May Committee Meeting Minutes and Next Meeting

The minutes for last month's meeting are here.

One thing not mentioned at the last meeting is that Michael Green and Eric Karsh were keynote speakers at the PSU Symposium.   It was the same talk featuring their mass timber projects presented at the SEFW last fall, but there is a recording for those who want to watch: http://vimeo.com/92475801

Our next meeting will be at Coughlin Porter Lundeen again.  We will follow up on the energy code and talk about other potential projects.  Participate in the Doodle poll to select a meeting date.

City Council to Review Proposed Changes to the Living Building and Seattle Deep Green Pilot Program

Major changes have been proposed to Seattle's Living Building and Deep Green program -- briefing and public meeting scheduled for July 1.

Mayor Ed Murray delivered proposed changes for the Living Building and Seattle Deep Green Pilot Program to the City Council for consideration. At this time, the proposed changes eliminate the Deep Green option to focus the pilot program on Living Buildings. Meanwhile, DPD will continue to develop recommendations for updated new Seattle Deep Green option.

See more at: http://buildingconnections.seattle.gov/2014/05/30/city-council-to-review-proposed-changes-to-the-living-building-and-seattle-deep-green-pilot-program/#sthash.UNYjCpYK.dpuf

April committee meeting minutes and preview for May

See here for April's meeting minutes. Join us May 28, 2014 back at CPL. Adam will be presenting on the PSU Sustainable Structures Symposium, including his own presentation from the conference. Please contact Adam or Kyle for call-in information if you can't attend in person.

Sean passed along an article on some innovative sustainable buildings that I’ll also post:

http://www.fastcoexist.com/3029434/the-top-10-most-innovative-sustainable-buildings-of-2014

If you have something you’d like to share with the committee, let me know.

April Committee Meeting and March Minutes

The minutes for last month's meeting are here. Thanks to Rachel for enlightening the committee on the 2012 state and city energy code provisions.

Our upcoming meeting is this Wednesday at Coughlin Porter Lundeen at noon. Note that they have moved to the 9th floor of the Norton Building at Second and Columbia.   We will continue discussion of the provisions in the 2012 energy code that will impact structural design. We will also recap the CarbonCure concrete presentation.

January and February Meeting Minutes

Below are minutes from the committee's meetings in the past two months.
January 2014 minutes
February 2014 minutes

December Committee Meeting and Past Minutes

Our upcoming meeting is Wednesday December 4th at KPFF.  Since our usual meeting time of the 4^th Wednesday of the month conflicts with Thanksgiving this month, we are moving to December 4^th.  This will be our last meeting this year.  We are looking for someone willing to host meetings at a Seattle office in the new year.

Our December meeting will continue our series on the sustainability of cross-laminated timber and wood design.  We will feature Myer Harrell and Kirsten Clemens from Weber Thompson to discuss the architectural considerations for tall CLT buildings.    

Image courtesy of Weber Thompson

We will also recap the Tall Wood presentation by Michael Green.

We have the availability for web and audio conference at the meeting if requested.  

Last month’s meeting minutes here.

November-December Committee Meeting

Our meeting will continue our series on the sustainability of cross-laminated timber and wood design. We will feature Myer Harrell and Kirsten Clemens from Weber Thompson to discuss the architectural considerations for CLT. We will also recap the TallWood presentation by Michael Green.

Since our usual meeting time of the 4th Wednesday of the month conflicts with Thanksgiving this month, we are moving to December 4th. This will be our last meeting this year. Let me know if you would be willing to host meetings at your office in the new year.

We have the availability for web and audio conference at the meeting, so let me know if you need to connect. Happy Thanksgiving, everybody.

Happy Hour for SEFW Fall Forum on Tall Wood

If you haven't read your newest SEAW Equilibrium, This Thursday is the Structural Engineers Foundation Fall Forum.  The presentation is "Tall Wood: How Timber Suddenly Decided to Grow Up." The presenters are architect, Michael Green, and structural engineer, Erik Karsh. Both are leading the international movement for expanded use of heavy timber from nearby Vancouver, British Columbia.

As Michael calls it “the most technologically advanced material grown by the sun,” wood has earned its place alongside steel and concrete in the construction of large institutional and commercial projects such as international airports, municipal halls, university buildings
and yes, high-rises. Wood has gone high tech, and if you are in the building business, you should know about it.

