The 1987 United Nations report “Our Common Future,” defined sustainable development as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” Since then the design community has debated the meanings and applicability of sustainability and corollary terms such as sustainable design, green architecture and [...]

The recent past is full of paradigms that are obsolete, including the idea that residential photovoltaic solar arrays are extremely expensive systems to purchase install, and maintain. Gone are the days when the photovoltaic array had a lower return on investment than a thermal hot water system. The concept of a “payback period”? That is [...]

This post was originally published at Dwell.com and has been reprinted with permission. By Addie Broyles Bill Reed helped develop the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification, but at a panel during the South by Southwest Eco conference, he explains why it’s time to move on. “LEED is a great starting point. It’s the reason we’re able to [...]

AIRFLOOR is a hybrid radiant/forced air system that leverages the advantages of a forced air system; rapid response times, and provides both heating and cooling yet delivers the thermal comfort and efficiency advantages of a radiant system.  In lieu of using heated water lines like a traditional radiant floor system, AIRFLOOR uses conditioned air from [...]

HOW DO YOU MAKE 1,800 GALLONS OF RAINWATER DISAPPEAR? With a typical roof shedding hundreds of gallons of water in a major rainstorm, an important and potentially expensive issue arises in many San Francisco remodels: where does it all go? Rainwater diversion can be a cost-effective and sustainable solution. In this post, we will walk [...]

In 2007, Matarozzi Pelsinger Builders worked out of a loft-like industrial space in the Mission that lacked sufficient air flow on the handful of warm San Francisco days.  During those San Francisco “heat waves,” we had to haul out 6’ tall industrial fans in a feeble attempt to move the air. With the fans howling, [...]

41 years ago Denis Hayes, a young activist with a vision for a post-carbon energy future, organized the first Earth Day. That day of celebration and teach-ins was my first realization of how the resource flows through buildings impact the land, air and water.

8 dwellings 145-151 Laurel St. Northern Liberties, Philadelphia 2009 The first LEED for Homes Platinum duplex residences in the U.S.A. This eight unit residential project explores the highly efficient and architecturally latent potentials hidden within the traditional form of the Philadelphia “Row” home. The vertical rhythm, regularity yet diversity of this most prevalent residential urban [...]

As a follow-up to a recent post on Heron’s Head EcoCenter, we caught up with Alex Rood of Fulcrum Structural Engineering to discuss his contributions to the project. For those who have not read our recent post on the project, Heron’s Head EcoCenter is San Francisco’s first off-the-grid educational facility and laboratory for sustainable design [...]

In previous posts, we have looked at the addition of a green roof over a garage at a residence located on a steep slope which provided the clients with a planted space in the front of the house.  In a second post, we looked at the implementation of a green roof as a key design [...]