Report on Green Building tour of US

By Janine Nechwatal GreenSmart General Manager

On 8th May a small group of GreenSmart Leaders and Partners left Australia to take part in a Green Building tour of the United States as part of the GreenSmart program. The group included Linda Ginger of Think Brick Association, Cathy Inglis of Austral Bricks, Wendy Boyd of Hyne, Marcus Foot and Mike Perrett of HRV (New Zealand Directors) and Janine Nechwatal of HIA.

The itinerary included a stopover in Tucson Arizona to visit a zero emission community ‘Armory Park Del Sol’, before proceeding to New Orleans Louisiana to attend the Green Building Conference, Green Housing Tour, Green Builder Awards and Green Builder networking function.

The tour was formulated during 18 months of discussion with Ron Jones of the US Green Builder program who had spoken at the HIA Planning Conference in 2006. Ron provided valuable support in assisting to connect our group with well informed and knowledgable people working in the ‘green building movement’ in the US.

Tucson, Arizona

In Tucson we were fortunate to spend time with John Wesley Miller of John Wesley Miller Companies, an advocate of green building in the US for the last 30 years. John welcomed our group to share in his knowledge and experience and exchange ideas. Armory Park del Sol was John’s brainchild as he wanted to create a zero emission community for the occupant-owners of 92 homes achieved through passive solar design, masonry construction method with exterior insulation, photovoltaics, solar hot water and energy efficient lighting.

John’s vision for Armory Park del Sol also included the creation of a community that could contribute positively to the redevelopment of downtown Tucson. Armory Park del Sol incorporates several New Urbanism principles in the layout of allotments, rear vehicle access, restricted number of owner vehicles per allotment, integration with existing neighbourhood, internal walkways, centralised letter boxes, front porches, a selection of 6 housing styles, a palette of colours from which to choose the external painting, universal access on ground floor, xerophytic public and private landscapes, absence of front fences and restricting occupation to only owners.

John was so committed to ensuring the existing local community abutting the redevelopment project equally embraced his vision that he held 100 community meetings with individuals and small groups. He provided residents with a streetscape concept for the development after taking images that typified surrounding streets. This determined effort to community consultation paid off with the local community embracing his vision.

John has been recognised for his designs of zero energy homes by the Governor of Arizona, as the general contractor and energy consultant for Biosphere 2 project in Oracle Arizona, as one of four builders in the US by the Department of Energy to develop a zero energy use home and has received The Partnerships for Advancing Technology in Housing (PATH) for Armory Park del Sol as a national demonstration site.

Amory Park del Sol is different to other redevelopment projects by ensuring that occupants are less reliant on grid power through the installation of 1.5kwh of photo-voltaics for every house. This component of the development allowed John to strike a guarantee from the power company where households would pay no more than $0.67 to $1.11 per day for their heating and cooling loads dependent on the systems installed and size of home.

Our accommodation in Tucson was at the Hilton El Conquistador that lay at the foothills of Pusch Ridge, a dramatic ridge that forms part of the ranges that surround Tucson and we dined out at ‘The Steakhouse’ and ‘Westward Lookout’, and John’s Mexican favourite Café Poca Cosa. Our group also spent time viewing the historic adobe streetscape and fortress in downtown Tucson, which not surprisingly has a distinct Mexican influence as it once formed part of Mexico.

Four of us played golf in the desert, where the well groomed green fairways were bordered by Cacti and other succulent plants, with Pusch Ridge making a dramatic backdrop.

New Orleans, Louisiana

New Orleans was the location of the Green Building conference and green housing tour, where delegates would view the impact of Hurricane Katrina that occurred in August 2005. Hurricane Katrina and the subsequent floods resulted in the death of at least 1,836 people and hitting the poorest communities of New Orleans. The storm is estimated to have been responsible for $81.2 billion in damage, making it the costliest natural disaster in US history.

The impact of the storm was multi faceted: population of New Orleans reduced from 660,000 people to an estimated 330,000; homes lost or uninhabitable; schools closing down as communities were uprooted to live with relatives or temporary residence; shops damaged or forced to close as communities move on, leaving the ones behind having to travel long distances to get basic necessities; businesses and services closing down or relocating with the lack of community demand; and roads and infrastructure damaged or destroyed.

Green Building Housing Tour
Our first day in New Orleans saw our group participate in the housing tour that focussed on the redevelopment of the worst affected areas of New Orleans, where we visited 7 houses that had been rebuilt or renovated since the hurricane and that incorporated ‘green features’ that will serve to make the homes more comfortable for its occupants and help to reduce their utility bills.

The vastness of the hurricane’s impact extended street after street, suburb after suburb, marked by the odd house that was being rebuilt or renovated and home trailers located in front yards, housing the landholders trying to rebuild their lives.
Thousands of homes remain unoccupied today due to lack of materials, shortage of trades and absence of insurance payout due to policy interpretation of the event delaying payouts to policy holders.

We were taken through the Ninth Ward an area that felt the full brunt of the flood waters. The Ninth Ward were close to the levies that failed and most of the houses were taken away in the floodwaters. Street after street were vacant, once occupied by large neighbourhoods.

Most of the homes that we viewed on the tour had been inundated with flood waters, some only a few feet whilst others upto 7 feet and the periods of inundation extended between a few days to three weeks.

The flooring of the house below was of a Cyprus species that had been inundated for two weeks and was still structurally intact after the flood waters receded. This too was the only house where we viewed a dual flush toilet.

