Sustainable Architecture in Juneau

(Originally published in the Juneau Empire, October 2010 Neighbors Issue)

Not that long ago, “green building” in Juneau meant your siding needed replacing, or at least some serious power washing. And the historic buildings that give downtown Juneau its character were designed to meet early 20^th Century ideals like “western prosperity,” and “the home-town you left behind,” not “a smaller carbon footprint.” A few decades ago, architects, engineers, and builders would have responded to requests for “net zero energy consumption,” and “sustainable resource use” with blank stares. And the phrase “water conservation” might have elicited guffaws and referrals to the local MD.

But the world, and our rain bejeweled corner of it, are changing. Like their counterparts across the globe, architects in Southeast Alaska now have a better understanding of how buildings affect the global environment, and the affect is significant. For example, buildings currently account for 50% of energy consumption in the US. By comparison, transportation, though always in the media eye, accounts for only 25%. Sustainable, or “green,” architecture is the practice of designing to minimize, or even eliminate, the negative environmental impacts of buildings.

Green Architects

Architects understand that thoughtful design of the built environment has the power to transform people, communities and cultures. We just didn’t know how complicit we were, historically, in transforming the earth’s climate as well. Fortunately, we have the power to stop the damage and possibly reverse it.

In fact, both of these goals were discussed in depth in October at the AIA (American Institute of Architects) Alaska Chapter annual convention in Sitka and the AIA Pacific Region Chapter annual convention in Eugene, Oregon. Several architects from Juneau attended both conferences and came away with valuable information and the motivation to use it here at home.

There are two main keys to making this possible: 1) creation and educated use of green design standards and 2) requirements by building owners and financers that these standards be met in all new buildings and renovations.

Green Design Standards

There are several green design standards Juneau’s architects and engineers can follow. The US Energy Star program focuses on reducing energy use, a primary weapon against climate change. The LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) standard focuses on reducing energy use, as well, but also requires the sustainable use of other resources (water, wood, metals, etc.), and the design of non-toxic buildings that promote human health and wellbeing. The Living Building Challenge standard builds upon the LEED concept, but takes the goals to their ultimate conclusion: buildings that “harvest” all of the energy and water they require, use sustainable (preferably local) resources and materials, manage all building waste on-site, are entirely non-toxic, and do all this while inspiring the users through built and natural beauty. Whew! Sounds idealistic, but buildings are already being built in the US that meet this standard and it gets you thinking of the possibilities. Though the Green Star program offers tools for assessing the design of a building, LEED and the Living Building Challenge include third party compliance reviews and building certification.

Currently, by State and local law, Juneau’s architects must use the International Building Code (IBC) to help them design safe, healthy buildings. Published by the International Code Council (ICC), the IBC ensures the construction of structurally, mechanically, and electrically sound buildings. It also requires architectural design that promotes the safety of building users, and their ability to evacuate the building in the face of life-threatening events. In the future, possibly as soon as 2013, the IBC will include an International Green Building Code and Juneau will have the option to adopt it for all buildings built in the CBJ. It’s exciting that an essential tool for the health and safety of humans will soon also work to ensure the health of the global environment.

Savvy Building Owners

The primary owners of non-residential buildings in Alaska are its cities, school districts, and the State, as well as many private and corporate entities. The Municipality of Anchorage has followed the route of many Lower 48 cities and adopted LEED standards as a requirement for most of its new city-owned buildings and major renovations. Juneau is preparing to do the same for CBJ owned facilities.

Because architects rarely finance their own building projects, building owners also need to be committed to changing how their buildings affect the environment. The generally accepted premium paid for a green building is 3% of the construction cost. In reality, 3% is minimal compared to how much a building cost can fluctuate based on any number of design decisions made by the owner or architect, as well as factors outside of the project’s control. And many of the design features required for a green building result in savings in other areas. For example, increasing the insulation levels of the exterior walls, roof, and windows can result in a smaller heating plant. A smaller heating plant is less expensive to purchase and maintain while a better insulated building consumes less energy, saving money all around.

