words. I just do not believe that architects who are so smart cannot get local officials to understand, local backers to help them teach, and local neighbors to do the right things to promote a green and healthy environment. Life has made a big change and how we do this important work has taken a new path. We know what we need to do – I think we are avoiding what we need to do to accomplish change – we too just wish it would fall onto our path.
Folks are afraid of change but when they can visualize and understand what they need to know, most are willing to do the right activities to make their world and everyone’s world a better place.
So here are my 6 words:
Educating Change Means Doing It First
Or
Creating Change Means Doing It First
What are your 6 words? What is your change story? What are your real results?
Paulo Coelho, is one of the bestselling and most influential authors in the world today – The Alchemist, The Pilgrimage, The Valkyries, By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept, The Fifth Mountain, Veronika Decides to die, Warrior of Light and others have sold more than 52 million copies worldwide. His awards are many.
Thu, June 2 2011 » Inspiration » No Comments
top of pass
I thought I would put an update of our most recent schedule for our bike trip this summer into fall. We started with the trip plan for the spring, but now with all the heavy snow pack and flooding we are very happy to wait until all the passes are open and ready for riders.
We are starting on August 15,2011 from Friday Harbor in the San Juan Islands.
Several folks have asked to join us for a day or weekend along the way and that sounds good to us…if you would like more information please email John at: recumbentrider@comcast.net or Tom at bikingarchitect@gmail.com.
Tell us about your favorite bike ride and tour.
Thu, May 26 2011 » Discoveries » 2 Comments
I just looked at three street trees that have been topped until they look like high end tutu’s. Today is a sunny day and as the sun moves west the trees offer no shade to the front exposure of the duplex they were intended to cool in summer. The renter was busy on a ladder putting up bamboo curtains to give their living space some relief when summer arrives and the glass glares.
It was another example to me of the owner not understanding the role of street trees. There are trees up the hill, with little cards on them from the city telling everyone who passes “We don’t top our trees to keep them healthy and help us breathe.”
Then the “children at play – slow down” signs seem to mean nothing either – each generational set of parents make a valiant attempt.
On the other side of the hill about 30-50 new houses are going in, slowly, but the bulldozers have scraped the woods clean and dug holes. The signboard says it is energy efficient, but that just translates to a bit more insulation and some “star” appliances (which do not work).
We are looking very east coast, with our rows and rows of Victorian wanna be cheap housing starts.
The LIVING BUILDING Challenge 2.0 inspires us to ask the question. What if every single act of design and construction made the world a better place?
I too am asking that question as I walk my neighborhood and see concrete siding nailed up against mildewed, wet, and rotting something or other. Now the windows inside the house are steamed up and dirty all the time and one can see the mold creeping up the roof and out the pores. The water puddles in the dirt driveway and lakes across the street.
Did the owner get permits? Did the inspectors ever come? The wild blackberries create a back hedge and ooze at strangulating the porch and yard. Do the students who rent the house know they are making themselves sick living there, even as they hoe for a garden in the weeds?
I think folks are afraid of net – zero housing because they do not know what it is and what a resident would be responsible for in maintaining it. I think it is Fantasized Experience Appearing Real (fear)
And that many folks are not able to respond.
So here is an example of how someone was able to respond: Living Building Certification for a Science Lab – Hawaii Preparatory Academy
Here is a magazine sharing another story: I love this magazine
Living Building Challenge in YES! Magazine.
I want to create a house/townhouse/duplex for the Living Building Project 2.0 and show them what we can do to make the world a better place.
So just do it!
Tags: air, breathing, caring, designing future, designing life, environment, green, living building project 2.0, net zero housing, responsibility
Thu, May 19 2011 » Discoveries » 1 Comment
All that came off the bike...
Besides training with longer and longer bike rides each weekend, running the roads, and spinning at the gym, I need to study what gear I have for my 2011 biking adventure.
Panniers:
I started with Panniers.
I have a 12 year old Bianchi Eros bike and I am not sure I can get panniers that will fit on the front bracket or mount area….also my well used panniers just do not hold all that I need to carry. I have been putting my tent, sleeping bag and mat into large ZIPLOCK gear bags to keep everything dry.
What I liked about the newly designed Panniers is how they wrap around and would keep my gear dry.
Here’s where I started, but I would certainly like some suggestions from folks who have used these before as to how they work? Please share what you know with me and the others who read here
I started with REI and their list.
What do you know about these?
Tires:
I have also purchased the Specialized Armadillo Tires and have not had a flat tire since – do you know of anything better? I will carry a spare, but through the mountain passes it will be very problematic to find a biking shop for replacements.
Thought you might enjoy this video – Specialized Armadillo Tire Report
Food Needs:
Also Gluten Free prepackaged food that is light weight kits? Know of any? We will buy something fresh to eat nearly every day, but it helps to have a base kit (so far I have some dried chicken and rice that contain no Gluten).
Hope we can share some good information here – looking forward to your comments Thank you I greatly appreciate them…
Any other thoughts about long bike tours would be appreciated feel free to share in the comments section…
Thu, May 12 2011 » Discoveries » No Comments
moving-hot-water-panel-to-roof
With 60 days in a row of straight rain and we out did ourselves on energy production and carbon offsetting in our 100+ years old house.
We have only used 2/3 of a tank of gas in our family car since our fill up in February. We do not use our dryer – we use racks and we cut out 4 weeks of going to the grocery store to assist our budget – we made do with what we already had and were paying for storage for (freezer and pantry).
We followed the Carbon Fast for 45 days and discovered we had already done everything on the list and many of the items for 30+ years.
We have also made very good soil with our worm boxes and composter – and no added chemicals.
We pruned the trees to that they are healthy and so they do not block the solar panels.
How did you offset your carbon uses? Have you discovered anything new?
While we have ignored the Kyoto Agreement, Europe has been moving rapidly ahead – London is the champion of large cities and they are doing amazing things and creating lots of new jobs.
Powering whole communities – off the grid.
We would enjoy hearing from you and what you are doing at home for the environment. Is your home an environmental assest?
Thu, May 5 2011 » Discoveries » No Comments
In 2010, our fair city declared May to be Bicycle Commuting Month and encouraged all citizens in using their bikes, borrowing bikes, renting bikes (from the city) in an effort to make the air cleaner and get folks to and from their work and activities in a healthy style.
Many of the offices compete for prizes for the best mileage and participation for the event. The city has added a number of new bike lanes and have nearly completed the old railway line into an incredible bike and walking trail.
May 12th is actually the National Bike to Work Day here in the USA.
Will you climb up on your bike? And take a spin? Take up the challenge?
Might be good to check on the Rules of the Road for Bikers – here are the rules in Washington State
Some words about safety, especially if kids are going to bike to school
And the Laws of biking on Roads from LIVESTRONG
Here are listings for two areas of the State and the rules for their challenges in May 2011:
Sound Cycling Contests
Bike to Work Contest Cascade Bike Club
And here is Eric Hess as the Reluctant Cyclist hits the Road. Eric writes for Sightline and the Weekly Score.
The Biking Architect is already commuting on his bike and training for his 5 weeks of touring through the Cascade Mountains from Border to Border in August 2011
Last year’s thoughts about May being biking commuting month
Thu, April 28 2011 » Discoveries » 3 Comments
Enough Design for You – Enough Books for Me
