Green Building Focus extending it's Offering...
The event we are planning in Auburn is a high performance building renovation/retrofit seminar. It is designed to provide property owners and facility managers as well as architects and engineers tangible solutions and strategies for existing buildings. It is a one day format and includes 5 hours of continuing education for attendees. Students will be able to attend for free. The content provides an introduction to LEED for existing buildings, explains the benefits of commissioning (or retro-commissioning), discusses performance monitoring/reporting using the Miller Gorrie Building as a case study and provides details on funding sources and incentives for retrofits including the new AlabamaSAVES program which is a stimulus-backed low interest loan fund administered by ADECA earmarked for building retrofits.
Why is it different - read more....
Posted in Weld By Jesse Chambers, Sept 21 2011
Like most of the speakers at the recent Green Building Focus Conference & Expo in Birmingham, Eric Corey Freed cited numerous examples of the severity of the environmental crisis we face after generations of abusing the Earth.
According to Freed, a San Francisco architect, “every major [environmental] system is in decline” due to pollution and misuse of resources, 36 percent of species are endangered or threatened, the Arctic sea ice is melting rapidly, about 1.1 billion people lack access to fresh, clean drinking water, and the world’s population is still growing—not to mention the droughts, floods and storms that Freed and others blame, at least in part, on what man has done to the planet’s atmosphere. Read more...
A Sad End in the Works
Bhamarchitect's Blog - exploring built/unbuilt Birmingham
We have learned that the owners of the building that for many years (1945-2004) housed The Social Grill, plan to sell to downtown landowner Bobby Crook, who in turn plans to tear the building down for surface parking.
The historic building (distressed after years of deferred maintenance and showing the remains of 1960′s-era metal insert panels at the storefronts) holds the SE corner of Third Avenue North and 23rd Street, a ............ Read more...
9/19/11 -
Marc Stoiber
This spring, Alabama was hit by terrifying tornadoes that ripped through centers like Birmingham. Although today's priority must be creating permanent shelter for the victims, there is an incredible opportunity to do much more. The focus of this conference is how to rebuild using sustainable technology to create better, more futureproof homes. An equally important focus should be the opportunity to reinvent the brand of cities like Birmingham. Read More from Marc Stoiber
A business consortium that includes Lockheed Martin and Barclays bank plans to invest as much as $650 million over the next few years to slash the energy consumption of buildings in the Miami and Sacramento areas. It is the most ambitious effort yet to jump-start a national market for energy upgrades that many people believe could eventually be worth billions.
Focusing mainly on commercial property at first, the group plans to exploit a new tax arrangement that allows property owners to upgrade their buildings at no upfront cost, typically cutting their energy use and their utility bills by a third. The building owners would pay for the upgrades over five to 20 years through surcharges on their property-tax bills, but that would be less than the savings.
Read More...
John Picard to speak at Green Building Focus Conference & Expo 2011
- September 1st, 2011
John Picard has confirmed that he is coming to Birmingham to speak at Green Building Focus Conference & Expo 2011 on September 15th.
John Picard is one of the leading thinkers and builders of sustainable societies. He has conceptualized and built hundreds of the smartest homes, workplaces and communities in America and his vision guides the future planning of dozens of Fortune 500 Companies. As a gifted builder and architect he has successfully translated many of his most innovative ideas into buildings, college campuses and even entire towns. By explaining the elegant principals of Natural Systems Designs, John has led hundreds of influential leaders in business and government into a greener future, where sustainability is highly profitable.
Read more......
Register for Green Building Focus Conference to Wear Your Badge
Come to Green Building Focus Conference and Expo to participate in design charrettes, discussion panels, earn CEUs, mingle with homeowner and commercial property owners, view some of the latest building materials and services available in the South East. Read more....
On behalf of the City of Birmingham, it is my distinct honor to extend greetings and a cordial welcome to the attendees of the Southeastern Region Green Building Focus Conference and Expo. The 2011 event will be held at the Cahaba Grand Conference Center, September 15-16 and will attract corporate executives, government officials, architects, building contractors and others who will enjoy and learn from leaders in sustainable development from around the world.
Read More...
Here’s something you don’t hear people complain about much these days: worker shortages. That is, unless you’re in energy efficiency, an industry that is booming as others are busting. Sixty percent of those responding to a recent survey by the Association of Energy Services Professionals cited a lack of talented workers in energy efficiency. “Energy efficiency is a rapidly growing segment of the overall energy industry and we believe there is a clear lack of talent that is necessary to fill the positions that are open,” said Meg Matt, the AESP president and CEO.
Read More...
In the 20 years Ron Betenbough’s company has been building homes in west Texas, he’s always been willing to compete on price. Now, in a market crowded with cheap properties, he’s also touting environmentally friendly construction and energy-saving features. Betenbough Homes has been promoting all its houses as “green” since November, after winning certification under an industry-run program, Betenbough said in a telephone interview. The company didn’t raise prices, absorbing added costs of less than $500 on each of its units, which list for as low as $110,000 in some subdivisions.
Read More...