Here in the Colorado High Country, it’s been a long, cold winter. It’s mid May and it snowed the last two days. Which is why today, with the sun out and temperatures rising, I’m reminded of just how important the sun is. And it’s not just about passive heating, I’m talking about how sun warms the soul and illuminates the mind. I can’t tell you just how important the relationship between house and sun can be. Whenever we first consult with a client on the design of their home, the first two things I think about are access and solar orientation. And when orientating the house, I always favor the sun over the view when a compromise is necessary.

There are some general rules when it comes to solar orientation. There are times when the sun beating down on us brings welcome relief from the cold. And when that beating leaves us gasping and heat exhausted. In temperate (two or more season climates) ideally the axis of a home is parallel to the sun’s arc. Windows and roof overhangs combine to provide both sun and shade. For instance, in the summer when the sun is high and the days are warmest, roof overhangs should shade the house and particularly the windows when the sun is at it’s zenith. In the winter, when the sun is lower in the sky, those same overhangs allow the sun to reach the walls and windows of the house. The term for this is passive solar design, but as far as I’m concerned, it’s just common sense.

Obviously, the best lots allow for the ideal orientation. Choose a lot with views that include solar exposure. Otherwise, the view and exposure will compete, and you’ll need to make a choice between sun and scenery. It’s always best to choose a lot that won’t require such a difficult compromise. Choose the view over the sun, and you’re likely to be staring at window coverings all winter as you struggle to keep your house warm.

Smaller homes are big these days, according to Build Direct. Studies show that Americans no longer want or need large floor plans and more square footage than necessary. These days, homeowners and buyers are downsizing for four main reasons:

1. Economic/financial reasons
2. People want to live simpler lives, partly because of the struggling economy
3. Parents have become empty nesters and no longer need the extra space
4. Increasing desire for energy efficiency

Are you looking for a design-build firm to help you build just the right size home in the Breckinridge area? Trilogy Partners can help you do just that by formulating a space that will meet your current and evolving needs. We are known to have built and designed some of the most energy efficient homes in the entire country. Call Trilogy Partners at 970-453-2230.

Image provided by Trilogy Partners

Demand For Certified Lumber, Recycled Content Concrete, Green Floor Coverings, And Other Efficient Fixtures Will See Double-Digit Growth Through 2015.

International business research company The Freedonia Group released an industry forecast detailing the growth of demand for green building materials through 2015. According to the report, U.S. demand for green building materials (products which can contribute to LEED credits) will expand 13% annually through 2015, generating sales of more than $70 billion.

The report is entitled “Green Building Materials,” and is available for purchase on the company’swebsite. It predicts that the demand for green building materials will outpace the growth of building construction expenditures. While this demand will support gains in the construction market, a bigger driver will be the expected rebound in the construction market after low 2010 levels.

Among green building materials, the fastest growing product will be Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)-certified lumber and wood panels. The largest value gains will be seen in concrete products with recycled content, not only because their use will reduce the volume of waste sent to landfills, but because the concrete itself often performs better than traditional concrete. Green floor coverings (including Green Label Plus-certified) account for almost 25% of total market in 2010 and are expected to increase at a double-digit rate annually through 2015.

Efficient plumbing and lighting fixtures are also expected to post double-digit gains through 2015. This is due to improved efficiency, environmental concern, increases in building codes, and the rebound in the construction market.

The report analyzes historical market demand and forecasts for 2015 and 2020 by product, market, and region. The study also considers market environment factors, assesses the industry structure, evaluates company market share, and profiles 39 U.S. companies.

View a summary of the study (PDF).

Source: Consulting Specifying Engineer Mag

Outdoor living spaces have become as important to a client as interior spaces.  With our desire to spend more time outside enjoying our natural habitat, the need to design an environment that is both beautiful and functional is becoming top priority. In Colorado, with our mountainous terrain, we have mastered the art of incorporating our natural surroundings into our design.

