Posts filed under 'Green Building/Products'
With its energy efficiency, kitchen geek appeal and growing reputation for power and precision, induction cooking may be the iPad of the kitchen.
As a new article in the New York Times on induction cooking states “22 percent of the people surveyed… said their next range or cooktop would be induction. The appeal is especially strong among younger people setting up their first serious kitchens, according to the report. Unlike their baby boomer and Generation X counterparts, the new class of cooks is less tied to the aesthetics of gas and more interested in environmentally sound choices.”
We’ll count ourselves in that 22 percent. Click here to read the full article.
April 7th, 2010
Harsh conditions. Scarcity of materials. “Astronomical” costs of building. The lessons learned from NASA building the International Space Station are actually quite relevant down here on Earth. (well, except for that astronaut urine idea. you could get arrested for that.)
except and illustration from the article Building Tomorrow in Dwell Magazine February 2010
“We can learn a lot about how to build in the future by looking at how we are building now at the International Space Station. All the issues we deal with down here exist in an amplified state in space. We’ve figured out ways to be truly sustainable. We generate our own power. We recycle everything—–absolutely everything—–even the astronaut’s own urine and perspiration are processed into potable water. The conditions we design for are beyond harsh, and the site where we build is very hard to get to. We prefabricate our components and ship them up, and we build them with such precise tolerances that they lock perfectly together into place. We have to exceed efficiency up there, and so much of what we do end up being applicable down here.”
February 1st, 2010
The energy system design for the Simpatico Prototype Home qualifies it as a Net Zero Energy residence. Simply put, a Net Zero Energy home is one that produces as much energy as it consumes. This means that the Prototype will be self-sufficient with its electric, hot water and space heating needs. (This system has the added bonus of eliminating any need for natural gas in the home, highlighted in the posting An Introduction to Induction.)
The Net Zero Energy goal will be accomplished by combining 30 solar panels on the roof with a high-efficiency electric heat pump, passive solar architecture, and extremely efficient fixtures and appliances. This system will allow the home to “sell back” excess energy it generates during sunny days and to purchase energy like any other home during nights and cloudy days. Over the course of a year, the power bills should achieve a net zero energy equilibrium.
With rapidly declining solar install costs and aggressive federal and state credits/rebates, the projected payback on this system is only 3-1/2 years. To learn more about how this Net Zero Energy system works, please visit our design partners at www.NetZeroEnergyCertified.com.
January 25th, 2010
Want to know how to cook faster, using less energy, with more control? Try cooking with magnetic induction, a process that bypasses heating the cooktop surface and goes right to heating the pot. The Net Zero Energy design for the Prototype Home presented us with an interesting dilemma– keep a gas line in the home only to run a gas cooktop or eliminate gas completely and embrace an alternative method?
Magnetic induction cooking uses electricity to produce a magnetic field that sends currents into iron atoms that react by movement which causes friction and heat in a metal vessel. The electro-magnetic elements are housed under a ceramic-glass surface.
Unlike conventional cooktops that create heat below a pot, the magnetic induction process makes the pot into the heating element. Food is heated more quickly and to precise temperatures. Because they are not directly heated, cooking surfaces cool more quickly eliminating the potential of injury from unknowingly coming in contact with a hot surface. Cooking with magnetic induction is also 90 percent efficient, as compared to resistance electric at approximately 65-percent efficiency, and open-flamed gas which measures in the 55-percent efficiency range.
The simple act of boiling water will never be the same!
December 15th, 2009
Check out the nice press we received about the Prototype Home on Jetson Green. Jetson Green is a daily updated magazine that’s obsessed with green building and everything related to it, including sustainable architecture, good design, green prefab, clean technology in the built environment, affordable housing, and eco-friendly development.
June 5th, 2009
Why should we care about nature? Because in the words of Harvard biologist E.O. Wilson, without it we “descend farther from heaven’s air if we forget how much the natural world means to us.” He popularized the “biophilia” hypothesis: the idea that our evolutionary history has blessed us with an innate affinity for living things. We thrive in the presence of nature and suffer in its absence.
Many studies show that even a limited dose of nature, like a chance to look at the outside world through a window, is good for your health. Hospitalized patients heal more quickly; prisoners get sick less often. Being in the wild reduces stress; spending time with a pet enhances the lives of everyone from autistic children to Alzheimer’s patients. The author Richard Louv argues the modern children suffer from “nature-deficit disorder” because they have been shut out from the physical and psychic benefits of unstructured physical contact with the natural world.
The above excerpts are from the article Natural Happiness by Paul Bloom in the New York Times Magazine.
May 19th, 2009
How consumer expectations about the home have changed, and how they might change again. (New York Times Magazine)
Today, given that many Americans’ consumption patterns have been affected by the economic slowdown, it’s interesting to consider whether a version of normal might emerge that is more environmentally sound. Among other things, the article explores our notion of ‘normal’ bathrooms.
April 27th, 2009
That was the goal of the new LEED Platinum Certified California Academy of Sciences building in Golden Gate Park. Renzo Piano’s stunning design featured an undulating roof with skylights, which made planting the roof that much more challenging. The solution was to design a system of 50,000 porous, biodegradable trays made from tree sap and coconut husks as containers for the vegetation. These trays line the rooftop like tile, yet enable the roots to grow and interlock, binding the trays together like patchwork.
March 4th, 2009
One of our favorite spots in Emeryville is the Community Ogranic Garden. Nestled along the greenway and between warehouses and businesses is a pie shaped slice of well-cared-for land. We often take a break from the Prototype site or the Swatt Architects office (each just a couple blocks away) to check out the varied garden plots. Its open to the public and is one of those hidden gems in a city known better for its traffic and its retail stores. This garden–the former 
home of Big Daddy’s Complete Rejuvenating Auto Detailing Shop–is a living example of what a community can do to turn an underutilized former industrial site into a thriving garden for its residents. If you’re in the neighborhood, stop by the garden, located at 59th Street and Doyle.
November 5th, 2008
When it came time to select materials for Simpatico Homes, tiles from Heath Ceramics from Sausalito were a natural fit. Of course we were attracted to Heath’s inviting colors and timeless mid-century designs. But a bigger part of the story for us was to source our materials locally and to support the work of local artisans. You may already be familiar with their tiles and tableware (many of the Bay Area’s best restaurants serve on Heath), but if not, be sure to check out the Heath Ceramics website. Then stop by the Prototype Home later this summer to admire our Heath tile kitchen back splash.
And yes, that is a Heath mug on the homepage of the Simpatico Homes website.
October 23rd, 2008
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With its energy efficiency, kitchen geek appeal and growing reputation for power and precision, induction cooking may be the iPad of the kitchen.
