Lecture, Seminar and EcoSense tour with:
Bruce King. P.Eng. Founder and Director of the Ecological Building Network
(click image to download poster)
Room B150, Bob Wright Centre. University of Victoria, Victoria, BC.
Tickets: $15
Bruce King is one of North America’s most experienced engineers in the field of green construction and for almost 30 years has worked with virtually every form of ‘green’ building material and conventional system. He brings to the table the critical eye of a seasoned structural engineer able to support what he talks about with hard science and fact.
‘As the costs of fossil fuel-based manufacture and transportation rise, “natural building” will become an economic imperative. What most builders don’t know is that we are now, like never before, able to make skillful use not just of traditional natural materials like clay, stone, bamboo and straw, but also the industrial stuff now accumulating around us such as shipping containers, paper, concrete rubble, and plastic in its many forms.’
‘This is not “junk building”, but rather an unfolding ability to use our brains and experience to make attractive, safe buildings anywhere without fossil fuels. Like a skillful cook creating a hearty soup out of what she happens to find, this is the new “minestrone architecture”: elegant buildings out of whatever the landscape offers’.
‘That is, after all, the way Nature has been building for four billion years.’
This presentation will be followed, on Saturday March 24th, by a technical workshop intended for engineers, architects and other building professionals. It would also be suitable for engineering and architecture students. The lecture will be eligible for 1.5 non-core professional Learning Unit (LU) credits from AIBC. The lecture and seminar will also be elligible for APEG learning units.
With Special thanks to our sponsors:
(click image to download poster)
Room A102, Social Science and Math Bldg. University of Victoria, Victoria, BC.
Tickets: $200
This workshop will be of particular interest to engineers, architects, building professionals, as well as engineering and architecture students. All modules are eligible for professional Learning Unit (LU) credits through AIBC and APEG and all participants will receive a free copy of Bruce King's seminal book - Buildings of Earth and Straw.
The seminar will consist of three modules of approximately one hour separated by short breaks.
Module 1: Alternative Materials & Systems – the State of the Art (1 core AIBC LU)
Most building professionals are familiar with the “conventional” materials presented in the building codes, yet for many reasons more and more people are building in ways not well covered by the building codes, also known as “alternative materials and systems”. This module reviews the many systems in use today, both manufactured and “natural”, and what we know about them for design, durability and life safety purposes.
Among the topics discussed:
- What are “alternative materials and systems”
Structural functions of building components
“Risk” versus “uncertainty” in using alternative materials
Module 2: Getting it permitted – Alternative building materials and the codes (1 core AIBC LU)
This module will examine the regulatory requirements of building ‘to Code’ with both conventional and alternative materials, taking into consideration seismic, fire, moisture, durability, ventilation and thermal performance. The session will review case studies and present success stories with building permitting as well as looking ‘beyond the code’.
The workshop includes:
- Defining alternative materials and systems
Overview of standards & codes which apply to building components & systems
Addressing the requirements the Building Code and building officials
Dealing with risk
The limitations of building codes
Module 3: Integrative Design – the Art of Cat Herding (1 core AIBC LU)
Integrative Design means keeping a lively eye on the Big Picture. It mostly involves communicating much more, and more consistently. This module will look at strategies and guidelines for keeping a team working in harmony towards the goal of a good building—and look at a few horror stories that happened when no one bothered to communicate.
The workshop includes:
- Working with what’s at hand: climate, site, culture, materials and labour
Processes for collaboration
Reducing building impacts
Thoughts on the future of building
the 'Greenest modern house in the world' (Jason McLennan, Living Building Challenge)
The home of Ann and Gord Baird, District of Highlands, Victoria, BC.
Tickets: $50
Following the Technical Seminar on Saturday afternoon, there will be the opportunity for participants of the workshop to take part in an additional event organised by ASRi in collaboration with Ann and Gord Baird, the builders of the highly sustainable Cob house in the Highlands region just west of Victoria.
This event will include a tour of the Baird's house followed by a presentation of the data and findings of their study into the thermal performance of their earthen (Cob) building envelope. This year-long and on-going research project has generated a wealth of scientific knowledge related to the much-misunderstood area of thermal mass in monolithic structures.
The fee for this event will include transportation to the site.
The tour and presentation will last about three hours and will be eligible for 3 core professional Learning Unit (LU) credits from AIBC, and will be eligible for credits from APEG as well.
Further information on the EcoSense project can be found at: www.eco-sense.ca
© ASRi (updated March 2012)