Global…..Cooling? May 11, 2008
Posted by Steve in : Breaking News, Methods & Strategies, Adaptive Reuse, Energy Efficiency, Sustainability , add a commentThis past April, the USA had an average temperature of 51 degrees, which was one of the coolest in the last 114 years — where is the global warming? Look at the data here.
Crosby Update and Work Days March 31, 2008
Posted by Steve in : The City, Breaking News, Inside Park, Adaptive Reuse, Church Construction, Missional, The Cultural Conversation , add a commentFinally — after many delays, we are GOING TO PULL AUDIO-VIDEO wire this Saturday (woo Hoo!) as we gear up each weekend in April to get all of our audio/video stuf installed. It is starting to get real exciting!
Crosby Work Days
Crosby Work Days are back in full swing as we are counting down the days to opening our new ministry center at 1001 N. Crosby. Volunteers have already done a great job helping us paint the garage, and this Saturday, April 5, we need 20-25 volunteers to help with wire pulling throughout the day from 8 AM-6 PM. Come on out all you home renovators and construction-types and be part of this historic time! Please register to volunteer so we can plan accordingly.
Additional work days will be held on April 12 & 13, April 19 & 20 and April 26 & 27. Work times will be from 8 AM-6 PM on Saturdays and 1-5 PM on Sundays.
Check out the photos below:
Third Floor Worship Center Lobby With
HUGE windows looking on onto Crosby
Stage and Catwalk are coming along nicely
Can You see the boxes for the sub-woofer on the open stage area?
The Chicago brick is being put up and the greystone tile is coming next — It
is so cool to live in Chicago!
All the platforms are almost done for the permanent 517 seats on the tiers.
The Sustainable House March 25, 2008
Posted by Steve in : Breaking News, Adaptive Reuse, Energy Efficiency, Sustainability , add a commentI am a big fan of using the sun and wind as energy sources rather than paying the local utility, and working to create a sustainable house. I love to imagine what one of these “energy-free” houses would be like and I think I found one in Enertia. I saw them tonight on the Science Channel.
In the Enertia Building System, solid Energy-Engineered wood walls replace siding, framing, insulation, and paneling. An air flow and access channel, or Envelope, runs around the building, just inside the walls - creating a miniature biosphere. Here solar heated air circulates, pumping and boosting geothermal energy from beneath the house, storing it in the massive wood walls. Thermal inertia causes the house to “float” between the cycles of night and day, and even between the seasons.
Many aspects of the Enertia® House are unusual and innovative - but backed up by science, common-sense, and prototype homes across America. In fact, each aspect listed below increases the energy efficiency of the building. The effect is Synergistic - equal to more than the sum of the parts. The Enertia® House can make more energy than it uses!
What do you think? I love this idea. Could you do one of these in Chicago?
Get Rid of Those Catalogs — Easily March 5, 2008
Posted by Steve in : Breaking News, Adaptive Reuse, Internet Resources, Culture and Faith , 2commentsMy wife and I are studying “Restoring Margin in our Overloaded Lives” in our small group study and what a time a personal reflection — we are looking at all the things that barrage and steal away our time and our attention.
Sue got wind of this site that let’s you opt out of catalogs you receive in your mail almost every day. CatalogChoice.org is a free service that allows you to decide what gets in your mailbox so use it to reduce your mailbox clutter, while helping save natural resources.
Who They Are
Catalog Choice is a sponsored project of the Ecology Center. It is endorsed by the National Wildlife Federation and the Natural Resources Defense Council, and funded by the Overbrook Foundation, the Merck Family Fund, and the Kendeda Fund.
Their mission
The mission of Catalog Choice is to reduce the number of repeat and unsolicited catalog mailings, and to promote the adoption of sustainable industry best practices. We aim to accomplish this by freely providing the Catalog Choice services to both consumers and businesses. Consumers can indicate which catalogs they no longer wish to receive, and businesses can receive a list of consumers no longer wanting to receive their catalogs. If you can believe it, the Catalog Choice community has already opted out of 8,072,914 catalogs, improving their lives, and conserving our planet’s natural resources!
