The PI wants to know "Does Green Building Make Cents?

We think so. Look long-term, where our true interests lie, and there's the green. In all manners of speaking.

One wave in the vast sea of green building discussion is the concept of embodied energy. Embodied energy is defined as the total amount of energy required for the processes of extraction, processing, transportation, construction, and disposal of a material*. If you can think of all of the steps involved in creating a product, and if that list of steps is short, it is likely that the product has a low embodied energy rating**. Trying to conjure all steps necessary to produce a PVC pipe, for example, leaves us feeling dizzy and short of answers.

There is a good amount of literature available comparing embodied energy of building materials. While the numbers themselves may vary across charts, relative values remain consistent. Wood finds itself at the top of all lists, requiring little energy to bring to market. Clustered about the bottom of these lists are materials such as plastic, brick, and steel.

It seems that the consensus on using wood as a primary building material has come full circle. Now knowing that not all things rendered common by convenience ought to remain, we look to wood in a new way.

We are always happy to learn more about new and sound practices of low-energy design and construction. When it comes to using products that are beautiful to look at, easy to work with, and demand little from the earth, we are happy to find that sustainably harvested wood tops out in every respect.

Here is a graphic produced by the green building periodical Environmental Building News:



This shows relative carbon emissions for three common building materials:
steel wood, and concrete. Please note that emissions data are based on metric tons (1000 Kg) of each material. These materials are each their own density, as shown in the relative size of the “metric ton cubes” out in front.

Click here for the original article.

Articles and resources on the topic of Embodied Energy of Building Materials:

US Department of Energy
The Architectural League of New York: Ten Shades of Green
Washington State Department of Ecology

*US Department of Energy. “Embodied Energy of Building Assemblies.” Buildings Energy Data Book 1.6.6 (September 2008).
**Measured by the US Department of Energy as MMBtu/SF (millions of Btus per square foot

We’ve finished the excavation and the Insulated Concrete Formwork on two new houses in Columbia City.

These will be our most beautiful and energy-efficient homes yet. Views of the Cascade mountains are on all three floors, and from the Green Roof deck off the master bedroom, Mt. Rainier will be spectacular.



Both houses will have three bedrooms and 2 ½ baths, and will feature Radiant Floors, Rainwater Harvesting, Advanced Framing, Solar Pre-heating, and non-toxic interior finishes. The main-floor has an open plan around the kitchen and guest bath, and the living/dining area will have floor-to ceiling glass. Upstairs, the two sunny bedrooms have high, beamed ceilings and the master bedroom has the aforementioned spacious Green Roof deck.

We also have three other new homes in the neighborhood we’ll be starting early next year. They’ll have dramatically different designs, with many of the same amenities as these homes.

If you know someone who’d like to move to a great modern home in Columbia City, please let them know about us!

With energy prices at all-time highs, we feel there’s never been a better time for energy-efficient, in-city new homes. At the same time foreclosures are hitting the suburbs, Seattle remains almost uniquely positioned in the US as a city with consistently firm values in real estate. And with all the news about a downturn in the real estate market, there’s still no shortage of data to show that people prefer new construction within easy walking distance of public transportation.

We believe that the planning and investment made in our neighborhood by Sound Transit , along with an emerging public awareness of the real costs of energy and resource use, will mean continued strong demand for our projects. You don’t have to be an economist to realize that neighborhoods like Columbia City represent the best of what Seattle has to offer.

So while many builders (and their banks) have been cutting back, we’re expanding. We’ve been very fortunate to find private equity partners who see things the way we do, which allows us to solidify and expand our range of developments.



In addition to our South Mead project, we’ll be starting five more new homes within the next six months. These include two homes at the Columbia City Green Development and three at the South Bennett Development. We should have them all completed in late 2009.

Our three design goals have been; 1) Simplify, 2) Heal the site, and 3) Create a Dialogue with the Surroundings.



As we learn more, our homes get smarter in their consumption of energy and resources, and we get closer to our goal of zero-net energy use for each project. All of our homes will substantially exceed current Building Code standards of energy efficiency (sometimes called “worst allowable by law”), and each home makes an effort toward regenerative design.

Here’s a photo of the new Office Truck - a 7-speed electric bike from Electric Bikes NW. It’ll do nearly 20 mph on the flat without pedaling, and, with a rack that holds 100 lbs, it carries a lot of stuff. It’s handy for carrying vegetables from the New Holly CSA garden, or a half-dozen growlers from the Georgetown Brewery.