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Co-hosts Ian and Ginger spread the word that utilizing sustainable, green-building principles in construction, design, and urban development is not just morally and environmentally good, but also good business! New methods, materials and technologies to bring down costs and increase productivity are already here, creating a huge opportunity for anyone savvy enough to invest in venturing beyond the current status quo. We at Sustainable Homes of the Future are excited to dive into the details of the green-building "boom" and share our sustainability conversations and interviews with listeners here in Los Angeles and across the globe.
Episodes
Tuesday Jul 28, 2020
Tuesday Jul 28, 2020
Sean, a cost-efficiency expert and self-proclaimed climate activist, joins the podcast to talk about all-electric construction and the endemic problems with natural gas infrastructure here in California. He shares a very moving story about the personal ramifications of decades of fossil fuel use (thank you Sean!) and we eventually get around to brainstorming some ways to fix what's broken by focusing on universal goals like human health and building efficiency.
Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/IGx_ZwdZrpg
Episode Sponsor: www.sustainablehomesofthefuture.com
Contact Host: info@shfbuild.com
Sean Armstrong taught net-zero design at a demonstration house at Humboldt State University from 1999-2002, and has 12,000+ hours of experience as staff Project Manager with affordable housing developers The Pacific Companies, Danco Communities, and the Redevelopment Agency of the City of Arcata. Sean was the first developer to use the California Utility Allowance Calculator (CUAC).
Since his start in development in 2004, he has led the design of 6000 residences in more than 200 developments, focusing on all-electric, 100% solar offset design. All-electric cuts costs, and adding solar has a 4-8 year payback, hence the rapid uptake of Zero Net Energy by the market--it's profitable. It's a challenge, but so is all the rest of building a development. Sean and his business partner, Michael Winkler, won the Grand Prize awards from the United Nations in 2017 and the PCBC Gold Nuggets in 2016, but he is perhaps most proud of the award from the Southern California Building Industry Association--they are unapologetically business-minded, and recognized Redwood with their first Sustainability Award in 2017 because their work to end fossil fuel use in buildings also happens to lower construction costs, and increase profits. Sean delights in ruthless capitalists realizing that fossil fuel infrastructure is an additional cost, and not at all "cheap."
Show Notes:
All-Electric Research/Publications - https://www.redwoodenergy.tech/research/
Tuesday Jul 21, 2020
Tuesday Jul 21, 2020
We knew 50 years ago that humans needed to curb pollution in order to save our planet. Today's discussion is about tools, programs, and an all-electric approach to reducing "embodied" carbon in construction...the only real way to stop the climate crisis.
Also, find out how efficiency in building design could save us the equivalent of 13 million cars driving on the road for a year and why methane doesn't just come from cows!!!
Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/MOYKLbDNt9A
Season Sponsor - www.sustainablehomesofthefuture.com
Contact Host - info@shfbuild.com
Show Notes:
Carbon Leadership Forum - www.carbonleadershipforum.org
2030 Challenge - www.architecture2030.org
About Ginger:
As CEO and founder of Sustainable Homes of the Future, Ginger's goal is to produce the finest examples of innovative sustainable architecture combined with the most futuristic engineering and construction standards to produce a truly Sustainable Home of the Future. With our Podcasts and YouTube Channel’s instructional materials, we are dedicated to inspiring current and future builders to design and construct in a way that is sustainable for our planet. Ginger has a Bachelors Degree in Fine Arts and has worked in the Real Estate and Technology fields for over 15 years.
About Ian:
As the Managing Director of Development at Sustainable Homes of the Future, Ian has had the opportunity to break new creative and technical ground and learn the necessary skills to manage each project with an integrative, design-centered approach. He has an extensive creative background from a decade of working in marketing, communications, sales and the not-for-profit space, and loves bringing passion and collaborative expertise to the sustainable building landscape.
Tuesday Jul 14, 2020
Tuesday Jul 14, 2020
Join in as we discuss Energy-saving (and cost-saving) design strategies, a necessary follow-up to our last episode on water conservation. As long as the building industry remains addicted to fossil fuels there are few ways to avoid the ongoing damage done to our waterways and other "renewable" natural resources. We need to learn to design buildings with energy-efficiency as our top priority and advocate for an energy-positive future.
Translation: It's not enough to just slap solar panels on the roof and call that building "green". It takes a lot of work on the design side to ensure a building is designed to integrate solar panels with a smart, NetZero-ready design.