Background on Catalog Shippers
While catalog shopping may provide some environmental benefits, the millions of unwanted catalogs Americans receive in their mailbox represent a significant environmental burden, devouring natural resources, generating pollutants, and clogging municipal waste systems—for something that quickly ends up in the trash or recycling bin. While catalog companies make it easy to receive a catalog, consumers frequently find it frustrating and time consuming to get their names off these mailing lists, especially when they receive catalogs from multiple direct mailers. The industry mails more than 19 billion catalogs a year to Americans—approximately 170 catalogs for every U.S. household !
Do it NOW - Clean out your mailbox! Click HERE
“Green Houses”: The Inconvenient Truth February 29, 2008
Posted by Steve in : The City, Methods & Strategies, Adaptive Reuse, Energy Efficiency , add a commentAs energy prices continue to increase, I have searched for ways to reduce our cost of energy in our house — I am currently looking at solar power, wind energy and geothermal (although running a 300 foot deep pipe in the backyard doens’t seem feasible in the city) . If you like this stuff, check out Chicago company Aerotecture for their urban windmills! I came across an article that looked at two different approaches to home building and energy consumption. Look over the description of the following two houses and see if you can tell which one belongs to an environmentalist:
House Number One
So I find articles about the direction oA 20 room mansion (not including 8 bathrooms) heated by natural gas. Add on a pool (and a pool house) and a separate guest house, all heated by gas. In one month this residence consumes more energy than the average American household does in a year. The average monthly bill for electricity and natural gas runs over $2,400. In natural gas alone, this property consumes more than 20 times the national average for an American home. This house is not situated in a Northern or Midwestern “snow belt” area. It’s in the South.
House Number Two
Designed by an architecture professor at a leading national university. 
This house incorporates every “green” feature current home construction can provide. The house is 4,000 square feet ( 4 bedrooms ) and is nestled on a high prairie in the American southwest. A central closet in the house holds geothermal heat-pumps drawing ground water through pipes sunk 300 feet into the ground. The water (usually 67 degrees F. ) heats the house in the winter and cools it in the summer. The system uses no fossil fuels such as oil or natural gas and it consumes one-quarter electricity required for a conventional heating/cooling system. Rainwater from the roof is collected and funneled into a 25,000 gallon underground cistern. Wastewater from showers, sinks and toilets goes into underground purifying tanks and then into the cistern. The collected water then irrigates the land surrounding the house. Surrounding flowers and shrubs native to the area enable the property to blend into the surrounding rural landscape.
House number one is outside of Nashville , Tennessee; it is the abode of the “environmentalist” Al Gore. House number two is on a ranch near Crawford, Texas; it is the residence the of the President of the United States , George W. Bush.
Alas, this is an “inconvenient truth” for environmentalists who can’t walk the talk.
Background
According to the Associated Press, the Gore’s 10,000 square foot Belle Meade residence (more…)
Chicago DifferenceMakers - Pacific Garden May 6, 2007
Posted by Steve in : The City, Chicago, Church, Urban Church, Methods & Strategies, Adaptive Reuse, Missional, DifferenceMakers , add a commentThe Pacific Garden mission is close to moving in their new home and they have been a Chicago DifferenceMaker for more than 130 years, as untold thousands have come to know the love of Christ through this national institution. Yea PGM– Congrats on the new digs!
America’s Largest Continuously Operating Rescue Mission Prepares for Move to New State-of-The-Art-Facility
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| New building digital rendering |
CHICAGO, IL (Assist News Service) – After being located at 646 South State Street since 1923, Chicago’s Pacific Garden Mission (PGM) is a few short months away from moving into a new 150,000 square foot state-of-the-art rescue mission. In addition to the benefit of bringing all its ministry services under one roof, the functional, three-story facility has been planned with Green environmentally friendly design principles and renewable energy technologies in mind.
