Anderson Sustainable Architecture

  • Home
  • About Us
    • Our Firm
    • Mark Anderson
    • Sustainability
    • What to Expect
  • Services
  • Projects
    • Portfolio
    • Project History
    • Testimonials
  • Contact Us
  • Resources
  • Blog
  • Home
  • About Us
    • Our Firm
    • Mark Anderson
    • Sustainability
    • What to Expect
  • Services
  • Projects
    • Portfolio
    • Project History
    • Testimonials
  • Contact Us
  • Resources
  • Blog

Coffee with Mark

Elected to Minnesota Building Performance Association Board of Directors

5/2/2017

0 Comments

 
Date Occurred: 16 1010    I am looking forward to supporting and advocating for energy efficient design and construction in new homes and in the healthy and energy efficient repair and renovation of existing homes.
Picture
0 Comments

Zehnder ERV and ductwork installation tour

5/2/2017

0 Comments

 
Date Occurred: 16 0926   Attended new Passive House residence ERV installation presentation by Zehnder America representative Kevin Rapp. Zehnder manufacturers a quality ERV system with plug-and-play ERV, duct manifold, duct work, diffusers and other HVAC system components.
0 Comments

Building Code Task Force

5/2/2017

0 Comments

 
Date Occurred: 16 0805   Assisted in developing recommedations on a baseline residential energy code for Minnesota energy regulators and utilities. Construction improvements over this baseline would qualify home owners for tax incentives and builders for energy utility rebates. The baseline and energy improvement data will be incorporated into a Minnesota specific HERS (Home Energy Rating System) calculator to be used by building raters to assess and rate the design and construction of new and remodeled residences, qualifying homes for energy efficiency programs.
0 Comments

Elected to Minnesota Building Performance Association full membership

5/2/2017

0 Comments

 
Date Occurred: 16 0712   Anderson Sustainable Architecture was elected to full membership in MBPA. We discussed home quality construction goals including: Weather - protection from cold, heat, rain, snow and wind; Health - protection from the elements and decreasing exterior and interior contaminants; Energy Efficiency - decreasing the cost of maintaining a home; Disaster Resistance - repelling the brute force of storms and surviving the loss of utilities; Interior Climate Maintenance - provide safer and healthier living environments. Would you like a home built to last hundred years without requiring serious upgrades?
Picture
0 Comments

Building and duct sealing methods and testing

5/2/2017

0 Comments

 
Date Occurred: 16 0608   The Energy Connection assembled a series of presentations on building and building component air-tightness. Effective and less effective methods of sealing ducts to meet duct air-tightness requirements, including tape, mastic, duct seal and aeroseal were discussed. The Energy Conservatory (TEC) provided a demonstration of blower door tests to assess whole building air-tightness.
0 Comments

South Minneapolis Community Education workshop

5/2/2017

0 Comments

 
Date Occurred: 16 0620   We presented a residential workshop to South Minneapolis residents on "Making Energy Improvements when Remodeling", also called Deep Energy Retrofits. To better prepare homeowners for energy improvement projects, we discussed building science in a simple way so they could make informed decisions when working with an architect or builder. Educated clients make better decisions which can help make their homes more comfortable, healthier and more energy efficient in a cost effective way. It can also help them from being sold something that won't help or that creates new problems. We discussed the insulating and moisture transport characteristics of building materials used in wall, roof and foundation assemblies. As well, we discussed quality levels in selecting replacement windows and doors. We answered homeowner questions on a range of existing and new home construction issues.
0 Comments

Tour of Thiel Gardens - urban year-round gardeners in Minnesota

5/2/2017

0 Comments

 
Date Occurred: 16 0429   David and Jill Thiel, designers, builders and year-round gardeners with Thiel Gardens, invited several clients and I to tour their urban garden facility in South Minneapolis. We were doing research for a new home that would have an attached greenhouse, a large attached root cellar and a large outdoor garden that would allow my clients to produce and store most of their food supply. With a winter greenhouse and outdoor raised beds, the Thiel's raise a variety of micro greens and herbs year-round. David designed and built their winter greenhouse with a great blend of intuitive design skills and hands-on construction ability. David and Jill were very helpful and gracious in describing how their winter greenhouse gardens systems worked; from plant selections, passive heating, heat storage, and summer shading, to how gardening worked into their daily living schedule. The micro-greens were lush, beautiful and very tasty in our April tour. Thank you! Their greens are sold  at several local stores. Please check them out at http://thielgardens.com.
0 Comments

