Eco-Rebels: New York architects Matthew Berman, left, and Andrew Kotchen won a competition to design "zero energy" housing for New Orleans. | Photograph by Dean Kaufman "How do you inspire a revolution?" It's a question that obsesses Matthew Berman. A 36-year-old New York architect with short hair and a starched blue shirt, he doesn't, frankly, look like much of a rebel. "There's this grumbling," he continues. "It grows, it brings things to the center, and then you get this explosion."
Berman and his partner, Andrew Kotchen, 35, boast high-profile clients such as CNN's Anderson Cooper, but they think of themselves as guerrilla fighters in a global cause: reducing the impact of housing on the environment. When it comes to trashing the planet, gas-guzzling automobiles and belching factories get most of the blame. Yet the primary offenders are actually closer to home. Here are the shocking numbers: The construction and operation of buildings generate half of all greenhouse-gas emissions in the country, according to estimates based on data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Residential buildings alone account for 21% of national energy consumption -- nearly as much as transportation (27%).
Read the morning papers, and it's hard not to feel that the American housing industry is on the brink of the apocalypse. Home prices are plummeting, in some areas as much as 40%. However, it's exactly the gravity of the situation that some housing analysts see as the opportunity of a lifetime -- the chance to jolt us into embracing green housing.
The eco-revolutionary grumbling that Berman hears is spreading from communities such as California's Marin County, which now insists that all large houses meet the energy budget of a 3,500-square-foot home, to Aspen, Colorado, and surrounding Pitkin County, where any new home larger than 5,000 square feet faces special renewable-energy requirements. The latest report from McGraw-Hill Construction, cosponsored by the National Association of Home Builders, predicts that the market for green housing will grow to from as little as $12 billion this year to between $40 billion and $70 billion by 2012.
Even some large commercial home builders -- forced into hibernation by the real-estate bust -- have begun sketching plans for a decidedly different generation of American houses. "Until recently, the publicly traded home builders saw green building as a niche market best taken up by smaller players," says David Wood, director of the Boston College Institute for Responsible Investing. "But with the down market, this could be a good time for them to differentiate themselves from competitors."
Jeffrey Mezger, president and CEO of Los Angeles -- based KB Home, which built 23,743 houses last year, is among those considering the green implications -- largely for economic reasons. Two years ago, he says, the average KB Home in Southern California for a couple with two kids was 3,000 to 3,200 square feet. Today, it's 2,200 to 2,500 square feet. "Heating and cooling bills in a 3,000-square-foot home are more painful in tougher economic times," Mezger explains. In May, when Wood's BC group and Calvert Investments ranked the 13 major home builders on their environmental practices, KB ended up in the top spot.
Not everyone has gotten with the program. "When people walk into Toll Brothers, they want the luxury that Toll Brothers offers," says Matt Wilkinson, senior project manager for the high-end builder in Bucks County, near the company's Horsham, Pennsylvania, headquarters. "If people want a smaller house, they can purchase in a different community." (Toll Brothers ranked ninth on the BC/Calvert list.)
Will we, a nation that equates bigger with better, ever be able to downscale our housing ambitions? We are consumed with fixing up, showing off, and estimating the value of our property. It's the most visible manifestation of our style, our wealth, and our status. Can creative designers find a solution that allows us to enjoy luxury and shrink our footprint at the same time? If not, what will be the cost?
Back in 2002, Santa Fe architect Edward Mazria was preparing a talk for his office's regular Friday-afternoon beer-and-chips bull session when he happened to reread the 1972 book The Limits to Growth, which discussed the rate of growth of CO2 in the atmosphere and its implications for the future. Mazria wondered how that rate was being affected by the building sector 30 years later and challenged the young associates in his firm to find out.What they discovered "practically knocked me off my feet," Mazria recalls. They crunched the data for U.S. energy consumption and added in the "embodied energy" of buildings (what's required to produce and deliver materials, and construct the building). Their conclusion: 50% of all greenhouse-gas emissions -- which closely track energy use -- are building-related. "We have a crisis on our hands like no other in historical records," Mazria says, "and architects are the main players."
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Recent Comments | 8 Total
July 7, 2008 at 12:53pm by Carel Two-Eagle
I'm ordinarily opposed to blanket statements on the premise that one size never did fit all; at best, it fit 'some'. But - Smaller has ALWAYS been better, and it always will be; particularly when we're talking about buildings. (a) There are too many humans on the planet. (b) Humans of the western majority culture behave like spoiled brats when it comes to the environment that keeps us all alive. (c) Those same humans are adamantly opposed to taking responsibility for their numbers, their activities, and their effects - and "Americans" are the worst of them all. Bigger may be better if you're hunting bear, but never when you're thinking in terms of your environmental footprint. The days of cheap fuel and building materials are gone and with them, the freedom to be irresponsible. Humans did this to us all who share this planet, so humans have to get busy and fix the mess they created. Ostentatious is 'out'; tasteful and respectful are finally coming back 'in'. I rattle my tongue for this.
July 9, 2008 at 1:57pm by Benjamin Wojcikiewicz
This was a great article and does bring up some great points. What I still find rather disturbing is that in the United States we rationalize square footage beyond our needs mentally and then want the feel-good of an energy-star appliance to make it all better. The resource costs of maintaining these huge structures is something that is sapping our natural resources and increasing our overall carbon footprints...it's not just the materials, but the operation and upkeep.
