Building and Construction Southwest
Content
+INDEPENDENT
8/8/08
9:08 AM
Page 14
southwest milestones // fernie tiflis
Long-Term Savings Introducing a new technology – even if it is beneficial to the community – is not always easy. Fortunately, the city of Pasadena was in favor of working with Studio RMA. “The head of their engineering department, Sarkis Nazarian ... could really understand the value of the system – from the engineering and green point of views – and he was very instrumental in getting this approved as a new system,” Mechielsen says. Mechielsen adds that he sees the market accepting this kind of project, and compares green homes to fuel-efficient cars. “That is how it is going to be with homes and buildings,” he continues. “With rising energy prices, if you pay 5 to 10 percent more for a house, you save 90 percent on your energy bills. Financially, the house is going to be cheaper vs. the conventional home. It pays itself back all the time. “I see a tremendous future for the SCIP buildings, especially in the western United States because of its huge energy efficiency. We have a lot of demands at the moment – developers, architects and people in the tourism industry that are looking at working with us to expand our technology.” Attaining Platinum certification, however, is a challenge that requires critical thinking, Mechielsen notes. “There is a lot of innovation that takes place and you basically have to pick out every little detail,” he states. “[Everything] needs to be thought out from scratch. I personally like that. I like figuring things out and tinkering and inventing things.” Not Just a Trend Although some may think that the slow residential market is limiting the adoption of green techniques, Mechielsen thinks the opposite. “The recession we have actually puts everybody in terms of rush, rush, rush, and [builders] are generally always copying the existing building systems,” he asserts. “That’s
what has been happening in the last five years. Everybody is starting to think that this [ conventional type of building] doesn’t make sense.” Mechielsen adds that green building is the answer the market has been waiting for. “Green building technology is the obvious answer and it is becoming clear,” he explains. “By the time the [residential market] comes back up in three or four years, I think by that time, people are not going to build conven-
tional homes anymore because economically it doesn’t make sense. So, I think that what we now call a green eco-home, in five years, it will be the standard house.” Running on Solar Energy A few years from now, Mechielsen predicts, developers will build self-powered structures, just like in Europe and Dubai, where new skyscrapers are slated to create their own energy. “I think that if we can start creating carbon-neutral buildings and glass façade offices with embedded solar cells in them, for example, then we start creating pieces of architectures that have their own energy supply,” he says. In California, Mechielsen envisions homes will be solar-powered, as well. He predicts that homeowners will be able to charge their electric cars with home-generated energy. x
"With rising energy prices, if you pay 5 to 10 percent more for [an ec0-] house, you save 90 percent on your energy bills. Financially, the house is going to be cheaper vs. the conventional home. It pays itself back all the time.” > Robert Mechielsen
The Pasadena EcoHouse is aiming for Platinum LEED certification.
14
b&c southwest fall 2008
8/8/08
9:08 AM
Page 14
southwest milestones // fernie tiflis
Long-Term Savings Introducing a new technology – even if it is beneficial to the community – is not always easy. Fortunately, the city of Pasadena was in favor of working with Studio RMA. “The head of their engineering department, Sarkis Nazarian ... could really understand the value of the system – from the engineering and green point of views – and he was very instrumental in getting this approved as a new system,” Mechielsen says. Mechielsen adds that he sees the market accepting this kind of project, and compares green homes to fuel-efficient cars. “That is how it is going to be with homes and buildings,” he continues. “With rising energy prices, if you pay 5 to 10 percent more for a house, you save 90 percent on your energy bills. Financially, the house is going to be cheaper vs. the conventional home. It pays itself back all the time. “I see a tremendous future for the SCIP buildings, especially in the western United States because of its huge energy efficiency. We have a lot of demands at the moment – developers, architects and people in the tourism industry that are looking at working with us to expand our technology.” Attaining Platinum certification, however, is a challenge that requires critical thinking, Mechielsen notes. “There is a lot of innovation that takes place and you basically have to pick out every little detail,” he states. “[Everything] needs to be thought out from scratch. I personally like that. I like figuring things out and tinkering and inventing things.” Not Just a Trend Although some may think that the slow residential market is limiting the adoption of green techniques, Mechielsen thinks the opposite. “The recession we have actually puts everybody in terms of rush, rush, rush, and [builders] are generally always copying the existing building systems,” he asserts. “That’s
what has been happening in the last five years. Everybody is starting to think that this [ conventional type of building] doesn’t make sense.” Mechielsen adds that green building is the answer the market has been waiting for. “Green building technology is the obvious answer and it is becoming clear,” he explains. “By the time the [residential market] comes back up in three or four years, I think by that time, people are not going to build conven-
tional homes anymore because economically it doesn’t make sense. So, I think that what we now call a green eco-home, in five years, it will be the standard house.” Running on Solar Energy A few years from now, Mechielsen predicts, developers will build self-powered structures, just like in Europe and Dubai, where new skyscrapers are slated to create their own energy. “I think that if we can start creating carbon-neutral buildings and glass façade offices with embedded solar cells in them, for example, then we start creating pieces of architectures that have their own energy supply,” he says. In California, Mechielsen envisions homes will be solar-powered, as well. He predicts that homeowners will be able to charge their electric cars with home-generated energy. x
"With rising energy prices, if you pay 5 to 10 percent more for [an ec0-] house, you save 90 percent on your energy bills. Financially, the house is going to be cheaper vs. the conventional home. It pays itself back all the time.” > Robert Mechielsen
The Pasadena EcoHouse is aiming for Platinum LEED certification.
14
b&c southwest fall 2008
