News & Awards

Just announced, Rothenbach Park will be awarded the Environmental Sustainability for Engineering Excellence from the American Academy of Enviromental Engineers (AAEE).

The award will be presented on April 28th in Washington DC.

The Excellence in Environmental Engineering® Competition exists to identify and reward the best of today's environmental engineering. Its criteria define what it takes to be the best in environmental engineering practice: a holistic environmental perspective, innovation, proven performance and customer satisfaction, and contribution to an improved quality of life and economic efficiency.

The E3 Competition, begun in 1989, is organized around the normal phases of development and implementation of environmental management projects and programs: research, planning, design, and operations and management. Each year, the entrants to the competition display a wide range of projects from innovative designs in waste treatment plants to new water treatment technologies to a one-of-a-kind Superfund site cleanup. At the same time, we see that today's engineers are becoming significantly more integrated in a team/project approach, allowing for greater flexibility and efficiency in project management. The application of new technologies combined with experienced environmental engineering practices make these projects the award winners they are.

Those chosen for prizes by an independent panel of distinguished experts, addresses the broad range of modern challenges inherent in providing life-nurturing services for humans and protection of the environment. They are but a small percentage of the many projects involving environmental engineers around the world. Nevertheless, their innovations and performance illustrate the essential role of environmental engineers in providing a healthy planet. These award winners testify to the genius of humankind and best exemplify the Excellence in Environmental Engineering® criteria.

http://www.aaee.net/ 

From ABC 7 www.mysuncoast.com

LAKEWOOD RANCH - It's a place we all hope we'll never need to visit, but it's one we're all thankful is here.  The Wellness Community offers free support services to cancer patients and their families, and soon will have a new healthy home to serve their clients.

The Wellness Community is an amazing asset to the Suncoast.  And amazing certainly describes their new, green home that's now going up in Lakewood Ranch.

From a model to reality, it's the new home of hope.  It's where your friends, neighbors, family members...maybe even you one day, will come to heal.

Construction crews are creating a healing environment for cancer patients.  The Building Hope campus is being built to green standards, like no-VOC paints, sealants and adhesives...which translates to a healthy environment.  "Cancer patients' immune systems are compromised, so having clean, healthy indoor air to breathe everyday is really very, very important," says executive director Jay Lockaby.

And so is natural light.  That's why there are lots of windows in the buildings -- both in the walls and on the roof.  "The research that we looked at told us that natural light was healing.  So the architect, the designers really maximized by having 2 pods instead of one building, so you got 8 sides facing outside instead of two.  They really maximize all the natural light they could."

And those windows will look out at a 400-acre nature preserve...another element of the healing that will happen there.

And topping it all off is the Bridge of Hope, a 156-foot long wooden arch that soars above the campus.

At its base is another green element: century-old logs found at the bottom of the Suwanee River.  "Not being that they were cut down specifically for use in this building, they were cut down years ago and they were sunk in the river, and we recovered them.  So you're not cutting down new forest, new pine trees to do that," says Wade Wolfe, project manager with Willis A. Smith Construction.

The facility will allow the Wellness Community to serve more people and serve them better.  It will also become an example.  "All the other Wellness Communities will be looking at this as the model facility if they build from the ground up, or even if they just add a wing or change the paint.  They can learn that no-VOC paint can help cancer patients."

Willis A. Smith Construction is building the new facility.  They are the local experts in green commercial building.

The Wellness Community is still trying to raise money for all the healing elements that will be part of the Building Hope campus.

If you'd like to learn more, visit www.helpusbuildhope.com/.

  ICF Wall System

  ICF Wall System

    Reclaimed Wood Logs

Forty income restricted seniors will be the first to call the community concept facility home.

Officials from By the River envision their housing development as a community -- encouraging residents to help each other and share their lives with fellow residents.

The By the River organization created the housing development as a pilot project funded through numerous state and local donations. Hutner said if the project is a success  others could replicate it throughout the nation as a way to care for the aging population.

"It's all about community," Hutner said, explaining that residents are encouraged to cook for each other or help with laundry with their fellow residents who are unable to do so for themselves.

The site currently consists of four residential buildings, each of which has a communal kitchen, living room and activity room.

In an effort to spark intermingling between the four buildings' residents, the activity rooms differ in activity, according to Hutner. For example, the rooms are used as a library, a game room, a place for meditation, and as a chapel.

And while By the River is focused on providing low income seniors with affordable housing, the foundation is also working to offer sustainability through an organic community garden that would help feed the residents.

By the River is an interfaith foundation and does not require residents to subscribe to any belief in order to live there. The only requirements By the River residents must meet are that they are older than 62, lacking in at least two daily living activities - such as having low vision and needing transportation assistance - and be at 50 percent or lower of the median income for Indian River County.

For more information about By the River, visit http://www.bytheriver.org/ or call (772) 388-1518.

The Florida Gulfcoast Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council awarded its highest honor, Chapter Leadership Award, to Michael Carlson of Carlson Studio Architecture during the group's annual award program December 8 in St. Petersburg.  The annual award recognizes the chapter member who has demonstrated exceptional leadership, active involvement and service to the organization and has helped to advance the green building/design profession.

Earlier this year, Carlson established and led a new division of the Florida Gulfcoast Chapter, the Myakka River Branch, which serves the Manatee-Sarasota area.  In addition, he was appointed chair of the Green Business Leadership Council of the Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce, a recent initiative for the organization.  In 2009 Carlson was also selected by HGTV to design the production company's second Green Home which earned LEED Platinum certification from the USGBC and is located in Port St. Lucie, Florida.

Carlson Studio Architecture is located at 1613 Fruitville Road in downtown Sarasota, Florida.  The studio headquarters became the fourth project in Florida to earn LEED Silver Certification for Commercial Interiors.  The architectural firm has been a member of Sarasota County's Green Business Partnership since 2008.

