Turning Green

Open Source House Temporarily Closed

A group of forward-thinking collaborators plan to design and deliver a single family home in Ghana as an open-source house (image courtesy of Open Source House, http://www.os-house.org).

Most of us are aware of open source software (Linux operating system, for instance), but how about an open source house (OS-House)?

In June 2009, a "mixed, enthusiastic group of young people" (as they prefer to be known) came together to build an affordable, eco-friendly house in Ghana. They were deliberately targeting lower middle class citizens in developing countries so they could avoid donor dependence, according to the case study the group had posted online.

"To kick [off] the big concept OS-House starts small with a design competition," announces the group on its website. "The assignment of the competition is a single family house for the emerging middle class in Ghana on a plot within the Cape City project."

They may be starting small, but they're thinking big for the long run. "Our goal is to realize 100,000 OS-Houses before the year 2020!," the group announced.

Accordingly, the group outlined the eight tenets of OS-House:

1. The design should be socioeconomically, culturally embedded in the local area.
2. It should be designed for the entire lifecycle, including disassembly and disposal.
3. It should make the best use of the climate.
4. It should proportionally conform to local architectural standards (in other words, no Goliath towering over the rest).
5. The load-bearing structure should be separated from the demountable building skin.
6. All connections between the components and the structure are to be dry and demountable, to make reassembly easy and clean.
7. The installation must be smart, safe, upgradeable, and adapted to the local ecology.
8. All designs and ideas will be published and shared, in the hope of inspiring others.

Around November, in partnership with Enviu, the group launched a web-based platform dubbed OSH Public. With a log in and a password, registered contestants could begin submitting their ideas for how this single family home in Ghana should look like. And boy, did they!

Apparently, the project drew more ideas the site could accommodate. The deluge of designs crashed the online platform, prompting the organizers to issue the following note:

Due to a huge amount of sign-ups, the platform is overloaded and now under construction. It will be solved soon. We will keep you updated. Sorry for the inconvenience.

We plan to follow the progress of OS-House by keeping a close eye on the group's blog. Stay tuned!

Looking for Green Insights in Blogsphere

A few weeks ago, we scanned the blogsphere in search of bloggers who provide regular doses of green insights, tips, news, and anecdotes. The outcome is the following TopTen list, along with an alphabetical listing of what we stumbled on.

1. Inhabitat
2. LEEDBlogger.com 
3. Real Life LEED
4. Earth Architecture
5. Jetson Green
6. Columbia Green Builders Blog 
7. Go Green
8. gbNYC (Green Building NYC)
9. hanrahan Meyers architects BLOG
10. treehugger 

We'd like you to tell us about the good ones whose musings you follow, the ones we've missed out on, the ones who manage to strike that delicate balance between advocacy, education, and entertainment (those, I'm told, are the Holy Trinity of good blogging).

If fact, if you disagree with our ranking above, please give us suggestions on how we should rearrange the order and why. Please leave a comment here or scribble a note on our Facebook page.

Thanks in advance!

Green Life and Second Life Intersect

The virtual amphitheater in Second Life where biomimicry expert Janine Benyus is scheduled to speak in February.

Unlike the real world, the virtual world inside Second Life is not about to be threatened by climate changes, a sudden sea level rise, an unexpected temperature drop, or a series of tsunamis and snowstorms (that is, not unless its creator Linden Research decides to introduce a string of code to cause these disasters). Nevertheless, environmental concerns from the real world are spilling into the virtual world.

On Thursday February 18, at 7 PM Mountain Time/6 PM Pacific Time, biologist, researcher, and writer Janine Benyus of the Biomimicry Guild will speak live (if one can use that verb for an appearance in a digital world), appearing as an avatar before the Virtually Speaking Amphitheater on CommonWealth Island in Second Life. If you're a green-minded citizen of the virtual world, better retrieve your long-lost password and prepare to teleport yourself there.

