VJPK3 Almost Done!
Come see all the construction photos & videos of this unique custom green home in Scottsdale, AZ.

And here is a little preview of the almost completed home.

Aperture Design Website Launch

Come visit my new company at aperturedesignaz.com

This is the custom home I designed and am currently building: Broadview Pointe. It's designed as a passive solar home with both mountain views and city views. All rooms have a walkout terrace or courtyard. Some of the sustainable features going into this home are a greywater system, photo-voltaic solar panels, high performance spray foam non-VOC insulation, tankless water heaters, dual stage air compressors, Low-E and insulated glazing units, engineered lumber and recycled content finished products.

Here's the progress just before Christmas.

And here is a rough rendering of what it should look like when complete (some of the detailing and colors are not accurate at this stage). Notice the windows to the living space (2nd floor) are all shaded.

Sasquatch
I’m sure you’re wondering what a mythical wookie like creature has to do with being green? It’s all about the footprint; And most of us have a Big Foot…er footprint.

My first post discussed our options for replacing our non-renewable energy sources with something a little easier on this rock we call Earth. I did a little best case scenario mathematics and came up with a solution to end all our energy needs….domestic and foreign right? Wrong! Here’s the thing about this amazing free enterprise capitalist society we live in. We have these tidy little rules called supply and demand that govern the balance of the market. Isn’t that a nice word: BALANCE. Well, to really reach our energy independence in a timely manner, we need to find that balance with our energy production AND demand.

So here are 10 ways that you too can reduce your global boot size. And I’m even going to invoke my favorite four letter word that starts with F – all of these things you can do for FREE!
1. Burn carbs not gas
a. Walk to work, the store, the park, your buddy’s place, or wherever those short car trips can be avoided.
b. Ride a bike (if you already have one). Did you know the bicycle is one of the most efficient forms of locomotion ever invented? No wonder why it’s good enough to serve as primary transportation for one billion people worldwide. Even consider getting around your next vacation destination via pedal power.
2. Don’ feed the need
a. Recycle at home and work. If you don’t already, you’d be surprised to see how much of your waste can be recycled. If It’s not offered in your community, start a petition with your neighbors’ signatures. At least haul your rubbish to the recycle bins until you get service.
b. Freecycle; the concept is simple, trade useful stuff to people in your vicinity, keeping more material from being put into landfills. Oh yeah, it’s all completely free!
3. Don’t drain the main vein
a. Turn off lights when not in the room. I know this seems like a no brainer, but how often do we see this (especially at the workplace)?
b. Your computer works hard for you, let it get some sleep. Set your power profile to shut off your monitor and sleep the computer after a short time, say 5 minutes of inactivity. Better yet, have it completely shut down as even a sleeping computer draws some current.
c. While it’s nice to have cell phone, ipod, and camera chargers conveniently sprinkled throughout your homes electrical outlets, they are actually sucking the life blood of your utility when nothing is plugged in. Pull the plug or load them onto a switched power strip.
4. Let your kids have green beer every day, not just St. Patrick’s Day. Well, at least try being a green Mum & Pop. Try breastfeeding, using cloth diapers, and making simple baby food from scratch, like smashed bananas or sweet potatoes. Give and get hand-me-down clothes, toys, and some of the other “must have” child rearing equipment.
5. Change your diet
a. Become a locavore. By choosing out of season organic food that's transported from overseas instead of locally grown, the pollution caused by the container ships outweighs any benefit you're going to get.
b. Become a vegetarian. According to the USDA, growing crops for farm animals requires nearly half of the U.S. water supply and 80% of its agricultural land. Livestock account for nearly 20% of the total U.S. methane emissions.
6. Turn the thermostat up (or down). When it starts to get a wee bit nippy, pull out that old wool sweater Grandma knitted back in 1973. Double up the blankets at bedtime and find someone nice to cuddle up with. While the pavement is melting outside, let a ceiling or desk fan do more work, not the AC. You’d be surprised how much a degree or two can affect your energy consumption.
7. Cleanliness is next to Greenliness
a. Take shorter showers, or skip every other day. Hey, you got away with it all through college didn’t you?
b. Only run the dishwasher washing or washing machine when full. Save water, time & energy.
c. Let the sun do the fluff cycle. Hang up and air dry the laundry.
8. Plant a tree. I have a wannabe park ranger brother-in-law with such a green thumb, he can take the fallen seeds from just about anything and coax them to grow into a beautiful new specimen. Look around your public spaces, or ask some neighbors for seeds. If you’re patient, you’ll see results.
9. Go to the library. Most of the books we procure from the big box and online sellers are available from our local libraries. Isn’t it nice to share….besides you can feel like you’re getting something for all those taxes.
10. Become an environmental advocate! Well, once you’ve been empowered with all these earth changing ideas, share the wealth. I’m sure you’ll come up with your own ways to break the energy habit, and by sharing your success, you can multiply the effects.

Let’s go through a little exercise together. I want all of you readers in the etherland to close your eyes…wait, at least finish this paragraph before you close ‘em. So, shut your eyes and start painting a mental picture of the room you are in. But instead of relying on your visual memory of the space, I want you to rely on your other senses. Don’t be afraid to make a noise and listen for the response the area gives you. If other people are in the room and question your actions, blame it on a temporary bout of insanity or web rage. Keep your eyes closed and process that auditory feedback. What do you “see” now that you didn’t see before? What acoustic characteristics do you notice? This is something your brain automatically processes that you don’t even realize is happening; part of the environmental picture your brain creates when you perceive a space.

Our bodies process changes in volume, echo, and sound absorption to give your mind a three dimension picture of space. This shapes the picture in your mind and supplements the visual references. When I worked in a recording studio, we paid special attention to what we called a “noise floor”. This is simply the quietest level, or lowest acoustic signature, you can attain or achieve in a room or space. At times, it becomes beneficial to artificially raise the noise floor to mask unwanted sounds. This can be achieved in a variety ways including adding music, natural sounds such as moving water or fountains, opening or closing a window or door. One of the great things about the auditory signature of a space is it’s much easier to change than the visual arrangement. It’s probably not as feasible to repaint / redecorate a room every other weekend, but changing the way a space sounds is relatively easy. Draw heavy curtains over a window, rearrange the furniture, roll out a heavy rug - it all has a relationship to the way a room feels.

Think about spaces that we interact with that have a unique aural fingerprint; Caves, churches & cathedrals, government buildings, museums, and libraries. These examples go back hundreds if not thousands of years, and influence our experiences in those spaces. I know everyone has at least once belted out a couple verses of “O Sole Mio” in the shower convinced they were in fact the lost Forth Tenor. Watch a child next time you enter one of these places. Sometimes they instinctively whisper in a library, or love to blast their voices into a large reverberating room to hear their own echo.

In a well designed performance hall, although some seats provide a better visual reference to the performers, the goal of the designer is to provide an equal acoustic experience for every member of the audience. Have you ever found yourself at a symphonic or operatic concert and bee moved to close your eyes and let your mind merge with the waves of sound showering your body. I even take the opportunity to revel in a great recorded performance while on my daily commute. Turn up the volume knob and envelop yourself in the sound, transporting…no, swimming into the stream of music.

When the occasion arises to influence our environment, make sure to spend some attention on the way the finished envelope sounds as well as it looks. You might find unexpected characteristics. Just like people like to be listened too, so to do buildings.

Just having some fun with SketchUp and Photoshop.