Performance
The Dogrun
a place to share ideas
Coming soon to a solar panel near you, CPS will be revising its current SunCredit paid to customers who generate solar power. Currently CPS Energy pays and average of 9 cents/kWh which will be decreasing to 5.6 cents/kWh on November 1, 2013. The change comes in an attempt to balance the cost burden for infrastructure which is currently heavier on customers without solar. The prices for solar energy generation are based on current market values so as a result, the SunCredit will be subject to change annually. Current solar customers and those who apply for interconnection prior to April 26,...
A West Texas Ranch [chapter one] This is a story about how Lake|Flato approaches design, with a particular focus on our integrated sustainability practice. Chapter one focuses on the concept phase of our design process for a particular ranch house in west Texas. Stay tuned next month for another installment, where our design continues to develop - and where I will share details of how design and sustainability are intertwined throughout our entire process. Kruger Ranch is a live/work ranch complex located on the outskirts of Marfa, Texas. Designed for a family of 6 from Chicago, the ranch...
On Saturday April 20 th at 8pm COTE (AIA Committee on the Environment) Cinema will be hosting a free screening of the documentary Deep Green at Lambert Beach in Brackenridge Park. The film focuses on possible solutions to global warming rather than simply diagnosing the problem. So hop on a bus, a bike, or a sidewalk, grab some friends, and some lawn chairs and join us at the park! Food and drinks will be available for purchase from some of San Antonio’s mobile vendors. The screening is following a clean-up of the park’s pump house from 10am-12pm. Contact Carlos Cruz carlos [at]...
During the initial Sustainability Workshop for the Austin Central Library the consultant and client team visited the future library site to better understand it. On this visit the team noticed an unused water intake pump-house nearby for the now decommissioned Seaholm Electric Plant. The team has re-imagined it into a very large rainwater and condensate cistern for the Library's irrigation and sanitary conveyance needs. Utilizing this piece of existing infrastructure will reduce cost and save the resources needed to construct a new cistern. With this vault the Library is now on track to not...
As many of you know, Lake|Flato has adopted the 2030 Challenge and joined the AIA 2030 Commitment. We are deeply committed to these programs and oppose any efforts to weaken or repeal the provision in EISA Sec. 433 that requires new and majorly renovated federal buildings to meet incremental targets leading to net-zero energy consumption in 2030. We urge your groups, colleagues, and friends to sign on to this letter in support of federal 2030 targets.
Lakeside Retreat, located in Horseshoe Bay, Texas, earned LEED for Homes Certification today! Sustainable features of the home include healthy alternatives to conventional pest control, efficient framing methods used to reduce wood materials, and an energy reduction of 36% over code. We will post a LEED case study for the project on our website soon with more information on sustainability performance metrics. Please stay tuned!
Our marketing coordinator, Jessica Vonderau, shared a really cool article with me. The study shows that children who bicycle or walk to school, rather than traveling by car or public transportation, perform measurably better on tasks demanding concentration. Having breakfast and lunch also has an impact on performance, but pales in comparison to having exercised on the commute to school.
The Merriam Webster dictionary defines transparent as having the property of transmitting light...so that bodies lying beyond are seen clearly. These days, transparency is getting a lot of attention in the built environment, specifically in relation to materials. The International Living Future Institute has raised the bar and our awareness with its Living Building Challenge , a certification program that uses petals of a flower to designate its categories. Its Material Petal focuses on a list of chemicals that are forbidden from being present in any product or material. What exactly makes up...
Our minds are pre-programmed to read and respond to certain patterns and elements found within the natural world. However, in contemporary society we more and more often find ourselves living in nature deprived conditions, in places divorced from the nature context we subconsciously desire. Perhaps designers of the built environment can learn to reconnect people to the patterns of nature triggering aesthetic responses that speak to our inner spirit and our innate sense of beauty. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84ExfVIZHMI&feature=youtu.be While we are relative novices in creating...
The second class of LEED Fellows was announced today, and Bob Harris is on the list ! LEED Fellows represent the green building industry's most accomplished professionals. 43 of the world's most distinguished green building professionals were selected to be LEED Fellows through a peer nomination and portfolio review process. Among other requirements, LEED Fellows must have at least 10 years of green building experience and hold a LEED AP with specialty credential. Congratulations, Bob!
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