Sustainable Stewardship: Greening Historic Buildings

Barbara A. Campagna, FAIA, LEED AP

Graham Gund Architect of the National Trust for Historic Preservation
Larkin at Exchange Building, 6th Floor, Barton Room
726 Exchange Street, Buffalo NY 14210

Tuesday, April 13
2 – 4 PM

Preservation Buffalo Niagara (PBN) is hosting a free lecture on making historic buildings – and all older building – more energy efficient. As the construction and operation of buildings accounts for more than 40% of the United State’s carbon dioxide emissions, reusing and retrofitting our existing buildings can reduce emissions dramatically.

Barbara Campagna, a Buffalo native, is the chief architect for the National Trust for Historic Preservation. She will discuss the National Trust’s Sustainability Program and how the 29 historic sites of the National Trust are integrating historic preservation values with green building practices – from green housekeeping techniques to sustainability master plans to LEED certification for historic rehabilitations. The National Trust’s efforts are demonstrating that conservation and improvement of our existing built resources, including re-use of historic and older buildings, greening the existing building stock, and reinvestment in older and historic communities, is crucial to combating climate change.
According to Barbara, “Older buildings are one of our greatest renewal resources and everyone concerned with the environment should also recognize the value of keeping older buildings energy efficient and viable.”
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AIAS Freedom By Design utilizes the talents of architecture and design students to radically impact the lives of people in their community through design and construction solutions. Vital modifications are made to enhance the homes of low-income elderly and disabled individuals by addressing their struggles with everyday tasks such as getting in and out of the shower, ascending stairs, accessing cabinets, and  opening doors.

The UB Chapter just finished this project for Gracie, a disabled woman in Niagara Falls. The group of students installed two grab/safety bars in her bathroom and replaced her original basement stairs which were far too steep. In its place, they built a winding staircase that leads to a new landing with better hand rails on either side of the stairs. Next stage: to replace the existing handicap ramp that is too steep.

These students are awesome, and they got all of their building materials from Buffalo ReUse

Last night I watched Michael Moore’s Capitalism: A Love Story. I have seen most of his films and I always think there are a ton of though-provoking points that somehow get glossed over or ignored by the movie reviewers and pundits. I heard almost nothing about this movie when it came out, except the usual critics dismissing Moore as a crackpot.  Moore even used a recent incident in Buffalo to drive home one of his examples of capitalism’s failures that resulted in tragedy. But Moore made me aware of something that I never learned in school. You may be saying, “Big surprise, you missed something in school–textbooks are notorious for sanitizing or omitting or altering facts in history” True, but I took all my History and Civics classes seriously and even took AP Government and AP US History and no one ever mentioned anything to me about the 2nd Bill of Rights. Most of us remember the tenets of our first Bill of Rights, namely, “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” but this other suggested set were completely new to me.
Since my involvement in the nonprofit world, I have come to know about them through networking with other nonprofit groups and learning the ways in which our missions overlap, especially in the areas of social justice (CEJ & PUSH & PPG), but no one has ever specifically mentioned them in context of a Bill of Rights.

I remember very little about FDR. I remember that he was our longest running president, he died in office and he created jobs for artists and others in a time where no jobs existed, he got through the Great Depression.  In that historical context, FDR drafting another set of rights–an Economic Bill of Rights made perfect sense.  Here they are:

• The right to a useful and remunerative job in the industries or shops or farms or mines of the nation;
• The right to earn enough to provide adequate food and clothing and recreation;
• The right of every farmer to raise and sell his products at a return which will give him and his family a decent living;
• The right of every businessman, large and small, to trade in an atmosphere of freedom from unfair competition and domination by monopolies at home or abroad;
• The right of every family to a decent home;
• The right to adequate medical care and the opportunity to achieve and enjoy good health;
• The right to adequate protection from the economic fears of old age, sickness, accident, and unemployment;
• The right to a good education.

Wow.  These seem so simple, why do they sound so revolutionary?  Don’t these seem like rights we already believe we are entitled to? and this was six decades ago.  If our government did actually work toward securing these basic rights for citizens–how different would our nation be?  Roosevelt drafted these to ensure equality in our individual pursuits of happiness–because people who are desperately trying to survive–are not truly free.

