UPDATE: Submissions are now closed. We will contact the winner in the week.
Next month, the annual Greenbuild International Conference and Expo is coming to the Big Easy for three days of speakers and educational workshops that discuss sustainable architecture. If you haven’t booked your ticket already, here is a chance to attend the event free of charge!
reThink Wood is offering a full pre-paid pass to Greenbuild this year ($700 value) to one lucky ArchDaily reader. The winner will also be able to meet with architects on-site that are passionate about the green movement and reducing the environmental impact of buildings through innovative design with wood.
To win, just answer the following question in the comments section before September 26 12:00PM EST: "Which architecture firm(s) are doing the most innovative green designs with wood today?"
More on reThink Wood at Greenbuild after the break.
As part of their attendance at Greenbuild, reThink Wood will have several experts on-site representing architects and engineers from Bensonwood, Holmes Culley, research firm FPInnovations and U.S. WoodWorks to discuss how wood framing is contributing to reduced environmental impact, and helping building designers earn points in green rating systems like LEEDv4. Attendees are invited to personally meet with these experts at reThink Wood’s booth (#2245), and attend educational presentations during the conference.
reThink Wood events taking place at its booth (#2245) throughout the convention include:
#GreenbuildChat Twitter Q&A
Join @reThinkWood for a LIVE Twitter discussion on Wednesday, October 22 at 11:00 AM CT with a panel of architects to discuss how wood allows architects to design effective urban structures while earning points in LEEDv4. Participants are encouraged to gather in-person at the booth for the discussion, or join virtually using the hashtag, #GreenbuildChat.
Education Labs, Presented by WoodWorks:
Comparative Life Cycle Assessment: Multi-Story, CLT Apartment in Quebec
Blane Grann, Scientist in the Durability and Sustainability group at FPInnovations
Wednesday, October 22 – 11:00 am - 12:00 pm
Cross laminated timber (CLT), in combination with other engineered wood products, is creating new opportunities for the use of wood as a structural material in taller building systems. This presentation examines the results of a life cycle assessment (LCA) comparing the environmental performance of a multi-story CLT apartment building in Quebec with a similarly designed concrete slab building. While the carbon benefits related to the use of wood in building systems has been well documented, LCA also highlights potential trade-offs in other impact categories. Results from this assessment underscore the importance of adopting LCA in the design phase, rather than as a post-hoc assessment tool, to identify specific opportunities to improve life cycle environmental performance.
Mid-Rise and Beyond - Wood Construction in the Vibrant Urban Environment
Scott Breneman, Senior Technical Director at WoodWorks
Wednesday, October 22 – 12:30 pm - 1:30 pm
The use of wood-frame construction for mid-rise projects is innovative in its ability to achieve multiple, simultaneous objectives. Wood is a code-compliant solution to the issue of how to cost-effectively increase density while creating vibrant urban environments. A renewable resource, it can also help meet the sustainability requirements of even the most stringent green building rating systems, while offering the additional benefit of carbon sequestration. The innovative use of wood is in fact changing the skyline. Increasingly, five- and six-story wood buildings are rising up among traditional concrete and steel shells as designers and developers embrace timber’s vast potential for lower costs, faster installation, and a significantly lighter carbon footprint. Through the use of case studies, this session will showcase recently completed projects that illustrate this trend. Topics will include current code allowances for mid-rise wood buildings, design strategies and environmental performance.
Resilient Communities by Design
Erik Kneer, Project Manager at Holmes Culley, Founding member of the Structural Engineers Association of California's (SEAOC) Sustainable Design Committee
Thursday, October 23 – 10:30 - 11:30 am
The presentation will examine how the structural engineering community is using performance-based design to rethink our assumptions of green building. This unique methodology involves a marriage between the science of hazard loss estimation and environmental life cycle assessment (LCA). The benefit of using this performance-based design is to minimize the potential environmental impacts of our buildings. Case studies will be presented that offer valuable lessons to designers in working toward improved design strategies that minimize the potential environmental impacts of our built environment.
School Building as Teacher: Design for the Future
Randall Walter, AIA LEED AP, Architect at Bensonwood
Thursday, October 23 – 11:45 am - 12:45 pm
Built and opened to students in 2012, Burr and Burton Academy’s Mountain Campus is an innovative model for place-based environmental education. From campus design and construction to curriculum design and execution, all elements of the process have worked to maximize the success of the program mission: to be a catalyst for student growth as individuals, members of communities, and citizens of a sustainable world. Presenters will discuss design concepts that helped the campus achieve “net zero” targets, as well as biophilic design, student experiences monitoring the buildings’ energy performance, living in and caring for the space, and the ripple effects of student experiences.
Planned dialog between presenters will bring to life the design, construction and active use process, including initial design goals, site evaluation, review of LEED criteria, design process charrette, site schedule and assembly of the building, occupation, and daily and seasonal changes during the first two years of operation. Embedded pedagogical aspects of the building will also be highlighted, including declination angles, biomorphic-inspired framing, tactile surface installations, local material celebrations, salvaged wood and insulation strategies, building reuse examples, and the recycled content of building materials.
Healthy Buildings: The Case for Visual Wood
David Fell, Research Leader for Market Research at FPInnovations
Thursday, October 23 – 1:00 - 2:00 pm
Recent studies, along with evidence emerging from Europe and Asia, suggest that the use of wood indoors lowers stress reactivity of the sympathetic nervous system—which is associated with lower blood pressure, lower heart-rate, lower psychological stress, lower susceptibility to illness, and a better ability to focus attention. This is relevant both in the context of evidence-based design, which studies the effects of building design on occupants (among other things), and biopholic design, which considers the general affinity humans have for nature and addresses it through design elements and materials. This presentation will provide an overview of the evidence and mechanisms through which wood can affect human health, and its increasing use in educational, office and other environments.
To learn more about reThink Wood, visit: www.rethinkwood.com. Or, connect with reThink Wood on Facebook, Twitter and Slideshare!
Remember, to enter to win your Greenbuild Pass, just answer the following question in the comments section before September 26 12:00PM EST: "Which architecture firm(s) are doing the most innovative green designs with wood today?"
