Tip-toeing to the tipping point of sustainable buildings and a solar future. That’s one way to describe current activity in local construction.
While most homes and commercial buildings constructed over the past few years rarely go above mandated codes for energy efficiency, some daring developers are pushing the envelope.
Taking risks. Using innovative building practices. Sketching the promise of near-Zero Energy construction for the Georgia coast.
“I’m a plant man.” That’s not only a definition of himself, it also defines Gregg Bayard’s philosophy. A burly former forester and horticulturist, comfortable under a fine patina of dust from a roadway under construction, he and his business partner Curry Wadsworth, with 20 years experience as a landscaper, are turning a heavily wooded, former fishing camp on Salt Creek into a housing development overlooking — and preserving — the marsh. (more…)
Driven by technological advances in transparent building facades and the general motivation for high quality green buildings, facade design alternatives have shifted to utilizing dynamic fenestration and shading systems for optimal control of daylight and solar gains. The concept of dynamic facades (installing controllable elements on the building envelope) is not new; however, it is only during the last few years that architects and engineers have started to trust these systems and use them in buildings.
Dynamic building envelopes include advanced window technologies, innovative fenestration systems and automated shading control, all of which characterize the new “intelligent” buildings generation (together with efficient HVAC control systems). Although a great idea, the design and implementation of such systems is a quite complex task.
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Julie Mendonsa can see what other people can’t.
Mendonsa is a professional home stager. Her job is to help people who are selling their home put the best “face” on their property.
When people have lived in their house for a while, they tend to overlook its cosmetic flaws. They might no longer notice chips in the exterior paint, the overgrown shrubs in the garden or Christmas lights still hanging from the eaves. (more…)