At the building’s 2005 groundbreaking ceremony, PGM President David McCarrell traced the history and longevity of the mission. He stated, “For 128 years, Pacific Garden Mission has served the spiritual and social needs of the less fortunate citizens of Chicago. This new state-of-the-art facility will enable us to address the spiritual and physical needs more effectively in a building that is LEED [Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design] certified and environmentally friendly.”
Where Are the 49% Going to Live? March 28, 2007
Posted by Steve in : Chicago, Adaptive Reuse, The Cultural Conversation , add a comment
The Census Bureau recently released their estimated population projections for 2050. Overall, the country’s population is expected to continue to grow, increasing from 282.1 million in 2000 (and 300 million in 2006) to 419.9 million in 2050. The nation’s projected 49 percent population increase during the next 50 years would be in sharp contrast to most European countries, whose populations are expected to decline by mid-century.
My question: Where are all these people going to live?
The total U.S. population crossed the 100 million mark around 1915, the 200 million mark in 1967 (52 years later), and the 300 million mark in Oct 17, 2006 (39 years later) The U.S. population more than tripled during the 20th century - a growth rate of about 1.3 percent a year - from about 76 million in 1900 to 281 million in 2000. I agree with all the folks who are concerned about urban sprawl.
This is going to be a huge problem - not so much for cities like Chicago but for all the poorly designed outying areas. Imagine the amount of highway infrastructure (and tax dollars) that will be needed to create 4 and 6 lane highways in the outlying areas to allow people to get around. Look at Business 2.0’s article about Megapolitan areas which tries to see which megapolian areas will benefit from urban sprawl. I think the total cost on all of America will be quite high as we try to provide for more than 419 million people.
Warehouse Church in Chicago! March 3, 2007
Posted by Steve in : The City, Church Construction , add a comment
Park Community Church is building the country’s coolest church in a dry goods warehouse on the near northside of Chicago. With more than 90,000 sq ft, this first permanent home for the church allows them to stop renting after 19 years in the city.
Check out the photos and building renderings at www.preparingformore.org. Check our our “PARKCam” webcam here.
Future Design February 27, 2007
Posted by Steve in : Adaptive Reuse, Church Construction , add a commentIn the city of Chicago, it is very hard to own your own building but after 18 years, Park COmmunity Church is renovating a warehouse into the coolest church in the land. As we glean ideas from other architectural creations, I came across this Helios futuristic gas station in California and thought I would share it with you. Also check out photo2 and photo3. I call it “Exxon meets the Jetsons”.
Adaptive Reuse of a Church October 22, 2006
Posted by Steve in : Weblog, Church, Adaptive Reuse, Church Construction , add a commentMany buildings and other commercial and organization structures are being made into churches and churches are also being made into residential homes. In Chicago, our church, Park Community Church, is providing an adaptive reuse for a 70,000 square foot warehouse, which will become our permanent church home. See here for the building plans.
In Santa Monica, architect and educator Anne Troutman had just about given up on finding a home with character when her prayers were answered–an 1875 Carpenter Gothic church had appeared on a multiple listing service. She and her husband went the other direction, taking a church and creating an adaptive reuse into a residence. Read the whole article here.
The humble church–Santa Monica’s oldest remaining wood structure and a landmark since 1977–has had four owners and three locations in its 130-year life. When the building was threatened with demolition in 1971, local artist Helen Taylor Sheats saved it from the wrecking ball by converting it into her atelier. The predicament for Troutman and her husband, architect Aleks Istanbullu, was how to retain the architectural integrity of the church, yet have it reflect their modern sensibilities. Their solution: a free-standing cabinet-like structure set within the 40-foot-square sanctuary. “The walls don’t touch the old church,” explains Troutman. “We essentially built a building within a building.”