Show Notes:
Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/WYHiPJ2Ts7I
EnergyStar - www.energystar.gov
ZEB White Paper - https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy06osti/39833.pdf
Season Sponsor - www.sustainablehomesofthefuture.com
Contact Host - info@shfbuild.com
About Ginger:
As CEO and founder of Sustainable Homes of the Future, Ginger's goal is to produce the finest examples of innovative sustainable architecture combined with the most futuristic engineering and construction standards to produce a truly Sustainable Home of the Future. With our Podcasts and YouTube Channel’s instructional materials, we are dedicated to inspiring current and future builders to design and construct in a way that is sustainable for our planet. Ginger has a Bachelors Degree in Fine Arts and has worked in the Real Estate and Technology fields for over 15 years.
About Ian:
As the Managing Director of Development at Sustainable Homes of the Future, Ian has had the opportunity to break new creative and technical ground and learn the necessary skills to manage each project with an integrative, design-centered approach. He has an extensive creative background from a decade of working in marketing, communications, sales and the not-for-profit space, and loves bringing passion and collaborative expertise to the sustainable building landscape.
Tuesday Jul 07, 2020
Tuesday Jul 07, 2020
Learn how Drew Pedrick (AIA, LEED AP), Founding Principal of McTigue Architecture, figured out how to use cost savings as leverage for energy savings before efficiency was even a thing. He and I discuss his work designing everything from award-winning cruise ship terminals in Hong Kong to the LEED Gold-certified LAPD headquarters in downtown LA (and everything in between!)
How can we design buildings with a higher purpose in mind? What does building “flow” really mean? How do we work together with city officials and legislators to push for cleaner energy, materials, and better-performing buildings? What tools and technologies are available today for creating a positive user experience? How can we use silkworms to organically grow buildings? Listen and find out!
Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/2V8eCd2NTsQ
Episode Sponsor - www.sustainablehomesofthefuture.com
Contact Host - info@shfbuild.com
About Drew:
With a career spanning 35+ years, I've learned much from my clients, benefited from each team and enjoyed the process and results of each commission. All projects have their unique conditions, journey and outcome. I enjoy my clients and value their needs, goals and all that they invite us to consider together. My greatest enrichment comes from collaborating, discovering and innovating in order to create and witness people responding positively. The results of an inspired team with great talent and ingenuity are long-lasting. (www.mctigue.net)
Show Notes:
Conscious Capitalism - www.consciouscapitalism.org
Cooper-Hewitt Museum - www.cooperhewitt.org
MIT Mediated Matter - https://mediatedmattergroup.com/neri-oxman
Tuesday Jun 30, 2020
Tuesday Jun 30, 2020
NEWS FLASH: Water is the lifeblood of our planet!!! Despite being close to 80% water, only 1% of the Earth's water is drinkable. We use this episode to discuss where that water comes from, what it's used for, and where it goes after we use it.
There are many ways to conserve water...but to truly guarantee this all-important natural resource is protected will require a shift from centralized infrastructure to on-site water systems. We lay out some basic water-use principles anyone can follow, and we focus on innovation and integration when it comes to water recycling and re-use.
Show Notes:
Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/XyvUqK1JIac
WaterSense - www.epa.gov/watersense
Season Sponsor - www.sustainablehomesofthefuture.com
Contact Host - info@shfbuild.com
About Ginger:
As CEO and founder of Sustainable Homes of the Future, Ginger's goal is to produce the finest examples of innovative sustainable architecture combined with the most futuristic engineering and construction standards to produce a truly Sustainable Home of the Future. With our Podcasts and YouTube Channel’s instructional materials, we are dedicated to inspiring current and future builders to design and construct in a way that is sustainable for our planet. Ginger has a Bachelors Degree in Fine Arts and has worked in the Real Estate and Technology fields for over 15 years.
About Ian:
As the Managing Director of Development at Sustainable Homes of the Future, Ian has had the opportunity to break new creative and technical ground and learn the necessary skills to manage each project with an integrative, design-centered approach. He has an extensive creative background from a decade of working in marketing, communications, sales and the not-for-profit space, and loves bringing passion and collaborative expertise to the sustainable building landscape.
Friday Jun 26, 2020
Friday Jun 26, 2020
Meet Michael Strong, Senior Project Manager at Pankow Builders, and find out how a summer construction job turned into a 20+ year career in green-building! From NetZero schools in California to prefabricated custom homes, Michael is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to all building and project types.
We discuss the environmental, health, and cost benefits of a truly integrative approach to building that is vastly different than the traditional Design/Bid/Build method. Michael gives examples of how he’s been able to work with owners and clients to develop smarter, healthier, higher-performing homes and buildings and what it means to think "Beyond the Building".
Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/ZTUB-zKEads
Episode Sponsor - www.sustainablehomesofthefuture.com
Contact Host - info@shfbuild.com
Michael's Bio:
Flip the Curve. Transform the Industry. See the Possibilities. Be a Lean Leader. These are my “Whys”.
As the Sr. Project Manager, I am the quintessential project Team Leader. I collaborate; work tirelessly as a Client Advocate, I put people first and focus on changing the process to serve the stakeholders. There are no sacred cows as I strive to achieve the impossible, the “never before considered”, to beat the budget and meet the schedule.
It helps that I understand how to build a building–not just how a building is built. I have poured concrete, framed walls, floors, ceiling and roofs, windows & doors, laid shingles and brick, hung drywall, built cabinets, kicked carpet, pulled electrical and more. In short, I understand the limitations; pressures and challenges of working in the field. And I understand that successful communication in the field, as in the office, is one of the primary reasons project succeed.
Fortunately, communication remains the strongest of my assets. Having been a leading radio personality and TV actor, I am comfortable in front of a microphone or camera, on a job site speaking to 100+ laborers or on stage at a conference. I love motivating the project team at the punch stage of a project bringing it across the finish line! Teaching others is one of my greatest rewards!
Show Notes:
New Buildings Institute - https://newbuildings.org/
Tuesday Jun 23, 2020
Tuesday Jun 23, 2020
From native plant selection to solar lighting and permeable hardscape, we discuss actionable strategies to focus more early effort on sustainable landscape in any building design. Not only can you lower your ecological footprint, you can actually save some money!
One of the big takeaways from our personal experience and research into landscape architecture is making sure you've accounted for your project's climate zone, leading to smarter decisions around procurement of outdoor materials.
Quick question: Have you considered edible landscape or a green roof to increase project resiliency???
Show Notes:
Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/nymn7we4cSs
Season Sponsor - www.sustainablehomesofthefuture.com
Contact Host - info@shfbuild.com
About Ginger:
As CEO and founder of Sustainable Homes of the Future, Ginger's goal is to produce the finest examples of innovative sustainable architecture combined with the most futuristic engineering and construction standards to produce a truly Sustainable Home of the Future. With our Podcasts and YouTube Channel’s instructional materials, we are dedicated to inspiring current and future builders to design and construct in a way that is sustainable for our planet. Ginger has a Bachelors Degree in Fine Arts and has worked in the Real Estate and Technology fields for over 15 years.
About Ian:
As the Managing Director of Development at Sustainable Homes of the Future, Ian has had the opportunity to break new creative and technical ground and learn the necessary skills to manage each project with an integrative, design-centered approach. He has an extensive creative background from a decade of working in marketing, communications, sales and the not-for-profit space, and loves bringing passion and collaborative expertise to the sustainable building landscape.
Friday Jun 19, 2020
Friday Jun 19, 2020
Steve Glenn, CEO of Plant Prefab and LivingHomes (right here in Santa Monica!) drops by the podcast to discuss factory-built modular homes and why he started a tech company instead of following his childhood dream to become an architect.
Prefab is unique in its ability to shorten the timeline for many building projects, including custom single-family homes, multi-family, and affordable housing. We also talk about other benefits of prefab, including reduced waste, lower labor costs and increased quality control.
Episode Sponsor - www.sustainablehomesofthefuture.com
Contact Host - info@shfbuild.com
Steve Glenn is the founder and CEO of Plant Prefab, the first prefabricated home factory in the nation dedicated to sustainable construction, materials, processes, and operations. All Plant projects are prefabricated in the company’s 62,000-square-foot home factory in Rialto, CA, with a patented building system that reduces build time by at least 50% over traditional construction while minimizing construction’s negative impact the environment. Plant was born out of LivingHomes, the award-winning design agency Glenn founded in 2006 that now serves as Plant’s in-house studio. Glenn’s ultimate goal is to define a new standard in residential home design and construction, helping individuals, architects, and developers alike efficiently design and build high-quality, cost-efficient, healthy homes.
Glenn holds two patents and his company’s work has garnered many of the industry’s top honors, including the AIA Top Sustainable Award and the Sustainable Quality Awards Grand Prize. Twenty-seven LivingHomes have been certified LEED Platinum and five more LEED Gold, making the company one of the most experienced designers of homes at the highest level of LEED certification. The company has also received other awards including Architizer’s Jury andPeople Choice Awards, Green Builder Magazine’s “Home of theYear,” Business Week’s “Architectural Wonders of the World,” and Steve has been deemed Clean Tech “CEO of the Year,” “Environmental Entrepreneur of the Year” by LA City Council/Faith2Green, and Huffington Post “Greatest Person of the Day.”
