Renovate Remodel Revolt‪!‬ Whitney Page

Co founder and director of Healthy Materials Lab and associate professor of architecture at Parsons school of design in NYC, Allison Mears calls herself a recovering architect. As a young woman in a traditionally man’s world, Allison says she never learned about the chemicals present in the projects she oversaw. Like many of us she was shocked to find that the materials she was using could cause harm. “You are responsible as an architect for the health, safety and wellness of people that occupy your buildings.” she says. 

How do we create benign systems so that at every point in the system they are not causing harm? How do we make waste into a resource? The health of the planet and the health of our buildings are inextricably linked. We breathe, they should breathe. Is it really all that radical? 

Six Classes of Chemicals is a good place to start learning about the connection of human health and the built environment. 

3D printing ICON Austin 



Cast of Characters:

Jonasara Ruth, Co Founder of the Healthy Materials Lab

Laurie, Don Services in Pennsylvania 

Cameron McIntosh, Americhanvre

Alex Sparrow, UK Hempcrete

Chris Magwood, Endeavour Centre

Liam Donohoe (listen to episode one)





Check out the Healthy Materials Lab's podcast: Trace MATERIALS







reach out: 

renovateremodelrevolt@gmail.com

IG   @renovate.remodel.revolt

"The greenest buildings are the ones that already exist." says architect, preservationist and sustainability advocate, Carl Elefante. The focus this week is de-carbonization. On this episode we also discuss: what it means to be in the building field, the green gap, or why it shouldn’t cost more to be green, finding solutions in the biosphere, and why we should consider bringing back Hammurabi's code....

As we confront America's current carbon footprint of 325 billion square feet of office buildings, we draw inspiration and hope from Kennedy's inaugural address. This is our hour of maximum danger and, BTW says Carl, "We’ll never make an iPhone out of straw bale."



Here are some simple steps to de-carbonize your existing buildings: 


Look at building envelope 
Do your roof 
Need systems less; open your window
Consume the least amount of energy (make it all electric and renewal)





Vocab: 

De-carbonization - 

n.
Same as decarburization.



n.
The action or process of depriving a substance of carbon.



Lithosphere -

n.
The outer part of the earth, consisting of the crust and upper mantle, about 100 kilometers (62 miles) thick.



n.
The crust of the earth: a designation corresponding with atmosphere and hydrosphere. [Little used.]

n.
The solid earth as distinguished from its fluid envelopes, the hydrosphere and atmosphere.


Biosphere -

n.
The part of the earth and its atmosphere in which living organisms exist or that is capable of supporting life.



n.
The living organisms and their environment composing the biosphere.

n.
The sum of the living things on the earth considered as a stratum in contrast with the atmosphere and the lithosphere.




Links: 

A.I.A. American Institute of Architects 

AIA Material Pledge 

The Natural Step 

Leed Credits

National Building Museum, Washington D.C. 

 



Rant or Rave:  renovateremodelrevolt@gmail.com

Find us on IG: @renovate.remodel.revolt 

Architecture 2030 has big goals for carbon sequestering. Their mission is is to rapidly transform the built environment from the major contributor  of greenhouse gas emissions to a central solution to the climate crisis. The building sector is the single largest consumer of energy and producer of greenhouse gas emissions. (from their website) 

On this episode we speak with the whip smart and extremely passionate Erin Mcdade of Bellingham, Washington about creating change. Is change coming from the top down or the ground up? Erin and I met at a Hempitecture workshop back in 2017. Listen on until the end where Erin describes what inspired her to become an architect and who we think actually built the Inca walls of Cusco. 


carbon sequestering: the process of capturing and storing atmospheric carbon dioxide; one method of reducing the amount of carbon  dioxide in the atmosphere with the goal of reducing global climate change
methane: An odorless, colorless, flammable gas, CH4,  the major constituent of natural gas, that is used as a fuel and is an  important source of hydrogen and a wide variety of organic compounds


email with questions or requests for topics: renovateremodelrevolt@gmail.com

IG: @renovate.remodel.revolt

Inventor, entrepreneur, educator and Irishman Liam Donohoe helps us understand the relationship between materials in our renovations. How do we bring in natural materials into our non natural homes? 

What happens to the materials we remove from our homes? 

Current building code and the insulation business is focused around the movement of heat in one direction which disfavors natural materials. 

In episode one we introduce themes, and topics to be explored in the upcoming season. 

Links and vocabulary: 

R-value 

hy•gro•scop•ic hī″grə-skŏp′ĭk



adj.
Readily absorbing moisture, as from the atmosphere.


Hempwool by Hempitecture 

Healthy Materials Lab at Parsons

Hemp Building Summit 

 

@renovate.remodel.revolt

renovateremodelrevolt@gmail.com