From walled gardens to outdoor kitchens, Trilogy Partners can create the perfect place for you to spend your free time. Take a look at some of our projects below for ideas for your future outdoor living space.

Trilogy Partners

Trilogy Partners

Trilogy Partners

Trilogy Partners

Whether you are living in a large home or smaller apartment with modern interior decor, you should consider adding chic and stylish 21st century modern rugs for display in your living room, dining area, bedrooms, kitchen, patios and bathrooms. Modern rugs have become the accessories of choice suitable for all styles of contemporary home settings. Rug manufacturers and rug designers have come up with all types, shapes, sizes, styles, textures, colors and designs to match and complement whatever theme or motif and budget you have. You can choose from a vast array of hand-knotted, hand-tufted, machine-made or flat weaves in a variety of textures, colors and patterns that will add inspiration and style to every space in your home.

Luxury homes of the rich and famous are adorned with the best and most expensive handmade natural silk and wool customized designer rugs. When you reach this status in life to afford these uniquely braided designed and handcrafted expensive avant-garde rugs, they become necessities and worth their prices for their top quality and longevity.

If you prefer handmade rugs, you need to know the many new and innovative techniques being implemented by handcrafters from different countries. New spins, old designs in more artistic vibrant colors, and creative new designs are revolutionizing the modern rug industry. For instance, you can opt for a silver shag which would complement a silver bathroom mirror and silver bath curtains.

Other types of rugs are fabulous modern Persian, Tibetan, and Gabbeh rugs with an almost infinite variety of textures, patterns, swirls, geometric shapes, subtle, soft and bold designs. There are also less expensive rugs available if you search the websites of modern rug suppliers. Synthetic rugs are a viable option and are still capable of  transforming a  dull looking space into an alive and radiant atmosphere. Rugs can be manufactured from the sturdy polypropylene or cheaper, wool-like acrylic in soft and comfortable textures. A huge selection is available online and many stores offer special promo sales and substantial discounts up to 60% with free shipping.

At the end of the day, you can be confident that your family and friends will adore the sleek, fresh and new look created by the modern rugs in your home.

Please visit http://www.braidedovalrug.com to learn more about the different types of rugs that will best fit your needs and budget!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Fem_Mascenon

No, no, I´m not talking about haunted houses. I´m referring to what author Alain de Botton says in his book The architecture of happiness. According to him, there is a language buildings and objects speak when we look at them, and our fondness or distaste of them comes from the relationship we establish between those buildings and human beings whom we like or do not like. In other words, they remind us of people we´ve encountered in our life.

That happened to me when I visited Brasília, the capital of Brazil, for the first time. I was very excited I was going to see the buildings I knew housed the big decisions in this country.The Congress, the Senate, the Alvorada palace. I was going to actually be there and experience the work of architect Oscar Niemeyer, the man who designed that city, built in the 1960´s, during the government of President Juscelino Kubitschek.I was finally going to have a glimpse of what these two men thought Brazil should look and be like.

I was very disappointed when I got there. As I tried to connect with the buildings, they didn´t even try to connect with me. They were mute. Concrete giants enclosed within themselves.

That´s when I began realizing what de Botton says. Those buildings, and Brasília as a whole, for the landscape is uniform, reminded me of what I find most obnoxious in certain people, especially when they are powerful: selfishness, lack of empathy and that attitute of owning the world. In a paradox, I felt suffocated in a place where empty spaces are abundant. There are no sidewalks, there are almost no trees ( in a country full of trees), the air is dry to the point of gasping. The only positive aspect of Brasília, for me, is the people: kind, friendly, warm. And that takes me to another realization about my country.

For many decades now, Brazil has been trying to be modern, developed, respected. And in some ways we´re reaching that. But the concept of modern in the minds of our past leaders (and some present ones, too) was linked to the idea of rupturing with the past at any cost. For thecountry of the future, anything that resembled our colonial past had to go.Wood, brick, clay, intricate shapes, bright colors either resembled Europe, or the jungle, or the slave quarters. In the anxiety of finding a face in the mirror that could match the idea of new, they chose concrete. Cold, mute concrete. Had they looked more closely, they´d have seen that´s not the Brazilian face. The Brazilian face is every face. And that´s where novelty is: in diversity. Instead of wasting time and money trying to build huge concrete structures to show up to the world, they should have tried to build a fair society first.

