Autumn Trails Paves with Concrete for Green Building Profits

Developer George Bialecki, Jr. finds that environmentally responsible design saves money and can lead to faster sales. At Autumn Trails, permeable interlocking concrete pavement saved thousands of dollars by eliminating conventional stormwater drainage, making PICP cost-competitive with conventional asphalt. More

Wisconsin Builder Uses ICFs to Build Affordable, Green Home

“The Wellhouse” is an affordable, durable, sustainable concrete home in Waupaca, Wisconsin.  Designed by Ken Dahlin of AIA Genesis Architecture, LLC, and Built by John Durrant of Elm Valley Carpentry, this energy efficient home was built for roughly $100/sq. ft. and showcases new green building technologies.  More

Texas City Serves as Model for Energy Efficient Community

Lubbock, Texas boasts the most successful ICF low-income home construction program in the U.S.  For more than a decade, the city has used Federal grant funds to build 120 ICF homes in Lubbock for low income families.  The new homes are quite energy efficient, with monthly heating bills of $70 to $80, rather than $400 per month for the substandard housing they replace. More

Conservation Center Preaches what it Teaches

The 2008 NCMA Design Awards recognized the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Center for Conservation Research with an award of excellence in sustainability. As a state-of-the-art facility at San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park, the Beckman Center is a leader in research and wildlife conservation. Architects established goals for energy conservation, and selected concrete masonry units for the exterior (and some interior) walls. The building is registered with USGBC and owners are pursuing LEED Silver Certification for it. More

Thermal Mass Comparison of Wall Systems (CD026)

This 49-page report provides the thermal performance of 11 different structural wall systems: concrete masonry, insulated cast-in-place, insulated concrete forms (ICFs), and autoclaved aerated concrete (AAC) as well as wood and steel frame. The results illustrate the benefits of thermal mass, depending on climatic conditions for most of North America.

Standard Practice for Bracing Masonry Walls under Construction (LT275)

This standard is intended to improve safety on the job site by providing design criteria for masonry and bracing systems used on free-standing masonry walls to resist specified wind loads during construction.