Two new recycled brick products offer energy efficient, low-cost solutions for your next green building project. WasteBasedBricks, manufactured by Amsterdam-based StoneCycling, produces bricks by creating a composite of demolition waste, rejected clay, leftover ceramics, insulation, and glass. Clients can chose between machined bricks for large-scale products as well as intriguing handmade bricks for accents and special features. Bricks range from 70 percent to 100 percent recycled product. Each building material is collected within a 150-kilometer radius of the factories that collaborate with StoneCyling.The proximity to manufacturing hubs keeps transportation costs and emissions low. By integrating salvaged building materials, the company is able to reduce the amount of construction waste that is shipped to landfills. “We like to use only secondary materials,” Ward Massa, co-owner of StoneCycling, explained to FastCoexist. “That way it doesn’t end up somewhere in the landfill or being sent to other countries—we reuse it as new raw materials.” StoneCycling keeps production costs low, which allows the company to pass savings on to clients: StoneCycling can also skip clay excavation and processing costs. Manufacturing the product requires less energy than traditional bricks. In Charlotte, North Carolina, Green Leaf Brick raises the bar on green building materials by offering several lines of 100 percent recycled materials. Each product is 100 percent refuse content and as much as 30 percent post consumer waste. Green Leaf Brick, a creation of Red Tree Group, developed the bricks in response to the loads of construction waste heading to American landfills. The company aims to make use of waste streams with little residual commercial use. Brick products include more than 25 recycled raw materials. Different combinations of those materials result in a line of aesthetically stunning bricks and pavers in a wide range of colors and textures. There...

Though the GenX and Millennial generation are often touted as the “green living” demographic, as the New York Times reports, demand for green retirement communities is on the rise, outstripping supply and inspiring new projects and renovations. Sustainable Retirement Many of the newest senior living facilities include state-of-the-art technologies that are inherently energy and water efficient including low-flow fixtures, LED lighting, and onsite power systems including solar and geothermal. Natural light and an avoidance of toxic building materials helps developers provide living quarters that are aesthetically and philosophically pleasing to potential residents. As a bonus, many environmentally friendly options can also help property managers save money. Increased efficiency can lower energy costs by reducing electricity demands, and there is often government funding available for retrofits and renovations. Another surprising benefit – onsite power systems can also serve as backup during natural disasters or service interruptions, enabling facilities to stay up and running during a grid failure. Leading with LEED When LEED for Health Care was adapted in 2011 to include assisted living communities and nursing homes, many communities seized the chance to earn certification. Because of strict regulations within the health care industry, allowances were made to the certification process and special protocols were included to account for issues like infection control and patient privacy. LEED properties adhere to a comprehensive set of guidelines that cover not just energy use, but construction waste, water efficiency and landscaping, and greenhouse gas emissions. While LEED provides a standard for sustainability, many communities are also finding other ways to expand the notion of sustainable senior living. Even without LEED certification, many facilities prioritize recycling and walkability. Many pledge to avoid pesticides and introduce drought resistant landscaping. Some communities even make a farm-to-fork pledge, buying a majority of foodstuff and...

The uptick in green affordable housing continues as Habitat for Humanity embraces passivehaus design. Passivehaus, or Passive House, is a rigorous German building standard that emphasizes air-tight envelopes, optimized solar gain, and decreased dependence on mechanical heating and cooling. Such stringent standards and cost assumptions have discouraged many affordable housing developers, yet Habitat for Humanity teamed up with BarlisWedlick Architects to look at passivehaus through an affordable lens. Dennis Wedlick of BarlisWedlick admits that he had his reservations about the project, though they weren’t rooted in costs or standards.  “We were concerned about how much training it was going to take for the volunteers so they could achieve what custom builders and their subs normally achieve on a project like this,” he says. “But there was no problem.” Columbia County townhouses were born, each costing about $125,000 and 4,000 volunteer hours to build. The results are well worth their efforts. Each 1,200-square-foot home achieved an air tightness level of less than .6 air changes per hour, and an R-value of 50-60 for the walls and roof, thanks to glorified newspaper insulation (weatherized cellulose insulation to be exact). Columbia County townhouses use less than 90 percent of the energy required to run a conventional home of the same size. The efficiency of passivehaus construction loses value if residents do not receive the proper tutorials on how to optimize the home’s features. Owners were taught the ins and outs of daily operation and maintenance, simple pointers such as closing the blinds during the hottest time of day and running the recovery ventilator nonstop. Time will tell if the houses and their residents live up to their greatest potential. Yet even with a margin for human error, such green building techniques offer three-fold benefits to those who need it most....

Smart growth approaches have proven effective in reshaping the face of the built environment. Communities across the country, be it urban hubs or bedroom communities, cities, towns or rural places, have embraced green building principles in an effort to foster healthy neighborhoods and create strong local economies. Smart growth features in community development include the creation of mixed-income, mixed-use housing; use of green infrastructure to manage storm water; prioritizing cleanup and redevelopment of hazardous brownfield sites; providing transportation choices that reduce air pollution; and considering the impacts of development decisions on all community members. In a milestone for sustainability and compact development, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recognized Domus Development, led by founding partner Meea Kang, as winner of the 2013 National Award for Smart Growth Achievement in the “Built Projects” category. Sacramento’s La Valentina urban infill project got all the attention this year, all for the right reasons, as it is the region’s first true transit-oriented development which achieves a near Net Zero energy use and cost for residents. The National Award for Smart Growth Achievement recognizes communities that use innovative techniques and solutions to foster economic growth, enhance quality of life and safeguard the environment. In the past 12 years, 61 winners from 26 states have shown a variety of approaches that states, regions, cities, suburbs, and rural communities can use to create economically strong, environmentally responsible development. EPA’s Office of Sustainable Communities manages the awards program. The 2013 National Award for Smart Growth Achievement brought forward five winners and two honorable mentions in the following categories: Overall Excellence – Winner: Atlanta Beltline Eastside Trail/Historic Fourth Ward Park, Atlanta BeltLine, Inc., Atlanta, Ga. Corridor or Neighborhood Revitalization  – Winner: Historic Millwork District and Washington Neighborhood, Dubuque, Iowa Plazas, Parks, and Public...