5. August 2008 by admin.

I got my license in architecture last year. After finishing those silly NCARB exams, finally, I can call myself an architect in North America. It was a big accomplishment, but then again I was already a licensed architect in the Philippines. Of course, I had certain expectations after going through a long and arduous process. Mind you, I have been in the industry for 15 years now.

I was working for a big consulting firm at that time that I was finishing my exams. The job was stable, I got along with my coworkers but the pay was low. It didn’t help finding out there were others being paid more than me – people I thought who were slackers or were less qualified. I actually got a raise but the salary was comparatively lower still in hot hiring climate.  

So, I spoke to the lead architect and tendered my resignation. He asked an agonizing why, as one of my officemates put it, as if I broke up with him. I replied one word – money. I was offered 15,000 dollars more in the other firm. It wasn’t because I asked for a lot, I was considerably underpaid all that time.

So, I started at this other architectural firm. Even then, I knew it didn’t have a good reputation amongst employees. They were the hire and fire kind, and I heard stories of discrimination as well.  They offered me a good package though and I thought what the hell. I stayed for three months. We were constantly running after deadlines, the project was overwhelmingly big for the group’s experience and I couldn’t take the bitching amongst the group. It was terrible.

I looked around for another job and got some decent interviews. At this time, my reputation of moving quickly between firms preceded me. What choice did I have really? This industry has no love for the likes of me. It’s an old boys club, it matters who you know, and being young, female and not white were not to my advantage. The old adage of work hard and you’ll get there does not simply work. Sure, I can work my butt off and what do you get?  More deadlines, longer hours and no paid overtime.

I worry that one day I’ll wake up, old, tired, with ruined eyes and laid-off from work. It happens. It’s pretty vicious when you think of it. I guess we’re suppose to really love designing and building and close our eyes to everything else.

Posted in Corporate | No Comments »

5. August 2008 by admin.

Green roof seems to be the new buzz these days in making your building environment friendly. I had my first encounter with this technology in Calgary a few years ago. It was a product presentation through Soprema. If I remember correctly, the green roofing technology is from Europe and its application has been widely used. The introduction of the product to cold climates, specifically Alberta has been fairly recent. I believe in Calgary there has been one or 2 projects started a few years ago.

One time in the office, I was looking at a picture of a green roof building in Calgary and couldn’t help commenting, “What the hell is this – a bunch of weeds on the roof?” forgetting that I had hard-core green designers within earshot. Of course my colleague promptly replied in defense. I tell you, that was the saddest looking green roof/ garden I’ve seen. The plants were obviously struggling, the soil was dry and the whole scenario just had a general look of desperation to it.

How can be it sustainable? How can plants survive in a 4- 6 inches of soil exposed to Alberta’s unpredictable and harsh climate? In Calgary, you probably have 2 months of decent weather where it’s warm enough for vegetation to grow. How do you sustain the green roof for the rest of the year?

I believe that green roof has a positive effect on what is called urban heat island, reducing heat in cities that are warmer than their rural areas. That makes sense to me. The green roof absorbs the heat through soil and vegetation. But I wonder what its contribution to a cold climate. The technology has not been proven to increase roof insulation value.  And obviously, it is difficult to maintain.

This is my point, we should be discerning of the technology that’s out there. Sure its green but what are the conditions that make it green? Just because it works somewhere else doesn’t mean its applicable anywhere or everywhere. Technologies are not all encompassing.

Posted in Green | No Comments »

3. August 2008 by admin.

I joined a picnic last week with a women’s group that I volunteer for. I overhead a conversation from 2 women wanting to form an environmental group, wasn’t  sure where they wanted to do it– here in Calgary, Alberta or back in the Philippines. I’ m a pinay, short for Filipina. In any case, I don’t know whether it was the heat that got into me but for some reason I sensed a tinge of righteousness in their conversation.

They were talking about recycling. The other woman mentioned she even collects the bottled water caps. Ok.  I really did not want to get involved in the discussion – it was too nice a day. I did mention that protecting the environment might be a hard sell in Alberta. It’s not that people don’t care — oil is the driving force in Alberta’s economy. You cannot bite the hand the feeds you. In that picnic alone, half of the people there worked for the big oil companies.

This is not the say I am not for the environment. We as a society have to strike a balance.  So when the discussion came around to alternative energy and all that stuff, I just nodded my head and smiled. I said I know this because it’s part of my work. I am an architect.  I tell them it’s not easy for clients to spend that extra money for a building to become green. They asked why.  I should have told them instead – if I advise you to spend  $ 20,000 to upgrade your windows to become energy efficient and payback is 5 – 8 years, would you do it? And that’s only the windows, let alone the entire house.  

