David Langton Announces LEED Doesn't Cost More. Or?

Before stating "There is no significant difference in average cost for green buildings as compared to non-green buildings", David Langton analyzed 220+ buildings, one third of which had attempted LEED standards. If you want a one-image gist, see the bar graph on page 5 of the study (above).

Seems to us you can read these things one of two ways, and David is reading optimistically. First, you can look at the above and note that some projects are building smarter -- gaining gold certification $50/SF cheaper than some silver-certified projects. Or, you can simply use the above as confirmation that it's possible to build really expensive non-LEED-certified buildings.

The study goes on to examine libraries and laboratories and more, and we found ourselves thinking a nice little map of project locations would explain everything...

Pieter VanTuyl

Oh, ye bench that costs as much as my first car--times 16... you are not only gorgeous, but are carved from sustainably-harvested walnut, too.

Pieter VanTuyl, of Grand Rapids Michigan, truly gets it. We love how he not only incorporates organic shapes, design eras past, and sustainability into his limited and precise collection, but that he also practices handcrafting on the majority of his pieces.

Shown above: the table bench. "Ornamented walnut backrest features carving filled by hand with molten, pigmented beeswax. Available in various sustainable species depending on supply.
55"w 21"d 16"h (seat) 30"h (back) List price $8,800"

p.s. Pieter, you have a cool name.
p.p.s. Make sure you check out the $430 individually-braided Shaker broom.

You Modern Chicken.

Now that the New York Times, two coworkers, an Oakland hipster acquaintance, and the server at last night's fine dining establishment have all come out as urban chicken keepers, we are here to extol its virtues. Here is where all of our universes collide. You can be an organic-egg-in-milkshake-eating vegetarian (seriously, would you eat any more than the eggs of your pet?), compliant with (most) city ordinances, who treats his/her poultry brood to the best in modern coop living (above). At about 18 months in age, your chicken friend will provide you with about one egg a day. And in defiance of the myth, chicken owners say your chicken will be pretty quiet about it all, too.

The sites are everywhere. Scratch the surface:
My Pet Chicken
The City Chicken
Ethicurean

Green Not a Panacea in a Down Market

And really, what is (besides a 4.5% 30-year fixed)? It's cool; it came to SF burdened with great expectations, and it was never able to live up to that original listing price. Still, if green doesn't carry a PRICE premium in a down market, could it carry at least a foot traffic premium? We'd like to (and truthfully, we do) think so.

First, the bad news: SF's first green home hit the resale market this month, with some unfortunate news.

ChoiceDeck

This cost comparison chart for ChoiceDeck is kind of the best reason NOT to put a cost comparison chart on your website. We have a hard enough time convincing folks to shell out a few extra George Washingtons for eco-friendly products, and then ChoiceDeck lists its product's cost at $1,387 while treated wood comes in at $488. (Yes, you're supposed to get that it's 3 times more expensive... at first.)

But now the good news. You never have to stain it again (-$300), and they reckon that over five years that pays for the ChoiceDeck itself! But do you really stain your deck every year (I know you're supposed to, but some of us are busy paying our taxes.)? ChoiceDeck's cost comparer multiplies your yearly stain savings times 5 years to add $1,500 to wood's cost and prove that ChoiceDeck is cheaper than treated wood.

Appreciate where they're going, but that's not gonna cut it with the Thinkers out there.

We know green is good, green is almost right-priced, and green is (getting-to-be) everywhere. So how can we highlight the most salient reasons to go green without accidentally sending someone to the darkside?

Iannone

We've mentioned this Philly-based design group before, but they're getting great reviews in the NYT's coverage of the International Contemporary Furniture Fair and are worthy of another mention. If it's not reclaimed or recycled, it's been ecologically harvested, and though the lines are heavy on the credenza and four-legged dining table varieties, they're memorable, and a fine launching pad for a 29 year-old designer heading out on his own:

"IANNONE DESIGN LTD. is a Philadelphia based design/build firm dedicated to the creation of eco-friendly modern furniture."

Fair Trade SF

We know. It's so damn trendy. An iMac or two has been stolen. (Or more?) You don't approve of your artists sitting so proximate to programmers. And you like standing in line for 20 minutes at Blue Bottle better. But when we were recently asked by a corporate office manager where she could order fair trade coffee for delivery to downtown movers and shakers we kept coming back to the best coffee we've had in SF: Ritual Roasters. (They now deliver.)

