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If someone asked me what my carbon footprint was 10 years ago, I probably wouldn’t have had any idea what they were talking about.  Now, I can find that answer rather quickly on a number of different websites including carbonfootprint.com and the Nature Conservatory’s website.  Just by imputing a few estimations about my home energy use, recycling, and transportation choices I am given a number in tons of carbon/year.  Most sites will also show you how you compare you to the US national average and the global average and show recommendations on how to lower your green house gas emissions.

While measuring my personal carbon footprint takes a few minutes, how would someone go about measuring the carbon footprint of an entire city like Boston?  Calculating this footprint has a great deal more variables including measuring the exhaust of the commuting traffic daily, energy consumption for both commercial and residential and consideration of photosynthesis in the city. Recently Nathan Philips from Boston University received a grant to take on this task.  The National Science Foundation and U.S. Forest Service are financing the precursor to this project which will measure carbon footprint around one of Boston’s busiest streets, Commonwealth Ave.  

Their calculations will cumulate to create a map of Boston that will display the largest carbon emission spots and uptake zones. Philip’s hope is that policy makers in the city will use this to address the serious problems that the city and other cities worldwide are currently facing.

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Tags:Boston, carbon footprint, recycle, recycling

The Boston Architectural College/Worcester Polytechnic Institute Advanced Studio Course Comes to an End

In a previous blog, I had written about a class that I was assistant teaching during the Spring 2009 semester, along with Andreas Savvides AIA, AICP of Boston Architectural College and Alan Quinn of Sasaki Associates, Inc., Masters and Bachelors of Architecture students have been teamed with, Worchester Polytechnic Institute, cost estimating students to evolve their creative designs into affordable, energy efficient structures.

Through the use of the VE-Ware, Revit plug-in, and the VE-Toolkits, students were able to explore their designs in a way they had not experienced before. Perhaps the most surprising thing to the students was how badly their buildings performed initially before making changes to the building envelope, heating and cooling system, orientation, etc., especially when compared again CBECS (Commercial Building Energy Consumption Survey) data. Once students had successfully translated their Revit models to IES, the initial results were noted and became the starting point for a competition. The student who could make the greatest impact on their building energy consumption, looking at the variable of “design building energy use intensity”, would receive a year student license of IES’ full suite of software, as well as a write-up on the IES Blog.

Craig W. Herrmann, a student at Boston Architectural College in the Bachelor of Architecture program and a Project Coordinator at Jacobs Engineering, employed multiple strategies to reduce his building’s energy consumption. By incorporating roof overhangs, external shading devices, a very energy efficient building envelope, and the most appropriate heating and cooling system, Craig was not only able to win the contest, but was also able to cut the energy consumption almost in half. As you can see from Craig’s presentation, the resulting structure was both aesthetically appealing and thoughtful to its environmental impact.

You can view the full presentation here

In the next few years, courses that include energy modelling are becoming more and more prevalent at architectural colleges around the country. The Boston Architectural College pushes to stay at the forefront of this technological movement, and I will be back to teach more courses like this in the future.

However, I need to finish my own Master’s thesis first. Wish me luck!

Michelle

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Tags:AIA, Boston, Engineers, plug-in, plug-ins, reduce, Revit, VE-Toolkits, VE-Ware

From goats to green roofs and organic composting to affordable green housing, cities across the states are working on creative ways to save the planet.   People are used to recycling programs and the promotion of public transportation, but some cities are going above and beyond those steps to ensure that our planet fights global warning.

These cities are rated in the Natural Resource Defense Council’s top 10 smart cities.  The ranks were defined by a number of different categories including alternative energy, affordable housing, energy efficiency, and public transportation.  Topping this list was Seattle, Washington who has begun using goats instead of pesticides to clear away unwanted shrubbery. 

Austin Texas made the list at number 6 for their energy saving insulation and sealing.  The city of Austin, provides free installation for the energy conserving upgrades for low and moderate income homes.  They are also running a program that allows residents to sell excess energy from their solar panels back to the city.

My home city of Boston ranks as number 8 on the list of smart cities for their implementation of one of the largest public transportation systems.  Boston is adding to their bicycle structure adding new bike lanes and more racks.

To find out more, or see how your city ranks, please see the Natural Resource Defense Council’s website, http://www.nrdc.org/about/ or http://green.yahoo.com/blog/greenpicks/249/top-10-u-s-cities-of-the-future.html

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Tags:Boston, cycling, free, recycle, recycling, Sustainability, Texas, USA