Environmentally friendly & affordable homes
Living green starts with some building green basics.
By Ana Belaval, Reporter
October 16, 2007
Some real estate companies are keeping it classic on the outside but environmentally forward on the inside.
"It's better for the environment - a lot more healthy for the homeowner too."
The latest project for Mark Masino and RPV development is an old graystone in Humboldt Park... Six new condos in a re-habbed building, on a street with a *very* fitting name ... *Evergreen*.
"What we were thinking is that even a smaller developer like ourselves can build more energy efficient and more green and still be affordable by just changing a few different things."
They did that by starting with the basics ... Using all the salvageable 2-by-4's that were in the original walls. In the kitchen, countertops are recycled glass and concrete ... And these energystar appliances use less electricity and water. On the walls, they used *no v-o-c paint* ... That is, 'no volatile organic compounds' ... So the paint itself is healthier. It takes a little longer to dry, but it doesn't release low-level toxic emissions, as older paints do. Under your feet ?
"Bamboo floors are a resource that renews much more quickly than a wood floor. Where an oak might take 25-years (to grow) once you chop it down and turn it into flooring, bamboo floors are renewing at more like 5-years." "When you first go green, they say one of the easiest places to do it is the bathroom, you adjust your flushes to your visits. Well, this unit has taken it a step further. The commode itself adjusts to your needs." "it's a dual-flush toilet. So kind of a big flush-small flush. Saves a lot of water."
Up on the roof .... Solar panels heat your water, cutting down on CO2 emissions ... And your bills. These one-bedrooms are priced at under 200-thousand dollars ... Making it a little easier to be green.
"I think that's the direction a lot of development, a lot of construction will go just because it *has to."
Chicago consistently ranks at the top of the list of 'green' American cities ... And our building initiatives are a big reason.
*The green permit program streamlines the process for those building eco-housing .... Permits are granted in 30-days or fewer, instead of 90-days. There are also grants to residents and businesses for rooftop gardens. For Lincoln Park architect Howard Alan, building design and environmental friendliness aren't just *linked* ... They are an intrinsic part of each other. His vision statement says that he is interested in "architecture that uses less energy than it produces".
And his Lincoln Park studio is a perfect example.
"It's built in the same simple way that you would put on a coat to go outside in the winter to keep the body heat in."
The most striking feature of the design is the water tubes on the second floor. This system is called 'passive solar' ... There are no solar panels on a roof connected to electricity. There are no pumps or controls. It's based on one of Howard's favorite ideas ....
"I like the word harvesting. It's a nice word."
These water tubes *harvest* the warmth of the sun, and store it and release it. Same goes for the three tiers of windows at the top of the studio ... Called *clear stories*.
"We have three 25-foot wide clear stories which take in the winter sun and block out most of the summer sun." "So the entire second floor is a heat sink."
A *heat sink* is a storehouse for the heat that has been harvested from the sun. That heat is then transferred *very efficiently* to other areas in the building. In the winter, the water tubes give off enough warmth that he doesn't need to turn on his heat until the nighttime.
"It just simply radiates out."
We visited Howard during the day and he was using all natural light - he had *no* electric lights on. When does he turn those on?
"I won't have any lights on until it gets dark."
Howard likes to point out that there's no great mystery to using the sun.
"It's only been in the last 200-years that people have forgotten about this." "I prefer to have a building that participates in all the natural ways that our environment has kept us alive for the past 40,000 years." "Architecture is about space - it's not about things. It's about the space we live in and what it can do for us as people. So it can interact with our body/minds and it makes a difference.
For more information:
Architect Howard Alan
RpV Realty and Development
www.rpvinc.com
(312) 421-2828
Copyright © 2008, WGN-TV
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