The use of materials with recycled content or non toxic products may be harder to recognize as having a financial benefit, though. And in Juneau there are precious few materials or products that don’t have to travel long distances to get here, requiring lots of research to find the nearest sources, which are rarely the least expensive. Building owners need to have a vision of how their facility affects more than just a bottom line to commit to some of these green building features. But the more that do, the more the market will shift to make things easier and less expensive.

Juneau’s Architects

The cost of designing green buildings is stabilizing, as well. Each of the three primary architecture firms in Juneau have made a commitment to designing greener buildings for their clients and have added green design strategies to their standard practices. Each of these firms has at least one principal architect qualified as a LEED Accredited Professional, and staff members are following suit.

These firms have all designed buildings to meet green building standards. In Juneau, these include Harborview Elementary, by MRV Architects, and Glacier Valley Elementary, by NorthWind Architects, which were both renovated to meet LEED certification requirements. In Sitka, the Baranof Island Housing Authority office building, by Jensen Yorba Lott Architects, is currently under construction and was also designed to meet LEED certification requirements. Though none of the firms have designed a building to meet the Living Building Challenge, it’s only a matter of time and awaiting a request from a forward-thinking client..

The challenges Southeast architects face when designing green buildings are many, but slowly being addressed. For example, non-standard materials and products are typically special order items. This is a problem during construction if a contractor needs more. If it’s not available from local suppliers, the construction schedule or budget can be negatively affected. Also, in general, Southeast contractors have little experience building to strict green standards and, in a competitive bidding environment, the unknown will be bid too high or too low, both of which cause problems for the contractor or the owner.

A Green-Built Future

Though strides are being made in Juneau to design and build greener buildings, these are only first steps. Most Energy Star and LEED compliant buildings use significantly less energy than traditionally designed buildings, but they are dwarfed in number by the existing building stock and new buildings being built to old standards. An energy use reduction of even 50% or more in green buildings will not adequately turn the tide of climate change. All new building projects must be fully sustainable as soon as technology and local markets allow and all existing buildings need to be renovated and retrofitted if real change is to occur.

Juneau is not alone as it steps into the coming era of sustainability. Architects and owners in cities throughout the world are taking these same steps; some tentatively, some boldly. Forward momentum is picking up and Juneau will reap the benefits of joining the movement early enough to make a difference, but late enough that strong standards and tested practices are already in place. Juneau is ready to move toward a future where its buildings are designed to a new ideal: “thriving for a few more centuries.”

More Information

LEED program: http://www.usgbc.org/

Energy Star program: http://www.energystar.gov/

Living Building Challenge: http://www.ilbi.org/

American Institute of Architects: http://www.aia.org/

Sarah Lewis, AIA, is an architect, a member of the AIA Alaska Chapter Board of Directors, and a member of the Juneau Commission on Sustainability. She formerly worked as a Project Architect for the CBJ and is currently a small business owner and freelance writer.

Liberal Women with Guns

(Originally published in the Juneau Empire, October 2010)

Good Liberal Girls don’t play with guns. In fact, Good Liberal Girls know that worship of guns is the downfall of our nation. They take Judo and self-defense classes instead of relying on an easy trigger. Good Liberal Girls know that Bad Conservative Boys want guns because they’re afraid of Good Liberal Girls! And, of course, they should be afraid; we will always defy stereotype in ways that flummox those Bad Conservative Boys.

In fact, if we want to, we can become Good Liberal Women – who play with guns.

I remember the first time I held a hand gun as a good liberal girl. I was immediately nauseated and had to give it back to my (good liberal) boyfriend. There’s too much sociopathic death forged into the barrel of a hand gun. They were designed to kill humans. I still can’t hold one, and hope I never can.

But I also remember the first time I held a hunting rifle. That time, instead of needing to sit down, I stood tall and took aim. The power. I could hike a Southeast game trail in summer, and not be the game. I could participate in the web of life, not just shop for groceries. I could feed my family from my own labors.

I was 38 when I entered the hunt. That local bastion of Good Liberal Women, KTOO, offered hunting lessons for two women during their on-air auction. Before I knew what I was doing, I bid and won. The next item for bid was a 90 minute massage… I stayed on the line to bid for that, too, to still feel like a Good Liberal Woman. A friend bid for the 2^nd offering of lessons for two women later that day.

