Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Green Unplugged

I am honored to announce that our Documentary "Sheltered: Underground and Off the Grid" has been accepted into the online film festival "Green Unplugged'. This global film festival reaches 60+ million viewers in over 3,900 cities and 230+ countries and territories around the world. More information coming, for now, this is the type of coverage we were hoping for to reach the entire world with the message to give more than you take and to use less energy.

I was contacted a few months ago by one of the people who put on this film festival to see if we would be willing to take part in this film festival. I jumped at the chance. I am excited to see the emails and messages from countries I never knew existed. 

More information coming about this exciting opportunity

Adam

Sunday, June 2, 2013

An international quote...

Greetings,

I have been asked to share a comment that I wrote to a senior official of an international group that is focusing on green building around the world. It is interesting to see how information is translated to other languages and cultures. I have held strong to my belief that we need to share information to create higher performance dwellings around the world. Even more than that, I have asked focus to be put upon the things that make the human race thrive: safe food, safe water, safe air quality, lower dependence on things like fossil fuels, etc.

Here is the quote...see what you think:

"...As with anything in life, there has to be someone who brings awareness that a problem exists. Once someone is aware of a problem or issue, they then can become more motivated to take action. Most people simply do not know, or worse yet, don't care that they or their dwellings are using extremely high amounts of energy! With the price of fuel sources going up, people from all over the world are now concerned about spending less on fuel. The 'green building craze' that is going on right now is a wonderful thing for prolonging our existence on this planet, but make no mistake, it is a very necessary thing for prolonging the time we have left using fossil fuel. We hope to leave for our future generations more than we took, but this is not possible at the current pace...

I have taught many classes on the history of building and in those classes, I talk about how civilizations built many thousands of years ago. They built on necessity and with what little resources they had back then. In the past 10 years, a city was discovered in Syria that is dated to over 6,000 years old and the buildings in the city were cited for passive solar (shading of the living areas during the hot months and allowing sun in during the cool months) and the buildings had cavity walls which helped to cool the dwellings during the hot days. That is simply amazing!! Why now are we applauded for using this technology that was used so many thousands of years ago? I believe that everything we need to know is written down somewhere, AND I believe that it is the responsibility of people like us to write down our findings and share those findings with future generations so that they can improve upon our findings. I take the primitive forms of these designs that archaeologists have found and use the technology of our age to improve upon the original ideas. Much like a song writer or musician will discover an ancient melody or ancient words and adapt those findings into a chart topping song! I believe it is detrimental to our world to hold onto information that can help our existence and livelihood as a specie. There should be no boundary such as competition, culture, etc. This applies only to Green Building, as what your topics are about. Everything else in this world needs to be handled by a higher power and is well beyond my knowledge or ability!!

Another great topic Ali, well done!

All the best!

Adam"

AB

Saturday, June 1, 2013

From concept to reality...

Greetings!!!

As a big fan of marketing and trying to understand why people do what they do, I try to pay attention to 'tag lines' that companies choose to use. From concept to reality is one of those phrases that caught my attention, especially now that we design and build homes and other structures. When you are sitting at a computer and/or a drawing board, it can be difficult to understand exactly how room sizes and house placement can make or break a project. Taking a concept to reality can be a very rewarding process for everyone...it can also be a disappointing process if homeowners select the wrong people to work with...

We have had the pleasure to design and build multiple houses now. The dynamics are different in a design and build situation versus bringing a set of prints to a builder who seems to understand the grand vision. The difference I see is that every step is different now. When I design a house, I get to virtually build the house and go through changes multiple times, so that by the time we break ground, I understand the house and process so much more. Some builders/people may say, a house is a house and every house is built the same...that is when I would speak up and say that that is the difference right there! A house is not just a house! A house is a home to the individuals who live in them and they are as unique as the people who exist in them!

It is really amazing to design a house for a specific site, to go out and stake out the building site, and to make sure the house ends up looking like it grew right out of the ground. The design process can take several months, but when the excavators start and the building process begins, everything starts to make sense! I lead the team that builds each house that I design. Sometimes, the crew looks at me strangely because I say, 'Can't you see it?, Don't you understand that the house has to look like this?' To which someone on the crew will say, 'You're doing it again'. What I am doing is recalling the many, many hours of designing and drawings as I have had a unique, multi-angle view of the house we are building for several months prior to breaking ground. That is an incredible advantage! When we dig a hole for a foundation, that first scoop of dirt can have an effect on what something up on the roof would look like, or better yet, the view of the lake might not be as great if the foundation hole is not dug correctly!

I guess what I am getting at, is that having the leader of a team that has also developed the home plans, makes the building process go more smoothly and helps to dial the original ideas of the homeowners in. Most of the times, a designer will turn out a design that is a signature of theirs, and some people like that. It happens all the time. Issues can arise in that process, as the house is not tuned to the occupants energy, life style, and needs to thrive, it is tuned to getting the cover of a magazine or a design award. Those things help bring awareness to things and are great for marketing, but when the dust clears, the homeowners have to live in the home and that is when they start noticing the small things in their home that don't gel with their lifestyle.

If you follow me on Facebook, you will notice a daily picture of what we are building. This picture is taken from the same spot everyday so that the viewers can see our progress, and so that I can see how the house is shaping up versus the design an original ideas. Taking a concept to reality takes more than a crafty punch line, it takes commitment, strategy, passion, and empathy, among other things. What we design and build is intended to last forever and to give it's occupants an amazing, safe environment in which to thrive!

Enjoy your day and try to give more than you take today....

Adam