One of my favorite blogs, Inhabitat, has been posting about these amazing air-cleaning or power generating large-scale infrastructure projects over the past few months, and find the concept pretty compelling. You can see one HERE, and one HERE.

It brings up a point I think the green generation needs to carefully consider – that the very notion of eco-friendly design and sustainability needs to become an integral part of the infrastructure. Perhaps even invisible or obsolete. We need holistic design solutions that are an integral component of the entire infrastructure of a place. Instead of the ‘checklist green’ we see proliferating the industry (its a great start!), we can start thinking of it as holistic design, which assumes energy efficiency and clean air as necessary principles – not as unique features, or checks on a list…

The underpinnings of sustainability (at least those that matter most to me) are broad-stroke components that should be common sense. Paying attention to the sun’s location in the sky, designing buildings to generate clean air, ensuring that the energy used to make a building comfortable is used as efficiently as possible… these things should be utilized in EVERY building – not just those deemed ‘green’ or ‘eco-friendly’… those words need to dissolve, and become background noise toward the larger cause of developing a quality, long-lasting built-environment for future generations to enjoy.

While we were living in California, Kandy and I had a chance to check out the official launch party for the new Facebook.  It was pretty fascinating to be there, but it was somewhat ironic that, most of the time, everyone at this ’social’ event just sat in their own corners locked onto their laptops.  Most of the socializing seemed to be happening over the web!  Oh well, I guess that was the point… at least they had comfy beanbag chairs.  =)

Having said that, we just started a new Facebook page for Crescendo Design.  Visit us and post something on our wall!

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Crescendo-Design/10032302213

Be nice!

There are lots of new projects and images to add, but I uploaded our 206 portfolio to flickr.

Access it HERE, or click through these on our website http://www.crescendodesign.com

Crescendo Design was invited to present the finale presentation of Carl Bass’ (CEO of Autodesk) keynote speech at the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas during Autodesk University. We had 2 separate live feeds from Second Life that were shown on 4 side screens, along with a video timed to the presentation.

Jon worked with the Clear Ink team to design and build Autodesk’s current Second Life presence.

Crescendo Design

This short video contains 3 animations of some projects we worked on this year.

Crescendo Design

The West Coast Green Conference was outstanding. We learned so much, and plan to bring many of these ideas back to our projects in Wisconsin. One of the most encouraging aspects of the conference was the steady stream of facts and statistics relating to the green residential market. Nobody left this conference without a firm understanding that green design is, without a doubt, going to be transforming the industry in the next few years. We are reaching a tipping point, and a revolution in the way we think about and relate to our homes, our lifestyles and our commitment to healthy living is at hand.

However, with this growing momentum comes the ever-present threat of ‘greenwashing’ projects. Companies who know very little about sustainability will likely want to jump on the bandwagon as their clients begin demanding healthier, less toxic, high performance homes. One of our biggest challenges is to stay focused in a field that holds limitless opportunity, and to be clear and articulate in our method of educating our community as to the benefits and basic principles of green design.

Not only have we witnessed greenwashing in our own communities, but we have also experienced an overwhelming opposition to building healthier homes on behalf of several builders. It is every builder’s responsibility to inform their clients about how they can build the best home to suit their needs. Since information about building healthy homes is readily available, scientifically proven, and becoming widely accepted throughout the country, there is no longer any excuse to withhold this information from clients. Why not take this growing momentum and use it to make positive change? Why not be recognized as a leader in your industry, instead of expressing reluctance and instilling doubt in the minds of your clients?

Some builders recognize the marketing potential, but are reluctant to commit any resources to actually learn what it takes to build a green home. Or, they join the Energy Star program, and call themselves a green builder with no further effort. While the Energy Star program is a vital part of the green building process, it is only one step of a far more comprehensive process. The truth is, given what we know about the direct and embedded costs of energy, building a home that isn’t Energy Star should be a crime.

Unfortunately, we have had to learn creative ways of ’sneaking in’ green ideas under the nose of unsuspecting builders, lest they overcharge the client out of fear that these concepts will cost more, or that it will take any amount of energy on their behalf to implement these ideas. Some of the greenest homes we’ve had built were for clients and builders alike who specifically stated that they don’t want to have anything to do with green construction. Ironically, when the project is finished, and we joke about how green it is, it immediately becomes a source of pride for them, and they use it as a talking point when describing their new home, or the home they just built.

We challenge and encourage every builder not to hide behind the size of your community as an excuse for not building green homes. Given the right information, and a bit of thoughtful education, clients will always respond positively to achieving a higher health and energy standard with their new home. Hiding behind the fact that you feel your community is too ‘conservative’ for these ideas isn’t fair either. Lower energy bills is a universal language, and nobody wants to live in a toxic home. It all depends on how you frame the argument, but make no mistake about it, within a few years, every client will be demanding this level of performance, and the sooner you can build a portfolio of green homes, the better off you’ll be when this transformation begins, no matter how small or conservative your community is.

