Resilience

Green Building February 11th Luncheon:

Posted on January 29, 2020 by Chris

The Charlottesville Climate Collaborative empowers individuals and businesses to be climate leaders with strategies to take action. This presentation will provide practical solutions to help you make a positive impact and achieve sustainability goals in your lifestyle, business, and community.

Speakers:

Andrea Bostrom

Andrea is the Charlottesville Climate Collaborative’s Residential Program Manager. Andrea began her journey into advocacy as a high school student in the Deep South, holding the enviable title of President of the Students for Environmental Awareness club. A native of Alabama, she grew up eating home grown tomatoes, communing with horses, and riding her bike through peach orchards. She took her passion for the environment towards a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Engineering from Louisiana State University and a Master’s Degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of Texas – Austin. Andrea has spent almost two decades as an engineer, policy maker, and program manager in both the public and private sectors. She served as the program manager for the flood protection program at the City of Austin’s Watershed Protection Department for seven years before relocating to Charlottesville in 2014. She served as Director of the Charlottesville Waldorf School before joining C3 in September 2019.

Claire Habel

Claire Habel, C3’s Commercial Program Manager, grew up in Minnesota exploring the natural world. At C3’ she is running the Better Business Challenge as well as our Green Schools network. She graduated from DePaul University cum laude with a Bachelors in Intercultural Communication and earned her master’s degree in Environmental Communications & Advocacy from James Madison University. Most recently Claire worked with the City of Charlottesville’s Environmental Sustainability Division and Office of Communications. Claire is passionate about engaging businesses to promote sustainable practices.

Lunch will be provided

I GBCI and AIA CE credit pending approval

Fee: $10 for members and $20 for nonmembers.

Lunch will be served, Register Here

Our meeting space is generously donated by the City of Charlottesville.

DATE AND TIME
Tue, February 11th, 2020: 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM EDT
LOCATION
City Space, 100 5th Street NE, Downtown Mall, Charlottesville, Virginia 22902
Categories: Announcements, Communities, Education, Resilience | Tags: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Green Building January 14th Luncheon: Climate Action Together: City, County, UVA

Posted on December 18, 2019 by Chris

2019 was a big year for climate action in the Charlottesville area. The City of Charlottesville and Albemarle County both set goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 45% by 2030 and to be carbon neutral by 2050. Last month, UVA committed to be carbon neutral by 2030 and fossil fuel free by 2050. Charlottesville, Albemarle, and UVA are now developing new climate action plans while simultaneously continuing to implement projects that reduce emissions and to engage the community on individual action. Join us to hear from sustainability staff from each entity about the planning process, new and ongoing initiatives, and ways to get involved.

Speakers:

Narissa Turner is the Climate Program Coordinator for the County of Albemarle where she supports efforts to develop and implement goals and strategies for climate protection and resiliency in the County. Prior to joining the County in 2018, Narissa was a Climate Engagement Intern for The Center for Community Self-Help in Durham North Carolina. Narissa holds a MA in Climate and Society from Columbia University and a B.S. in Natural Resources and Recreational Tourism from the University of Georgia.”

Andrea Ruedy Trimble is Sustainability Director at the University of Virginia and has been a leader in university sustainability initiatives for over thirteen years. Andrea has a passion for sustainability in higher education because of the interconnectedness of operations, curriculum, research, and engagement, and the potential to accelerate change through replicable models. Prior to joining UVA in November 2014, Andrea managed Harvard University’s sustainable building program, taught university courses in design and sustainability, and worked in architecture, historic preservation, and sustainability consulting. Andrea now leads a team of UVA Office for Sustainability staff focused on pan-university strategic planning, engagement, communication, analysis, sustainable building, Grounds as a learning tool initiatives, and additional programs across sustainability impact areas aligned with UVA’s sustainability goals. Andrea holds a Bachelor of Architecture, a Master of Liberal Arts in sustainability and environmental management, and a Master of Science in historic preservation.

Susan Elliot is the Climate Protection Program Manager for the City of Charlottesville. The Climate Protection Program aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with community and municipal activities within the City of Charlottesville’s jurisdictional boundary. These efforts reflect climate protection commitments and greenhouse gas reduction goals adopted by the City, including its commitment to the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy. Having worked with the City since 2012, Susan has been involved with greenhouse emission inventories, supporting and developing programs and services for the community, tracking and analyzing emission reduction opportunities, and leading the City’s efforts under the Covenant of Mayors commitment to adopt a new emissions reduction goal and transition into climate action planning.

Prior to working at the City of Charlottesville, Susan worked at the County of Albemarle managing an Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant. She has a Masters in Urban and Environmental Planning from the University of Virginia, a BA from Wellesley College, and is working towards a Masters in Public Administration at Old Dominion University.

Lunch will be provided

I GBCI and AIA CE credit pending approval

Fee: $10 for members and $20 for nonmembers.

Lunch will be served, Register Here

Our meeting space is generously donated by the City of Charlottesville.