So there were four of us, good liberal women all, holding hunting rifles in our arms for different reasons. J was a biologist in bear country who didn’t want to be a meal. S’s two young sons’ love of guns perplexed her, and she wanted to be able to share this with them. E’s new husband was an expert hunter and though she wanted to move on from carrying lunch to shooting it, felt it was a bad idea to add hunting lessons to typical marital negotiations. I partly wanted to put meat on the table, but also knew my young daughter would soon learn to shoot, and I couldn’t face the fear that comes from not knowing. I wanted to forge as many connections with her as possible, before she started giving me the “talk to the hand” sign.

And who was going to teach us? Well, one of those Bad Conservative Boys, of course. But, as is the case 95% of the time, people like each other regardless of their stance on Federal subsidies or what kind of change is required in the White House. Spin-masters on both sides want us to forget that as a species, we want to get along. And we did. Our instructor, Rick, was a great teacher, a knowledgeable woodsman, and an all around terrific guy. But we all knew better than to correct him about Obama’s position on the 2^nd Amendment… at least not while he had a gun in hand. And since no one from Obama’s office has come to our houses to take our guns away yet, it’s good to know that those conservative boys can be worry-warts, too.

Rick taught us well; in the classroom, about where to aim at to ensure a clean, quick kill, about hunting laws and regulations, about different rifles and loading configurations, and about the wonders of freeze-dried food (the peach cobbler was my favorite). At the firing range, helping us sight our guns for accuracy and learn to hold our bodies relaxed, to reduce fatigue, and how to best hold our rifles for a good shot. Throughout the lessons he emphasized the importance of ethical hunting and taking responsibility for every shot fired. The ethical part was a big surprise for me. Bad Conservative Boys defy stereotype, too.

To end the course, Rick took us in pairs into the early winter Tongass, hunting for deer. Neither team of women, nor Rick, fired a shot on those outings, or even saw a deer (though the story is that when the other team of women saw two deer cross the road while driving home, one of them all hollered “Run ‘em down, Rick!”). But his calm, assured, “one with the forest” attitude while hunting was one of the best lessons. Everyone, no matter their politics, can love the forest and be in awe of the wonders found there.

So here’s a guided visualization for Good Liberal Girls and Women: even if you’ve spent your life speaking against guns, like I had; even if you’re afraid of firing a gun; even if it has become a habit to order steak at the Hangar. Imagine the beauty of our boreal rainforest, the peace of walking through it softly or sitting for an hour on a moss-covered log, Buddha-like in your calm and awareness. Then allow yourself to feel the primal need for family survival (my husband prefers the phrase, “blood lust, surging through your veins,” and he’s an Extremely Liberal Man). Respect and thank the deer, as women have done for untold centuries (no one can tell me that women haven’t hunted throughout history – like pretending that American women didn’t work outside the home in the 50’s). Liberals and Conservatives alike, we can always agree on the desire for a full freezer.

Find your inner Diana:

Though I highly recommend finding a trusted and experienced hunter to get you started, here are ways and organizations for you to follow to learn how to hunt. If I can do it, trust me, so can you.

Becoming an Outdoors Woman (BOW): www.sf.adfg.state.ak.us/region3/programs/BOW/

An excellent resource for hands-on experience with hunting, fishing, and other wilderness skills. November 14-20 they will host the Raspberry Island Fin & Fur Adventure off of Kodiak. There will also be a camp in Southeast in May, 2011.

Juneau Hunter Education: http://www.huntereducation.alaska.gov/ or 465-4265

These are excellent introductory classes that cover firearm safety, wilderness safety, laws and regulations, and the basics of firing a rifle. The instructors are experienced local hunters and Fish and Game employees. There are no classes currently scheduled so you can call the Alaska Department of Fish and Game at 465-4265 to get on a list for future classes.

Cooperative Extension 4-H Program: http://www.uaf.edu/ces/4h/ or Darren Snyder at 796-6281

A lot of women start hunting because of their kids. The 4-H shooting sports club might be a place you can experience it together.