I’ll be the first to admit that the small, conservative community has been a real challenge for us as well. But it has never been because we can’t find clients who want green homes – those people are quite easy to find. But when it comes time to build, we have to confront an overwhelming opposition to these ideas. To start with, anything that isn’t ‘designed’ by the local lumber yard meets with immediate resistance because it doesn’t fit inside the cookie cutter model for production-speed construction (while charging custom home prices). Even if the client agrees to paying slightly more for higher performance materials, and even if we provide specific information about where to purchase the materials, suggesting alternative materials is out of the question, and they proceed to throw out uneducated guesses about how much more it will cost in an attempt to scare the client away from it.

It is our responsibility to apply persistent pressure to our builder partners, and apply the same educational process toward working with them that we hope they will reflect to their customers. Once the value, and marketing potential is successfully conveyed, they take off and run with it as a source of differentiation and pride. There are so many myths and preconcieved notions that need to be cleared up before steady progress can be made.

For example, building a healthy home doesn’t cost more. There is an entire spectrum of green ideas that can be implemented, ranging from those that don’t cost anything to those that have an up-front investment, but pay for themselves over time. For example, establishing solar orientation during the design phase can save a tremendous amount of energy, either through passive solar means, or by inviting daylight into spaces that would otherwise require lights to be turned on throughout the day. If a home is minimally aware of the sun’s path across the sky, utility bills can be reduced dramatically, and the value of the home can be significantly increased.

Using non-toxic materials is another no/low cost concept. We have a vast library of resources to help clients make informed decisions about the materials being used in their homes. Many of the materials being used to build homes today are toxic, carcinogenic, and are constantly off-gasing harmful vapors. Human health hazards have been directly linked to the quality of material in the home. By simply paying attention to the materials we use, a home can be far less toxic, for a minimal investment.

Specifying recycled content, or even salvaged materials are another great aspect of building a green home on a budget. Often these materials don’t cost any more than standard materials, but often last just as long or longer, and have the same warranties.

Some of the active systems of harvesting or storing energy can add cost up-front, but have a long term payback. Systems such as photovoltaic panels, solar domestic hot water, geothermal, or wind energy can be used to help reduce utility bills. Often state and federal assistance programs can bring down their cost, and shorten the pay-back period. However, it is important to keep in mind that before spending money on advanced systems, we need to be sure the basics of energy-efficient home construction are in place first. For example, we want to build a super-efficient envelope around the home and making the energy the home uses more effective before we invest in a photovoltaic system. In some cases, you can save more energy than a photovoltaic panel can produce by simply making sure your air conditioner is balanced and maintained propertly.

We are grateful for the clients who have trusted us in bringing green home design to Wisconsin and the midwest, and are sincerely looking forward to the inevitable and long overdue transformation of this industry.

Wow, this post was going to simply state how much fun the West Coast Green conference was, but ended up becoming a rambling diatribe! Oh well – we’re fired up, and are ready to make a change in the communities we work in. Its safe to expect more rambling posts like this. This blog is a great way to organize thoughts and formulate strategy. If you have anything you’d like to add, please feel free to email me at jbrouchoud@gmail.com

We’ll be off to San Francisco for the West Coast Green Residential Conference, September 28th through the 31st. We’ll blog all about it. =)

Crescendo Design 

We have officially launched our Springboard Homes page, which sells predesigned green home plans at an affordable price. More information on our website HERE

These homes include various features such as passive solar, active solar, FSC Certified wood products, natural non-toxic materials, outdoor garden verandas, rain gardens & harvesting, native landscaping, internal home-offices and optional in-law apartments. The Hybrid House is designed to be 100% Universal/Accessible Design as well.

In addition to making green home designs more affordable, the Springboard Concept also introduces an unprecedented level of pre-construction visualization as well. With the purchase of a Springboard Home, you are given access to a fully immersive 3D virtual reality model of the same design, on your own plot of land inside of Second Life. The model can then be customized to suite the buyer’s taste, allowing them to visualize how colors, materials, finishes, appliances and furniture will look when the home is built. Have your friends and family over for a party inside your new home before construction even begins! Use the model to describe preferences to your builder. The possibilities are endless.

Our new virtual worlds service will be featured in Linden Lab’s August edition of ‘Second Opinion’ newsletter, “A Blueprint for Success: Architecture and Second Life.” Stay tuned for a link to the article when it’s live.

We will also be featured in this month’s SL Business Magazine. Many thanks to Hunter Glass, Ute Hicks, and Dalien Hansen for their work on this article. We’re honored to have been included! We will be posting a link shortly.

The ‘Little House in the Sandbox’ article featured on Virtual Suburbia, Chip Poutine’s virtual architecture blog brought more traffic to our website in 1 month than any other link has ever brought in our 4 year history. Thanks Chip! Read the article HERE

Come visit us at the first ever Fox Valley Green Building Fair at Mosquito Hill Nature Center on October 21, 2006.