Greening the Valley Exhibit Opening tonight

The "Greening The Valley: Sustainable Architecture in the Pioneer Valley" exhibit opens this evening at the University Gallery at Umass. A couple of ADI projects will be in the exhibit as well as other projects from around the area.
We'll see you there!

Wisdom Way on the blogs

Susan Kraemer has written up a nice piece on Wisdom Way over on Home Design Find using some of Doug Mason's photos from our Flickr account. The article does an excellent job of summarizing the project and the remarkable prospect of a $300 annual energy bill.

(A side note: those last 2 photos in the piece are from Katywil, I'll have to make my Flickr tags a bit more explicit. Also remarkable is getting the Google alerts and seeing this article re-blogged on other sites, one of them a luxury real estate blog. The internet is a remarkable, and strange, thing.)

Wisdom Way Data

Some great reading from Robb Aldrich of Steven Winter Associates on the performance of the units at Wisdom Way.

SWA Report on WWSV Heating Systems

Builders Zero In on New Goal of Energy-Neutral Housing - WSJ

Wisdom Way seems to be a hot topic these days. In todays Wall Street Journal there's an article by  Jim Carlton on "Energy Neutral" projects which uses the Solar Village as an example. The article focuses on electricity use and zero-energy so it makes no mention of the super-insulation necessary to achieve this goal. The difference in home prices that Anne Perkins of RDI gives is largely due to the PV panels, but the savings realized by her contractors in the insulating of these units will reap huge savings with relatively little cost.

I also think the differences in the projects in the article, the price of a unit at Wisdom Way is about half the price of a 600 square foot addition in LA. And *ahem* "offset(ing) the cost of the panels by not having to buy a big furnace"?!?!  Even without any special insulation they would not have to buy a big furnace in LA! Tomorrows high temperature in Hermosa Beach is 67, which is where many of us here in New England set our thermostats! I know it gets nippy by the beach there, but put on a sweater folks!

Changes That Pay

A recent article in the Boston Globe Magazine outlines some ways to save energy and lists some resources for audits, building materials, and an upcoming rebate program for appliances. On the last page the article makes mention of RDI's Wisdom Way project which ADI designed.

The Ay's Have It - Clean Energy A Must

Clean Energy Connections, hosted at the Mass Mutual Center in Springfield, MA on Tuesday, November 10th, was well-attended and optimistic in nature, with over five hundred clean energy organizations, business owners, and job seekers listening attentively to keynote addresses and plenary sessions. More than 60 universities, colleges, businesses, and organizations exhibited at the conference, providing ample opportunities to exchange ideas and information, to learn about the ever-evolving renewable energy and energy efficiency industries, and to prospect for jobs and new employees.

According to keynote speakers, Dr. Robert Pollin and Mr. Truman Semans, approximately $120 billion in government spending will boost the U.S. “green” economy over the span of several years. Seventy percent will fund energy efficiency projects with 30% funding renewable energy technology. Additionally, Massachusetts’ total share of the funds is $2.3 billion, which will result in roughly 42,530 “green” jobs with renewable energy “poised to become” the tenth largest job cluster in the state. Though success in the green economy is predicted to skyrocket and greatly contribute to the nation’s financial recovery , it alone will not revive the U.S. economy. Moreover, it will take persistent policy overhauls to improve the flow of money from government to private organizations.

Anne Perkins of Rural Development Inc. (RDI) and Bill Austin and Jacqui McCreanor of Austin Design Inc. (ADi) manned our integrated display. As folks stopped at our table to chat, we shared with them RDI’s affordable housing enterprises and our ecological designs for single family homes, communities, and remodels. And in turn, we learned about an increasing interest, on the parts of both individuals and private organizations, in retrofitting existing buildings, adding renewable energy technology to new and existing buildings, and investing in strong local community centers dedicated to the health and robustness of its citizens and economies.

Great contacts were made and a good time was had by all. On the whole, it was a great and educational day.

Cool Photography

Doug Mason, local professional photographer, captured inciting frames of nearby Austin Design projects, including Katywil Eco-Village, Wisdom Way Solar Village, and a private client's renovated home and newly constructed poolhouse! Check out additional Austin Design photographs on Flickr.

Zero Energy Challenge

Wisdom Way Solar Village recently placed third in the Zero Energy Challenge. The Challenge was presented by Massachusetts’ investor-owned electric utility companies. The idea was to build a home which would use as little energy as possible. Bill traveled to the State House back in June for the award ceremony with Anne Perkins and Robin Sherman of RDI, check out the video above to see the action. 

Wisdom Way in the New York Times

A nice write up of the Wisdom Way Solar Village project in the New York Times. Austin Design worked with RDI as a client to design these low energy units. There is a nice video with Chris and everything. From way back in April but we'll re-post it here.



New York Times Article

New York Times Video

Austin Design on WGBY

Bill recently appeared on an episode of Eco-Exchange with Sandy Thomas on WGBY to discuss the Wisdom Way Solar Village project in Greenfield. You can stream or download the video here. It is episode #109.

The show has excellent information on local Green and Energy Efficient resources and solutions and airs Wednesday evenings on WGBY.

Austin Design Works with RDI to Build Affordable, Green Homes

After designing the Zero Net Energy home in Colrain, MA for Rural Development Incorporated (RDI), Austin Design has signed on to design Wisdom Way Solar Village.

Wisdom Way Solar Village will be built across the street from the fairgrounds in Greenfield. While these homes will not qualify as Zero Net Energy, they will come close to producing as much energy as they consume.

Austin Design will design 10 duplexes (twenty homes) for the project. All homes will be first-floor accessible.