Portland Built » Build it Small

Video: Designing a Better Wall for a Wet Climate

Shawn — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 06:45:59 +0000

It’s a big day at Portland Built as we officially launch our new video documentary project! The goal is to help visitors better understand the technology, products, and businesses behind the site.

For our first effort we went to the Live/Work project to discuss wall assembly design, thermal bridging, and insulation.

A big thanks to Jeremy Dunham at Polara Studios for his help in producing our first segment. Share your thoughts in the comments area below.

UPDATE: For those of you with an iphone, or if you just prefer the YouTube experience, here’s another version of the video. We’ve had to cut out some sections in order to meet YouTube’s 10-minute maximum length. (click on the image to watch in HD)

Wal-Mart: Built in Portland?

Shawn — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 10:17:46 +0000

As reported in the Oregonian and the Portland Business Journal yesterday, Wal-Mart plans to expand its operations in North Portland. The plan is to build a new 86,000-square-foot store in the Hayden Meadows area, just off of I-5. Many of you will know this area – it’s near the Portland Meadows racetrack and Lowe’s home improvement (and, not coincidentally, just over the river from our low-tax-paying friends in Vancouver)

Wal-Mart’s had a tough time establishing a beach-head in Portland. Attempts at a building in Sellwood and Hayden Island were thwarted when local neighborhood associations and politicians joined forces. As of today, Wal-Mart has only one store in Portland, located near SE 82nd and Holgate.

Here are some highlights from the articles:

Wal Mart is touting its environmental commitment and job creation. According to the Business Journal, “The store will create roughly 300 new jobs and feature sustainable features such as high-efficiency LED lighting.”
The Oregonian also talks about Wal-Mart’s efforts to win over Portland Mayor, Sam Adams: “…company executives have been trying for months to win over Adams by pushing an environmental makeover and increased pay and benefits.”

Obviously, Wal-Mart deserves some serious scrutiny about it’s labor and environmental record. But what struck me most about these articles is the fact that Wal-Mart plans to, “raze two vacant buildings to make room for the store, which would be just a short drive for Vancouver residents.” (Oregonian)

Big Box Wasteland

Now, if you’ve ever been to the Hayden Meadows area, you know what it’s all about: Big Box stores. There are no quaint stores or cute coffee shops to be overrun by the Arkansas giant. No – Hayden Meadows is actually a wasteland of EMPTY boxes and failed chain stores.

What I find ironic is the fact that Wal-Mart wants to be an environmental ally by…tearing down two buildings! It’s not clear if they have a plan for recycling the demolished materials, but I’m guessing they will quickly level the existing facilities and add the rubble to a nearby landfill. Even if they manage to reclaim the used concrete, the cost in terms of embodied energy is incredibly high.

A Better Plan

What I’d like to see is some serious design innovation. Could we integrate one of the existing buildings (heck, how about two of them?) into the new design? What about offering a road-map for new buildings that includes a strategy for decommission? Maybe we turn the old “boxes” into some sort of community attraction that brings visitors (and new customers) to this economically and aesthetically blighted region? Or, maybe, we figure out a way to bring nature back into these asphalt catastrophes. I don’t have the answer, but simply repeating the same idea (build a box, tear it down, build a box) seems like a huge waste of resources and opportunity.

The Dead Boxes

As part of the research for this article, I found a few sites with incredible imagery. Top of the list goes to the work by Brian Ulrich, who has produced “Ghosts of Shopping Past,” an amazing visual account of abandoned malls, shopping centers, and big box stores. Here are a few of the photos from his collection:

There’s a fantastic interview with Brian on the website The Morning News. Check it out, along with DeadMalls.com (a really ugly site with some interesting information).

Side Note: Personally, I’m all for converting these spaces into giant volleyball facilities where I can go play….but that’s just me.

Post photo: Wal-Mart in La Junta Colorado. Photo credit, Brave New films

No related posts.

Vent Pipes Never Looked So Sexy

Shawn — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 06:52:03 +0000

On my last trip to the Harpoon House I observed a cool strategy for getting plumbing out of the walls. Why would you want to do this? For one, insulation improvement. The more stuff in the walls, the less insulation can fit in the cavity. More insulation = more efficiency = lower heating/cooling bills.

Here’s an example of a simple yet brilliant way to deal with one of the most common pieces of plumbing: a vent pipe. By running the pipe outside the house and behind the siding, the homeowners have effectively increased their wall’s R-value without adding significant additional costs. Since the home’s design already included a rain screen, bumping the siding out another 2″ meant they could run the pipe up the side of the house.

Harpoon House makes use of SIP panels, so this makes even more sense (SIPs are pre-fabricated, preinsulated panels). The fewer holes and tunnels you put in the panel and insulation, the fewer opportunites for air intrusion and heat loss. Kudos to the Harpooners!

Build it Small: Portland’s Harpoon House

Shawn — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 08:29:20 +0000

Last weekend I visited the Harpoon House in Portland’s Buckman neighborhood.

Owners Matt Kirkpatrick and Katherine Bovee were kind enough to show me around and talk about how their dream of a small home is growing into a reality. Some highlights include:

<500 sq. ft. footprint on 2500 sq. ft. of land.
Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs) for a super-energy-efficient envelope.
Triple-pane windows.
Eco roof with no composition shingles!
No garage
Anticipated LEED certification

This is Matt’s first house as a designer, and it’s impressive to see the level of ambition for someone so new to the field. Even more remarkable is that the couple was able to pull off the purchase and financing in a decidedly un-friendly lending climate (When I asked Matt what the biggest hurdle was about building, he didn’t hesitate to reply, “the bank.”)

As the project moves forward, we’ll update with new developments and site walk-throughs. This is a great example of the growing “small house” trend and it will be interesting to see how closely this project meets the couple’s needs.

http://www.harpoonhouse.net/

No related posts.