Source: bigthink.com

You think that look is new? I saw it in the ’80s

What is the real cost of oil?

As the average price of gasoline approached $4.00 per gallon in the U.S., and as energy related disasters unfolded around the world, I began to consider the true cost of energy. There is the price posted at the pump, and in our electric bill each month. And then there is the true cost of energy. What was the cost of BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the gulf? Or the reactor meltdowns at Fukushima Daiichi in Japan?  We may never know. Talk about hidden costs. Coal fired plants produce half the nations electricity. It’s estimated that these same plants cause health related costs of $100 billion per year. A 2010 report from the Clean Air Task Force, The Toll From Coal found that, in the United States, particle pollution from existing coal power plants (caused some) 13,200 premature deaths in 2010, as well as 9,700 additional hospitalizations and some 20,000 heart attacks.

And then there is the cost of war. Can anyone really argue that our wars in the middle east are not to protect energy resources this country cannot do without. It’s offically called the war on terror, but Osama Bin Laden’s stated reason for abandoning Saudi Arabia and attacking the United States was the presence of U.S. infidels and air bases in Saudi Arabia, homeland to Mecca, the birthplace of Muhammad, founder of the Muslim religion. Why are we in Saudi Arabia? Iraq? Afghanistan? What is the turmoil all about? At the core of it all is just one thing. Energy in the form of oil reserves. And our presence in that region is to promote institutional stability so that oil can continue to flow to the United States and the rest of the world. For if that supply of oil was suddenly shut off the collapse of the world economy would follow shortly. And we thought the sub prime mortgage crisis was a problem.

So what is the cost of the war on terrorism, which, in fact, is largely a war on fanatics who believe that the U.S. should have no presence in the oil rich Muslim Holy Lands. Most sources seem to agree that the cost of the war on terror for the U.S. will be between $2 and $4 trillion dollars. That amounts to approximately $20-40,000 for each U.S. citizen. The U.S. consumes around 20,000,000 barrels of oil per day. That’s about 7.3 billion barrels a year, the cost being at around $100 per barrel or $730,000,000 of oil per annum. So each year our presence in the middle east adds hundreds of billions of dollars to the cost of oil.

And then, sadly, add to the cost of war the value of the dead and wounded. Estimates of war related deaths in Iraq vary widely from about 100,000 to more than 1,000,000. More than 5000 Americans have been killed in Iraq, and more than 30,000 wounded. How can we possibly estimate these costs?

So the true cost of oil = what we pay at pump + environmental consequences including global warming + cost of wars + cost of energy related disasters + loss of life or quality of life.

I recently read an article about the decline in popularity of CFL lightbulbs, which are three times more energy efficient with lifespans 5 to 10 times that of incandescent bulbs. I wondered why that was? Yes, CFLs cost more and there are other issues. But if you do the math, they save homeowners money and they are good for the environment because they require less energy. You would think they would be flying off the shelf. I think if people realized the true cost of the energy that was being wasted, CFLs might be more popular. For it’s clear that the cost of energy is far higher than our energy bills reflect. You may think you’re putting $4 gas into your car, but the real cost is much higher. In dollars, destruction, and death. Let’s be honest. An energy model that is carbon based clearly needs to be evaluated in terms of true cost and then compared to alternatives such as wind, solar, and even nuclear. What if instead of going to war in the middle east we put $2-4 trillion into alternative energy sources that were much more reliable than what the middle east has to offer. But we chose to spend our money on war rather then invest it in the future. Eventually carbon based energy will become too costly to be viable. But in the mean time, we owe it to ourselves, our planet, and the children of the future to invest in better technologies, to conserve where and when we can, and to make conscious decisions when it comes to choosing our source of energy.