“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…)
Church Seat Opinions? March 14, 2007
Posted by Steve in : Church Construction , add a commentWe are moving along in our renovation of a 90,000 sq ft dry goods warehouse into an urban church in Chicago and would love to hear from you folks who have built churches as to who I should talk to about church seating. We expect to have about half theater-seating and half would be stackable seating. What are your recommendations and what are the lessons learned you can pass on in this process?
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.”
