As part of our effort to educate people about the green building process, our friends at VA Productions have been filming various aspects of the construction for a video we'll release at the end of the process. Last week, they filmed the installation of our rainwater retention cistern and we're excited to be able to share that video with you.

It's HOW big?

On Tuesday, we added one of the most innovative green features to our building when an operator of a huge crane assembled and placed the cistern in what will be the basement of the building.

In an effort to limit the amount of water that we use unnecessarily, we're installing a stormwater capture system.  In short, all of the water that lands on the roof will be collected and piped to our basement.  It will be used to flush the toilets and, if necessary, irrigate the landscaping.   The only water we'll be drawing from the City of Reading system will be from our taps. 

In total, this will be an 85% reduction in water usage.  Obviously, that number would be different in a residential setting, but the ongoing cost savings are huge.  

To hold that much water, the folks from Modern Precast Concrete made us a special cistern.  Installed in two parts, the assembled cistern is seventeen feet long, seven feet wide and nine and a half feet deep.   It will hold an astounding five thousand gallons of water, enough to guarantee that we will always have an adequate supply.

In total, the cistern weighs almost twenty six tons, or about as much as ten African elephants!

Each year, about forty eight inches of rain will fall on the site that we occupy.   We had two choices about what to do with that rain.  We could do what most buildings do:   Develop an expensive system to flush it into the Schuylkill River and then go buy new water.  Alternatively, we could capture the free water and use it.     We thought it made sense to use the free water!

 

Avoiding the Landfill

One of the most important goals of building green is to prevent any natural and man-made material from being dumped into a landfill. Therefore, one must carefully manage all waste that accumulates during the building process.

When we cleared our lot we had to remove nine trees: seven ash trees and two walnut trees. Our project manager, Mike Micozzi, located a company that would transport the ash trees to an Amish carpenter located in Lancaster County who plans to use the ash lumber to make wooden wheelbarrow handles. Of course, it is also very desirable to have any waste turned into a useful product.

Notice that the trees were kept within a local mileage radius of the house as well because wherever possible we try to not have high transportation costs or use more fuel than necessary. The walnut trees have gone to a local mill to be made into lumber and the branches will become mulch, which we will use in the landscape. We must plant nine trees on our lot to replace the nine trees we removed.

Our lot contained big limestone boulders. Fortunately, the excavators did not have to blast to remove the rock from the area where the foundation of the house was being laid. However, we accumulated a very large pile of huge boulders and large rocks. We are using that stone to build a support wall in the rear of the house. In the picture you can see how that natural material is being reused. No fuel has been used to transport it to another site.

In addition, all the waste from packaging is being placed in a special dumpster to be taken to a local recycling center. Scrap wood is also being properly recycled in this area. There is truly an extraordinary effort to find uses for all these materials that will not be used in the house construction.

Local Resources

During the course of our project, we've discovered a few businesses right here in Berks County who are leading the way in green design, construction or materials. We thought it might be a good idea to highlight them and, as we find more, we'll add more.

Misco Products produces cleaning chemicals, including an environmentally friendly line. They're located in Leesport.

C.H. Briggs is a distributor of hardware and has an environmentally friendly products division. Their Chair is our former Chair (and a great supporter of our building), Julia Klein.

Ethosource is a recycler and seller of office furniture and systems.

We've relied on the guidance and advice of the Seven Group, located in Kutztown. They provide consulting services for owners and developers of green buildings.

Burkey Construction (our construction managers) are putting their first green building under their belt and eager to take on more.

Two architecture firms that we know of, DesignWorks (part of our team) and Olsen Design Group have made a committment to green building design as well.

As we find others, we'll highlight them.

If the schools don't get smart, who will?

Only two Berks County School Districts have adopted green building technology (Wilson and Twin Valley) and only Kutztown University and Albright have made significant commitments to green buildings (though Alvernia is doing some recycling on its construction site).

When I ask education administrators why they’re not adopting environmentally friendly and energy efficient building technologies, they almost always say “ because it costs more”.

So I always say: “More than what?”

And no one’s ever answered that question.