According to the NAHB/ANSI Guidelines as well as the LEED guidelines, there are point reductions for homes sized over, I believe, 2500 sq. ft. The reason is the energy consumption for conditioning the space...you can have all of the green appliances in the world, but if that structure is poorly constructed, meaning leaky and not well insulated (hello shoddy construction of the McMansion), all of the green appliances, reclaimed timber or recycled glass countertops in the world aren't going to stop you from conditioning that space and using a lot of gas/electricity.
We all need to realize that it's beyond flashy materials that a structure can be constructed of and understand that true greening comes in performance. It may not be something that you can show-off to your friends like Ice Stone, Richlite, or low-VOC finishes; but until we rethink performance as luxury, we're all going to fall into the same trap.
July 16, 2008 at 4:07pm by Jim Salmons
This is an interesting and timely article. I was reminded of a '3R' (reduce, reuse, recycle) project of some friends of ours at an eco-village in western North Carolina. They built a multi-purpose B&B, conference center and extended family home structure using waste shipping pallets that were traditional burned rather than reused or recycled!
Check out 'Lay Your Pallet Down, Don't Burn It!' at the Sohodojo web site.
July 17, 2008 at 7:54am by Catherine Li
a eco-friendly,rewable constrction and decro materials--bamboo pole
Bamboo is a natural grass family plant, but it has hardwood texture and tapers from base to tip, Bamboo has fantastic merchanical properties, it shows average hardness of 1642kg/cm2, Density--720kg/m3 , tensile strength of 4340kg/cm2, bamboo is in its size, lightness and strength an extreme product of nature. It is stable and because of its cavities an extreme light and elastic decoration and building material. The reinforcement by diaphragms and its physical conditions cause its enormous superiority compared to other wood materials. It also was widely use for furniture, decoration materials as well.
Useful link http://www.chinabamboogarden.com
November 2, 2008 at 3:22am by Yeves Perez
I happen to deeply agree with the wisdom of Tom Friedman (that we cannot consume of way out of this mess and “Have you ever been to a revolution where nobody gets hurt?”). The fact is that the current economic conditions will cause a lot of companies to close their doors (websites too), and will die off altogether due to lack of understanding the competitive landscape. Those that will fight to stay alive will need to figure out — What’s Next?
I believe that the New Green Economy will include the Rise of Green Real Estate Markets paired with the continued success of Cleantech, Clean Energy Markets, and large scale shifts toward Clean Transportation, and the Greening of the IT Industries (plus a fourth quarter of record investment!!), which will lead to a boom in “American Made” Green Collar Jobs and the creation of new wealth. The trick is: “who will get it right??” Execution makes all the difference for most of these opportunities and green investors need to pay more attention to the items that management claim they can achieve.
I'd like to ask Mr. Mazria, Mr. Matthew Berman,and Andrew Kotchen if they had ever heard of the Eco Investment Club before? And if he would like to join us! The Club has hosted several high impact, educational meetings that cover these “newly hot topics” such as: “The Economic State of Green Building” with Guest Speaker Harvey Bernstein, Vice President of Industry Analytics, Alliances and Strategic Initiatives for McGraw-Hill Construction and Hosted by Citi Smith Barney’s Bruce Kahn, and the First Annual “Green Leaders Week”, which was a week-long buffet of events for investors, who were interested in getting face-to-face time with the Green Business Leaders of Southern California. The events of this highly successful week were designed to give Accredited and Institutional Investors, who were interested in getting a first-hand look inside the minds of Cleantech leaders, the opportunity to witness operations of some of the fastest growing companies by attending a series of “open houses”, starting with Envirepel Energy, Inc., a clean energy (BioMass) company in Vista, CA.
And as a special surprise: Ask Oren Jaffe, Co-Founder of EcoTuesday.com, your toughest questions on Nov 5th, 2008, as the Eco Investment Club attempts to provide direction and positive outlook for green investors and business leaders seeking answers before creating more Green Collar Jobs! The event is called, “What’s Next For The Green Economy??” Submit your questions at ecoinvestors@gmail.com and join the webinar at:https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/124526391 (Click here to register or learn more)
February 15, 2009 at 7:25pm by Tim Tessman
Quite an interesting article. Being GREEN, to me, doesn't mean diminishing a lifestyle so much as being smarter... doesn't have to cost a fortune either. It can pay for itself.
I am very interested in SIP's - Structural Insulated Panels, for greatly reducing energy use. Also LED lighting seems to be a quantum leap ahead of incandescent and CFL's. Heat pumps for heating and cooling.
Regarding SIP's, I would suggest you take time to look at LEEP Inc's metal-skinned SIP.
The 4" panel has an R25 value and is rated Category 5 for hurricanes.
Working on getting Certified GREEN in California.
> http://www.leepinc.com/product/specifications/
Good Luck.
March 11, 2009 at 11:19am by Neil Palmer
This is the way forward, I agree that green appliances only get you so far. We need to think further down the line than efficient cookers
May 8, 2009 at 3:57pm by Sam Small
Hey, how about another revolutionary new home construction method that's greener than anything yet? A house built almost entirely out of construction-grade structural bamboo! Bamboo is the fastest growing plant on the planet. Bamboo has been used for home construction since man moved out of caves only now is it available as graded and rated Code Certified construction material. Hunter Lovins talks about it in this interview on you tube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZ-Cz32_x6Efeature=channel_page
And you can see many of the over 150 code-certified, prefabricated homes they've built at the Bamboo Living web site: http://www.bambooliving.com