The short list of fair trade notables
Ritual Coffee: 1026 Valencia, 1634 Jerrold (Yes, the Bayview). All coffee is fair trade, some is organic.

Tartine Bakery: 600 Guerrero. All coffee is fair trade, all organic. (i.e., You can get your long line, and also get your fair trade.)
Coffee to the People: 1206 Masonic. All fair trade, all organic. (Happily lose an hour at their site... )
Rockin' Java 1821 Haight. All fair trade, all organic.
People's Cafe: 1419 Haight. Any house blend is fair trade and organic (though we must note that you won't write home about it.)

And two organic notables we can't forget (The full list would be exhaustive.)
Blue Bottle Coffee Company: 315 Linden. All organic, some fair trade (ahem.)
Cafe Organica: 562 Central. All organic, almost all fair trade.
The list goes on and on and on re: organic in SF. We'll add to it as we have a spare second.

Photo credit: Ritual Roasters by Tingting H.

Strange Bedfellows

When thinking about sustainability, Home Depot doesn't usually come immediately to mind, but perhaps changes are afoot. Global Green has teamed up with the Home Depot Foundation to rebuild the Katrina-devasted Holy Cross neighborhood of New Orlean's 9th Ward. Is Home Depot finally beginning to see what the future holds for it? We would like to think so, but perhaps we won't start holding our breath just yet... This next bit is challenging to muster too: props to Brad Pitt. He gave this project some celebrity shine which undoubtedly attracted additional supporters plus he put up $200K toward the Sustainable Design Competition for New Orleans.

A quick comment on the winning design: we wonder why more entires didn't emulate the classic southern architecture of New Orleans. Still we're happy for the city and certain it's a matter of time before sustainable design can be imbued in all sorts of different architectural styles rather than being reserved exclusively for the modernists.

"All Cooped Up in a Manhattan Co-op"

It's kind-of real estate related, definitely organic, and you can probably get away with it in SF. Another endearing, well-written New York Times story: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/17/garden/17chickens.html

Because It's Friday...

The carbon footprint you've been leaving at happy hour could be tinier. 360 Vodka's home page contains a pretty-bizarre Orwellian-ishly-narrated mpeg ("MOTHER EARTH. TERRA FIRMA. HOME...") outlining the primary ways we're sealing our doom, and most of the site is still under construction, but here's what is stated: 360's paper label is 100% chlorine free; all elements of the packaging are recycleable; 85% of the bottle is made of recycled glass; and, apparently, every bushel of grain is actually utilized in making the vodka.

Thank you to the Luxist list for the tip.

Nettleton's The Luxury of Enough

The Taunton Press has published architecture professor Sarah Nettleton's guide to efficient living (not more efficient if it doesn't need to be, not simpler if it already is: efficient and simple living, period.) The photography alone in The Simple Home could hold your interest, but the concepts themselves are equally gripping, zen as they are. And while every concept is not born from a specifically "green" mentality, Nettleton is a sustainably-minded architect and key themes from the book, like establishing a culture of minimal and letting every object and its manufacture be well-considered are as core to green living as it gets. $40, or $26.40 on Amazon.

"1": The First Luxury Eco-friendly Global Hotel Brand

Barry Sternlicht (W Hotels, Sheraton, St. Regis, Westin = Starwood) is outdoing himself again. In 2008 he'll launch the first hotel of his new "1" Hotels and Residences chain, in Seattle at Second and Pine Streets. "1" will be categorized as "eco-luxury", not "eco-ultra-luxury," though it also aims to compete with St. Regis and Four Seasons. The typical hotel will offer ~250 rooms and locations will immediately follow in Mammoth Mountain, California, Scottsdale, Arizona, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, and Paris. A staggered following is slated for NYC and L.A. Most impressively, "1s" won't just be built green; they will operate green too. According to Hotel Law Blog, 15 "1" hotels will be under construction before October 2008. According to Sternlicht, all will be marketing to "the guilt-conscious yuppie."

It's undecided whether we will ever be able to refer to the brand as 1, not "1."

Finally, They Have Arrived to Help

They've stopped 341 million pounds (pounds) of junk mail so far, and need your help in stopping up to 99% of yours. This is perhaps the greatest business idea I've seen in a year. For a dime a day, Green Dimes gets out there onto the Do Not Call battlefields to fight against every piece of junk mail en route to you. And they plant a tree for you each month. For $36 a year, you can give this gift to yourself or to a friend, or add another household member to your address' workforce for only $3 more. Yes, you can still get Pottery Barn Kids if you need it -- just tell Green Dimes who to let through your mailslot.

p.s. I have just been reminded to wish you all a Happy Worker's Solidarity Day, from this desk I have chained myself to.

