Category Archives: Project Team

Experts involved in the design and construction process.

HumaNature Architecture

Posted on March 17, 2012 by ellen

HumaNature Architecture

A LEED project must follow certain guidelines. Some are prerequisites and some gain points towards the level of certification that the owner is seeking. The higher the number of points, the more valuable metal the LEED certification plaque will represent with the most points representing Platinum. Of course there are Gold and Silver, Bronze and Plain certification levels too. Until LEED makes some major changes this year, there are more points available in LEED for Homes than other LEED systems (like commercial buildings which is where they started.)

Of course we aim for Platinum with the goal of having the most energy efficient home, or as close to net zero as possible, but there are several prerequisites just to qualify for a LEED for Homes Gut Remodel that might do us in.

Not building the integrated design team though! That has been really interesting. My first contact was the architect. I just used the Internet to find a sustainable green building architect in the Arvada area who had experience with LEED. Turned out only one really showed up as having these qualities, and I found out he had just moved back to Boulder! But he is willing to travel to work on this project and seems like just the man to have first on the team.

Let me introduce you to James Plagman, whose award winning designs are cooked up in his company, HumaNature Architecture.

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Building a LEED Project Team–LEED AP for Homes

Posted on March 18, 2012 by ellen

Each LEED for Homes project uses the integrated design process to distribute responsibility for meeting LEED criteria and acquiring LEED points. The project team typically includes experts on green building and sustainability and to gain the point for a full … Continue reading →

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Integrated Design Approach

Posted on March 21, 2012 by ellen

The Conservation Seeding and Restoration company in Rifle, Colorado became our landscape design partner. LEED’s approach seems to be to connect people to their living spaces and communities by thinking in terms of people working together and interacting both locally … Continue reading →

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Design Charrette–Planning

Posted on April 11, 2012 by ellen

There is a LEED point for having a kick0ff planning meeting with the LEED Project team. LEED calls this meeting a Design Charrette which is a french term for taking a cart around to get input on an architectural design. … Continue reading →

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HumaNature

Posted on November 16, 2012 by ellen

The Design Charrette changed the focus of the remodeling project. I went from dreaming of LEED glory to the hard facts of the limitations of a budget. We had committed $50,000 to the project. That is the whole project of … Continue reading →

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An Engineered Solution

Posted on November 16, 2012 by ellen

The slab was the major issue that made this house virtually unsellable. Like most foreclosures, the house suffered from years of delayed maintenance, like peeling paint on the windowsills, and broken glass in some of the windows. Once it was … Continue reading →

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Mountain Brawny

Posted on November 16, 2012 by ellen

Just after Labor Day I realized we were getting close to needing the brawn to remove the concrete and excavate for the new slab. I contacted four listings that advertised concrete services and two responded. The first one was Mile … Continue reading →

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Crown Jade Design and Engineering

Posted on November 17, 2012 by ellen

At Greg’s strong recommendation, I decided to seek out a structural engineer who would be willing to take care of the specific design using WaffleMat for our installation. The person I chose had presented at a USGBC event as a … Continue reading →

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Waffle Mat Slab

Posted on November 17, 2012 by ellen

The Waffle Mat system uses 19 1/2″ X 19 1/2″ X 8 1/2″ recycled plastic boxes. The boxes have a rim on two sides and can be used in sets of 4 or individually depending on the design. I decided … Continue reading →

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HP Geotech

Posted on November 17, 2012 by ellen

I asked the Asbestos test engineer, Rick Luce, for a recommendation for a soils engineer, as he had mentioned that he worked with several and would give me a recommendation when the time came. He recommended Alan Lisowy at HP … Continue reading →

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HP Geotech Geotechnical Engineering Study

Posted on December 9, 2012 by ellen

We wanted this house even though it was not in great shape. We knew we had to figure out why the slab had cracked so badly and repour a slab that would not have the same damage in the future. … Continue reading →

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Crown Jade Engineering Drawings

Posted on January 21, 2013 by ellen

Mark Benjamin of Crown Jade Engineering delivered the final plan for the Waffle Mat system just was the plastic vapor barrier was being installed. The plan is engineered with the PSI concrete standards using a PSI computer program that took … Continue reading →

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LEED Rough Inspection

Posted on May 18, 2016 by ellen

I have been emailing my new project person from Energy Logic for over a year and he has been very helpful, but now I needed to have the rough insulation inspection before we covered more of our Roxul rock wool … Continue reading →

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LEED Paperwork!

Posted on June 2, 2016 by ellen

After the rough inspection, Adam the evaluation representative from Energy Logic sent me an official list of documentation that is required for each LEED point category. I have kept lots of paperwork for the project but had not organized it … Continue reading →

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