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LEED Platinum in Williamsburg

LEED Platinum in Williamsburg published on 3 Comments on LEED Platinum in Williamsburg

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Sustainable developer/architect Mark Helder is aiming for a LEED Platinum rating for his current project in Williamsburg. Platinum is the highest green rating and if he achieves this, it will be the first Platinum LEED building in NYC.

Construction on the 5 story building at 439 Metropolitan Avenue started in August 2007. The ground floor and cellar will act as Mark’s office space. There will be 2 duplex condos on the top floors. The building features radiant heat, filtered ventilation air with heat recovery, a green roof and passive and active solar design (PV and hot water). Low or zero VOC materials were used and all appliance are energy star rated.

Mark studied architecture at Hogeschool van Amsterdam. He is also director of The Urban Ore Initiative, an Amsterdam based non profit dedicated to showcasing quality sustainable design created by emerging artists and designers. He is coordinating almost all aspects of this project by himself, including financial, marketing, design, tax abatements, project managment and LEED documentation preparation.

Helder Design

Frankenstein Chairs

Frankenstein Chairs published on

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Via Ready Made

Italian designer Gamper Martino says “There is no perfect chair.” So he set out to design a fusion chair. In fact, 100 of them. In 100 days. The results were on display this October at the Design Museum in London. 100 Chairs in 100 Days, the book, is now available for purchase.

All chairs were salvaged from friends or the streets of London. See all the fun things you can create from salvage, kids?

So, Why Are You Green?

So, Why Are You Green? published on 3 Comments on So, Why Are You Green?

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Eco Mansion

I just came across an old NY Times article on Your Free Press. “Buying Into the Green Movement” reminds us that buying green is still consumerism at its best. It’s just more guilt free, is all.

I’ve noticed this especially since starting this blog. In doing research and writing up companies, it’s clear that many businesses are jumping on that green bandwagon. As someone who would love to buy only sustainable products, but simply cannot afford to, I can say this first hand: Going green is for the rich.Continue reading So, Why Are You Green?

Dream Home: Recycled 747 Wing House

Dream Home: Recycled 747 Wing House published on

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I set out to write a post on Syndesis design firm and their eco friendly Syndecrete concrete material. But I got sidetracked.

Architect David Hertz, of Syndesis is working on a house made from airplane parts. His client requested feminine shapes for the home situated on a 55 acre property in Malibu. The used aircraft was purchased for about $40k. The wing of the 747 will act as a self supporting roof. Walls will be made from rammed earth.

David is attempting to use as many components as possible, much like Native Americans use every part of the animals they take. This means that material left over from the main residence will be incorporated into the guest house, art studio and meditation pavilion. Oh that I had a guest house, art studio and meditation pavilion! Oh yeah, and they’re contemplating an animal barn and sauna structure.

747 Wing House on Facebook

Eco X: Recycled Concrete

Eco X: Recycled Concrete published on 2 Comments on Eco X: Recycled Concrete

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Via Get With The Green

Meld USA, a concrete manufacturer out of North Carolina launched a line of recycled concrete countertops a few month ago.

Eco X is comprised of 76% recycled content from post-consumer bottle glass and post-industrial fiberglass in a cement base. The raw material used in the process comes from suppliers located within 500 miles of their manufacturing facility. The products are sealed with low VOC sealer. Countertops are stain resistant but not stain proof.

12 colors are available as is custom matching. The company can also customize texture and design. The product will eventually take on a patina, much like concrete counters.

No dealers as of yet in the New York area. Price range: $87-120 per sq ft.

Meld

Attack of the Dome Homes

Attack of the Dome Homes published on 2 Comments on Attack of the Dome Homes

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An old article on Hudson Valley Magazine lead me to singer Peggy Atwood’s site about her monolithic dome in the Catskills. She decided to have it built after nearly losing a house to a tornado in Tennessee and another near miss Upstate due to a forest fire.

Granted, all dome homes are awesome, but when I came across the Solaleya website, I knew I had discovered my latest obsession. These homes, which have the added plus of totally looking like a spaceship, actually rotate with the sun. Need I say more? THE HOUSE ROTATES WITH THE SUN!