Field dressing a deer: if you’ve got the stomach for it, there are lots of good videos on You-Tube. But it really is best to see someone doing it live; it was actually less difficult for me to watch it in person. It was somehow more respectful to the animal to be able to touch it and, well, thank it.

Processing game meat: http://www.uaf.edu/ces/preservingalaskasbounty/index.html

Once again the Cooperative Extension Service comes through. Check their website for some terrific learning modules. Also watch for local Community Kitchen events (JuneauCommunityKitchens@gmail.com) about processing game.

Sarah Lewis is a local architect and social worker, and proud owner of a Ruger 308 compact rifle with a laminated stock and Leupold scope… and she loves how good it looks with her Xtra-tufs.

The Season of Fall(ing)

(Originally published in the Juneau Empire, September 2010)

Although the four seasons are known to others as Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter, my own Juneau seasons are Soggy, Sailing, Falling, and When Eaglecrest Ski Area is Open.

Falling (which some years extends into When Eaglecrest is Open) I have so named because that’s what I do come September. I fall. I have no idea why. It’s certainly not because there’s more rain to confuse my feet, nor because we suddenly have cloud cover obscuring the line between curb and street. Honestly, rain is comfort weather for a Juneauite and I’m sure the eyes of Southeast Alaskans have evolved to see contrast where others see shades of grey (insert your own witty comment about Juneau’s Democrats and Republicans here). But down I go; twisting an ankle, stubbing a toe, tripping on my own feet with a graceful flourish.

It might be that I’m worn out after Sailing (navigating the Inside Passage by wind-power is darn tiring… as is navigating downtown Juneau after the ships sail in) or that I’m calorie deprived after growing my own salad greens. Either way, come September, my body tells me I need to sit down, bring my world closer to home, my awake hours back to 16, and get ready for winter. Which really is the purpose of pretending we have Fall in Juneau: to recuperate from Summer and prepare for Winter.

In my home we’re typically in denial about the approach of winter until we forget to prepare for it at all. We’ll have a broken snow shovel, ski boots too small for the kids, and no wood for the stove. We’ve thrown money at these problems: buying the last, priced-like-gold shovel, ordering brand new boots, and resigning ourselves to paying an extra $1000 for electric heat for the winter. Ah well, the cost of living in Juneau, we say. But now that we’re living off one income (which I highly recommend, regardless of how many incomes are coming in – a soap box topic for another day), there is no extra $1000 unless we break out the evil, life sucking credit cards.

So, preparing for winter has an added importance for us this year; we’ll be sure the wood pile is tall. And though I aspire to canning my harvest some day, “putting food by” still means shopping sales and finding bulk deals at Costco. But it’s better than putting no food by at all. Filling the pantry in the fall means cheaper food, less shopping and less winter driving.

So, if I can keep my summer energy for a few more weeks, and manage to stay on my feet and off my tail bone, I hope to be ready for When Eaglecrest is Open – and not spend it sitting in the lodge with a cup of tea and a good book (oops, that sounds darn good. Maybe a minor knee twist in January?).

Fall Checklist

Though many of you are still in the season called Salmon, with the Deer season to follow, don’t neglect the many other winter preparations you can do to reduce spending and increase enjoyment of the season. Here are a few things to consider for your list:

ENERGY

       Stock up on firewood: Find the “Tree Cutting Map & Rules on Public Lands” at www.juneau.org/lands/ to make sure you harvest legally and with respect for our public lands and ecosystems. Or look for classifieds and roadside signs for folks offering firewood for sale.

       Increase your “Clo”: Did you know that a Clo is a unit of personal insulation? One Clo is attained by wearing pants and a long-sleeved shirt, while sitting at a desk. If you increase either your Clo or your activity level, you can decrease your room temperature and still be comfortable.

       Lower your thermostat: Lower the set point by 3 to 5 degrees from your normal. To stay comfortable either get going on that treadmill or get blankets and sweaters to increase your Clo.

       Turn off lights: Though fluorescent and efficient bulbs use less energy, and most energy from a standard bulb is heat, so isn’t always wasted (if the heat in the room is reduced to compensate), waste is waste. If you don’t need the light, don’t leave it on.

