Maryland Green Building Network

February 6, 2001  –  6:30–8:30 pm

AIA Building  –  Baltimore, MD

 

 

Attendees

Sara Colhoun, Architecture Student

Mare Cromwell, Cirque Sustainability

Nils Eddy, Ziger/Snead

Jason Fisher, Aurora Energy

Julie Gabrielli, AIA-COTE

Janet Harrison, AIA COTE

Melanie Hartwig-Davis, COTE

Bion Howard, B.E.S.T.

Eric Huffman, HUVCO

Ellen Larson, SBIC

Tom Liebel, Design Collective

Sean McGuire, GBN Coordinator

Andy O’Dell, Architecture Student

Stuart Stainman, Maryland APA

Yale Stenzler, MD Public School Construction

Susan Van Buren, MD-MDP

 

 

Introductions and Announcements

 

Governor Executive Order on Energy Efficiency and Green Power: The Governor rescheduled the signing ceremony and now the event will occur on Tuesday, March 15 at 10:30 in front of the state house.  Again, this is a great step forward in promoting green buildings, clean energy, and energy efficiency.  Everyone is warmly welcomed to attend.

 

Legislative Update: Sean updated attendees on the 6 legislative bills the GBN is tracking.  Some GBN members have testified and showed their support, specifically Bion Howard and Julie Gabrielli.  To keep up to the minute on the bills’ progress, check out http://mlis.state.md.us.  The six bills are:

 

Home and Garden Show: The Green Building Program house is up at the MD Home and Garden Show at the Timonium Fairgrounds.  Everyone was invited to come and check out the green house.

 

Natural Step: Mare Cromwell reminded us of the “Framework for Sustainability Workshop” to be held on March 15, 2001 in Howard County.  At the workshop, attendees will have the opportunity to promote your products or services to corporate leaders, government officials, leading architects, developers, facility managers, and university officials who are interested in strategically integrating environmental considerations into their buildings and operations -- with a long term goal of environmental sustainability.  For more information, please contact Mare Cromwell at 410-448-3679 or mcromwell@toad.net. 

 

Anne Arundel County: Anne Pearson from the Alliance for Sustainable Communities has spoken with the Anne Arundel County Economic Development Director and secured a briefing with DNR’s Green Building Program.  The goal is for him to work with local businesses and incorporate green building and energy efficient approaches in their future development projects.  For more information, please contact Sean or Anne at aplace@toad.net.

 

GBN 2001 Meeting Topic Schedule: Stemming from a draft schedule from Bion and other GBN members, a proposed schedule of topics for 2001 was distributed.  Please review and provide comments to Sean in order to secure future speakers and product information.

Practical Daylighting Approaches – Eric Huffman, HUVCO

HUVCO has been developing and installing residential daylighting products since the early 1990s.  Eric demonstrated how daylighting can be installed on roofs and how the inner-reflecting pipes and diffusers maximize lighting.  The entire unit is very simple to install for home improvement projects, but installers are located around the area.  In addition to the basic daylighting unit, Eric showed the “SkyLite” that is a customized model for specific projects where the tube is not effective or appropriate.  Eric will work with area purchasers, contractors, developers, or whomever to promote their effectiveness and applicability.  Please contact Eric with any questions at 301-865-6798.

 

 

Sustainable Schools Program – Ellen Larson, Sustainable Buildings Industry Council

One of SBIC’s priorities is to focus on school buildings to help promote sustainable buildings and how they can be incorporated into school curriculum and community outreach.  Over 6,000 new schools will be built by 2007 and the US General Accounting Office state 1/3 of existing schools need “serious renovations”.  Clearly, as states pay to build and renovate schools, this is a great opportunity to inject green building applications into their design and construction.  Also, school boards do not usually consider buildings and indoor environment as important as other factors.  Several studies indicate that daylit classrooms contributed to higher test scores. 

 

Ellen then showed a few minutes of video showing 2 news stories on daylighting in schools.  They stated significant reductions in energy costs, cooler rooms, and higher attendance.  As excess costs are usually the barrier to construction, the studies showed daylighting costs are recovered within 2 years, and complete green schools costs are recovered within 5-8 years.  Further, green building techniques are left out in the open and visible to students and staff, which are then utilized in school curriculums by teaching students about their immediate environment.

 

SBIC developed a 2-day program and workbook for school decision-makers for green school projects.  The workbook provides easy-to-understand examples and descriptions of high performance school buildings, their environment, student involvement, and the step-by-step process on how to build sustainable schools.  Currently, SBIC is looking at how to further build green schools and are focusing on local partners.  As shared by Yale Stenzler, Maryland is a great partner in green school construction and one Ellen hopes to work with in the future.

 

During questions, it became clear that comprehensive approaches and utilizing different implementation projects to get the ball rolling are imperative to green school success.  Also, when holistic approaches are presented to decision-makers, they are more likely to jump on board.  The GBN and its members need to help incorporate sustainable building techniques into school boards and curriculum.  Ultimately, the kids who enjoy these opportunities will take their fervor back home and make their parents build green too.  Oh, what a world that would be!  For more information, please contact Ellen at 202-628-5400, check out SBIC’s website at www.sbicouncil.org, or check out sustainabledesign.com.

 

 

Energy-10 and Designing Low Energy Buildings – Bion Howard, B.E.S.T.

E-10 began in the mid-1980s and has evolved since then as a comprehensive computer product that helps design sustainable buildings.  Bion uses the product frequently and described its process of calculating energy efficiency.  In particular, E-10 has a great autobuild, or first-step, with excellent modification abilities.  In the end, 20 years of experience is boiled down into a computer application that needs little training.  For a full description, check out www.sbicouncil.org or contact Bion at 410-867-8000.