Sustainable tourism article by Sam of Fair Marquit, a dbBrad feature article.

All last year as I hiked my 5000 miles across 3 different countries on 3 different Continents, I thought about hiking as a means of travel and I thought about sustainability.  I observed the condition and the uses of land, the tourists I met, the poor locals juxtaposed against the traveling rich kids, hotels vs. backpackers, cars vs. bikes, conservation vs. our need for raw materials and I thought to myself 'This year of hiking, carrying my shelter, my kitchen and my wardrobe everywhere I go, eating simple foods and spending my time looking and learning rather than stressing and driving like most tourists, probably has to be the most sustainable trip ever.  All year I collected my garbage and generated less that 20lbs for the entire year (not including worn out gear), far under our American average of 4lbs per person, per day.

My little pile of gear starting out on a one year, 5000 mile backpacking trip.  Though gear was replaced as it wore out and discarded when carrying it's weight outweighed (no pun intended) its benefits of use, I essentially carried these items all year.  And for my favorite product used all year long, IBEX merino wool is it!

Interesting then that recently I received a request from another sustainably minded individual currently writing about tourism, it's impacts, and how changes are making it more sustainable.  Here is his web page which has some great information and here is his article on...

Photo from Fair Marquit web page.

Eco-Friendly Buildings

In the course of my time as a commercial and independent contractor, I have had many experiences in working with companies and businesses that are seeking to become certified in LEED. This includes purchasing and installing materials that are beneficial to the environment. As I work for certain individuals and businesses, I am interested in the implementation of eco-friendly initiatives. Although celebrating LEED certification is important, I believe there is a lot more that can be celebrated in terms of being eco-friendly.

In the continent of Asia, there has been a lot of focus and recognition of green initiatives. The Wild Asia Responsible Tourism awards, which is focuses on tourism in Asia has recognized a number businesses and individuals. Recognition is given to those who focus on keeping the community updated and involved. In addition to this, recognition is for those who have sought to protect the culture while guarding and maintaining portions of land and the animals, birds and insects that live in them. Furthermore, focus has been given to the proficiency of using available resources.

Being proficient at using available resources can include serving foods that are local to the area as well as installing showerheads and faucets that have valves that can shut off automatically. Las Vegas, which is a popular destination for many people around the nation and world, has sought to have many of their buildings and operations receive LEED certification. An interesting fact is that the Las Vegas Palazzo Resort recently has been named the “Most Eco-Friendly Hotel in America.” Some of the reasons for receiving the award are that the facility has self-governing systems as well as being able to recycle the waste that it produces. In addition to this, there are New York City hotels, similar to the ones in Las Vegas, which seek to be more sustainable. Some hotels have become intentional in reducing the carbon footprint that they make by recycling waste and to install self-governing systems. The Ink 48 Hotel, which is located in New York City, has created a group that focuses on how to benefit the earth in a good way. The program, Earthcare, provides a platform where members can come together and discuss different ways they can become more sustainable.

I must say that seeing people make buildings that are self-reliant is quite wonderful indeed. As an experienced contractor, it is amazing for me to have a part of this kind of special work.  It is important for workers in Las Vegas to know that the city receives 40,000,000 visitors each year, where they stay in 124,000 hotel rooms. Because of the amount of traffic Las Vegas receives, new green Las Vegas hotels are constantly going up. This is an extremely encouraging sign and must be duplicated in other parts of the world. If everyone does their part, the positive impact will be sign by future generations.

On Transportation

In China there are many new and big foreign luxury cars like Lexis, BMW and Porsche Cayanes everywhere you look. The rest of the vehicle are well used trucks, buses of all sizes, a multitude of motorcycles, and bicycles, most of which are electric and look like they should have stopped working ten years ago. Batteries are held on with wire; baskets and racks are welded to gas tanks, handle bars or whatever; bamboo armatures are taped on holding umbrellas and tarps; wheels that are far from round and often at funny angles, wobble as they ride down the middle of the road.  And, not a single light on any of them.

Xiamen traffic jam

At night they are more like invisible ghosts but still in the middle of the road and often going the wrong direction.  You couldn't pay me to get on one of these things, let alone ride it in the middle of the road, often on the wrong side of the road, and without lights.

Going the wrong way

Driving here is unbelievable.  How there aren't more accidents I truly don't understand.   So far as I can tell, there appear to be no rules or traffic laws but neither are there police or traffic accidents.  It's as if the vehicles on the road are ants -- part of a hive mind.

Yes, there are accidents

There seems to be a hidden code where cars turn in front of others.  Right of way is not a given and all vehicles have equal right of way.

You want to do a U turn.  Just do it!

