Comments on: GREENWORKS REALTY: Green House Hunters

By: WILLIAM ODONNELL

WILLIAM ODONNELL — Mon, 19 Feb 2007 22:21:41 +0000

CONGRATULATIONS EVA YOUR THE BEST.

By: Nick Simpson

Nick Simpson — Tue, 13 Feb 2007 19:43:18 +0000

I’m with Barry, anyone that thinks concrete – particularly in its virgin state – as a material is sustainable needs to look at the CO2 it produces. Plus the reuse value is pretty poor (it’s only really viable for use as hardcore or in gabions, which is pathetic when you look at the reuse of most other materials) to be honest…

If you want that retaining wall to be sustainable, why don’t you use crushed recycled concrete (or some other reused large aggregate) inside gabions? They can be aethetically pleasing, provide drastically better drainage than pourous concrete and can have plants grown through them.

If you were using magnesium based eco-concrete, where CO2 is actually “sucked” back into the cement during the concrete’s lifetime, or the concrete was mixed with GGBS (ground granulated blast-funace slag) which vastly dilutes the amount of cement needed, then you might have a case. But there are much more sustainable options available here.

But to be fair, this is arguably nit-picking – the houses themselves look like beautiful, light, well made houses from what we can see of them so it’s definitely a big step in the right direction. But concrete really should be avoided where possible (although in a lot of places there’s no real substitute…).

By: barry lehrman

barry lehrman — Tue, 13 Feb 2007 01:22:47 +0000

retaining walls are the least sustainable method of earthworks (even if they are built of high fly-ash, crushable concrete). From phyto-stabilization to not building on an erodible site, there are many things that the site design could have done to be more sustainable.

For all you architects out there, what comes to mind when you think of sustainable sites? yeah, I thought so.
The USGBC really dropped the ball in LEED v1.0-v2.2 in how they defining sustainable sites and has mislead a whole generation of architects… sigh- at least my work is well defined.

By: Johnny Rose

Johnny Rose — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 23:42:59 +0000

Why someone would even hint that Precast concrete is not sustainable is outright and just simply misinformed. Therefore I think Barry needs more education and less sarcasm. I’ve done concrete for 30 years and have gone back to almost every project and I have found unmoved , still standing and enviromentally friendly and wait, did someone say it can be reused. You bet . Eva Otto will move this country forward and informing us of our potential.
Thank You Eva Stay Green

By: Eva

Eva — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 18:59:24 +0000

Precast concrete can be considered sustainble for several reasons. 1- it can be crushed and reused in another concrete project; 2 – it contains fly ash, a recycled waste product from coal burning plants that reduces the amount of concrete ratio; and 3- Porous concrete allows water to permate into soils, protecting the natural flow of hydrology and avoiding stormwater runoff. In this picture the purpose of the concrete is to hold up a steep hillside preventing erosion; providing form, function and sustainability.

By: barry lehrman

barry lehrman — Sun, 11 Feb 2007 00:01:35 +0000

How are massive retaining walls of precast concrete sustainable???? those may be clean, low energy buildings, but that brutal mannerist scab in front of them misses the point entirely!

oh, wait – that is sketchup’s best attempt at creating landscape architecture.

By: Joanna

Joanna — Sat, 10 Feb 2007 18:07:45 +0000

Cheers to Eva! She helped me find a beautiful mid century home with a lake view that has great potential for our green remodel in a few years. GreenWorks is great!