Some of the main features of the houses on the tour included: the use of open cell foam insulation or recycled denim manufactured into batts; energy efficient lighting; double glazed windows; low VOC paints; low flow tapware and shower roses; energy star appliances; fungicide treated timber frames; ceiling fans; vinyl cladding on exterior façade; tankless water heaters; water efficient garden design; timber and steel frame construction; and certified and locally sourced timber.

We heard numerous stories relating to the resilience of the New Orleans community, which was epitomised by a timber frame erected in the centre of a roadway with a sign ‘I am coming home, I will rebuild, I am New Orleans’. Rebuilding of New Orleans is occurring, albeit very slow.

Our group attended the Green Building Awards, where 17 building companies were recognised for their achievements. Ron Jones was the MC and recognised our small contingent of Australians and New Zealanders.

Over the following days our group heard the sessions of key interest to them and view the product exhibitions on display. The US warmly welcomed our small contingent and compared notes on the different construction practices, materials used and barriers for certain methods.

We were invited to join members of the Green Builder group for an evening with Dr Patrick Moore, who was a co-founder of Greenpeace. All members of our ANZ group had time to speak with Patrick who calls himself ‘sensible environmentalist’. This event was followed by an early morning presentation by Patrick as a keynote speaker where he spoke on his formative years as an activist against the testing of hydrogen bombs, moving onto his views on construction methods, renewable energy, and nuclear and hydro power. His presentation was direct and challenging, ensuring that delegates would evaluate their values and reasons for using particular products or fuel types.

 

Key outcomes:

Structural Insulated Panels are being used in some areas for ease and quickness of framing erection. The panels are constructed from either timber, aluminium or PVC materials that are used as a structural component for sandwiched panels in the use of flooring, roofing or wall systems. The core is typically open cell foam for its insulation properties.

Vinyl siding and PVC windows – forms part of some housing designs due to the perceived nature of high durability and low maintenance, however the use of vinyl was rejected by other Americans from other regions who preferred to use timber or brick cladding, or insulated formwork, rejecting the high embodied energy of the product and perceived durability argument.

Insulation of houses appeared to be dominated by sprayed in open cell foam, placed in the walls and the roof cavity. Insulation levels are rated differently to Australia ratings with R values measured per inch.

I was pleased to hear throughout the presentations and informal discussions that there is no one single solution for the construction of a home and it depends on many factors with climatic conditions being the underlying influencing factor, a position that needs to be continuously espoused.

The entertainment and dining experience offered by the New Orleans renowned French Quarter was an opportunity to experience the food and jazz of the region, which were fortunately not affected by Hurricane Katrina.

Green Builder Program
The Green Builder Program is grappling with measurement tools for the green performance of their houses as they have three measurement tools that are promoted across the country that include different rating outcomes.

Green Builder Program does not have any vehicle to communicate what they want to achieve with prospective purchasers and rely on the green builder individuals to spread the word to consumers.

Commitment to water conservation through internal and external conservation measures may not be broadly taken up by the participants of the Green Builder Program, perhaps due to a direct correlation of water availability. Third pipe reticulation and treated greywater systems appeared not to be part of the water conservation equation, for multiple and single lot developments.

Choosing certified timber was promoted by many exhibitors and Green Builders that we met.

Strong importance was placed on ventilating the home properly to respond to health concerns generated from the construction of tighter homes to meet increased energy efficiency standards.

The use of geothermal heating of the home and water is taken up by some in the Green Builder movement using a heat pump technology. These systems are just starting to appear in the Australian housing market.

Quotes from attendees

“We should be proud of the progress we are making in Australia. When you compare what the U.S. and Australia have done over a comparative ten years I believe Australia is leading the charge in providing robust and well rounded tools to encourage and support builders going green. I felt there was enough evidence to suggest that Australia had made greater progress over ten years, particularly in the area of design.'” Linda Ginger, Chief Executive Officer - Think Brick Australia
“It was a great trip, well planned and organised. The tour of Armory Park Del Sol in Tuscon was a great start to the trip. The development pushed the envelope on green building design and the homes not only incorporated state-of-the-art technology but used many of the traditional passive solar principles, such as incorporating thermal mass to achieve energy efficiency. It was fabulous to meet John Wesley Miller whose passion for green building and energy efficient homes was inspirational. The Green Building Conference housing tours and educational seminars at the conference provided an excellent opportunity to see how far the United States Green Building movement has come in the last couple of years. Since I last attending the Green Building Conference several years ago it was pleasing to see the increased emphasis on life cycle and the move to improve the longevity of their homes.” Cathy Inglis, Group Technical, Research and Engineering Manager - Austral Bricks
“Insightful, thought provoking, informative. As a bit of a newcomer to the world of GreenSmart, I gained both personally and professionally, an amazing insight into how we can improve and go forward as a company and as an individual. My experience was priceless. I had wonderfully informed people around me and a leader who was knowledgeable and gracious. I met inspiring people and had countless conversations that left me compelled to be a voice for Hyne for the future. I am first on the list of travellers for the next GreenSmart Tour, just write my name in now!!” Wendy Boyd, Asst. Marketing Manager, Hyne Timber.

Acknowledgements

We were very fortunate to have had the assistance of Ron Jones from the Green Builder Program to help arrange this tour and who introduced us to John Wesley Miller and Dr Patrick Moore. Ron and other American builders are keen to develop a continuing relationship with HIA GreenSmart and explore opportunities for a contingent of North American Green Builders to participate in the Build Green Build Smart event on the Gold Coast in June 2009.

Thanks to Cathy, Linda, Mike, Wendy and Marcus who joined me on this tour for a very rewarding and memorable experience - Janine Nechwatal