The amphitheater inside Second Life is the digital space from where Virtually Speaking's host Jimbo Hoyer interviews his guests. BlogTalkRadio plans to broadcast the same talk in audio. Call in number for the show is (646) 200-3440.

Benyus is the author of Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature. She describes Biomimicry as "an emerging discipline that seeks sustainable solutions by emulating nature's designs and processes (for instance, solar cells that mimic leaves)."

For more, check Biomimicry Guild's event listing here.

Carbon: More Than Cow Farts and SUVs

With so few carbon-emitting villains getting all the blame, it's good to see one picture that tells the whole story. As I suspected, passenger cars -- even Hummers -- may not be the worst offenders. According to the EPA, passenger cars and light duty trucks (in which I think SUVs are included) compose a significant amount of carbon (1.2 billion tons) to be sure, but it pales compared to electricity generated from coal (1.9 billion tons). It's harder to see the carbon footprint to buildings, however, as it part of several categories. 

 

I had heard that 2 cows can power an average California home, presumably with their gaseous emissions -- which had ruined the pastoral beauty of cows grazing in the fields. But now I see it the context of the whole (methane from ruminants: 110 tons).

Socially Sustainable

Facebook and Twitter -- the twin social media platforms where teens and tweens pour their hearts out into cyberspace -- are also where many green communities are springing up. They range from grassroots groups like Green Architecture (800 members) and nonprofit groups like Architecture for Humanity (1,900 members) to USGBC and AIA groups (4,700 and 2,700 members respectively). The groundswell online suggests the next generation of architects, designers, and engineers are breaking social, professional, and geographic boundaries to share green tips and ideas and learn about current environmental policies.

On Green Architecture Facebook group's public wall, member Ward inquired, "I am looking for a college/university that offers a masters/graduate degree in green architecture. I found a couple in the US, but their tuition fees are too expensive. Anyone an idea?"

Another member Virgil observed, "Green architecture is about better materials, a structure that would take advantage of the environment, a more natural look -- not moving the rainforest on the balcony ... If you want a house with rooms big enough to fit a plane, you have a problem." With brevity and wisdom, another member Lala simply noted, "Save our world, save our life."

On USGBC Facebook group's public wall, member Mohammad inquired, "Does any one have an idea about any books and references [that] may help in preparation for LEED GA exam?" Another member Aislin replied, "I have just received the two texts from USGBC, which are targeted to prepare for the LEED GA. One is the LEED Green Associate Exam Study Guide. The other is Green Building and LEED Core Concepts ..."

If you'd rather network in short blurbs less then 140 characters, you can log into Twitter and subscribe to the messages from many local chapters of USGBC and AIA. You'll also be able to interact with company representatives from Integrated Environmental Solutions (IES), makers of the energy analysis software IES <VE>.

If you subscribe to the tweets (broadcast messages in Twitter lingo) from buildgreenpro, you'll receive updates from the people who run the green social network Green Building Pro. They'll feed you instant updates about how "11 states [are about] to adopt California's low-carbon fuel standard" or point out that  "LED traffic lights don't work well in the snow, but [offer] 80% energy savings."

One clear advantage of social media is, even if you happen to be a lurker (one who observes others' interactions but seldom participates), you stand to benefit from the public discussions taking place all around you.

In virtual space, the bureaucratic deterrences that often prevent ordinary citizens from reaching out to -- or speaking out against -- regulatory agencies don't exist. That's why Facebook user Darian could go on EPA's public wall on Facebook and write, "Why don't you outlaw flushing prescription drugs down the drain?"

AIA, known for its leadership in promoting sustainable architecture, recognizes the value of social media for its outreach. For the first time, it's hosting a Facebook Young Designers Challenge. The official rules states, "To enter the competition and to vote for a winner, you must join the AIA’s Facebook group page and then sign in as a guest ..."

We gathered links to Facebook groups, Facebook fan fan pages, and Twitter handles you might find useful for your quest for green insights. You'll find them under our new Social Media catalog.

Happy tweeting!