       Tighten up your home: Re-caulk your windows, buy storm doors and windows, add gaskets around openings to the attic, get plastic for extra-leaky windows, and gaskets for outlets on exterior walls, etc. Don’t worry that you’ll over-tighten, it’s not likely… and you can always open a door for a few minutes if you need to.

       Prep your wood-burner: Give your stove or fireplace a good cleaning, all the way up the stack. Look in the yellow pages or online for chimney sweeps, or go to a home/hardware store for the DIY tools. Have all safety supplies near the stove and check extinguishers and smoke detectors.

FOOD

       Put your garden to bed: As a novice, I recommend calling the Cooperative Extension Service for good information. What I’ll do this month is pull all plants from my containers and garden to compost them. Next month I’ll add the container soil, and possibly compost and other soil amendments, to my 5 ft by 8 ft garden plot. Then I’ll cover it with newspaper and the black plastic I reuse each year.

       Pick and process some berries: There are lots of berries left out there, it’s been such a weird year for them. At the very least, freeze some up. The Cooperative Extension Service is once again your go-to info source.

       Go to the Saturday Farmers Market at the JACC: Extended through September for late-harvest produce. This is the best stuff… fresh from local gardens, and no air miles!

       Shop sales and buy bulk: See what the grocery stores have near the end of the Lower 48 growing season. I look for produce that is less than $2/lb, especially organic, then buy enough to freeze or can.

MISCELLANY

       Kill your TVs: I’m serious. Put all TVs except the family one in storage. Instead of creating bad watching habits that persist all year, watch less and watch it together. Better yet, cancel your cable so you can have time to read, exercise outside, talk, and play games with your kids.

       Prepare for emergencies: Store enough candles, batteries, flashlights, water, propane, canned food, first aid supplies, etc, for an emergency of a few weeks.

       Stock up on craft supplies: Plan for holiday gifts and home projects for long winter evenings. Or make items to sell at the Farmers Market next year.

[Bio]

Sarah Lewis is a local architect and social worker who loves to make lists just to check things off and feel she’s accomplished something… and she hopes that every once in a while she really does.

Days of Bread and Toothpaste

(Originally published in the Juneau Empire, August 2010)

Bread and toothpaste. One is older than farming, the other younger than some people on the planet today. Both are completely indispensable after you put them in your mouth the first time.

These are two items I’ve wondered about when folks discuss food security and future scarcity. If there comes a time when shipping goods to Juneau is a problem, because of high fuel costs or limited access, many items would quickly become scarce or expensive. If that happens, you can all head for Radio Shack and Caribbean emeralds. I’ll be at A&P looting for bread and toothpaste.

How the heck did folks live before the sliced loaf and the striped tube?

In Southeast Alaska, before there was access to Outside goods, we filled our own needs just fine. We hunted and fished for meat and went to forests and beaches for vegetables and fruits. In fact, everything we needed, including dental cleaners, came from the ocean and forest superstores. Even after more people moved in and shipping started from Seattle, the boats were likely to bring basic ingredients, not finished products: fabric instead of clothes, seeds instead of apples, chickens instead of buffalo wings. We opened dairies and planted gardens; increasing the variety of food available to us. It didn’t miraculously show up at the store back then I hear.

So bread came to Juneau as flour (or grain, milled into flour locally), sugar, and salt. We added local yeast (did you know it’s actually in the air? Crazy), and milk and butter from the local dairy. Eventually, Purity Bakery, where the Silverbow Inn and Bakery is now, would bake for you if you could afford it, or you’d do the week’s baking on Saturday.

On the early boats, tooth care probably came to Juneau as tooth powders and, again, the ingredients needed to make your own toothpaste. Before that, I’m guessing we used what people used all over the world before modern dental hygiene: fibrous or aromatic wood sticks to brush with and herbs to clean with. Of course that was also before the avalanche of cheap, sugar-filled foods. Keeping our teeth from rotting was probably easier back then.

So I’ve been thinking off and on about how to become bread and toothpaste secure. I know, some people free slaves and feed starving children, but this is what I do when nursing the baby or waiting for my 10-year-old to finish judo. We each do what we can.