When I was being interviewed for this job with an oil & gas firm, I actually mentioned that future buildings can be green.  I said this might be a good way to promote the company, than just being one of those big bad oil companies. Of course the department head/ the guy who interviewed me laughed at me, a bit patronizing I felt. The good thing is he seemed to like me and still hired me. 

So the picnic conversation goes to biofuels. I ask a pointed question to the 2 women, are you against biofuels? The other one backed off, she said didn’t know too much about it. The other one said she was against it. Didn’t say too much really. I think they got scared of my candor. I didn’t say anything. The only thought I had – whoever thought of biofuels was thinking they were doing a good thing, to protect the environment. 

Which goes back to my point. How do you find that balance?  You certainly do not want to alienate people. I am green, you’re not. Then again, I don’t want to lose my job either. I struggle with this question myself. 

Posted in Green | No Comments »

31. May 2008 by admin.

Save the trees and have a beautiful piece of artwork for your home!  As an environmental friendly consumer, you can have both.

I came across these recycled paper products through a long-standing relationship with an urban Philippine community ( SAPSPA - Appropriate Housing Organization of San Pablo Apostol ). I volunteered for this group in my college days and have kept in touch. This is part of the community’s income generation.

I am truly amazed at the craftsmanship. They are completely handmade using old newspaper prints, magazines and directory pages. Since the artisans are mostly women, it is natural that the designs are for home use. Paper as a material can be quite versatile and durable as well. Applications are for indoor use - vases, baskets, bags and souvenir times. With this endeavor, we can support both the community and the environmental cause as well. For more information, please contact us at info@truelivingspace.com.

Posted in Green | No Comments »

25. May 2008 by admin.

It’s not easy being green. Eventually, we would all like to reach a point where green and sustainability comes naturally. In the meantime, being green is still a conscious decision that we make in our everyday lives.

I am currently designing the building details of our house in Calgary. It helps that I am an architect, hopefully we get to start building late this year. As a designer, I am a big believer in embracing nature in your design. A house should be designed accordingly to its climate, this way it is energy- efficient.

Calgary is located in Alberta, Canada. It is a cold-dry climate; temperatures can range from  –31 degrees Celsius in winter (January) to 29 degrees in summer (July).  Snow depths of more than      1 cm occur about 88 days annually.  The good thing is there is a lot of sunlight even in winter. It is also a windy climate because it’s the prairies.  Rainfall is minimal.My solutions focused more on the building technology side. They are:

1. Fully insulate the house. The average house is insulated for R-20 walls, R-40 roof using fiberglass insulation. The reality is this R value is lower once built.  I would like to use rigid insulation over the exterior sheathing aside from putting in the fiberglass insulation in the walls to achieve R-25. I am also thinking of putting a board insulation on the roof, if not, on the ceiling space.  People tend to forget insulating the basement. Have you stepped in a basement that is 10 degrees cooler than the rest of the house? Feels like you’re in another planet.  A lot of heat is lost in the basement if not insulated properly.
2. Use low-emissivity double glazed high performance windows.  A low e-coating reduces the heat flow through your window. It costs 5-10% more than the average window. This option is not as popular because of the payback period but then again the heating costs are not getting cheaper.
3. Design the windows for proper daylight exposure, otherwise you can decrease the glazing area. A lot of heat is lost on windows, three times more than an ordinary wall.  
4.  Lower the ceiling heights and overall building height. Use 8 feet clear for room heights. Anything above that will add more to the heating requirements.
5.  Solar heating for domestic water tank. This is a tricky option because of the cost, I do not know of any system that is affordable. Last time I checked on solar panels, the cost was      $ 200 for a system that can light a single 20-watt bulb. Go figure.
6. Use water-efficient devices for bathroom and plumbing fixtures. These devices might cost more but they are definitely worth it. Showerheads use a lot of water; an average showerhead is 15-25 liters per minute. A water saving device will give you 9.5 liters per minute. Or you can always use a pail of water to bathe.  Or not take a shower at all. ( I am kidding)
7.  Improve indoor air quality by using low-emitting materials – paints, coatings, sealants, adhesives.   I am not a big fan of carpet, I will use wood floors in the bedrooms.
8. Install a sun tube. It’s a roof-mounted dome, connected to a tube that channels the lights. Sort of a skylight. It will bring in more daylight, hopefully if installed right it won’t leak.
9. Reuse and save old materials. This is trait that I share with my husband and father-in-law. We are cheap. We will reuse whatever we can in the house we’re going to demolish or whatever gets thrown away by someone else.
10. High performance energy efficient furnace. This might cost more but it makes sense because of the savings in energy costs.

I hope we will be able to stick with these ten choices. The challenge lies in the up front cost because of the budget. Hopefully, we can think of this as long-term decisions that are good for us physically and economically, and be green as well.
 
 

Posted in Green | No Comments »