Pedestrians cross as needed.  Bicycles and even cars are regularly on the wrong side of the road as if the lines and lights were suggestions.  Need supersedes 'intended use'.  So, what is easiest or fastest or makes the most sense becomes the "right" thing to do.  This allows open areas, free lanes, and any unused spaces to be used as needed.  If there are no cars  moving, people will simply park their car, even on intersection corners or the wrong side of street.  Likewise they drive on sidewalks, plazas and alleys one wouldn't initially think were suitable for any vehicle.

Street scene in Xiamen

The result -- less wasted space, more efficient travel, perhaps planning is even simplified requiring less thought for intended use but instead creating the "zones" that allow people to use them how they want.  Kind of like my philosophy for architecture.  That is, create wonderful spaces that lend themselves to multiple use and the varied needs of users.

Gas here is 2.70 yuan/liter or 4.50 per gallon.  But, with all the alternative transportation options, including a fabulous rapid bus transit system where buses run on dedicated streets, through tunnels, and on elevated roadways, one can easily avoid driving if desired.  

In a city of 3.61 million people, all forms of transportation mix it up in a fascinating move-the-people-dance. 

Architecture, Life and Google Earth.

This image on Google earth caught my eye while perusing New Zealand's south island. It reminds me of the sophisticated type of site plan you get when you work with your surroundings. When the rivers and roads, the views and the sun all inform your site and your buildings.

A wonderful site plan, so architectural it looks like a rendering, but is an actual site along Tepako Canal Road on the South Island of New Zealand.

Alvar Aalto was a true master of integrating buildings with their surroundings and I have to thank Kieth Loftin (UCD graduate Architecture professor) for passionately explaining such things to me early in my design career and for forcing his students to draw our site and buildings with a single continuous line over and over until we generated these types of believable arrangements where the topographic lines and the buildings work as one.

Alvar Aalto Site Plan

Of particular note is the shadow line created by the formal tree plantings. It's geometry and massing set the stage for the relationship towards existing portions of the built environment, including the old farms and roads, the new roads and canal, and the surrounding fields that are neither split nor contiguous.

Mt Adams on the PCT, 2011

It is this type design which I've been aspiring too create for 20 years, but have found myself burdened with the details of running a business which continues to displace daily tasks farther and farther away from design.  Recently inspired by hiking 285 miles of Washington along the Pacific Crest Trail (September 2011) coupled with a need for a total life overhaul, I'm very seriously considering thru hiking New Zealand on their newly completed (2011) Te Araroa trail.

Te Auaroa trail, New Zealand.

The trail is 3000 km (over 1800 miles) running from the Northern most tip of the North Island at Cape Reinga all the way to the southern most part of the South Island terminating at a Bluff on Foveaux Straight.  My intent is to hike the whole way this winter (it's summer down there!) and then come back mid April and hike the entire PCT. 

dbBrad on the PCT with nothing but a backpack and happy!

Design Inspired by Nature

When I look upon the marvels of this planet, I see dwellings. Dwellings that mimic the landscape, draw upon it's lessons and accent it's features. Humans within the landscape, living in the cliffs and under the hills, and up in the sky.

Nature inspires me to dream of buildings that employ crystallization like rocks, structural systems like the Xylem in a tree or the exoskeleton of an insect, buildings that filter light and clean the air like a rain forest or that store their energy in complex starches like the tail of a lizard or a Yam.

Above all however, is the concept that the buildings work with the earth, within the ecosystem which it resides and utilizing the local features available to it. Historically, human development has done exactly the opposite.

A quick study done years ago while getting my Masters in Architecture from UCD. The premise was to take a complex idea derived from nature and graphically represent it in a clear, concise drawing.

Most likely I was inspired by:

a) my love of Structures I and II and Mechanical Engineering

b) the value of analyzing, simplifying, developing and representing (graphically) developed during Precedents by Mark Gallertner,

3) The teaching's of Keith Loftin in a design studio who instilled in me a process of design so simply I'm only now truly understanding how it has helped me develop my own design process which has further develpment into my own language and style, identifiable amongst other architects works as 'oh, that's dbBrad's work.'

Hearts and Hammers Defined

Hearts and Hammers together is synonymous with a day of fun helping your neighbors and improving your community.

Wet Hearts and Hammers volunteers after a long, muddy day--and still having a great time!  The pond in background didn't exist in the morning and was still empty until Fran brought the rain mid afternoon!

According to Wikipedia, The heart is a myogenic muscular organ found in all animals with a circulatory system.

Human Heart from University of Washington web page.

But to have a heart, as the tin man found out, is to be sincere or to act of kindness.  A hammer on the other hand, is any tool used to impact other objects.

Old hand made Hammer from Williamsburg colonial times.

I can't think of a better name for a community based social help network which matches 'volunteers that can' with 'families with needs who can't' than HEARTS and HAMMERS.

dbBrad defines Hearts and Hammers, community volunteers making an impact with kindness.