Steve also sees prefab building as the solution to the country’s affordable housing crisis. Plant built seven single-family, LEED Platinum certified homes in LA’s Atwater Village and has also built homes for the Make It Right Foundation in New Orleans and the Ft. Peck Indian Reservation in Montana. A recent collaboration with Brooks + Scarpa Architects was chosen as a winner in the LA County Housing Innovation Challenge, seeking scalable housing projects to address the county’s homeless population.
Before LivingHomes and Plant Prefab, Glenn was founder and CEO of PeopleLink, a leading provider of enterprise e-community solutions; founding partner of idealab, a business incubation firm that raised and invested $1 billion in a number of successful companies; co-director of the Virtual Reality Studio at Walt Disney Imagineering; and co-founder of Clearview Software, which was sold to Apple Computer in 1988.
Glenn is also a co-founder and chair of the Sustainable Business Council, co-founder of the Kaia Parker Dance Endowment, and a co-founder and former board member of Hope Street Group and the Brown University Entrepreneur Forum.
Glenn holds a Bachelor’s Degree from Brown University, studied Urban Planning at Harvard Graduate School of Design, and was a Coro Fellow.
Show Notes:
Nest Project w/ Brooks + Scarpa - https://www.plantprefab.com/models/brooks+scarpa-nest-livinghome-toolkit
Tuesday Jun 16, 2020
Tuesday Jun 16, 2020
Join us as we discuss the true level of creativity involved to achieve a passive, energy-efficient design while still taking project budget and environmental cost into account. Called "Triple Bottom-Line Accounting", it requires ingenuity, a good deal of energy-modeling, and a project leader brave enough to do a sustainable cost-benefit analysis.
Whatever building type or size, decreasing operational energy results in a healthier, more comfortable environment both inside and out, and we discuss the huge impact high-performing mixed-use and multi-family buildings can have given their larger size and scope.
Show Notes:
Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/hdP7oaHvi_M
Season Sponsor - www.sustainablehomesofthefuture.com
Contact Host - info@shfbuild.com
About Ginger:
As CEO and founder of Sustainable Homes of the Future, Ginger's goal is to produce the finest examples of innovative sustainable architecture combined with the most futuristic engineering and construction standards to produce a truly Sustainable Home of the Future. With our Podcasts and YouTube Channel’s instructional materials, we are dedicated to inspiring current and future builders to design and construct in a way that is sustainable for our planet. Ginger has a Bachelors Degree in Fine Arts and has worked in the Real Estate and Technology fields for over 15 years.
About Ian:
As the Managing Director of Development at Sustainable Homes of the Future, Ian has had the opportunity to break new creative and technical ground and learn the necessary skills to manage each project with an integrative, design-centered approach. He has an extensive creative background from a decade of working in marketing, communications, sales and the not-for-profit space, and loves bringing passion and collaborative expertise to the sustainable building landscape.
Thursday Jun 11, 2020
Thursday Jun 11, 2020
Marika Erdely, energy-efficiency expert and founder of greeneconome.com, was kind enough to join us for a conversation about her company’s involvement in the push for energy-efficient buildings here in Los Angeles. We discuss local building codes, Marika’s favorite energy monitoring software, designing buildings for Title 24 & NetZero, sustainability grants, incentives, and the real value of building certification. We also talk about how difficult it is to get buy-in with the older generation of building owners and potential strategies to flip that trend.
Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/uEx6rf1gYp8
Episode Sponsor - www.sustainablehomesofthefuture.com
Contact Host - info@shfbuild.com
Marika Erdely (Linkedin) is the founder and CEO of Green EconoME, a full-service Energy Consulting and Construction Company located in Santa Monica, CA. Our mission is to provide clients with optimum energy efficiency and water saving solutions for building sustainability. Marika had been a financial professional for over thirty years. In her last position, Marika held the role of CFO/VP at New Millennium Homes, a major home builder and land developer of The Oaks of Calabasas. Marika acquired her Contractors License B (#1001368) in 2007 and C-10 in 2018. In 2009, Marika founded Green EconoME and became a LEED AP BD+C (Building Design and Construction). Marika became a Certified Energy Auditor (CEA) in 2016. Marika holds an MBA from Pepperdine University and a BA in Business Economics from UCSB. She is a frequent speaker on energy legislation and efficiency. Marika was nominated as LABJ’s Women CEO of the year in 2019.
Show Notes:
Green EconoME - www.greeneconome.com
Savings by Design Program - www.savingsbydesign.com
PACE Financing - www.energy.gov/eere/slsc/property-assessed-clean-energy-programs