Solaleya homes are made with FSC wood and are insulated with cork. They are earthquake and hurricane resistant and can be equipped with solar panels. Unless I’m reading the brochure wrong, prices don’t seem to be insane. For $64k, you can get a 420 square foot “guest room”. $ 834k will buy you a 6307 square foot home with 25 foot ceilings. Of course, options and land not included.

Although I’d love to see one of these under my Hannukah menorah this season, I still can’t overlook the fact that, as green as this is, it is still new construction.

Monolithic
Earth Shelter
Dome Home

I’m Starting to Groove to Cork

I’m Starting to Groove to Cork published on 1 Comment on I’m Starting to Groove to Cork

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Back in November I did an article on cork flooring. I listed the pros and cons, but my own hesitation with cork is that it reminds me too much of the 70’s. I don’t know why I can’t get passed this since my sense of style terminated in the 80’s. But I’m trying.

I just came across cork mosaics at Habitus NYC. They look great, they are waterproof and best of all, you can stain them some funky ass colors! Since they’re waterproof, they can work perfectly in a bathroom or kitchen. I was also informed that they have antibacterial qualities.

The cork mosaics look like penny ceramics and need to be grouted same as any other tile. They’re made from recycled wine stoppers. Since they start at $12 per square foot, I’m thinking of drinking more wine (lots) so I can make my own mosaics.

NYC Represents in Miami Art Fair

NYC Represents in Miami Art Fair published on 1 Comment on NYC Represents in Miami Art Fair

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Our trip to Florida last week was strictly for visiting purposes. But in between installing ceiling fans for my mother and meeting the Jack Klompus of The Greens of Tamarac, we did get a chance to surprise our friend Liz at the Aqua Art Fair in Miami.

Aqua Art Miami is part of a week long contemporary art fair in which various hotels in Miami Beach transform themselves into galleries. The main event, Art Basel Miami Beach, sister event of Switzerland’s Art Basel, is now the most important art show in the United States.Continue reading NYC Represents in Miami Art Fair

3 Form Eco Friendly Material Solutions

3 Form Eco Friendly Material Solutions published on

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Via Moco Loco

3 Form is the manufacturer of many products: beautiful countertops, backsplashes, room dividers, furniture, hardware and even jewelry. Furthermore, they use a variety of materials, such as resin, glass and gypsum, which makes it difficult to roll into one tidy blog post.

So let’s just focus on the company. 3 Form is on a path to achieve zero waste and low emissions. They’ve recently eliminated the use of all PVCs and their ecoresin products are Greenguard certified. Panels can be returned to the company at the end of their life cycle for recycling.

Design is decidedly modern. Collections include “Storm” (complex and moody hues), “Fresh” (refreshing and calm aquatic tones) and “Flirt” (optimistic and extroverted) to name a few. There’s even “Custom Imagery” or “You Create”

Samples can be ordered directly from the company.

Anatomy of a Brownstone:Energy Incentives

Anatomy of a Brownstone:Energy Incentives published on 1 Comment on Anatomy of a Brownstone:Energy Incentives

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The final two speakers of the Anatomy lecture were from the energy community. Although they spoke separately, I’m rolling them into one post because both had to do with energy incentives.

Mark Wyman of Energy Smart Communities educated us on NYSERDA’s energy audit program. He went over tax incentives, rebates and how to find energy star contractors and products. All of the information can be easily found on the getenergy website.

Mark covered the Association for Energy Affordability, a program that assists low and moderate income people with making their homes healthy. He also touched upon Power Naturally, NSERDA’s renewable energy program.

Take the pledge to do your part to conserve energy! For more information, contact Wendy Fleisher. wfleish AT pratt.edu

Finally, Judy Torres from Keyspan spoke. FYI, Keyspan is now National Grid after the UK based company bought them out, turning it into the second largest utility company in the world.

Judy covered the Energy Analysis program designed to help people analyze and improve their energy consumption. It’s free and fun to do the profile.

National Grid offers rebates for energy star products such as thermostats and up to $800 in rebates for high efficiency boilers.

Anatomy of a Brownstone:Salvage Design

Anatomy of a Brownstone:Salvage Design published on

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Debra Salomon, the principal of 408 Design Group who organized Anatomy’s events, presented with Pietro Calabretta, owner of All Renovation, NY. The two have partnered on several projects.

