Sustainability & Preservation:
“The greenest building is the one already built.”
Sustainability begins with preservation. The efforts of historic preservation have a profound effect on reducing negative environmental impact, a greater effect even than the greenest efforts of any new building and so must be an essential part of the sustainability dialog. Inherent in the adaptive re-use of the Woodside site, versus demolition and re-building “green”, is an estimated energy savings of at least 28 Trillion BTU’s when one accounts for the loss of embodied energy, energy used in the demolition, and energy spent in the new construction. It would take the average new green building decades to realize a similar return.
More info here: National Trust for Historic Preservation
Sustainability & Green Design:
The Woodside renovation plan is designed to significantly improve envelope performance and energy efficiency through building performance auditing, software modeling, energy-efficient & geothermal technology; water use reduction through water efficient technologies; and use of low VOC and natural materials. A whole building approach will be used to ensure system compatibility and retention of historic material. Augmenting these effects are systems designed to reduce storm water runoff pollution, reduce heat island effect, and increase water efficiency. Rainwater collection and the reintroduction of native vegetation also compliment these efforts.
Sustainability & Everyday Practices:
The construct of the artist residency program demonstrates easily duplicable “household-sized” methods of sustainability such as incorporating systems of permaculture, organic gardening, composting, water and energy conservation programs, recycling programs, shared transportation and communal bikes.
Sustainabilty Workshops:
…coming soon.