Trilogy Partners is proud to be producing a forum as part of the Breckenridge Film Festival on Saturday, September 23!

“Merging of Entertainment and Design” brings together top industry leaders from tech, design and film to discuss how technology advances from 3D Modeling to Virtual technologies are reshaping their careers and our lives. Screen the Colorado-based short film “Who I Am” about immigrant and first generation students in Ft. Morgan, CO. Try out the brand new, not even on the market yet (!!) HP Z VR Backpacks and tour a home through Augmented Reality.

If you are interested in technology, home design and construction, filmmaking, 3D modeling and visualization or the impact that we can have on our community development planning, then this is the place to be on Saturday, September 23.

Location: South Branch Library in the Hopeful and Discovery Rooms at 103 S Harris Street in Breckenridge, CO

Date: Saturday, September 23 from 4-6pm

Email virtual@trilogybuilds.com to reserve your VIP spot as seating is limited. RSVP and share the event on Facebook.

Panelists: 

Amy Hoeven is from a small rural town on the eastern plains and is a fourth generation native of Colorado. After she graduated from CSU in 1995 with a degree in Liberal Arts, she used her Communications and Technical Journalism training to pursue a career in communications and community outreach in both the for-profit and non-profit sectors. In 2010, Amy was named Young Professional of the Year by the Fort Collins area Chamber of Commerce. Amy understands the importance of storytelling and believes everyone’s story adds value to their communities. In 2017, she was the Executive Producer of Who I Am, a Virtual Reality documentary film showcasing the work of first-generation CSU students mentoring immigrant and refugee high school students in Fort Morgan. Her ability to observe the environment around her, interact with people and recognize human connections allows her to be a compassionate and active member of society.

Jim Zafarana was with HP as Vice President and General Manager, Global Head of Workstations, Thin Clients, and Commercial Immersive, part of HP’s Personal Systems. In this role, he was responsible for business, innovation, and product strategy and execution, including Product Development, Product Management, and go-to-market strategy across the Workstations & Thin Clients worldwide. Prior to this role, Zafarana was Vice President and General Manager for the Workstation Global Business Unit, responsible for HP’s Workstation business in all market segments worldwide. Jim also has served as Vice President, Worldwide Marketing for HP’s Workstation business.

Kaden Strand is the CEO and founder of Blue Penguin VR, a custom solutions company blending software engineering, creative design, and practical problem solving to impact enterprise adoption and novel research for modern virtual and augmented reality technologies. Previously, Kaden led the cross-disciplinary Virtual Reality Initiative at Colorado State University to utilize immersive technology across research, curriculum, and outreach efforts under the CSU Vice President for Research.

Kyle Rasmussen had a dream to use his skills in journalism and media production to tell stories that could make an impact by allowing people to step into the shoes of others around the world. Kyle decided if BlueShoe Media was going to be telling stories around the world, that is exactly how it should start. He assembled a team of passionate students at Colorado State University to join him on a mission to film a full-feature documentary in India. This documentary about widows, would open the doors to a tremendous journey and make way for the dream to allow creatives with a passion to tell stories to have a place to create freely. Kyle has a heart for telling great stories and a passion for connecting with people through empathy. His dedication, commitment, and vision to tell meaningful stories is unparalleled.

Lindsey Stapay’s entrepreneurial spirit has guided many small and mid-size companies and not-for-profit organizations to not only realize their goals, but surpass expectations on many levels. Stapay has a wide-reaching vision for developing and delivering organizational messages and projects that, combined with her boundless energy and innovative ideas, makes her the perfect moderator for our discussion. Stapay graduated from Colorado State University’s 1st Construction Management and Built Environment Green Home Certificate Program. Since then she has been apart of some of the largest real estate development deals in Downtown Denver through her real estate brokerage firm of 10 years.

Michael Brightman has gained major industry recognition with his  book, “The SketchUp Workflow for Architecture” — a guide that outlines his proprietary techniques and processes for using SketchUp Pro in every phase of the professional design process. Mike also created the highly popular ConDoc Tools for SketchUp Pro extension, which expedites the creation of construction documents in SketchUp Pro. At Brightman Designs, Mike’s goal is to provide his customers with core support services based on real-world design expertise, advanced visualization resources, and collaborative training.

Michael Rath is the CEO of Trilogy Partners and has been designing and building homes in the high country and beyond for over 20 years. His Project Management Modeling™ process is becoming nationally recognized as revolutionizing the design and build experience for clients by giving them back creativity, power and cost control through visualization and precise project management.

There are different types of insulation, and when you pick insulation for your homes, you need to look at the R-value, or the thermal resistance of the insulation.

