EBN

Vol. 5, No. 4), which are no longer available.

A hybrid of an I-beam and an open-web truss, the Smartbeam is manufactured by cutting an I-beam lengthwise through the web in a modified sawtooth pattern. The two halves are welded back... Read more

Seattle-based Sellen Construction Co. has been honored as 1999 Contractor of the Year by the International Erosion Control Association (IECA). Sellen was lauded for its use of best management practices and state-of-the-art technologies to control erosion and prevent sediment runoff in challenging and sensitive situations. Specific practices... Read more

The Loudoun County, Virginia Board of Supervisors is serious about stemming sprawl. They have set up a $1 million legal defense fund to protect the county against court challenges by home builders, according to an article in the January 5

Washington Post. Loudoun County is the third fastest growing county in the nation, and it gained... Read more

Heliotrope General, Inc., a 25-year-old manufacturer of solar water heating components (see

EBN

Vol. 8, No. 7/8), suffered a devastating fire at its Spring Valley, California facility on January 11. As a result of the fire, company founder and president, Sam Dawson, has decided to retire from the solar industry, and he has sold... Read more

A call-for-entries has gone out for the 2000 Aurora Awards competition for residential design and construction (both single- and multifamily) from the Southeast Building Conference. Projects located within the 11 southeastern states are eligible for the Awards, which cover a whopping 75 categories, including water conservation, energy... Read more

We’re very excited to announce that Peter Yost of the NAHB Research Center will be joining our staff as research director and senior editor of

Environmental Building News. In addition to contributing to

EBN’s content, Peter will share responsibility for many of our research, writing, and consulting services. A former high-school... Read more

Steelcase, the office furniture manufacturer, is set to break ground on a new wood furniture plant in Gaines Township, Michigan. The new facility, designed by William McDonough + Partners, will be the first manufacturing building of its size rated by the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED program. Projected emissions reductions of 70% as... Read more

The Metropolitan Forum Project of Los Angeles is seeking to reshape the way the city designs and builds public schools. Instead of huge schools serving 5,000-plus students, the “New Schools, Better Neighborhoods” project is proposing neighborhood-scaled schools serving around 500 students. Along with reducing the extensive public school... Read more

Black and Vernooy Architects of Austin, Texas won a Southern Home Award for new construction from

Southern Living magazine. The long back porch of the May residence, located at Lake Austin, was carefully designed to follow the sun, and indigenous materials from the surrounding Texas landscape were used for interior and exterior... Read more

by Theodore Osmundson, FASLA, 1999. W. W. Norton & Co., New York. Hardcover, 318 pages, $75.

Roof Gardens is a valuable resource for anyone involved with the creation of green spaces on top of buildings or above underground parking garages.

Author Theodore Osmundson, a leader in the landscape architecture field for the last... Read more

by Malcolm Wells, 1999. Available from the author, 673 Satucket Road, Brewster, Cape Cod, MA 02631; 508/896-6850, 508/896-5116 (fax). Hardback, 144 pages, $5 plus $2 postage & handling.

This little book, by architect and underground building pioneer Malcolm Wells, reads like a children’s book, but is more for adult children.

First, it is designed for exterior mounting, which keeps all combustion outdoors, eliminating... Read more

for Environmental Innovation, a

new facility that will house the

company’s carpet reclamation and

pelletizing operations, along with

research and design laboratories for

environmental technologies. The

Center is directed by vice... Read more

Your highly readable introduction to the Road Oyl emulsion (

EBN

Vol. 8, No. 11, November 1999) shows your reputation for evenhanded reviews is well deserved. I do, however, want to point out a factual error. In reviewing the EPA lab results of runoff for a newly installed Road Oyl pavement, you stated, “Total petroleum... Read more

On January 21 the State of New York gained SmartWood certification for all of its “multiple-use” public forest lands. These are state forest lands outside of the Adirondack and Catskill Forest Preserves that are managed for timber, wildlife, water quality, and recreation—a total of more than 700,000 acres (283,000 ha). In so doing, the state... Read more

Recycled plastic lumber is commonly available for decking applications, but the supporting structures have continued to be constructed with preservative-treated lumber. U.S. Plastic Lumber (USPL) now offers a complete deck system made of recycled high-density polyethylene (HDPE) under the Carefree brand. The brand consists of recently code-... Read more

I read with particular interest the article entitled “Alternative Forestry Certifications Challenge the FSC” in your January issue of

Environmental Building News (EBN

Vol. 9, No. 1), and I would like to clarify some items related to the American Forest & Paper Association’s (AF&PA) Sustainable Forestry InitiativeSM (SFI... Read more

I’d like to thank you for reviewing our new book and video series in your January 2000 issue (EBN

Vol. 9, No. 1). However, I don’t want your readers to be misled, so I would like to clarify one point.

Healthy House Building for the New Millennium is not a book version of

The Healthy House Video Series. While they both go... Read more

A design competition has been announced for a household electricity meter that resides prominently

inside the home and provides “accurate, compelling, and artistically fascinating feedback to homeowners about their current energy use.” The

Viridian Electricity Meter should reward users aesthetically for reducing their purchased... Read more