Green Term Defined: Rainwater Harvesting

by | Apr 23, 2014 | architecture

Rain water harvesting is the collection of water for reuse before it reaches the aquifer.

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Uses include landscape irrigation, car washing, flushing toilets, drinking water, and / or washing clothes. Rain water provides protection against short-term droughts for keeping your garden alive. It can also reduce the impact of run off in neighborhood streams and ponds. A rain water collection system can also be used in the event that public water supply becomes unusable or polluted.

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Rain water harvesting systems are easy to set up. You need a collection system like a gutter and roof and a storage system like a barrel or cistern. Adding a filter can prolong the life of your storage system and reduce the first flush pollutants from getting into the system.

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In some areas in the mid-west it is illegal to collect rain water. Charlottesville now has a Storm water Fee based on your impervious surface on your property. This fee may be reduced by having a rainwater harvesting system on your property.

Happy Earth Day – 44 Years Later!

by | Apr 22, 2014 | architecture, Harrisonburg Architect

Earth DayToday may be the 44th anniversary of Earth Day, but we have a lot of work to do. Our firm has focused on providing green design to our clients for 27 years. We have called it green design for the last 11 years. Yet these ideas are still considered new concepts to many in the building industry today. Knowing and understanding building science and applying it to home design is basic common sense design. It should be a standard in the industry by now.

We have made major advances in our industry over the last 44 years – since the first Earth Day. We now know the science needed to build healthy, energy-efficient, and durable homes in our mixed-humid climate. We have building products that do not off gas toxic chemicals into our built environment. We have rating systems that measure green building strategies. We have built buildings that provide their own energy, have building products that clean the air, and can create systems to filter storm water run off to protect our streams.

Earth DayThere is certainly more work to do in our industry. We need to address light pollution, indoor air quality issues, and wasted energy. We need to update our building code to impact energy use. We need to invest in clean energy systems and energy storage technology. There is tremendous opportunity in our future to be better instead of just less bad.

Earth Day is both a celebration of what we have achieved and a reminder of the work we need to do now. Every action has a reaction, make yours positive today.

Read more from our Earth Day series here.

What improvements do you see in daily life that could make life easier for everyone?

by | Apr 21, 2014 | architecture, Harrisonburg Architect

I was out shopping with my mom this weekend. She has difficulty walking and uses handicap parking spaces to make it easier to get into stores. We drove to two different stores and parked in a handicap space each time. Both stores had design issues with the placement of the handicap spaces and landscape beds. Good design would have prevented this scenario and made life easier for all those using the parking space. What design issues have you seen that could improve life for everyone?

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