Half Day Workshop: Wed 8:30 – 12:00

Price: $60

This workshop will examine sustainable choices from siting, harvesting, and processing to building with your own resources. We will focus on energy and material efficiency, low cost and low impact options, natural lighting, heating and cooling and how small can be both beautiful and sustainable. We will also examine sustainable forestry's connection to green building including embedded costs, assumptions and appropriate scale/size. As a case study we will examine an 800 square foot hybrid house kit (an example of end-product forest management) helping to clarify the integration between sustainable forestry and efficient and affordable housing. We will explore concepts which include direct solar gain with air-core mass floor, hybrid post and beam, I-Beam rafters and joists, membrane insulation systems and much more.

Marc Rosenbaum

This session will examine the state of the art in environmental design in cohousing in the northeast US. The focus will be on energy use, renewable energy supply, waste treatment, and building durability. The bulk of the presentation will be case studies of built projects. Some guidelines for prioritizing green investment will be given. Presenter: Marc Rosenbaum, P.E., Energysmiths, has consulted on environmental design for cohousing since the early 1990s. Projects include: Pine St., Pioneer Valley, Alchemy Farm, New View, Island Coho, Cobb Hill, Pathways, Mosaic Commons, Peterborough, Ulster County, and Putney Commons.

Marc Rosenbaum, P.E., Energysmiths, has consulted on environmental design for cohousing since the early 1990s. Projects include: Pine St., Pioneer Valley, Alchemy Farm, New View, Island Coho, Cobb Hill, Pathways, Mosaic Commons, Peterborough, Ulster County, and Putney Commons. He is a longtime student of how to make good buildings.

Bryan Bowen, Bryan Bowen Architects, P.C

We'll define Net-Zero Energy, look at general strategies for achieving it, and review some case studies of remodels, new homes, community buildings, and new neighborhoods.

Bryan Bowen Architects, P.C. is a multidisciplinary design collaborative:explores how we may live more lightly upon our earth in beautiful and healthy environments. In addition to a focus on cohousing, the practice includes passive solarsingle-family homes, eco-retrofits, multifamily housing, mixed-use projects, and commercial work.

Download: Slides

Mary Kraus, Kraus-Fitch Architects

From the initial design process through day-to-day neighborhood living, cohousing offers unique opportunities for creating a more sustainable society. Beginning with an outline of what is inherently sustainable about cohousing, this presentation will examine a wide range of sustainable design opportunities available to cohousing groups – from climate-sensitive site design and energy-efficient detailing to the bigger picture of relationships and context. Sustainability is not just about solar collectors – it’s about understanding how everything fits together to allow lower-footprint living.

Mary Kraus is a principal architect with Kraus-Fitch Architects, Inc., specializing in cohousing and ecologically sustainable design. She has been living at Pioneer Valley Cohousing, the first cohousing community to be completed on the east coast, since move-in 14 years ago. Mary can be contacted at mkraus [at] krausfitch [dot] com.