'To impact ones community with kindness!!'  dbBrad Hankins

Hearts and Hammers 2011

dbBrad and Hearts and Hammers, 2011.

Looks like it's going to be a great day.

Travis and Airin

Hearts and Hammers is this weekend, tomorrow actually (May 7th, 2011). We got a jump on things today. This is only my second year with the organization but I've been given my own project and Travis and I have already put in many hours.

Travis telling me not to fall!

Several design/pricing iterations have been done to provide the best value, accomplish the objectives of the Hearts and Hammers review board, and still try to give it the dbBrad touch! Really we were only supposed to fix the front walk but were taking on another task: to solve the water problem that is really the root of the problem.

dbBrad Truck with Landshapers Trailer at Hanson's loading up for Hearts and Hammers

I believe water to be solely responsible for the degradation to the ancillary components of the house. I guess this is fairly convenient since I've been doing so many water management/pond/habitat/restoration projects.

Billy R, one of the volunteers for Hearts and Hammers, had a Jack Hammer he was gracious enough to lend us. It even came with it's own pink, glow in the dark cord!

Today we spent most of today gathering tools and materials and coordinating with volunteers as well as the Grady family, and then getting a jump on the project by busting up some concrete. We wanted to make sure we had tools sufficient for the task, but also needed to clear an area so we could pour a landing for the new stairs.

Travis did the layout on the deck so he could place the pad for the stairs in exactly the right spot. Our goal is to have volunteers totally build the deck, kids and all.

Our primary objective was to fix the front porch walkway which had dropped more than 8" in a 4' span. A few years ago Hearts and Hammers jacked up the garage and porch roofs and poured new piers for them, which, over the years, has been underminded by water.

A glimpse of the water, and just from light drizzle. The grouind was already saturated though.

This time we're taking out all the concrete which is literally sinking due to the saturated soil. Water from houses up above and deforestation has generated lots of surface water with no place to go but run to lower ground. Our project is at the bottom of the hill.

So since our site is a puddle, we're going to one up it and put in a pond. We'll be collecting water from the gutters and from a failing french drain at the back of the propety, capturing and tight lining this water to a brand new pond!!! The pond will have a liner, but the adjoining wetland we're creating will not. Since it will be wet all winter anyhow, our plan is to turn this lemon into lemonade.

The vacant lot next door to our H&H project for which dbBrad and Dalton are drafting a sales offer. Stay tuned!!

From the wetland, water will drain into and under the new permeable driveway, which will act as a catch basin. We're also taking out the entire driveway apron and replacing it with ballast and crushed rock which will be used to provide additional short term water retention.

dbBrad Web page, trumped by dbBrad blog

My blog which discusses issues of sustainability, design, and water management as well as showing methods of construction and the "how to's" on all my built projects is interesting, dynamic and fun to look at. In fact, so much so that it's upstaging my web page.

dbbrad.com

If you Google Brad Hankins, dbBrad, Design build Brad, or dbBrad Hankins, you will see lots of references to my work, but almost none to my web page.

Division of Earth and Water, specializing in water management and natural ponds, wetlands and streams, as well as site management and restoration.

Given that Google has some strange and mysterious ranking system for finding and displaying relevant web pages, I'm hoping this will send some new traffic to my web page, or at least get it to show up on Google searches involving my name or company! Hopefully it will even boost traffic to Dear Mr. GreenGuy.

Mister Green Guy, answering your questions on sustainable design build issues

Interesting that if you Google dbBrad image search, you will get many images of women named DebraD, but if you insist that Google search 'instead for dbBrad', you will get a very high percentage of images from my blog.

Debra D, though I'm not sure if 'D' is her last name or not! SweetieBuilt!

Even more interesting is that if you do the same image search for dbBrad in conjunction with another word, the results are fascinating. Below are some random images from dbBrad google image search.

Best looking custom floating wood metal stairs ever, at 702 MLK remodel for Richards.

Cutest Australian Shepherd puppy ever behind large boat anchor chain.

My motorcycle trailer, one of the many interesting images from a Google image search for dbBrad

We miss Joe Candelario, Travis and I do.  Here he models 'stern face' with native accessory grasses, from the 'Different Faces of Botany' posting, one of my favorites!

Try dbBrad frog, dbBrad airplane, dbBrad pond, dbBrad Fredley, or best yet, for a totally random display of my work from the last several years, search dbBrad BAPOW!! As of April 26th (only two weeks left until Hearts and Hammers!) there are 166 results and all of them mine, some of which I haven't seen for years. Weird, Google, but it works for me!!