A group art show presented by CFGB (Community Foundation for Great Buffalo) and FEHR (Family Environmental Health Resources) designed to raise awareness about the issues surrounding safe housing and healthy children.

Call for artists

The art show is designed to show by picture and word, how to be aware of, how to identify and how to protect your children from dangers and toxins in the environment. 

The show will highlight the conditions of and remedies necessary to take an unsafe, unhealthy home and make it a safe and healthy environment for all members of the family, especially children.  Artwork in all medium and written word which embodies the aforementioned themes presented will be graciously accepted for exhibit.

We anticipate works showing the positive themes (good nutrition, safe homes, and active kids) as well as negative themes (deteriorated housing, urban blight, and under-utilized parks).  We invite works that highlight urban problems, and offer solutions for green and healthy homes, in Buffalo and beyond.

Show:  April 16^th-22^nd at 464 Gallery, 464 Amherst Street Buffalo, NY 14207

Hours:
Friday, 4/16/10: 12-6pm
Saturday, 4/17/10: 11-6pm
Monday, 4/19/10: TBD
Tuesday, 4/20/10: Reception time TBD
Wednesday, 4/21/10: 12-6pm
Thursday, 4/22/10: 12-6pm

For more about 464 Gallery:  http://www.mindweb.us/Welcome.html

To offer a piece for the show email to Marcus Weiss at: mindweb.us {at} mac(.)com

Restoring an architectural gem? Keeping an old home together? Need cost-effective tricks to save old windows, reuse salvage materials, find space for another purpose?

Meet the people with the know-how at the House Restoration Fair, Saturday March 27^th from 10 am to 2pm. The Fair will take place at the Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society Museum located at 25 Nottingham Court at Elmwood Avenue, Buffalo. General admission is $8, or $6 if you’re a Historical Society member.

Speak with craftsmen, artisans, material suppliers, and contractors at display tables AND see presentations of first-hand experiences from a carpenter, homeowners, and architects. We’ll be there….will you??

A big thanks to Shea’s Buffalo for being the venue, Join us, JANUARY 24th, 2010!
You were there when the Hero Family was announced, You were there when Buffalo ReUse performed the Green Demolition, You were there when volunteers from PUSH and Re-Tree WNY built the community gardens, You were there when Americorps and others descended on the block and over 70 houses in the neighborhood got a facelift, You were there when David Homes built the brand new house!…Now you can be there as all of Buffalo celebrates the national spotlight! On behalf of PUSH Buffalo, Buffalo ReUse, Re-Tree WNY, and WNY Americorps, as well as The Powell Family–we hope you will join us all.

Doors open at 7pm Folks can meet The Powell Family, mingle, and learn about the ways they can volunteer and contribute to future neighborhood improvements. Channel 7 (WKBW) will feature a documentary of behind-the-scenes footage of the 106 hours of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition while the cast, volunteers, and neighborhood worked around the clock. Finally, from 8-10pm ABC will broadcast the Special Buffalo Episode and we’ll all watch together as the story unfolds.

We hope that everyone will come and celebrate the national spotlight on Buffalo and the neighborhood revitalization igniting across The Queen City!

TICKETS:  Tickets will be available on Friday, January 15th. All tickets will be distributed in advance of the evening’s events.  Tickets to be obtained from Shea’s Box Office. Tickets are complimentary, limit of 2 per person. No tickets at the door, unless they are still available.

The Shea’s Box Office is located at 650 Main Street and is open  M-F 10 a – 5 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 am– 2 pm   Event Parking is available on Pearl Street, Washington St. etc.

**This event is on FACEBOOK. Please, invite all your friends!!

ATTENTION: Architects, Green Builders, Artists & Designers
Buffalo ReUse is assembling a working group to brainstorm, research, and explore the feasibility of a new, innovative building and reuse idea.  Imagine real Green Housing and Neighborhoods in Buffalo.
If you have an interest in green building, architectural design, interior design–particularly with reused building materials, please join us. We also need folks with knowledge of alternative heating systems, alternative building materials, and residential building codes.

