Green Design and Architecture

My brothers told me about this new wind turbine from Windtronics that can be used for individual homes:

The Honeywell Wind Turbine from WindTronics measures just 6 feet (182 cm) in diameter and weighs 170 lbs (77kg) providing 18 % of an average household’s (DOE) energy needs.

The Honeywell Wind Turbine patented design maximizes efficiency drawing energy from the fast moving blade tips rather than a complex slow center hub. The Blade Tip Power System cuts-in with wind speeds as low as 2 MPH (3km/h), significantly more efficient than any turbine in its class and size.

Given the winds in Nuvali, this certainly is interesting!

It costs $6,495 (ouch!), plus installation which goes anywhere from $1,500 to 4,500 (double ouch ouch!), but I (want to) believe that savings on electricity charges can off-set this in the long run.

Product life is 20 years. More from the FAQ:

…

Wind power for the homeRead More »

One of the first things I did for inspiration was scour Booksale for back issues of home magazines.  Was so happy to find may way to Dwell magazine, whose tagline reads \”At Home in the Modern World.\”   There are many blogs and sites out there for design inspiration, but traditional me still loves old school prints that I can carry around and actually stare at all day long.

Dwell also has an online version, though, which interestingly enough, makes available online the same content it has on print.  Check out their section on small spaces and this special one called \”houses we love\”–lots of interesting design projects!

Been thinking of ways to bring the garden indoors.

One option is the living wall (will do an in-depth post on this soon); another is to bore holes on your roof to make way for sunlight and growing tree branches… I don\’t know what it\’s called, but tree well sounds nice. 🙂

That\’s a pic from the Treveia clubhouse.

Looks nice now, but I wonder how taxing (or not) the upkeep is…

Here\’s the same concept I saw at Sonya\’s garden in Tagaytay:

It can also be flushed to the wall like this:

Oh how nice to have so much green indoors!

If I make my first floor at least 3.6m high, I can do this right?

My fave new word!

Been researching patio and indoor garden designs to incorporate into my house, and came across Rusco, a door and window supplier which offered exactly what I was looking for– a bright, sunny happy room for lounging, entertaining, or doing some serious quiet time:

And what could be a more apt word for it than sunroom!

I can already see it– a cheery sunroom surrounded with green vertical gardens and happy living walls…!

Ayayay, so exciting!

More sunroom photos at Rusco.Ca.

This is sustainable architecture!

Hope to visit Bacungan and see this for myself next month:

Learn to Sculpt your own house with your bare hands, using just clay, sand and bamboo!

Interactive workshop starts on November 4, 2010
Innerdance Energy School,
Earth Village, Bacungan,
Puerto Princesa City, Palawan

For more info/reservation contact 09994512765

Reposted from Bahay Kalipay\’s facebook page

Was so happy to get finally get my copy yesterday!

First heard about this book from my friend Pompet, who says it’s his bible in building sustainable homes in Palawan.

The author, Johan van Lengen, founded the Bio-architecture and Intuitive Technology (TIBA) School in the Mata Atlantica (coastal jungle) of Brazil. The book is easy to follow, very practical but comprehensive, with sustainable design guides and zoning plans for communities (not just individual houses).

The reference page at the back has this Old Chinese saying:

When a king dies, his people say:  “He did this; he did that…”

But when a great king dies, they say: “We did everything ourselves.”

Wow.   Hope to use its ideas eventually as I bring to life my dream of an eco village, but also now, on a smaller scale, as I get started on building my first home! So exciting.

Other pegs for a green home from modresdes.com:

Special thanks to my good friend, Marns, for the book!

NOTE: This site got hacked last month and boo that my back-up didn’t include the latest 4 posts (lesson learned: back-up everyday!).  I’m resurrecting this second of four posts (original publish date: January 2010) from loose emails and saved drafts.

Check out this Eco house made by Cebu City Councilor Nestor Archival (cost him around Php7M!).  Dubbed “the house close to nature”, it occupies 400sqm (in a 7,000 sqm property), is self-sustaining, and uses lots of recycled materials.  It has facilities for vermicomposting (30 wormbeds!) and wastewater treatment, and a pig farm with a biodigester (which harvests gas that can be used for cooking).

The artist community I want to build in Tagaytay will be something like this, but with a bigger open space in the middle that’s open to the public, and (hopefully) a lively, creative mix of residents surrounding it..

In any case, I’m glad to see the green-home concept is being implemented already, and by government people at that!

UPDATE: Councilor Archival was recognized just this month (March 2010) as one of the country’s top 10 councilors, and yes, for his environmental efforts!

Colleagues pick Archival among RP’s 10 outstanding councilors

Out of 10 national awardees, Archival is the only one from the Visayas. Archival attributed his win to his advocacy on mixing environmental awareness with livelihood.

He said Cebu City’s “Kwarta sa Basura” program not only promoted clean surroundings through garbage segregation, but also provided livelihood.

Another program Archival initiated was the Metro Cebu Air Shed Board (MCASB), the first of its kind in the country.

The MCASB is composed of local chief executives in Metro Cebu who agreed to take part in efforts to improve the quality of air in their communities.

Archival proposed the creation of MCASB last year. It is supposed to help the Department of Environment and Natural Resources check air quality, set emission standards, determine penalties for violators in a particular air shed, as well as draw up anti-pollution programs suited for a given area.

Archival is also responsible for the formation of the Cebu Environmental Sanitation and Enforcement Team (Ceset), which allows the strict implementation of environmental laws, such as the Ecological Solid Waste Management Law.

As of yesterday, about 20,000 violators have been formally charged through the help of the local police, and about P2 million have been collected as violation fees.

Aside from Archival, other winners of this year’s PCL 10 Outstanding Councilors of the Philippines were Edwin Piano of Olongapo City, Abigael Sable of Santiago City, Ellen Reyes of San Pablo City, Raul Rivera of Cabancalan City, Gedo Jarbin Jr. of Legazpi City, Roman Melliza of General Santos City, Lourdes Tabanda of Baguio City, Aurelio Paolo Bartolome of Taguig City and Maria Belen Acosta of Davao City.

(Source: Sunstar Cebu)

Hurrah! Spread the green please!