FrEdLey carport under construction.  Salvaged spruce, paired rafters, and steel posts normal to the roof set this building apart from others of similar size/scale/function/cost.  Good design is always a great value.  dbBrad BAPOW image

One day later, dbbrad BAPOW search generated 313 images and today, April 26th, just 48 hours after, a google image search is generating 163 matches with 3 non related images, or 98.16% dbBrad Hankins related.

Cheryl's gate, another steel wood hybrid structure found when google image searching dbbrad BAPOW

Now, several weeks later (May 9th) I'm getting 297 results in the evening where I got 303 this morning.  Yesterday afternoon it was up to its all time recent high of 329.  I attribute this spike to all the recent postings for Hearts and Hammers.  I know from previous search studies that three words, intern, volunteer and mascot, are well received by Goggles search engine algorithms.

Solar Pavilion, one of the most frequently displayed images in a dbBrad Google Image search.

Now if only Google would recognize dbBrad as a correctly spelled entity and stop sending people to DebraD, sweet as she may be!

Containerations

CONTAINERATIONS: Modifying a container to create a mobile, self contained, secure work shop.

another dbBrad original design.

My container, a Genstar, on the bottom of a pile.  It took ConGlobal about 10 minutles to get it free and place it on my trailer!

After an exhausting search of overpriced metal boxes on Craigslist, I finally decided a steel shipping container, not a truck box, tent, trailer or shack, was the right structure for what I needed.

The new dbBrad container and trailer, fresh off the boat!

I have lots of large tools which I need on my job sites for the type of work I do, but I've grow tired of moving them.  Not only does it take the crew a whole day to move tools, but additional time to get them powered up, to repair damage and to get them tuned up and working properly.  And hoisting 800lb tools into the back of a truck is dangerous.  This container made into a shop but which is portable is my solution of how to keep big tools dry, safe, near by and ready to use.

The hoist and winch of the trailer for loading and unloading the container, with new heavy duty hold downs and stops.

The container was purchased from ConGlobal in Seattle.  Doug DeVries, the sales manager, was accommodating, helpful and knowledgeable. It's been an interesting learning curve about the different types and lengths of containers and the parts and fittings used to fix and secure them and the different products available to customize them, such as weld on windows, nifty little vents, and locking/attaching devices of which there are several.

My entire metal shop is mounted to the door so I can open it all the way and keep the metal dust away from my wood working tools and supplies.

However, most of the containerations I've seen have lacked in architectural detailing and even function for that matter.  The opportunity to do something wonderful with a container that can be stacked 9 high and hold 24,000lbs is amazing, but so often they are little more than dark small spaces with 2x4 walls framed on the inside.  Why use the container I say if you're not going to utilize its structural properties.

A finished Green Wall System Panel; an experiment in containerations, living walls and futon re-use

I wont be stacking, cantilevering or tricking out the interior, but I'm using the container as a structural shell, and I'm giving it architectural detailing in an attempt to create high function and aesthetic.

My 12" table saw on the fold down door under the awnings in progress.

So for me, if you're going to purchase all the steel and structure that come with a 5,000lb steel box, do something dynamic with it.  I'm using the sturdy frame to bolt my large heavy tools to; using the corrugated panels filled in with wood for structural decking; using the metal channels around the bottom to weld hinges to; using the metal walls to weld shelf supports, brakes, vices and tools too; and using the metal as a backdrop for a green wall.

dbBrad green wall system, another experiment in alternative construction methods.

Whidbey Examiner Article

dbBrad's FrEdLey residence was recently written up in the Examiner.

View Whidbey Examiner Article

The article is about the water catchment system which collects the water from all three roofs in a small upper pond. From there the water trickles down a stream under the bridge (below) and into a larger pond and then into a small Fenn (wetland).

FrEdLey Bridge between the Main Living and the Guest House

A previous article about building the FrEdLey home with recycled materials was published in the Whidbey Examiner in 2010.

And since this article is about FrEdLey being published, there's also a wonderful article from last year written by Valerie Easton in the Pacific section of the Seattle Times.

Green Home Tour

I've never seen so many people happily take off their shoes. The Green Home Tour, put on by Whidbey Watershed Stewards has a great following. An amazing group of people interested in how they can live better and use less, how they can repair the land around their home, and how they can be active participants in the community they live in.

The Green Home Tour on Whidbey island took place this past weekend. Over 100 people toured the FrEdLey site of Fran Abel and Ed Anderson, designed by dbBrad. People had wonderful things to say and were fascinated by the minimalist architecture and lifestyles being presented. Though many people aren't ready to live in 870sf, most all the guests thought they could live here.

Popular topics were the Custom windows and Fleetwood doors supplied by Island Sash and Door, the landscaping by Fran Abel Landscape Design, and the recycled materials and contemporary design solutions of dbBrad. The pond was enjoyed by all, but most thought the stream was natural and wondered how we could build a house so close to it an existing stream.