It's Free. And They Pick It Up.

Besides being a fire hazard, latex paint is one of the more toxic substances found in almost every home you'll enter. If you decide to make a low-VOX purchase for your next room re-do (Remember when the wall was "salmon" and it was so, so horrible?), you can leave your old toxic latex paint in front of your home and call (415) 355-3777 to schedule a pick-up. No need to even be there, and it's completely free. For other paint collection/drop-off services in San Francisco, visit http://www.sfenvironment.com/directories/paint.htm.

Starchitect of the Week: GBD Portland

The builders keep asking "What (green) projects should I be touring?" And the smart ones ask, "Who's designing the (green) projects I should be touring?" GBD Portland comes up almost in every instance, so it's time to officially call them out. Architects of Portland's South Waterfront District (whether you love it or wish the ole days were still here), they're also making a tiny carbon footprint in L.A., through The South Group's Evo, Luma, Jardin, and more...

Ipe in C.A.

Speaking of trekking materials in from a thousand miles away... we had the opportunity to check out Ipe samples the other day. The color and texture are absolutely gorgeous (The pics above don't do Ipe justice.) but it's probably one of the heaviest blocks of wood I've ever held. Call your structural engineer before attempting.

Your basics: "Ipe is... tropical hardwood rated by the US Forest Lab for many years, naturally resistant to fire (rated “Class A” by the NFPA and “Class 1” by the UBC)." This explains the weight: "3,640 Janka [Hardness] vs.1,260 Red Oak"

Ipe is harvested in Brazil according to sustainable practices established by the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO). It's mold resistant, fire resistant, and free of toxins, and needs to be cared for like any other hardwood (Seal it; know it will fade; expect it to last 15 years, etc.). And it's the perfect entree into a conversation about whether one should be importing sustainably-harvested wood, when reclaimed product is available closer to home. Discuss!

William Stranger's Reclaimed Credenza

Homework LA -- featured on Avenue Associates' blog as well today -- is one of our favorite showrooms, and we're happy to see William Stranger's work gettting top billing. The Pasadena designer is using local wood (always) and reclaimed wood and materials (mostly). And despite the inevitable exhaust involved in carting his work to the Hollywood showroom, it is far more sustainably-minded to purchase materials made within a 10-mile radius than to usurp a credenza's worth of barge fuel and unknown labor practices shipping something across the ponds.

Cheaper than a Margarita, Just as Refreshing

CET Solar usually has some of the most reasonably-priced DIY energy-efficient products on the web. And shipping's FREE (i.e., already included int the price, but hey.). Go all out and spend $13.50 on the 1.5 gal/min. aerator above and you can cut your kitchen and bathroom sink's water use by 20+% in under thirty minutes.

We can also personally recommend their 2.0 gal/min. Spoiler-P shower head ($13.55). It's possibly only a 20% water use reduction from the common 2.5 gal/min, but prices for the best-looking-and-acting 1.6 gal/min (or less!) products are many multiples of $13. We'll keep looking.

L.A.'s Tipping Point?

In our three minutes of free time we occasionally look into metropolitan pipelines in an effort to assess what percentage of projects in any given city are planning on going green. L.A. has more than 9,000 units in its residential for-sale 2007-2010 pipeline, and seventy five(!) projects (in greater L.A., which might include San Diego soon,) are slated for green. That's a tipping point by our standards. And, like all good tipping points, it's probably 70% marketing-driven, 30% policy-driven.

The brand builders: "(Biscuit Company Lofts' LEED status) has marketing cachet more than anything else." The political: "A Council motion introduced in January would raise those standards, requiring that all city construction meet LEED Silver levels." Read more...

Green Light for Green Condos

North Carolina gets its first green towers, and prices are starting to sound exactly like those at L.A.'s first green towers: "The market-rate condominiums at Greenbridge would cost $350,000 to $1 million." Maybe there is a 20% green premium after all.

Portland, Oregon MLS listing green homes

"The Portland area's most comprehensive real estate database went live with a feature Tuesday designed to help Realtors identify and sell homes with environmentally friendly features... " Read more...

Solar Umbrella House

As promised, the favorite residential selection from '06's AIA awards: the Solar Umbrella House. Inspired by Paul Rudolph's 2,000SF Umbrella House of 1953, the Solar Umbrella House is a) in Venice, CA, b) slightly smaller (at 1,700SF) and c) doesn't retain the 9 interior levels (9 levels!) and entirely glass-backed concept of Rudolph's work.

