kevin stephens design group

The Passive Solar House: Part I

emilyksdg — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 07:00:02 +0000

The Passive Solar House: History and Demands

When considering how to design an energy efficient structure, there are many different methods architects can utilize in order to reach energy efficient goals in their designs. One such method is called the Passive House (or Passivhaus) Standard. Popular in Germany and Austria, the idea for the standard sparked when a conversation happened between Lund University professor Bo Adamson and Institut für Wohnen und Umwelt (Institute for Housing and the Environment) professor Wolfgang Feist in May 1988.

The influence of the Passive House standard has grown greatly over the past 24 years. As of August 2012, 15,000 to 20,000 Passive House modeled sites were located in Europe. The U.S. has been slow to adopt this standard though, as only 13 Passive House structures had been built as of August 2010. In 1996, a “Passivhaus Institute” was formed in order to promote and control the standards.

In brief, the standards demand three key energy efficiency requirements – 1) The building must not exceed certain heating and cooling demands; 2) Total primary energy consumption – energy used for eletricity, heating, and hot water – cannot exceed a given limit; and 3) The building cannot leak more than 0.6 time the house volume per hour. All of these requisites allow for these architectural structures to eliminate conventional heating systems from their designs. Energy consumption due to heating in Passive House structures is also slashed by nearly 90%. As a result, the buildings become more energy efficient, green, and less expensive to construct.

What is Passive Solar?

emilyksdg — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 07:56:31 +0000

Architect Greg Madeen created these illustrations of how passive solar energy works. It’s really cool!

Hi, I’m Emily: a New Contributing Blogger!

emilyksdg — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 01:39:11 +0000

Hello KSDG blog readers! My name is Emily and I’m excited to start writing for the Kevin Stephens Design Group blog on sustainability, architecture, and the world of green design.

I’m a second year undergraduate at UC Berkeley originally from Boston, MA. I am obsessed with cities, and love to travel. London is by far my favorite, but I’ve also had the joy of seeing and experiencing Hong Kong, Athens, Paris, and of course San Francisco.

In my spare time, you can find me designing on PhotoShop and Illustrator, browsing Tumblr blogs, hitting the books at Berkeley’s Environmental Design library, or watching reruns of cheesy Bravo TV shows. I strive to keep myself busy and inspired at all times!

What I love about KSDG is that the company integrates so many of my interests. I have always been drawn to architecture, and love the beautiful detail of technical drawings and the ability to create certain feelings and atmospheres through innovative architectural design. Green architecture is especially fascinating to me because of the creativity that goes along with discovering ways to make buildings more environmentally friendly. I am also drawn to the social mission of affordability and environmental friendliness that KSDG embraces. Lastly, I also have an interest in business and finance, as I’ve always been a “numbers person” and I love thinking about new, creative, and effective business strategies.

You can all look forward to seeing an abundance of new posts on a range of topics, including interviews with current KSDG staff members, updates on projects that KSDG is working on, reviews of what other people are doing in the field of sustainable architecture, and general tips on how you can improve the “green” quality of your life.

-Emily

a personal note from alicia of ksdg

Kevin Stephens — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 01:30:02 +0000

We recycle at KSDG. Every piece of garbage at our office gets meticulously sorted; food waste goes to the compost bin, plastics and papers get recycled, and the most minute portion gets put into the actual landfill. I love that Kevin is committed to this.

I’d like to share with you all a bit about what makes me so committed to environmentalism and to Kevin Stephens Design Group. When I was a kid, I had two hippy parents. We went to demonstrations to freeze the nuclear arms race, we had a compost pile in by the garden in the back yard. We re-used mason jars for mugs. The whole shabang. So when I got older and started hearing how seriously damaged our environment was–and that it was only getting worse, I got really upset. Angry. Indignant.

I started my school’s Earth Club in third grade. I raised money to design “save the rainforest” t-shirts, sell them, and buy an acre of protected rainforest with the profits. I would bug my parents about leaving the faucet on when they brushed their teeth. This stuff was important to me. Over the years, as I got older, I became more jaded and cynical about how much difference we as individuals can really make with so much environmental damage being caused by corporations who don’t care about long-term consequences. I closed my heart. Have you ever felt like me?

Well, guess what? It’s not too late. Of course the sea level is rising and the icecaps are melting, but every moment we can still do something. Consider that every moment can be our second chance, to open our hearts to what is really possible for our world.