Pietro spoke of the Greenstone Project, at 695 Degraw, which he worked on with Eitan Baron.

The home features Caesarstone countertops, dual flush toilets, energy star appliances and Fireclay shower floor tiles. We’ve covered all of those items in the past.

What we found most interested was the hot water return system Pietro mentioned. If we understood correctly, the system reuses the cold water wasted while waiting for the hot water to become hot.

Although all of the speakers shared valuable green building information, we found Debra’s subject matter closest to our hearts: old home restoration and salvaged materials.

She presented a design for an air conditioner cover which is an elaborate Victorian pier mirror housing the wall a/c unit. See photos for details.

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Debra also showed us an antique butler’s pantry she and Pietro recreated in a brownstone as well as some gorgeous salvaged cabinets that are sitting in someone’s basement because they can’t use them. (Oy, I’ll take them off your hands.)

Anatomy of a Brownstone:A&K Tile

Anatomy of a Brownstone:A&K Tile published on

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A&K Tile Studio in Park Slope has allocated 20% of their showroom to recycled tiles. Before sitting down in the lecture hall, I had a chance to speak with Gerrard Owens, the managing partner. He later presented with Jennifer Napoli.

I also saw some of the samples they had on hand. We’ve covered some of the recycled products here in the past, such as Brooklyn manufactured Ice Stone and Teragren Bamboo, but it was nice to see some other items in person that were new to us.

A&K carries lines from the following companies:

Sandhill Industries, 100% recycled glass tiles
Ekobe Coconut Tiles
Wicanders Cork Flooring

Anatomy of a Brownstone:Green Depot

Anatomy of a Brownstone:Green Depot published on

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Sarah Beatty, CEO of Green Depot, the Brooklyn based green building materials company, spoke with Rolf and Emily. Green Depot is the materials supplier for 93 Nevins.

Sarah founded Green Depot in 2005 when she realized how important sustainable building had become. She found a backer in the already established Marjam Supply Company. Ok, so it didn’t hurt that her husband owns Marjam.

Green Depot is a green building superstore, with locations in various Mid Atlantic and Northeastern cities, including Brooklyn, NY. They sell pretty much everything, including soundproof drywall, eco friendly cabinets and a variety of solvent free adhesives.

Sarah spoke of the importance of using non toxic caulks, sealants and cleaners as well as alternatives to fiberglass insulation and taking advantage of low VOC paints.

Anatomy of a Brownstone:The Health House

Anatomy of a Brownstone:The Health House published on 1 Comment on Anatomy of a Brownstone:The Health House

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Rolf Grimsted and Emily Fisher of R & E Brooklyn are community sensitive real estate developers located in Boerum Hill. At the Anatomy presentation, they focused on 93 Nevins, their project which began with an abandoned shell in 2005.

93 Nevins, a brick 1920’s structure, was originally a pharmacy. It saw a few incarnations over the years, slowly becoming more and more run down until 1980 when a fire pretty much totaled it. The city had it slated for demolition until Rolf and Emily rescued it.

At first there was some question as to whether or not this was a tear down. However, they soon realized it wouldn’t be very eco friendly of them to not save the beautiful original brick. So, they salvaged the structure and set out to create the greenest building in NYC.

Upon completion, 93 Nevins will be officially certified by the American Lung Association as a Health House. The first of it’s kind in NYC. The building will consist of 2 LEED certified townhouses, each approximately 2500 square feet.

A few interesting points brought up by the couple during their talk:

As community sensitive developers, they wanted to take into consideration the effect the building will have on neighboring properties. They were careful not to block light or be intrusive in any way towards nearby properties. Especially since this is their neighborhood!

A Geothermal heating system was looked into, but they decided against it as a) it was cost prohibitive and b) the amount of electricity needed to generate the pumps didn’t make sense in a green renovation. They instead chose a hybrid system using solar and hot water.

Radiant floor heaters were used in place of radiators or forced air for aesthetic purposes as well as air quality issues. The water temperature for the Warmboards only need be 80-85 degrees.

The homes will be up for sale once the project is completed. There are already interested parties. The price will be “your average brownstone in the area, plus”.

Architect
Contractor
Building Supplier
Natural Home

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