Bread:

Ahhh, fresh baked bread. Remember when Le Petit Paris bakery was on North Franklin and 3^rd, in the 1980’s? We’d run down there from Capital School just for the baguettes… imagine the odd sight of little kids on the playground with long loaves of French bread.

The economics of making my own bread is already in my favor, even without higher prices. Two middling quality, non-organic loaves of bread bought from a store are $8 to $10. Two mostly organic loaves I recently made at home came to $3.50, including electricity for baking and gas for transportation. Assuming the cost of ingredients goes up at the same rate as pre-baked bread, that’s more than 50% saved. Of course, fresh bread tastes so good that we need twice as many loaves!

Basic Bread Recipe: Scald (heat until the edges start bubbling) ½ cup milk in sauce pan, remove from heat. Add 3 tbs sugar, 2 tsp salt, and 3 tbs butter to pan, stir until dissolved, cool to lukewarm. Pour 1 ½ cups warm water into large bowl, sprinkle in 2 ¼ tsp (or 1 packet) active dry yeast, stir until dissolved. Stir milk mixture into yeast mixture. Add 3 cups unbleached white flour, beat with a wooden spoon until smooth. Add 3 cups unbleached white or wheat flour a little at a time, eventually using your hands. Will be firm but slightly sticky. Roll dough ball onto a floured board and knead (fold ball toward you, press down with heels of hands, give a quarter turn, repeat). TIP: find a low counter or a step stool and put your back into it. Knead for 10 minutes, shape into a smooth ball and put in a large greased bowl. Cover with a cloth and set in an 80-85 degree, draft-free place (some ovens have a “bread proof” setting). Let rise about an hour, punch the middle, put back on the floured board, let rest for 5 minutes. Knead again for a few minutes then pull into two halves. Shape each into a 7 inch long oval and place in greased loaf pans. Cover with cloth and let rise in warm place again for another hour. Preheat oven to 400 degrees, bake for 35-40 minutes until golden brown and hollow sounding when tapped. Take out of pans and cool on a rack.

Toothpaste:

So I’ll have my bread should crude hit the fan – what about toothpaste? I remember childhood days when we had a baking soda concoction at the bathroom sink. I’m guessing my dad read something in Mother Earth News about the benefits of homemade tooth powder. (In fact, I found their 1975 article online – the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, does it , Dad?) It was no Crest, but my parents used it for a good while. And I’ve noticed that recent articles still promote the same tried and true recipes for tooth powders and pastes, so maybe there’s something to it.

But do I really want to make my own? My family has no dental insurance so prevention and our two annual trips to the dentist are key. Tricky balance. And how important is that fluoride? I remember folks got pretty riled up about it around town a few years ago; fluoride was taken out of City water over some protest. So it seems like it could be a bad parenting moment to take it out of my kids’ toothpaste unless I have no choice. Maybe for toothpaste it’s better to know that there are options, but stick with modern technology until there’s a real reason to return to the days of Dr. Mercury’s Amazing Dentifrice and Pot Cleaner.

Tooth powder recipe: mix 3 parts baking soda with 1 part salt.

Toothpaste recipe: for each cup of tooth powder add 3 teaspoons of glycerin and 10 or more drops of your favorite flavor oil (mints are traditional, but why not orange or almond?). You can even add a drop of food coloring. Keep the paste in a covered bowl in the bathroom, dip your toothbrush, and brush how the dentist told you.

It’s not that I think we’re really heading back to the 1920s. If fuel tops $8 a gallon, I think most of the goods we’ve become accustomed to will still be available. We’ll just use them carefully, and sort out which ones we can live without. I think bread and toothpaste are good examples. Without much difficulty, and maybe with more pleasure, we could bake all our bread locally. But I’ll stick with imported toothpaste and visits to the dentist, paying for them with money saved by the double-good of keeping store-bought bread and sugary foods out of the shopping cart.

Sarah Lewis is a local architect who just realized that she actually likes bread because it’s a vehicle for butter. If anyone wants to re-start the local dairy scene, she’d be a regular customer.