Masonry Magazine October 2008 Page. 22
GREEN BUILDING
Taking this one step further, the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) has devised the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System in an effort to encourage and develop green building, as well as a universal vocabulary for the industry.
According to statistics provided by the United States Green Building Council:
* There are more than 1,705 certified buildings and more than 13,741 registered projects to date
* There are 57,417 LEED accredited professionals (LEED APS)
* Retail sales are 20 percent higher for green buildings
* Utility bills are 30 percent to 50 percent lower in green buildings
* Green generates 3.5 percent higher occupancy rates and 3 percent higher rent rates
* Green buildings' values are 7.5 percent increased
* Green building improves ROI by 6.6 percent on average.
"Green is everywhere now, not just in the building industry," says Christine A. Subasic, P.E., LEED AP, and consulting architectural engineer for C. Callista Subasic in Raleigh, N.C. "It is hard to pick up a newspaper today without reading about efforts by business or government to 'green' their business."
Kevin Nordmeyer, AIA, LEED AP and architect for RDG Planning & Design in Des Moines, Iowa, agrees. "I would say that, just in the last four years or so, almost every request for proposal that we get from any college or government entity mentions sustainability or LEED," Nordmeyer says. "They may not say that LEED is required, but they may request that we follow the LEED program. There's rarely anyone who doesn't
CALCULATE YOUR FOOTPRINT
A free online calculator helps manufacturers quickly assess their products' carbon output, allowing them to take steps to greener goods.
The LCA Calculator service provides a complete product life cycle assessment. It evaluates issues such as types and amounts of material used in production, location of manufacture, materials processing, energy consumption of the product, where and how it is transported, and its final disposition.
The service was developed by Industrial Design Consultancy following the results of a survey of designers and engineers working in product development. The survey revealed that half of companies interviewed admitted that the environmental impact of a product was not currently a major design consideration, but 82 percent believed it would be in the future. Although 61 percent indicated awareness of life cycle assessment as a process to calculate a product's carbon footprint, only 29 percent believed their company had every carried one out during design.
The calculator provides a detailed report with recommendations for improvement. It is available at http://www.lcacalculator.com. IMAS
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DUB'L LOOP-LOK™ Reinforcement System
100% protection against separation of wire tie from reinforcement. Allows in-plane vertical and horizontal movement of masonry wythes while restraining tension and compression. Loops welded shut to maintain allowable tolerance and system integrity. Unlike horizontal eyelets, vertical loops will not clog with mortar as construction progresses. Loop extends one direction only to allow simple placement of insulation. Slip on Loop-Lok™ Washer to mechanically lock insulation in place. Green U.S. Patents 5,408,798; 6,668,505 6,789,365; 6,851,239 Other Pats. Pending
HOHMANN & BARNARD'S
MIGHTY-LOK™ High Strength
Large diameter eyelets and pintles afford usage where high strength requirements are present and standard eyelets and pintles would fail (including extra-wide cavity conditions). Also designed for usage where standard eyelets and pintles would fail due to greater than normal misalignment of mortar joints between the 2 wythes. Green Rounded eyelets engage pintles snugly in conformance with existing codes (less than 1/16" mechanical play). No oblong-shaped eyelets as found on other systems. Available Truss style (#170-ML) or Ladder style (#270-ML).