DATE AND TIME
Tue, January 14th, 2020: 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM EDT
LOCATION
City Space, 100 5th Street NE, Downtown Mall, Charlottesville, Virginia 22902
Categories: Announcements, Communities, Education, Resilience | Tags: , , , , , | Leave a comment

Green Building January 8th Luncheon: Resilience for All: Striving for Equity Through Community-Driven Design

Posted on December 3, 2018 by Chris

In the United States, people of color are disproportionally more likely to live in environments with poor air quality, in close proximity to toxic waste, and in locations more vulnerable to climate change and extreme weather events.

In many vulnerable neighborhoods, structural racism and classism prevent residents from having a seat at the table when decisions are made about their community. In an effort to overcome power imbalances and ensure local knowledge informs decision-making, a new approach to community engagement is essential.

In Resilience for All, Barbara Brown Wilson looks at less conventional, but often more effective methods to make communities more resilient. She takes an in-depth look at what equitable, positive change through community-driven design looks like in four communities—East Biloxi, Mississippi; the Lower East Side of Manhattan; the Denby neighborhood in Detroit, Michigan; and the Cully neighborhood in Portland, Oregon. These vulnerable communities have prevailed in spite of serious urban stressors such as climate change, gentrification, and disinvestment. Wilson looks at how the lessons in the case studies and other examples might more broadly inform future practice. She shows how community-driven design projects in underserved neighborhoods can not only change the built world, but also provide opportunities for residents to build their own capacities.”

This course will be approved for 1 GBCI LEED Specific and AIA CE

Fee: $10 for members and $20 for nonmembers.

Lunch will be served, Register Here

Our meeting space is generously donated by the City of Charlottesville.

DATE AND TIME
Tue, January 8, 2019: 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM EDT
LOCATION
City Space, 100 5th Street NE, Downtown Mall, Charlottesville, Virginia 22902
Categories: Announcements, Communities, Design, Education, Resilience | Tags: , , , , , | Leave a comment

Required Reading: A Pattern Language

Posted on November 30, 2018 by Chris

I can’t say enough about this book. When I first read A Pattern Language by Christopher Alexander it completely changed my outlook about what the built environment should strive for. The introductory book The Timeless Way of Building highlights the fact that humans are emotional creatures and that architecture should recognize this and be built to enhance the lives of the people that inhabit the places created. “A Pattern Language” takes that fuzzy concept of happiness, comfort and wholeness and details how to achieve it in the built environment with a scope that no book before or since has replicated. This books should be required reading for every architect, urban planner, engineer, and social activist.

 

Categories: Architecture, Communities, Design, New Urbanism, Resilience | Tags: , , , , | 1 Comment

The Twelve Steps of Sprawl Recovery

Posted on October 26, 2018 by Chris

As we strive to build towns and neighborhoods that are vibrant, lively and great places to live, we inevitably find that people being there are what makes them this way. It is not architectural acrobatics or parking lots that make great places, but interesting street life. Hopefully the paradigm of building everything so far apart from each other, which in turn creates personal automobile dependence, is drawing to a close. The question then is how do we re-imagine areas that were built with this thinking into vibrant and essential places?

Steve Mouzon has a fantastic post outlining The Twelve Steps of Sprawl Recovery. It is a simple and incremental approach to making places vital again.

If you are thirsty for more people-focused town design, The Congress for New Urbanism is a collection of people that have made it their mission to answer these sorts of questions; inspiring towns, cities and their inhabitants to work towards making their places better every day.

Categories: Architecture, Communities, Design, Resilience | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

Green Building August 14th Luncheon: Frederick County Middle School – A Model of Energy Efficiency

Posted on August 1, 2018 by Chris

The goal for this new middle school was to create a progressive campus for an expected enrollment of 900 students in Frederick County’s under-served rural community. This student- and community-centric prototype was designed to be a model of energy and water efficiency and to incorporate the building’s sustainable infrastructure into the curriculum.

The school exceeded its energy-efficiency goals in its first year of operation: energy consumption was just 26.9 kBtu/sf—39% of comparable secondary schools and below its target of 30 kBtu/sf/year. This number is projected to drop over time with operational fine-tuning. Additionally, the school operates independently of fossil fuels and is a net zero water facility. Energy-saving highlights include an on-site water generation and treatment system, a hybrid geothermal HVAC system, and exclusive use of LED lighting.

Speaker:

Peter Mackey is an accomplished senior mechanical engineer and project manager who has led some of 2RW’s largest MEP/FP design projects. He is a dedicated client advocate who has exceptional attention to detail and an unwavering commitment to quality and ac

countability. Peter has 14 years of industry experience, 12 of which has been with 2RW where he designs and manages new construction and renovation projects for K-12 schools, higher education and research facilities, municipal facilities, mixed-use and multi-family developments, healthcare, and more. Peter has played a key role in numerous LEED-certified and Net Zero-ready projects and presents continuing education courses for USGBC and AIA accreditation.

Fee: $10 for members and $20 for nonmembers.

Lunch will be served

Our meeting space is generously donated by the City of Charlottesville.

