Do you know what happens when the Green Building nerds of Bellingham gather to examine an innovative design? Unabashed green building geekery. Deep dives into the newest high-performance materials and techniques; brainstorming and supportive critique; and lots of laughs. This January we hosted Green Building Nerds, a quarterly event sponsored by Sustainable Connections, and we want to say a heartfelt thanks to everyone who attended, what a turnout! And, what a great way to start the year.
At every Green Building Nerds gathering a “green-building” concept or approach are presented and then discussed. Our team, which included Graham Baba, presented a design element from a current project – a parapet detail on an insulated flat roof that also shares the rain-screen void (and vent) from the siding- then we set the group (over 40 people!) loose to evaluate it. We hoped to crowdsource the pros and cons of the planned approach and were interested in seeing if there was a better way to achieve the desired results.
For those of you itching to get your hands on this design puzzle, the requirements were as follows:
The parapet must:
-Be thermally broken from wall and roof framing
-Act as the terminus for the rain-screen venting
-Maintain siding in plane (ideally no bump out at the cap)
-Have no visible outer wall penetrations
-Be uninsulated
-Be durable
-Be structurally sound
While there wasn’t a consensus on a single solution that met all of the requirements, some excellent improvement ideas emerged that we’re seriously considering implementing. Most importantly, this event was a chance to connect with folks in the community who are interested in innovative and sustainable building, and hopefully we all learned a thing or two from each other. A special thanks goes to Graham Baba Architects for being open to such public collaboration.
Want to come next time? This is now a quarterly event, held on the second Wednesday of January, April, July & October. Follow Sustainable Connections Energy & Green Building for updates on the location.
by Intellitonic