Grey Lee

Executive Director

USGBC MA Chapter

Working with a select city-wide host committee, Chapter members participated in a successful and dynamic EcoDistricts Summit held last month at the Boston Convention Center.  This was the fourth Summit held by EcoDistricts and the first to be held on the east coast.  EcoDistricts supports and promotes a model of neighborhood development as a means of achieving sustainable communities beyond buildings.  The conference was held for four days in November and brought together professionals from every field related to neighborhood development.  USGBC, an ongoing Summit sponsor, used the event as a platform to advance LEED-ND and other models.  There was considerable spirit around the neighborhood development concept, as LEED and other district-based development concepts were referenced throughout the tours, education sessions and plenary gatherings. 

The success and spirit of the Boston Summit will carry on throughout the new year to the 2014 Summit next fall in Washington DC. The Chapter's Residential Green Building Committee is launching a Neighborhood Development sub-committee and USGBC MA members have an opportunity to join in and plan the Chapter's direction. A Chapter event is in the works for the late spring as part of a continuing effort to awaken the region's communities to the possibilities of neighborhood development through LEED-ND, Ecodistricts, and other programs. This is an opportunity to work with national, global and local organizations in advancing the best practices of developing sustainable communities. For further information on the Neighborhood Development sub-committee contact Bob Weiss, Robertweiss63@msn.com. 

You can read more about the Ecodistricts Summit at our blog (thank you Jim Newman!)

What is the Living Building Challenge? How will it transform architecture? How can our community embrace this tool to achieve better buildings for our stakeholders?

The USGBC MA Cape & Islands Interest Group had a very successful year with events every other month. These included a site visit to a LEED registered project under construction, a presentation on the importance of residential ventilation in tight homes & buildings, an architect led tour of a certified Passive House, a presentation covering energy improvements beyond simple audits, and a tour of a LEED certified office building. Event co-hosts have included the BSA Cape Architects Network, Green Drinks Cape Cod, Sotheby's Realty, and Cape & Islands Self Reliance. We look forward to an exciting 2014! 

Up next, on January 14th at 6PM is a presentation on cost effective green materials co-hosted with the Home Builders & Remodelers Association of Cape Cod. 

 

by Ryan Montoni

It is known that most aging buildings are poorly performing, compared to current standards, and are in need of a renovation. The problem with renovating existing buildings is that it is very expensive, time consuming, and it traditionally requires occupants to vacate the building while in construction. 

Building Green hosted an educational session at Greenbuild 2013 titled 'Top 10 Green Products of the Year'. A product that I truly believe has great potential in the marketplace is Schuco's ERC 50 Modernization Facade and others alike. This facade is used for re-skinning existing buildings. It is installed like a rain screen and contains high performance glazing, is thermally broken and can integrate PV. The new façade is installed on the outside of the existing façade and then the existing façade can be demolished from the interior. This technique has proven to be cost-effective and it allows the occupants to remain in the building while the building undergoes construction. 

If this product, and others alike, can be utilized on a large scale, I have no doubt that it will have a significant impact on the overall energy consumption of our existing buildings.