The presentation starts at 6:00pm, this Thursday, November 21 at Benaroya Hall. Admission is free, but registration is required through SEAW.  

One of the reasons wood is gaining attention is its sustainability, made by solar power and absorbing carbon dioxide in the process. The sustainability committee of SEAW has been hosting a series of presentations on sustainability of wood, and this is another opportunity to discuss the topic.

As a primer for the presentation, meet members of the SEAW sustainability committee for happy hour at the Triple Door (next to Benaroya) before the lecture starting at 4:30PM. 

And join us at our next meeting, noon on December 4th at KPFF, to hear more about the state of the art of sustainable wood construction, where architects Myer Harrell and Kirsten Clemens ‎of Weber Thompson will talk about their design to push the height limit of wood buildings in Seattle.‎

Seattle DPD: Cross-Laminated Timber

Here's an update on the City of Seattle's Code Advisory Committee's study of using cross-laminated timber in buildings taller than currently allowed by code:

In the May meeting, we discussed reconvening in November in order to review the newest information made available through resources such as the Canadian Tall Wood Handbook and the NFPA Arup paper. 

We have since become aware that a stakeholder group is meeting to view the presentation on the NSF/NEES Seismically Resilient Tall Wood Building Grant in January. Because seismic information is pertinent to this discussion and evaluation, it has been suggested we shift our November meeting to January so the groups can merge to participate in both the NSF/NEES and NFPA presentations.  At that time we can also discuss general updates, The Canadian Tall Wood handbook, and share any contacts made since May involving projects where CLT buildings have been allowed by the local jurisdiction.

Our meeting will be either the 3^rd or 4^th week in January. 

Contact Kathleen Petrie if you are interested in attending the meetings or receiveing meeting minutes.

May 28 committee meeting

Our next committee meeting will be Tuesday, May 28, at noon at KPFF. Please note the change in date from our regular schedule. The main topic with be carbon sequestration and other wood topics.  An agenda and minutes from last month will be posted at this blog prior to the meeting. Let Adam know if you would like to join by audio/video conference.

April 24 Meeting Agenda

SEAW – Sustainability Committee Meeting Agenda for April 24, 2013

Location: Coughlin Porter Lundeen, 413 Pine St #300, Seattle - noon

 

1.     Introductions (12:00).

2.     Current Work/Old Business (12:05)

a.     Disaster Resilience Mini-Seminar at SEAW recap

b.     Concrete Subcommittee

c.     Solar Ready Roofs

d.     European Green Standards

e.     Guest Speakers

                                  i.    Project Haiti by HOK and USGBC

                                 ii.    Greenroads/Envision rating systems

f.      Tours

                                  i.    Bullitt Center

                                 ii.    Reclaimed Timber

3.     Featured Topic (12:15)

a.     Top 10 LCA FAQ

4.     News & Education (12:45)

a.     Recent Publications/Presentations

                                  i.    HOK’s Thomas Knittel, UW, April 4.

                                 ii.    Preservation Greenlab Report on Building Reuse

                                iii.    Composite Wood-Concrete Floor, April Structure Magazine

b.     Upcoming Events

                                  i.    DECON '13 (Building Materials Reuse Association), Seattle, April 29-May 1

                                 ii.    SEI Structures Congress, Pittsburg, PA, May 2-4

                                iii.    Envision Sustainable Infrastructure Rating System, Rock Salt, May 15

                                iv.    Living Future unConference, Seattle, May 15-17

c.     Liaison Activity

                                  i.    SEI Sustainability Committee

                                 ii.    SEAONC Sustainable Design Committee

                                iii.    Cascade GBC

                                iv.    AIA+2030 Lecture Series

d.     Announcements

5.     Upcoming Events

a.     Open Announcements

6.     Next meeting (12:59)

a.     Wednesday, May 22, at noon

b.     Main Topic: TBD

c.     Location: KPFF

7.     Adjourn (1:00)

April 24 Committee Meeting

Our next committee meeting will be next Wednesday, April 24th at noon at CPL.  The main topic with be Life Cycle Assessment FAQs.  An agenda will be posted at on this blog by Wednesday. Meeting minutes from March are here. Let me know if you would like to join by audio/video conference.