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20 April 2009
Posted in
Spring Renovations: Go Green!
The design process, as we elude to below in the Green Consultants section, can be a long and elaborate one. Yes, it’s true that projects can be fast-tracked. It’s easy to slap together a team and a building if you’ve got people who know what they are doing. Just look at Habitat for Humanity as an example. They do week-long builds where they assemble a gazillion volunteers, with plans, materials and resources in hand, and they build a house (sometimes many houses) in the span of a week for needy families.
Getting the Concept Right: Setting the Course
But most companies and individuals are making a large investment when building or renovating and want to plan and make sure they get it right the first time. This is where the mindset part comes in. More than most projects, successful green building or renovating starts in the very early conceptual stages of design. We know the ecologically-friendly design and construction capabilities are available just by studying eco-friendly projects around the world. Just ask Chris Turner, author of The Geography of Hope, and recent lecturer in Halifax for the EAC. Or read his book.
Green Priorities: Staying the Course
What we need is to have the right mindset to get things done; not just with people and profits in mind, but with the planet and our community in mind as well. And the mindset needs to be steadfast, unfaltering and true, not something that is going to change if supplies are more difficult to source, or contractors are less familiar with how to install newer, more environmentally friendly technologies. The design concept may change slightly along the way, but the greener mindset, that needs to be set in stone from the beginning.
We need to try to do more with less. Or just do less and “make the ‘less’ more interesting, efficient and, as a result, more 'green'.”, according to Solterre’s Jennifer Corson and author of the book The Resourceful Renovator (1990). We need to re-use materials when we can; use energy-efficient systems, from renewable and alternative energy sources if possible; and analyse things up-front to come up with the best green design approach for each individual project.
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