Environmental protection through stewardship of historical buildings was the message of Jean Carroon’s presentation to the James River Green Building Council on Tuesday.

“Stewardship is the heart of the environmental movement,” Carroon said. “The only way we can really take care of nature is by taking care of what is all around us and believing in the power of preservation.”

Jean Carroon, Goody Clancy
Carroon, an architect and author, leads the preservation and renovation practice of Goody Clancy, a Boston-based architecture, planning and preservation firm. She has completed Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design-certified renovations on historic buildings for Champlain College, Harvard University and the National Park Service.

“Every time we extend the service life of a building, we avoid the environmental impacts of creating something new,” Carroon said. “We avoid the environmental impacts of our throwaway culture.”

“[The JRGBC] wanted the public to be aware that it is possible to do historic restoration in a green manner,” said Ned Ormsby, sponsorship chair of the JRGBC and project coordinator for Lithic Construction. “They are not exclusive.”

Ormsby also commented on why adaptive reuse is especially relevant to the Charlottesville-Albemarle region.

Read the full story here >

What’s the best way to go green if you have an older home? Salvage and/or rehabilitate it!

And if you ask most preservationists what they think of Virginia’s Rehabilitation Tax Credit Program, you’ll hear them proudly say it’s one of the most generous programs in the country– if not the very most– leading to the rehabilitation of thousands of historic properties. Indeed, since the program’s inception in 1997, the state has awarded nearly $700 million in tax credits to homeowners and developers…

Read the full article here:

http://www.readthehook.com/98761/historically-green-guide-rehabilitation-tax-credits

reported by Kasey Hott
Posted: Jul 12, 2011 5:45 PM EDT

On Tuesday close to 50 people attended a Charlottesville seminar which focused on straw bale homes. There are two of these homes currently in Albemarle County…

Read the full article:

http://www.nbc29.com/story/15069828/homes-made-out-of-straw-make-a-comeback

BY KATHERINE LUDWIG 

It’s a well-known phenomenon, and Thomas Jefferson was a prime example: builders, carpenters and architects whose own homes are perpetual projects. Like a chef too tired to cook his own dinner, those who spend their days building and designing other people’s places typically have precious few hours and little energy to spend on their personal habitats. It’s unfortunate, because more than their professional portfolios of work, builders’ and designers’ homes may best illustrate their skills and sensibilities—their ultimate dream jobs.

Thanks to 14′ timbers discovered after Hurricane Isabel damage, the home’s one main living space looks and feels spacious.

The timber frame Keswick home of Alec Cargile, founder of green building firm Lithic Construction, has been years in the making—the culmination of a drawn-out process that at various times has required him and his wife, Leslie Ryan, to camp in a tent on the property’s wooded 15 acres, to live in the moldy basement of the property’s original vintage farm house and to cook all their meals in an outdoor kitchen.

Surprisingly, save for the moldy basement part, none of this has been hardship. Both former academic wilderness guides for the Sierra Institute, Cargile and Ryan love living an indoor-outdoor lifestyle among the flora and fauna. Because of that and their own attentiveness and patience, they’ve been able to carefully and methodically build a home that truly reflects their personalities and values as well as the mission of Lithic itself: to honor a site’s surrounding environment, to use local and sustainable materials and to highlight craftsmanship.

…

read the full article:
http://www.c-ville.com/index.php?cat=1990502072917840&ShowArticle_ID=11800710093694444

On March 10, the City of Charlottesville’s Planning Commission awarded its 2009 Award for Outstanding Sustainable Development to the 208 Hartman’s Mill Road Project.   The award was given to all three parties who helped save the historic Nimmo house— Linda and Howard Carey, the homeowners; Aaron Wunsch, the architectural historian; and Lithic Construction, the restorer.  Congratulations to all who helped make this project a success.  For an in-depth look at 208 Hartman’s Mill Road, come to Alec Cargile’s Preservation Week talk on April 9 (details below).

On March 10, the City of Charlottesville’s Planning Commission awarded its 2009 Award for Outstanding Sustainable Development to the 208 Hartman’s Mill Road Project.   The award was given to all three parties who helped save the historic Nimmo house— Linda and Howard Carey, the homeowners; Aaron Wunsch, the architectural historian; and Lithic Construction, the restorer.  Congratulations to all who helped make this project a success.  For an in-depth look at 208 Hartman’s Mill Road, come to Alec Cargile’s Preservation Week talk on April 9 (details below).

before

after

GreenMatters is a two-year series of workshops designed to help educate and inform the public on a variety of green building and design principles. The series recognizes the significant impact the built environment has on our natural environment, economy, and health.

More information: http://www.greenmatters.info