It used to be true that there was a “green premium" for building green buildings, at least as it relates to what are called “first costs”—another way of saying “construction and design costs”.

But improvements in technology and the increased availability of better building materials have made even that first cost premium go away, leaving the building owner free to just enjoy reduced operating costs.

But schools and colleges shouldn’t take my word for it.

The Davis Langdon study "The Cost of Green Revisited 2007" was unable to find any correlation between green design and higher construction costs in academic buildings . An October 2006 study "Greening America's Schools: Costs and Benefits" by Capital E found a modest (about 1.7%) green premium in construction cost that, depending on regional energy costs, was recaptured in a very short time given an average reduction of 30% in electricity utilization. The Pennsylvania Consumer Advocate estimates that electric rates will increase 51% when the rate caps come off in 2010 or 2011 (depending on the service territory). At that point, the reduced operating costs of a green building will be deeply appreciated by the taxpayers (or tuition payers).

In the Capital E study, the authors noted a growing body of research that (after controlling for demographics) putting students in green schools results in about a 15% decrease in absenteeism (this is consistent with similar data from office environment studies).

Green schools are demonstrating increases in student standardized test scores of between three and five percentage points. One school we funded (the Clearview Elementary School in Hanover) found a documented (this was a PhD Dissertation) increase in Oral Reading Fluency Scores of 19%. Same kids. Better school.

If the schools don't get smart, who will? It's time for education to start providing some leadership in the area of building better buildings.

Awesome space available.

Anyone who's been following the progress of our building knows that the first floor will be a "Community Conference Center" with state of the art meeting space available to community groups. The second floor will house The Community Foundation's offices. So, what's going to happen with the third floor? You could be the answer to that question.

We're building a third floor on the building for two reasons. First, the surrounding buildings required that we construct a building of at least three stories to fit in with the environment. A two story building just wouldn't have looked right on that site. Secondly, while it's a long time from now, we expect that someday The Community Foundation's growth will require that we expand into that space.

In the meantime, there is 3,800 square feet of what will be (easily) the nicest office space in downtown Reading. With a fantastic location, easy access to parking and all the benefits of being in a green building, (and a hot dog vendor out front) the space provides an unique opportunity for a small business or professional firm to distinguish itself in the market. The space even looks out over the largest part of the green roof, providing a view that won't be available anywhere else in Berks County.

So, if you're interested in learning more, contact Franki Aitken at 610-685-2223

Channel 69 Coverage

Our friends at Channel 69 have been great about covering the progress on the building, which is next door to their studio. Check out last night's story by clicking here: http://wfmz.com/view/?id=509233

I'd like to share some of the resources I've found to be helpful, especially in learning about products and processes to implement in a "green" home. The following books and publications have been very helpful:

Books:

Lamp'l, Joe - The Green Gardener's Guide, (Simple, Significant Actions to Protect and Preserve our Planet)

Riley, Trish - The Compete Idiot's Guide to Green Living, (Earth-saving Solutions for Every Part of Your Life)

Wilson, Alex - Your Green Home (A Guide to Planning a Healthy, Environmentally Friendly New Home)

Periodicals:

Ecohome - www.ecohomemagazine.com

Green Builder - www.greenbuildermag.com

Mother Earth News - www.MotherEarthNews.com

Natural Home - www.NaturalHomeMagazine.com

National Geographic Green Guide - www.TheGreenGuide.com

This Old House - www.thisoldhouse.com

I've found all of this publications to be very helpful, and I look forward to getting them in the mail. They all have many creative ideas for anyone trying to make some efforts to live green. There are so many inexpensive ways for individuals to help to protect our planet and to live in a healthy environment.

Carolyn

The Only Building with Its Own TV Show

Join our Vice President for Communications Heidi Williamson and her guests as she hosts a monthly TV show on BCTV focusing on the progress of our building project and various aspects of the green building movement. Shows are archived on the BCTV website and the most recent episode (focusing on material selection) can be viewed here: http://bctv.org/WatchArchive.aspx?id=383

Check your TV program guide for times and dates on this show, which repeats throughout the month. And remember, this has got to be the only building with its own regular TV show!