It is, however, clearly driven by the original overhanging roof on Rudolph's home (removed by its first owners); Pugh + Scarpa architects transformed the design element into overhanging solar shades instead, which provide 100% of the home's energy. Why did everything turn out so perfectly? Lawrence Scarpa lives here. Read more...

Photo copyright Marvin Rand

The Solaire

We were at a green seminar last week, and someone asked "What one project should I know about if I'm going to talk about green successes?" The speaker naturally said The Solaire, Tribeca's now-famous green apartment building that rumor has it fully-leased in under five seconds. So, old news perhaps, but it reminded us every green residential blog should probably include the project somewhere.

The site's green feature shortlist isn't terribly in-depth but here's the quick skinny:

- nation's first green residential tower: 27 stories, 293 units, 580+ residents

- LEED Gold certification

- awarded Top-10 Green Projects by the AIA in 2004

- uses 50% less potable water, 35% less energy, and black water treatment on-site

Tomorrow, a selection from the AIA's most recent awards.

Lennar commits to SF

From Builder magazine's Feburary 22, 2006 issue:

"Lennar Homebuilding announced Wednesday that, beginning immediately, all of their new communities constructed in the greater San Francisco Bay market will be equipped with a roof-integrated solar electric system from PowerLight, a subsidiary of SunPower Corporation, as a standard feature. The launch begins with the introduction of Milano, a 77 luxury home development in Danville, Calif.

... Milano is one of 25 California communities that are under construction and using PowerLight's solar electric system. In addition to a one-time $2,000 federal tax break, home buyers will also receive a $5,000 to $6,000 California Energy Rebate and an average electric bill savings of 40 to 60 percent or up to $1,000 a year. Kelly says the cost to the consumers for the system is $23,000 to $25,000."

ASLA's green roof project

The ASLA (American Society for Landscape Architects) green roof project site lets you follow this particular roof from concept through execution. (There's actually a live web cam, so you can even watch the breeze hit the grass if you're so inclined.)

Their fact sheet generalizes the specs: this roof could accomodate up to 40 lbs./SF and used a dual-wave design to hide the HVAC system. And even though the cost details are a vague sketch, at $20/SF on the high end, the cost relationship of green vs. traditional is approximately 2 times, with a corresponding expectation that the green roof will last twice as long while reducing heating and cooling costs by 10-20%.

Don't stop there if you're seriously considering green roof technology: Check out the schematics from Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, Inc., the project's architect.

Photo credit: ASLA

Because it's Friday...

Behold the Kohler Steward -- the company's waterless urinal whose profile is much, much more flattering than the traditional models'. We've been told (as we wouldn't know) that, unfortunately, these products are a plumbing nightmare because of crystalline buildup in the pipes. At $525 it's a hefty investment for more work, but it leads into the necessary discussion about whether we occasionally go too green too quickly, and miss better options like grey-water tanks, etc. Still, as they say:

"Waterless urinals can save 40,000 gallons of water per fixture per year, based upon a typical commercial installation. Further, this product has redefined the paradigm for urinal design and functionality by offering a virtually splash-free surface along with odorless, easy-to-maintain performance." More...

Brent Comber Gallery Collection

Each one-of-a-kind piece from Brent Comber's three colletions deserves to have the entire room all to itself, but they work so well paired with anything intricate and delicate (see his custom commercial work at Avenue's Other Blog).

The Vancouver designer was using sustainable pricinples before it was the "thing to do": "Most of our woods are reclaimed or recycled. Cedar, Douglas fir and maple come from fallen or already-harvested wood that would have otherwise ended up as wood chips or waste. We find our alder in places where “progress” (construction) is about to clear it out, for example, on roadsides and under power transmission lines. We ensure that our sourcing of wood supplies has minimal or no negative impact on the environment.

Every piece of wood we select has a story. We partner ourselves with individuals and small sawmills and manufacturers that share our vision and assist us in sourcing wood that we can bring to its full potential. They set aside odd-sized off cuts that make them less desirable for manufacturing but which, in our hands, can be transformed into beautiful sculpted solid wood furniture." Read more.

SF's Greenest Architects

KMD architects states that 90% of their projects are green (and almost entirely by clients' requests now, so the firm is spending less time selling the concept and more time executing it). They're not just pushing the commercial and residential curve in their office-headquarters town of San Francisco, but across Europe and in Mexico too. Their work is beyond compare and deserves more than a blog note, but their site conveys it much better than we can.