Attended Logix Insulated Concrete Formwork installation class

5/2/2017

0 Comments

 
Date Occurred: 16 0407   Manny Umpierre and Rick Umpierre, Logix Insulated Concrete Formwork (ICF) representatives, gave a hands-on ICF formwork installation class. Held around the state, Logix puts on classes for clients and trades on how to design ICF formwork installations, estimate order quantities, lay out, cut, assemble and brace ICF formwork. We also practiced steel rebar reinforcment placement and discussed the importance of correct concrete pouring and what an installation crew would look like throughout the process. Working with structural engineers for reinforcement sizing and concrete mixes and then concrete suppliers rounded out the discussion. I attended with a client who was planning on self-performing footing and foundation wall installation for a "near" Passive House quality home with Passive House quality house foundations. The home also had insulated foundations at an attached greenhouse to manage greenhouse temperatures, exposed concrete foundations for a root cellar that sought contact with the earth, and "standard" foundations for a garage and screen porch. Manny and Rick did a great job presenting the information. I left with a better understanding of ICF and how to design a building with ICF. Though not my area of expertice, and this is not a professional recommendation, I left feeling ready to install and pour an ICF system with an understanding of what my learning curve would look like. Contact Logix at rick@logixicf.com or manny@logixicf.com for more information. Check us out at http://logixicf.com/pro-link-search/designers, select  the map of Minnesota and then Minneapolis. Note:  This is not a professional recommendation of Logix. Anderson Sustainable Architects is open to reviewing all ICF manufacturers and selects products and manufacturers based on client and project needs, product quality and manufacturers support, among other things.
0 Comments

Accepted as an Associate Member of Minnesota Building Performance Association

5/2/2017

0 Comments

 
Date Occurred: 16 0209   Review of our firms purpose and work led to acceptance as an Associate Member of the Minnesota Building Performance Association (MBPA). MBPA provides reliable and valuable information to the public to help them keep their buildings healthy, energy efficient and provides a listing of resources to accomplish that. Anderson Sustainable Architecture provides a valuable energy sustainable architectural design perspective to the group. MBPA consists of building performance testers and raters, construction industry members, energy utilities, and representatives from the University of Minnesota Extension - Cold Climate Housing Program and the Minnesota Department of Commerce, Division of Energy. The following is sourced from the MBPA website: "Information and solutions for a safe, healthy, comfortable, durable and energy efficient home". "Improving your home's performance: Using science, testing and the "house-as-a-system" approach to ensure your home or building is safe, comfortable, durable and energy efficient".  http://www.mbpa.us
Picture
0 Comments

Affordable Housing Design Award presentation by The McKnight Foundation and AIA-MN.

5/2/2017

0 Comments

 
Date Occurred: 16 0721    Advocated and networked for energy efficient design and renewable energy installation at the awards ceremony which recognize and encourage innovative, high-quality design for affordable housing.
0 Comments
<<Previous
Forward>>

    Mark Anderson, AIA, CPHC

    For my day job, I'm an architect focused on green design. Not a bad gig! Caring for the planet is a theme throughout my life. This page is where I like to talk about how that love for the earth plays out – in architecture and in my life.

    Archives

    June 2022
    May 2022
    January 2021
    August 2020
    October 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2017
    July 2017
    May 2017
    March 2017

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed


Picture
752 Holly Avenue
Saint Paul, MN 55104-7134
Phone: 651-472-4847
mark@asustainablearchitecture.com

Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture


Anderson Sustainable Architecture, Inc. develops green architectural solutions with a focus on health, comfort, energy sustainability, and beauty.
© COPYRIGHT 2021. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.