DATE AND TIME
Tue, Aug 14, 2018: 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM EDT
LOCATION
City Space, 100 5th Street NE, Downtown Mall, Charlottesville, Virginia 22902
Categories: Announcements, Design, Education, Energy Efficiency, Resilience, Technology | Tags: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Green Building June 12th Luncheon: Shaken, Not Stirred: Community and Building Resilience – the means to it and its measures

Posted on June 1, 2018 by Chris

We will first establish a context for the idea of resilience – how it relates to notions of sustainability, regeneration and the triple bottom line. We will then establish its components, as communities and building investors address natural and economic disasters, as well as social equity and land use issues. We’ll acknowledge that some factors that may contribute to resilience are difficult to measure, such as beauty, social cohesion or even biophilia. We will also discuss the complexity of analyzing resilience, which is really the assessment of a complete system containing not only a wide range of variables, but also feed-back mechanisms. For example, if one property owner fortifies their property against flood, it may increase the negative impacts on an adjacent property, or if businesses put bars on their windows, they may increase the crime in a neighborhood. Finally, we will examine some of the ways that different entities have begun measuring community and building resilience, including the RELi standard, now being advanced by the USGBC, and how these measures might be used in the future.

Speaker: Dan Slone

This event is co-presented with Resilient Virginia as part of a Virginia resiliency education series looking at how buildings and communities support statewide resiliency goals.

Fee: $10 for members and $20 for nonmembers. Register Here

Lunch will be served

Our meeting space is generously donated by the City of Charlottesville.

DATE AND TIME
Tue, Jun 12, 2018: 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM EDT
LOCATION
City Space, 100 5th Street NE, Downtown Mall, Charlottesville, Virginia 22902
Categories: Announcements, Communities, Education, Resilience | Tags: , , , , , | Leave a comment

Green Building April 10th Luncheon: Biophilic Building Design = Symbiotic Climate Response Solutions

Posted on April 9, 2018 by Chris
Earth’s climate and our man-made environment is at a tipping point. Designers and builders must embrace a more urgent and far reaching purpose and responsibility, in ways that regenerate and nourish the health and beauty of our built environmental and planet. This presentation will cover state-of-the-art practices and conceptual future systems and methods needed to create organic buildings that embrace accountability with respect to climate change and quality of life. Inspiring current opportunities and evolving case studies will be explored.
Fred Øesch is the principal of Øesch Environmental Design of Charlottesville, VA. He has designed and built alternative “green” architecture, custom interiors, furniture, and produced fine art for over 35 years. His specialties include: solar, timber frame, straw bale, vegetated roofs, earth shelters, and passive environmental control systems. You can follow his work at fredoesch.com
Lunch will be provided.
Meeting space generously sponsored by City of Charlottesville
Categories: Announcements, Architecture, Design, Resilience | Tags: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Green Building December 12th Luncheon: Unstoppable: The Transition to Renewable Energy

Posted on November 29, 2017 by Chris

Today, building owners and designers are looking to minimize the energy and carbon footprint of new and existing buildings. LEED V4 and the Architecture 2030 Challenge are pushing the industry beyond energy efficiency features into on-site renewable energy generation. Join Taylor Brown and Devin Welch from Sun Tribe Solar, a Charlottesville-based solar energy company, as they discuss renewable trends and design best practices. Come learn more about solar photovoltaics, battery storage options, and Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) from leaders in the field.

Taylor Brown co-founded Sun Tribe Solar to increase solar PV’s market share on the east coast and is now operating as the Technical Director. Before launching Sun Tribe, Brown worked for Siemens Energy North America. For the first five years with Siemens, Brown was a field project manager performing modernizations and upgrades on steam turbine generators ranging from 150 MW to 920 MW throughout the United States. Brown holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Virginia Tech.

Devin Welch, co-founder, is also responsible for market strategy at Sun Tribe Solar. Passionate about sustainability, Welch has spent his career championing free market principles as a means to achieve positive change across a broad range of environmental issues, with a focus on finding and capitalizing upon the critical intersections of sustainable best practices and corporate self-interest. At Sun Tribe, Welch continues his work on market transformation by engaging with individuals, businesses, and governments to reimagine the way energy is produced while realizing tangible benefits for all stakeholders. As a member of the leadership team, he has helped Sun Tribe to become one of the fastest growing solar companies in Virginia. Welch is a published author and holds a B.S. in Management from Virginia Tech.

When:
December 12, noon to 1:00pm (lunch provided)

Register for Lunch Here!

Where: 
City Space
100 5th Street, NE, Downtown Mall, Charlottesville, VA

Categories: Announcements, Resilience, Technology | Tags: , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Decentralized Drinking Water Purification Systems

Posted on September 8, 2017 by Chris

What if all the water you used in your house was purified on site and you used it again? It is actually not all that different than a well and septic system, but it is a closed loop system relying on technology instead of an open one relying on the surrounding environment. In the wake of these rapid fire extreme weather events, perhaps it is time to start thinking about more resilient, decentralized systems for providing something as vital to survival as water.

Categories: Design, Resilience, Technology | Tags: , , , | Leave a comment

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