by Tim Casper, LEED AP
Voith & Mactavish Architects is proud to continue our standing as a Gold-ranked charter member of the Greater Philadelphia Green Business Program, also known as Philly Green Biz. As members we are responsible for calculating our carbon footprint each year and reporting the findings.
Posted in Sustainability
by Nora Wedemeyer, LEED AP
Here at VMA, a recent inner-office email sharing the above infographic sparked several of us to share our opinions on how we believe that urban living may be a healthier environment in which to live.
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Posted in Education
by Keri Smotrich
After sitting for hours on end working towards a deadline, it’s not unlikely to look at the clock and discover that you have been sitting for half the day without leaving your desk. When you do finally stand up you may find that fatigue has settled into your body and you feel a little stiff and drained. Sound familiar? Though you can often not get around the long hours and deadlines (sorry!) it is important to try and find the sweet spot at your desk where proper alignment and posture come together. Without this over time the effects can be found throughout your body without even realizing it – your shoulders are scrunched up towards your ears, your wrists may be slightly cranky from typing, and you may have been alternating the cross of your legs for the last four hours in an attempt to find a comfortable seat.
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Posted in Education
by Kelli R. Coles
Henry Francis du Pont, a collector and horticulturist, grew up in what is now known as the Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library. In the 1960s he opened his childhood home to share and educate the public on early American decorative arts. The 175-room house located in the Brandywine Valley of Delaware is a backdrop for the priceless collection of nearly 90,000 objects. This past September, the Institute hosted a two-week program which featured lectures and workshops on American furniture styles, glass, ceramics, metals, textiles, lighting, and paintings from the collection that spans the 1600s through 1850.
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Posted in Education
by Zamir Garcia, AIA, LEED AP
An artisan in the Arts & Crafts movement and avid collector, Henry Mercer built a studio, home, and Museum in Bucks County that are unique to his personality and showcases his collection and creations. While his studios educate and enlighten visitors, recent renovations to his Museum will give visitors reason to make a return trip to view objects in the Museum’s collection that have never been seen by the public, and to experience traveling exhibitions.
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Posted in Education
by Melissa Andrews, LEED GA
Commercial buildings account for approximately 36 percent of total national electricity usage, according to the 2009 U.S. Department of Energy Buildings Energy Data Book. The Greater Philadelphia Green Business Program, also known as “Philly Green Biz,” was created to help businesses reduce their consumption of resources. Developed in 2009 by the Pennsylvania Environmental Council (PEC) in conjunction with their Sustainable Philadelphia Initiative to help make the city the most sustainable region in the country, the Greater Philadelphia Green Business Program now has over 100 businesses participating and evaluating their current business standards in order to work towards developing “greener” business practices. Voith & Mactavish Architects is proud to be a Gold-ranked charter member of this program.
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Posted in Sustainability
by John H. Cluver, AIA, LEED
We have all felt just how quickly a single open door or window can suck the heat out of a building on a cold, windy day. One great way to minimize energy loss in a building is to reduce the transfer of air between the interior environment and the great outdoors. While we typically don’t leave our windows open in the winter, many older buildings achieve a similar effect through the myriad of cracks, gaps, joints, and other openings found in a variety of locations. Whether they are the product of poor workmanship, material deterioration, natural movement, or rodent activity, any openings exposed to the outside air can contribute to undesired heat or cooling loss.
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Posted in Sustainability
by John H. Cluver, AIA, LEED
We’re about to get another code. To the ranks of the zoning code, building code, fire prevention code, property maintenance code, private sewage disposal code (yes, there is such a thing), and many others, we will soon be able to add a Green Code. The International Code Council, publisher of model codes used by many states and local municipalities, is currently working with several other organizations to create the International Green Construction Code (IGCC), with the intent of adding it to their other offerings with the triennial release of the 2012 family of codes. The IGCC looks at issues of site development, material resource conservation, energy conservation, and water use, and sets minimum requirements for provisions within these categories. In addition, it lists other potential requirements and compliance thresholds that adopting agencies (state and local governments) can set, along with requiring a minimum number of project compliance electives. This approach provides a degree of customization not found in other components of the construction code, giving the states and local governments that choose to adopt it with a surprising degree of flexibility. This is a good thing, because I anticipate that there will be many areas that add the IGCC to its quiver of codes given the push we are seeing in many areas to make sustainable design practices mandatory…
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Posted in Preservation
by John H. Cluver, AIA, LEED
What does the Recovery Act and Save America’s Treasures have in common? The answer: economic stimulus and jobs. Unfortunately, those responsible for setting the 2010 federal budget haven’t seen the connection, and the budget recently sent by the White House to Congress has eliminated funding to the Save America’s Treasures program. And that is a travesty, especially at a time when the government is trying to encourage spending that will generate jobs. Consider the following:
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Posted in Preservation
by John H. Cluver, AIA, LEED
Old buildings have a bit of an unjust reputation for being energy hogs. And, unfortunately, this misconception can be misused to justify “improvements” that do little to save energy or money, while doing real damage to a historic building. Very often, the most cost effective measures are overlooked because they are so simple and mundane that they don’t seem like they should be able to make a difference, or because the larger and more expensive projects get all of the attention in advertisements and articles. But the simple fact is that the easier and cheaper an energy improvement is, the sooner real financial savings can be realized. For those of us who own or manage historic buildings, however, should not be the only consideration. We have to guard against losing the historic character that makes these buildings so special, and to make sure that we are not introducing new elements that could create future problems where none previously existed. To best determine the appropriate steps to take with your property, the best step is to hire a professional to do an energy audit or energy model of the property. The former shows you where you are losing energy, while the latter allows you to try out numerous “what if” scenarios to determine what improvements will produce the best results.
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Posted in Preservation