Demountable Partition Systems: The Ugly Duckling Turns Into the Beautiful Swan
Written by Carl Haines, Senior Project Manager for Johnson & Jennings General Contracting. Johnson & Jennings is a leading San Diego-based general contracting firm specializing in corporate office, retail, healthcare, and industrial facility tenant improvements. Founded in 1981 by owners Tom Johnson and Jackie Jennings, the firm employs a staff of 46 in headquarters located at 6165 Greenwich Drive, San Diego, Calif. More information about the company can be found on the web at http://www.johnsonandjennings.com/.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Thursday, January 10, 2008
The Green Jungle
There was an interesting article in the latest IIDA publication "perspective". It is a wonderful piece that sorts out different terms, ratings, rankings and certifications. A quick read but a good read called The Green Jungle.
The article touches on something that lured me into the LEED world.
I was already committed to the environment morally but the LEED process for building showed me that we needed to change the way we build. It is about the totality of process, or the holistic approach to design. It makes it complicated but that is what it is, it is complicated. You cannot just say I am going to buy a piece of furniture because it has Greenguard certification and therefore, I am green. ( Greenguard is for air quality, emissions, toxins etc. It has nothing to do with how the product was manufactured, recyclability, content or anything else, it is just one piece of the puzzle). You cannot build a building using the conventional old ways and expect it to be a successful LEED project, LEED requires collaboration and large picture thinking.
We have manufacturer's reps in our offices daily talking about their products and saying things ( I heard this one yesterday ) like "Is the client interested in green? Our product has 92% recycled content, it is really green". This has become nonsense to me because it does not explain anything. Sure it is a great start and the fact that the manufacturer can get quantitative numbers in their process is huge but this information is only a part of the picture.
How is something made? What is the overall impact? If you haven't read "Cradle to Cradle", read it. It is a must.
There is no instant gratification in green, it is messy and complex which means you have to take the time to learn it, little by little is great, but it is continuous.
The article touches on something that lured me into the LEED world.
I was already committed to the environment morally but the LEED process for building showed me that we needed to change the way we build. It is about the totality of process, or the holistic approach to design. It makes it complicated but that is what it is, it is complicated. You cannot just say I am going to buy a piece of furniture because it has Greenguard certification and therefore, I am green. ( Greenguard is for air quality, emissions, toxins etc. It has nothing to do with how the product was manufactured, recyclability, content or anything else, it is just one piece of the puzzle). You cannot build a building using the conventional old ways and expect it to be a successful LEED project, LEED requires collaboration and large picture thinking.
We have manufacturer's reps in our offices daily talking about their products and saying things ( I heard this one yesterday ) like "Is the client interested in green? Our product has 92% recycled content, it is really green". This has become nonsense to me because it does not explain anything. Sure it is a great start and the fact that the manufacturer can get quantitative numbers in their process is huge but this information is only a part of the picture.
How is something made? What is the overall impact? If you haven't read "Cradle to Cradle", read it. It is a must.
There is no instant gratification in green, it is messy and complex which means you have to take the time to learn it, little by little is great, but it is continuous.
Saturday, January 5, 2008
The LEED test
I have been asked more times than I can remember about the difficulty of the test to become a LEED-AP. My answer has become consistent - it was hard for me because I didn't know anything about building a building or site planning or anything like that so I had to learn what ASHRAE was and what a MEP was and what a brownfield was etc. Hardly things that I use in my everyday furniture life. So, I studied like crazy for many months and worked really hard to prepare and passed. In the words of an old business mentor, I am not the brightest or smartest so I prepare, prepare, prepare.
When I was studying four years ago, I had to explain to everyone, including my parents, what it was that I was learning. No one in my circle had heard of the USGBC and no one seemed to know what a LEED test contained. After I passed, I joined our local USGBC chapter and met some amazing people like Bob Noble, Drew George and Beth Brummitt to name a few. First Adopters and light years ahead of me when it came to green knowledge. I learned so much - and continue to learn.
My dad, Roy Slade, was the president of Cranbrook Academy of Art for many years and an avid learner. He has been curious about the USGBC and green building from the day I told him about it. As he and my mom travel around the country, they constantly report back about their findings of green and how pervasive it has become. During a recent interview for a documentary about Florence Knoll, Saarinen, Cranbrook and design in America, he was asked about sustainable design. He called to say, thank you for the Green Goddess blog and it's information! Finally, someone admitting to reading my blog!! If your parents don't read it, who would???? Anyway, his answer included a conversation about nature in design and how it has been prevalent in art forever. It is about green practices but it is also about integration with nature and the totality of art and it's very nature.
So, if you are thinking about taking the LEED test, I have really straightforward advise. Buy the study materials, go to your local USGBC chapter and sign up for a LEED study group and study like mad. I also went to the USGBC Cascadia chapter website and bought their flash cards - depending on how you learn, these are really handy. Study hard and talk to people.
When I was studying four years ago, I had to explain to everyone, including my parents, what it was that I was learning. No one in my circle had heard of the USGBC and no one seemed to know what a LEED test contained. After I passed, I joined our local USGBC chapter and met some amazing people like Bob Noble, Drew George and Beth Brummitt to name a few. First Adopters and light years ahead of me when it came to green knowledge. I learned so much - and continue to learn.
My dad, Roy Slade, was the president of Cranbrook Academy of Art for many years and an avid learner. He has been curious about the USGBC and green building from the day I told him about it. As he and my mom travel around the country, they constantly report back about their findings of green and how pervasive it has become. During a recent interview for a documentary about Florence Knoll, Saarinen, Cranbrook and design in America, he was asked about sustainable design. He called to say, thank you for the Green Goddess blog and it's information! Finally, someone admitting to reading my blog!! If your parents don't read it, who would???? Anyway, his answer included a conversation about nature in design and how it has been prevalent in art forever. It is about green practices but it is also about integration with nature and the totality of art and it's very nature.
So, if you are thinking about taking the LEED test, I have really straightforward advise. Buy the study materials, go to your local USGBC chapter and sign up for a LEED study group and study like mad. I also went to the USGBC Cascadia chapter website and bought their flash cards - depending on how you learn, these are really handy. Study hard and talk to people.
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