We at KSDG have endeavored to work with a man and his company who are truly dedicated to sustainability. And that means we get to walk our talk! As individuals, we can make a difference, but as corporations, we can make an even more marked difference. Kevin, I, and the others here are taking a deep stand for KSDG to truly walk our talk–to NOT be a company who employs the propaganda of “greenwashing”, of pretending to be green in order to make a sale, or creating green products for our customers but not living in a green way or working in a green way ourselves. This is our chance to actually get behind this vision, re-open our hearts, and live it from the very inside of the company out. And because how we do one thing is how we do everything, it’s time to make that choice here to really be green.

So, while ostensibly I’m speaking about office recycling, I’m really speaking about what it means to truly walk our talk. And I’d love for you to join us. Consider the holographic nature of how we live.. if how we do one thing is how we do everything, we can change something minute for the better and have a grand effect over time.

Sincerely and with an open heart,

Alicia

underground skyscraper

clovesdesign — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 02:29:52 +0000

There is a new project in Mexico City for an underground skyscraper, names “Earthscraper.” In a town that only allows building of eight stories, the building goes 65 stories deep into the ground. Although this building is significantly deep, the design allows for natural air and light to reach all 65 stories of this huge building.

The shape itself is an inverted pyramid, and although many of the floors are reserved for residential areas and offices, there is also a museum with Aztec and Mayan artifacts for cultural awareness.

Check out videos on this building here and here.

Until Next Time,

Christine

the car in the cloud continued…

clovesdesign — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 05:01:22 +0000

For those that didn’t check out the article, there was an awesome explanatory video at the end. It explains the cloud and how it interacts with the driver.

It’s amazing to see technology being implemented in smart, design-savvy ways.

Until Next Time,

Christine

the car in the cloud

clovesdesign — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 04:20:35 +0000

Forbes magazine recently published an article about the new generation of cars: smart cars. These cars will incorporate smart technology to cater to your driving experience. It knows everything from traffic and weather to letting you know when you should wake up!

Ford is the main company behind this new type of car, but it is looking to collaborate with other car companies. The reason being that the cars will be in communication with one another, and so it is important that this technology allows all cars to communicate.

How will these cars impact the environment? It will navigate quicker routes to your destination, it has an energy efficiency mode, and more.

Check out the original article here!

Until Next Time,

Christine

world’s largest rooftop farm

clovesdesign — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 04:19:52 +0000

Brooklyn Grange

Who could have imagined that an organic farm could be built in the middle of Queens in New York City? What makes the Brooklyn Grange even more special is that it’s built on a rooftop! This garden began a little over a year ago in spring of 2010, and it has over forty types of vegetables and herbs.

Ben Flanner is the mastermind behind this project, collaborating with many passionate parties like Acumen Capital Partners, which is a company that works for “sustainable renovation of commercial spaces in New York City.” He and his collaborators want to send the message the urban farming is a very promising way to impact the health and environment of local communities.

Definitely check out the article, here! They’ve also provided some beautiful pictures of the garden on the site.

Until Next Time,

Christine

daily green: reusable containers

clovesdesign — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 23:12:19 +0000

There are many different types of disposable containers that we can replace with reusable ones. Here are three examples…

1. Grocery bags: You’ve probably seen these reusable bags advertised in dozens of stores. The important thing is to actually use them, because you have to use it 171 times to “offset the higher carbon emissions.”

2. Ziplock bags: Try to use tupperware whenever possible, because ziplock bags can only be used a certain number of times.

3. Coffee mugs: Many cafes will give you a slight discount ($0.10 or so) if you bring in your own mug. The number of disposable cups used in 2010 was 23 billion!

Read more about reusable shopping bags here and the environmental impact of coffee cups here.

Until Next Time,

Christine

daily green: reduce, reuse, recycle

clovesdesign — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 07:24:49 +0000

Most people know the phrase, “Reduce, reuse, and recycle.”

While this phrase is helpful in pointing out three ways to shape a sustainable lifestyle, it’s important to remember that these three actions are not equal. The order of the words is important because it follows the order of the greatest impact.

While recycling is awesome, it does require energy and resources to recycle. Reusing is also a great way to save resources, but it’s ultimately best to try to reduce consumption in the first place.

This is just something to keep in mind as we go about our busy, daily lives.

Until Next Time,

Christine