Sustainable Chequamegon Initiative
 
4/12/2006
 

Two green building specialists spoke to over 70 people at the Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center on Monday evening, April 10, sharing their experience with home-building techniques that maximize efficiency, health and long-term durability.

Nathan Engstrom, Director of Wisconsin Green-Built Homes and James Brew, an architect with LHB, Inc. out of Duluth, spoke to an audience of homeowners, builders and other citizens interested in sustainable housing.

Brew shared his architectural experiences from around the world in designing homes as well as commercial structures that have economic, health and safety, community and environmental benefits. Of all the construction in this country, 59% of the dollars spent are for building and remodeling homes. The question is how we can build homes in such a way as to maximize the benefits – affordable, durable, healthy, comfortable, aesthetically attractive homes – while minimizing the costs – economic, environmental and social. As Engstrom noted, “green building is simply good building.” A Green Built Home:

* provides a healthy and comfortable environment - with healthy indoor air, free from toxic compounds;

* is energy and water efficient - a green home takes fewer dollars to keep comfortable year-around;

* utilizes building materials that are durable, has recycled-content, are made with renewable resources, are resource efficient, and often are locally produced;

* is built with minimal site-impact both in the building process (direct environmental impacts, plus job-site recycling, minimal packaging waste, etc.) and throughout the life of the home; and

* makes consideration for location relative to the rest of the community/surroundings - where possible taking advantage of proximity to schools and stores, bicycle trails or mass-transit.

Interest in green-built homes is growing in the Chequamegon Bay area. This program is part of the overall Sustainable Chequamegon Initiative, specifically as an off-shoot of the Sustainable Washburn group. During the meeting, they announced that there is new effort starting in Ashland called Home Grown Affordable Housing. Government officials from the City and County of Ashland, and some other citizens have been meeting to create more “home grown” affordable and green housing to the region.