Josh Bomstein, USGBC Chapter President & Michael Carlson

Michael Carlson & Rick Fedrizzi, CEO USGBC

LAKE MOHAVE, NV -June 1, 2009 - The nation's first LEED certified floating structure will employ a revolutionary technology developed by kama Energy Efficient Building Systems ^TM(kama-EEBS^TM), a Las Vegas-based building product manufacturer, to construct a building envelope, interior walls, roof and floor system that meet the highest green standards. The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System^TM is the universally recognized standard for environmentally responsible design. Located at Lake Mohave, Nevada, the new building, owned by the National Park Service (NPS) and operated by Forever Resorts' Cottonwood Cove Resort and Marina, will replace a 30 year old structure and serve as a boat rental and marina services building providing moorage for more than 200 vessels. NPS and Forever Resorts are striving to achieve LEED Gold when construction is completed in the fall of 2009. "This is an ambitious project and we wanted to feel secure in our choice of products," said Michael Carlson, Project Architect. "We chose kama-EEBS because the product was the greenest as well as the most reliable and cost-effective option." kama-EEBS combines light gauge structural steel and expanded polystyrene (EPS) to fabricate building sections that are both high performance and sustainable. For the Lake Mohave project kama-EEBS will be manufactured with Neopor®, a new generation of EPS produced by BASF, the world's largest chemical company. kama-EEBS is the first company in the world to use Neopor in a waterborne structure. With Neopor, BASF provides an insulating material that offers significantly better thermal insulation than products that are currently available. For example, using the same board thickness as conventional EPS, Neopor can achieve up to a 20% higher R-value, thus consuming fewer resources. Neopor is based on expanded polystyrene and contains microscopic flakes of graphite that reflect heat radiation, thus improving insulation. "Sharing the same priorities to provide durable and energy-efficient building products makes kama-EEBS and BASF natural contributors to the advancement of sustainable building designs," said Andrew Bayley, BASF Business Manager. kama Energy Efficient Building Systems, Inc. 6012 Topaz Street Suite #6 Las Vegas, NV 89120 702-451-7155 (Office) ** 702-446-0445 (Fax)

kama-EEBS is a breakthrough in building technology because the product is designed to provide optimal thermal and sound insulation while avoiding the common problems associated with other building materials , such as thermal bridging; the build-up of moisture, mold and mildew; and off-gassing of toxic chemicals. The sections are lightweight, easy to install, and require no special training or equipment. All of the EPS the company uses is fire and moisture resistant as well as insect resistant. Both the steel and the EPS in kama-EEBS are completely recyclable.

The construction project represents a cooperative effort between kama-EEBS, BASF, and ACH Foam Technologies, a national manufacturer of expanded polystyrene (EPS) products for over 40 years. All three companies have made significant contributions to assist in making this project an example of the best sustainable design.

kama Energy Efficient Building Systems, Inc. is a Las-Vegas based building product manufacturer specializing in sustainable building technologies. The company custom fabricates the kama-EEBS^TM product line under the trademarked name of kama-EEBS^TM, kama-EEBS Wall System^TM and kama-EEBS Structural Roof and Floor System^TM. kama Energy Efficient Building Systems, Inc. is committed to finding innovative ways to reduce the environmental burden of the built environment through the development of high-performance building products. For additional information: www.kama-eebs.com.

BASF is the world's leading chemical company: The Chemical Company. Its portfolio ranges from oil and gas to chemicals, plastics, performance products, agricultural products and fine chemicals. As a reliable partner, BASF helps its customers in virtually all industries to be more successful. With its high-value products and intelligent solutions, BASF plays an important role in finding answers to global challenges, such as climate protection, energy efficiency, nutrition and mobility. Further information on BASF is available on the Internet at www.basf.com/usa.

ACH Foam Technologies has been a leading manufacturer of expanded polystyrene (EPS) products for over 40 years. For additional information: www.achfoam.com.

• Key Factors in Securing a Project Planning Grant
• Creating Successful Capital Campaign Presentation Tools on a Budget (Many samples provided)
• Identifying your Green Building Project's "Fundability Factors"
• Selecting a "Project Champion" and How to Convince that Person to Lead the Fundraising "Charge"
• Funding Resources for Green & Renewable Resource Projects Per the 2009 Economic Stimulus Bill

SPEAKER BACKGROUND:
Ms. McAdams is a UC Davis alumni with 35 years experience in the field of grantwriting and fundraising. Jan has assisted with fundraising for 26 nonprofit and forprofit green building projects (all LEED® Gold and LEED® Platinum) in the $5 million-$50 million range.
Since 2001, more than 1,800 green building enthusiasts have attended one or more of Jan's "Funding Green Buildings" seminars and/or customized in-service programs. Jan's commitment to securing funding for sustainable and PV-integrated buildings is reflected in her firm's newest publication, "The Funding Green Buildings Toolkit 2009 Edition." 

Lunch Speaker: Michael Carlson, AIA, LEED AP w/ Carlson Studio Architecture & Carlson Studio Eco Consulting, sponsored by Gene Hammond w/ M Space Holdings LLC

This 1-day program will be held at the Trade Winds Resort in St. Pete's Beach, FL on January 22, 2010. Download the Registration Form.

Tour of the Kashi By the River Project
www.by-the-river.org

This Thursday - November 5th - ASID Designer Resource Show go to www.asidfwc.com website for details, or contact our office at 941-378-9964.

Michael Carlson, AIA, LEED AP will be presenting the HGTV 2009 Green Home at 3pm. Also, stop by and see us during the trade show (1pm-7pm) at our Booth #47.