We welcome those of you who have an interest in brainstorming and working on a very out-of-the-box building reuse, rehabilitation, and eco-friendly project with a unique twist.  We will hold an introductory meeting to overview the intention of the project on Monday, January 11th at 6:30 p.m. at 158 Eaton Street.

If you are unable to attend, but would like to be included in the email group to receive updates for future meetings please send a short interest email to rehome {at} buffaloreuse(.)org

ABC’s hit show “Extreme Makeover Home Edition” is coming to the Queen City! This exciting opportunity brings with it the chance to use the momentum gained by the national spotlight to fuel the revitalization of an entire neighborhood in the matter of days. You have the opportunity to improve not only one family’s life, but the entire surrounding community. This will be a great chance to show that Buffalo really is the City of Good Neighbors.

David Homes  is designing and building an environmentally friendly home starting November 7th and lasting for one week. To sign up as a helping hand, go to http://www.davidhomesextreme.com/. They will need help with Food, Non-Skilled Construction Labor, Check-In, Media, Hospitality, Parking, Trash, Traffic, Barricades, Loading and much more. Join the Buffalo ReUse staff in this unique service experience!

As the weather turns colder, we will be working in the gardens less and less. Buffalo ReUse is switching our focus to the house we are rehabbing. The upstairs currently holds our offices, and the downstairs – eventually – will be our Community Space. The vision is for the first floor to be a space where church groups, women’s groups, boy scouts, etc can gather and hold meetings. There will be a computer with internet access, a copy machine, and a DIY book lending library, to mention a few things. HOWEVER, this house still needs LOTS of work, and that is why we need YOU.

As part of our community programming, we hold free workshops on gardening and home repair every week.  The home repair workshops are usually modeled around what needs to be done in the house at the time. Past workshops include: DryLoking the Basement Walls, Installing Insulation, Tiling the Bathroom Floor, and ReFinishing Stairs. We are asking for volunteers to :

1.) Lead workshops. If you are a handyman and can help us repair holes in our drywall or reglaze our windows or any other home repairs, please let us know. We will arrange a day and time for your workshop which will be advertised on our monthly calendar.

2.) Attend workshops! If you are not so handy but are willing to help us out, please come to one or two of our workshops. We learn as we go along, so most of the time we may be pretty clueless too. But the more the merrier, and then you can bring your new-found skills back to your own home.

Contact volunteer {at} buffaloreuse(.)org if you would like to host a workshop or participate in one. Our monthly calendar of free workshops can always be found on our website.

There’s a buzz in Buffalo–snickering and whispering and “What Iffing” because of the Swinger’s Convention up in the Falls–4 days of hanky panky.  I sure hope they stay hydrated!  I’ve actually wanted to write about swinging for a long time and now that the events at the Holiday Inn are smoldering in people’s minds–I couldn’t hold back.  Can I tell you a secret?  I actually know some folks in Buffalo who started a very special key party of their own!  This group of couples have an assortment of skills and they share them with each other different nights and weekends as their schedules allow.  When I first heard about it I wanted to blab to everyone, but then they cautioned me to be discrete because they want to keep it somewhat exclusive.

It’s not scandalous or anything, but Peter & Tamara swap… houses!  Yep, they do–with 2 other couples on Manchester Place.  They created a small network of neighbors who’ve learned some home improvement skills and they go over to each others’ houses as a group and tackle those respective Honey-Do lists like painting the kitchen, tiling the bathroom or installing cabinets or ripping out carpet.  Of course, they open a bottle of wine and they order chinese or a pizza and make an evening of it.  It’s not controversial, it’s not even risque’ (drat.)  I am sure it happens in kitchens and baths all over America–or at least I hope it does! Peter says he loves it–”doing chores with friends makes for light work.”  They rotate the houses and tasks–one weeknight a month.

It’s just an idea–go ahead and start fantasizing about what you can get done in your house with intimate friends–why else are you staying up in middle of the night watching all those DIY videos and that HGTV on cable?  If you don’t have any skills in that department we can certainly help you, since we have those types of free workshops all the time.
As you’re writing your holiday cards and thinking about gifts for your friends and neighbors who you’ll stand next to at the eggnog bowl this season . . . Why don’t you take a risk?  Raise a few eyebrows by suggesting a key party–ReUse style!
I bet you’ll get some takers.