SF Environment Green Building Projects List

It's not entirely up-to-date, and doesn't include the new multifamily projects like Arterra (which many consider green or light green by relative standards), but SF Environment maintains a list of green projects in the city, as well as a (mostly) local green resource guide and an event listing for the EcoCenter (11 Grove Street, right across from the south entrance to the Main Library. Open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.).

Philadelphia Freedom

Philadelphia continues its progressive makeover by reviving the restaurant scene, courting gay and lesbian travelers, and entertaining re-used rubber and tires in sidewalk construction.

Slightly-Green Sale: 1401 Eddy Street #3

This 23-year old 1BR/1BA condo near Fillmore has a solar-powered hot water system and, at a sales price of $385,700 for its 588 square feet, went a nice 3.3% under asking in September 2006. And that, friends, is the cheapest home with some sort of green-ish attribute that closed recently in SF.

EcoSmart Fires

Featured above: "Vision"(left) and "Cube"(right). Freestanding modules that use flueless burners and EcoSmart fuel. At $4,000-ish for the fireplaces themselves, and about $15 per use, they meet the good ole joke that "green" means money. Still, we have to applaud where this is going... there's not a stove with a deserted-ski-lodge-look in the bunch.

IceStone - a Granite Alternative

Every builder who isn't looking to build green seems incredulous when we say we think granite's on its way out, all sustainability talk aside.

We haven't worked with IceStone yet in one of our projects, but have heard it doesn't stain the way the first line of products did, because the company has added more glass to the recycled glass/cement ratio and has come close to perfecting the sealing process, which is technically all they'd have to do to nearly stop staining. Cost-wise it's still 1 to 1.2 times the cost of a good granite countertop.

Scratch-resistant and precast, but customization is available: Showroom locator.

LEED, TOD, and L.A. Too

Kudos to The South Group of Los Angeles for not only developing to LEED certification standards in a prohibitively expensive construction market, but for its attempts to create a "neighborhood" with its three residential towers Elleven, Luma, and Evo. Not exactly mud huts, the residences won't meet die-hard green building fans' standards, but in a market like L.A. one could argue that there may not be 800 buyers who mandate "pure" green building and are also willing to live in, and pay $750,000 for, a (luxurious) box in the sky.

The projects' sales offices are located at 707 Grand Avenue in downtown Los Angeles.

It's a Dry Heat, Though

It's only right to combat a (beautiful, still) $730/SF green product with its potentially penurious Texan sister. If you're a do-it-green-for-yourself-er, and find yourself irritable when surrounded by more than 600 humans, consider Marathon, TX (population conveniently 600).

This 2001 strawbale home with hand-formed adobe floors at #1 7th Street (is there a 2?) is marketed at $132/SF, or $197,500.

And five points for this owner's response to Community Amenities: "lack of everything."

The Greenest Little House in San Francisco

Blue Jean insulation, the City's first residential rainwater catchment system, and fly ash concrete (we love it so much) contribute to 520 Clipper's designation as the "greenest" in SF (and if not, most definitely the greenest in the ever-earnest and lovely Noe Valley where Avenue finds green to be oh-so-compatibly located).

What did Lorax Development's 4BD/4BA work list at? At $1.89M, 520 Clipper asked a competitive, if not high, $730/SF. (Construction costs were estimated at $350/SF.)

It's Only True if it's on TV

Last week we heard Portland was the "greenest city"; PBS says it's Chicago. Or rather, Brad Pitt says it's Chicago, and he says this via green-living podcasts produced by PBS and available here: http://www.design-e2.com/.

Premiums for Green

Pulte Homes is the most consistent of the top-five homebuilders (in our opinion of course) when it comes to polling buyers on their willingness to "pay for green." How many will? Pulte says that at least 70% of their customers will pay about $1,500 more for a green bell or whistle that can guarantee them yearly savings of $300.

Keeping in mind that these results are several years stale, the basics are in place: it's not all about feeling good. Marketing green as modern and responsible is a big help in the sales cycle, but saavy developers know that consumers have long audited green attributes against expected returns. For every dollar you've spent to attain a LEED point, your proforma guru should be double-checking that buyers are willing to shell out for that attribute's corresponding price premium.

Why would we.

It took us two hours to realize the list of green (and cool) products we like couldn't fit in our site's 800 x 600 pixel frame, and deserved its own home. We'll be chronicling the things Avenue comes across and wishes it could see more of in modern housing design here.