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Gregory Franta remembers one of his early experiences using a low-flow shower head.
"It felt like you were taking a mist rather than a shower," he said.
But water-conserving showers have come a long way. So, for that matter, has the whole green building industry. It's becoming increasingly mainstream, as may have been evidenced by the turnout Tuesday at a conference on the subject at the Hotel Colorado in Glenwood Springs.
Franta, principal architect for the Rocky Mountain Institute nonprofit organization in Old Snowmass, spoke at the event, which drew more than 100 people despite having been put together with only three weeks' notice. The idea came about when Alpine Bank was working with consultant John Gitchell of Sustainable Conferences Inc., of Fort Collins. Sustainable Conferences organized the conference, and the bank sponsored it.
"Really, the market is very ripe for the building community to want this kind of education," said Katie Hoffner, an event organizer with Sustainable Conferences.
High energy costs have contributed to a growing interest in green building. So has a desire to build structures that are healthier and have less environmental impact.
Architects, construction companies, representatives of local governments and other conference participants heard Franta run through reams of ideas for building in a greener way. They also got to view exhibits from companies that serve this emerging industry.
Franta helps spread RMI's message of resource efficiency. He has worked with the U.S. Green Building Council on its LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) program. LEED provides a national standard for buildings to earn green ratings, and for contractors, architects and other professionals to be accredited in the industry.
The LEED program awards points for numerous criteria that can help a project qualify for LEED certification. These criteria run the gamut, and include such considerations as site selection, landscaping, stormwater runoff control, water and energy conservation, and reduction in light pollution.
Some green-building techniques are better-known, such as using low-flow plumbing, installing energy-efficient windows and planting native vegetation rather than water-consumptive lawns. Others are more subtle, or in some cases unusual.
For example, conventional buildings can act as islands that soak up heat and raise temperatures in urban areas. This effect can be reduced by using light-colored, more reflective roofs. More exotically, vegetation can be planted on rooftops to make a building less of a "heat island," Franta said. The latter approach also can absorb more stormwater, reducing problems with runoff.
Site-selection alone provides all kinds of opportunities to be environmental. LEED certification considers factors such as if a building is constructed in a city rather than on farmland, if it's near mass transit, and if it's sufficiently above floodplains and away from wetlands. On the transportation front, further credit can be earned for providing bike storage as well as showers and changing rooms for commuting cyclists, and preferred parking for people driving hybrid vehicles.
Increasingly, governments from the local to federal levels are providing incentives for using green building techniques.
Brent Wilson, of Architectural Engineering Consultants in Eagle County, said he and three others from the company's eight-person staff attended Tuesday's event. His company is involved in green design, including assistance with solar, geothermal and geoexchange energy projects, and his customers are finding it to be increasingly economical, especially as energy costs rise, he said.
"It's gained a lot of momentum. Being energy-conscious is becoming a lot more important in our country," he said.
More information on the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program can be found at www.usgbc.org.
Contact Dennis Webb: 945-8515, ext. 516
dwebb@postindependent.com
"It felt like you were taking a mist rather than a shower," he said.
But water-conserving showers have come a long way. So, for that matter, has the whole green building industry. It's becoming increasingly mainstream, as may have been evidenced by the turnout Tuesday at a conference on the subject at the Hotel Colorado in Glenwood Springs.
Franta, principal architect for the Rocky Mountain Institute nonprofit organization in Old Snowmass, spoke at the event, which drew more than 100 people despite having been put together with only three weeks' notice. The idea came about when Alpine Bank was working with consultant John Gitchell of Sustainable Conferences Inc., of Fort Collins. Sustainable Conferences organized the conference, and the bank sponsored it.
"Really, the market is very ripe for the building community to want this kind of education," said Katie Hoffner, an event organizer with Sustainable Conferences.
High energy costs have contributed to a growing interest in green building. So has a desire to build structures that are healthier and have less environmental impact.
Architects, construction companies, representatives of local governments and other conference participants heard Franta run through reams of ideas for building in a greener way. They also got to view exhibits from companies that serve this emerging industry.
Franta helps spread RMI's message of resource efficiency. He has worked with the U.S. Green Building Council on its LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) program. LEED provides a national standard for buildings to earn green ratings, and for contractors, architects and other professionals to be accredited in the industry.
The LEED program awards points for numerous criteria that can help a project qualify for LEED certification. These criteria run the gamut, and include such considerations as site selection, landscaping, stormwater runoff control, water and energy conservation, and reduction in light pollution.
Some green-building techniques are better-known, such as using low-flow plumbing, installing energy-efficient windows and planting native vegetation rather than water-consumptive lawns. Others are more subtle, or in some cases unusual.
For example, conventional buildings can act as islands that soak up heat and raise temperatures in urban areas. This effect can be reduced by using light-colored, more reflective roofs. More exotically, vegetation can be planted on rooftops to make a building less of a "heat island," Franta said. The latter approach also can absorb more stormwater, reducing problems with runoff.
Site-selection alone provides all kinds of opportunities to be environmental. LEED certification considers factors such as if a building is constructed in a city rather than on farmland, if it's near mass transit, and if it's sufficiently above floodplains and away from wetlands. On the transportation front, further credit can be earned for providing bike storage as well as showers and changing rooms for commuting cyclists, and preferred parking for people driving hybrid vehicles.
Increasingly, governments from the local to federal levels are providing incentives for using green building techniques.
Brent Wilson, of Architectural Engineering Consultants in Eagle County, said he and three others from the company's eight-person staff attended Tuesday's event. His company is involved in green design, including assistance with solar, geothermal and geoexchange energy projects, and his customers are finding it to be increasingly economical, especially as energy costs rise, he said.
"It's gained a lot of momentum. Being energy-conscious is becoming a lot more important in our country," he said.
More information on the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program can be found at www.usgbc.org.
Contact Dennis Webb: 945-8515, ext. 516
dwebb@postindependent.com
