Toluu

[jetson.green]

A daily updated magazine that's obsessed with green building and everything related to it, including sustainable architecture, good design, green prefab, clean technology in the built environment, affordable housing, and eco-friendly development.

Mag-Wind New Wind Turbine [Video]January 7

Jay Leno's all about the green tech, I mean, his garage is running on wind and solar, and it powers approximately two-thirds of the place.  So recently, he just put up this video demonstrating a new technology for rooftop wind applications.  The Mag-Wind turbine is made by Enviro Energies and both Jay Leno and Ed Begley Jr. have their own versions on order.  Naturally, Leno was excited to point out that his turbine will be bigger than Begley's, but in addition to that, you'll get an idea from the video how interesting the technology actually is.  It's built using magnetic levitation technology that reduces friction, noise, vibration, and energy loss.  Some other interesting aspects of the Mag-Wind System include:

• Vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) style with sails can receive wind from all directions, horizontal or vertical. 
• Axial flux alternator enables the turbine to generate more electricity at lower speeds. 
• Roof mounted design doesn't require a tower and puts the turbine in a position to capture favorable roof effect winds. 
• Programmable variable coil resistance provides more resistance in higher winds and less resistance in lower winds. 

According to Enviro

ASU Salvages Old Building for New School of SustainabilityJanuary 7

Check out this bright, contemporary renovation of an old, 1960s nursing building.  The renovation was led by the design team of Lord, Aeck & Sargent and Gould Evans Associates; they’re anticipating LEED Silver certification and did it all with a $6 M budget.  Now complete, it will be used for Arizona State University's Global Institute of Sustainability and a newly formed School of Sustainability.  In terms of performance, the Institute is anticipated to save 18.7% on energy and 50.3% on water use compared with its baseline usage -- plus, it's been outfitted with six, hard-to-miss, state-of-the-art AeroVironment parapet turbines. 

AeroVironment Architectural Wind turbines are all the rage these days, but in addition to sourcing energy from small wind, ASU plans to add a 24 kW solar array to the roof to provide additional, on-s

Old 1910 Warehouse Converted to Virginia's First LEED CondosJanuary 6

The Cromley Lofts in Alexandria, Virginia have earned a Gold level certification making them the first condos in Virginia to become LEED certified.  These 8 beautiful units are located in The Old Town area of Alexandria in a vintage warehouse building circa 1910 -- a fitting example of the environmental benefits of adaptive reuse. 

The condos retain many elements of their commercial past, including brick walls with spray paint and rough-hewn beams.  The Lofts' green elements include a gorgeous green roof, salvaged Georgian pine floors, bamboo cabinetry, cork flooring, low-voc carpets, paints, g

State of the Green Building Union, a USGBC Report on the NumbersJanuary 5

Last month USGBC posted Green Buildings by the Numbers, a three-page, bite-size State of the Green Building Union that simply brings together some useful stats.  This palatable little report helps a person wrap their head around the realities and opportunities for green building.  The authors seem to have attempted a sort of realistic optimism with a series of facts and percentages that say ‘there’s been progress in gaining market share for green buildings and buildings stand to make huge gains in the struggle to create a more sustainable human existence, but we’re not there yet.'  Included are a couple of specific statements on the expectations for green building market penetration (see one of the more intriguing quotes below), but the authors shied away from detailing market penetration thus far.

“By 2009, 82% of corporate America is expected to be greening at least 16% of their real estate portfolios; of these corporations, 18% will be greening more than 60% of their real estate portfolios (Source: McGraw Hill Construction (2007).  Greening of Corporate America SmartMarket Report.)”

That being said, one of the best parts of the pa

Seven Green Trends to Watch in 2009January 3

Last year I talked about five green building trends and most of that, generally speaking, was spot on.  This year's going to be a little tougher nut to crack, however, because things are changing every day.  After a week or two of new information, it could be that everything below will not make sense any more.  I don't believe that will happen, but it could.  Anyway, to cut to the chase, all of this is informal and anecdotal.  I'm making these predictions based on approximately thirty years of seeing, studying, reading, working, and observing as a human being.  You will certainly have a different perspective, but hear me out.  When you're done, make sure to tell me what you think below. 

Non-Green Will Not Survive
We all know this.  The standard for building has changed.  We're talking about building science and improving the way things are done.  With a scarcity of capital for development projects and good workers looking to get paid, the best projects will get done by the best people.  We're in a shakeout and only the strong, smart, and innovative survive.  Which means this: Not only will non-green proje