One of the most important aspects of a green building design is the insulation. Every home needs to be insulated in order to keep heat and cool air produced by your HVAC system inside and to prevent outdoor air from seeping in. This will keep your home at the level of comfort you desire while also preventing wasted energy. The following are a few things to know about insulation.

There are different types of insulation, and when you pick insulation for your homes, whether it’s for your walls, flooring, ceiling or attic spaces, you need to look at the R-value. The R-value rates the thermal resistance of the insulation. The higher it is, the better the thermal insulation will be. The thickness of the insulation as well as the make-up of it can determine its R-value. Often, the thicker it is, the higher the R-value is. The amount of insulation needed in your home depends on factors such as what your climate is, what kind of HVAC system you have, what your budget is, what parts of the home you are insulating and more.

For more information about green building materials, be sure to contact us at Trilogy Builds today.

From a distance, the new building at Lake Mohave’s Cotton wood Cove Marina looks like any other office building except that a dock leads to its front door instead of a sidewalk.But a closer look reveals that this 2,000-square-foot marina operations facility is unlike any other in the world.

In fact, according to the National Park Service and Forever Resorts, which teamed up on the project, the building is the first floating one in the world to be registered for a gold certification under LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), the international rating system created by the U.S. Green Building Council.

After a year in construction, the $660,000, eco-friendly building, which floats in the marina 13 miles east of Searchlight, was dedicated Monday.

“It was a perfect opportunity to do something monumental,” said Rod Taylor, regional vice president for Forever Resorts, concessionaire at Lake Mead National Recreation Area, which includes Lake Mohave.

What makes the building so friendly to the environment?

For starters, the decking around it is made from a composite of rice hulls and recycled plastic. The sturdy rice-hull boards come from Arkansas, where the hulls were being disposed in landfills as a waste product.

And, instead of stucco, the exterior walls consist of a waterproof, liquid paste derived from ground-up, recycled tires. The paste, an excellent insulator, was applied to a fiberglass mesh that held it in place while it dried.

“It’s like wrapping the whole building in Saran Wrap. It doesn’t crack, and you don’t have to paint it,” said Richard Walker of Errth Flex, the company that produced the material, which is expected to stay intact for at least 50 years.

Builder Ken Couverley of Covey Designs said the construction task was unlike any he has experienced because it took place on water.

“We had our challenges,” he said, noting that saws had to be equipped with vacuums to keep sawdust out of the lake.

And, all the materials had to be trucked to the lake’s edge, put on a barge and hauled over to a stage of Styrofoam floats capable of carrying the building’s weight, 220,000 pounds.

He said the office floor is a plywoodlike material called Nyloboard that is made from recycled carpet remnants with a polyurethane skin.

Joe Piedimonte, corporate controller for Ausonio Inc., a Castroville, Calif., company that coordinated the environmental rating requirements, said the building will be equipped with photovoltaics for solar power.

Combined with special lighting features and windows that allow natural light to enter work areas, the building will have a 40 percent savings in energy use, he said.

Designed by Michael Carlson, of Carlson Studio Architecture, the building uses nonpotable lake water to flush toilets. The waste is collected in a septic tank and pumped to a land-based leachate field.

National Park Service spokesman Andrew Munoz said the idea to build an eco-friendly building for marina visitors came in the aftermath of a windstorm a few years ago that destroyed the previous office and much of the marina.

The project was launched with funding from insurance money and a percentage of profits that Forever Resorts had put in a capital improvement fund.

“We said, ‘Why don’t we be on the cutting edge to make this as environmentally friendly as possible and set the example,’ ” Munoz said.

Lake Mead National Recreation Area Superintendent Bill Dickinson said the new office has set the standard for eco-friendly floating buildings. “There’s no better place than in a national park to do that.

“It was visionary team made up of private industry and government led by our partner Forever Resorts that transformed this idea into action,” he said in a statement.

Source: LVRJ.com

Hopefully, everyone was aware that this past Friday was Earth Day. Much of the annual event’s focus was to increase public awareness of ways to reduce pollution. There were also a number of community clean-ups, including one in Perry Hall, as well as public gatherings to promote more sustainable policy decisions with regard to environmental protection.

I would like to offer, however, some thoughts on what could really turn the tide in support of saving our planet. As is widely known, skyrocketing fossil fuel costs have increased the necessity for all sectors of the economy, leading industry leaders to consider ways to control their energy costs. One area with a great deal of promise is the comprehensive integration of energy efficient and environmentally-friendly practices into the maintenance and development of various structures, from business facilities to residential communities.

In 2007, as part of the New Direction for Energy Independence, National Security and Consumer Protection Act, federal government officials expressed their desire to advance this process. It involved the construction of new, energy-efficient buildings and the targeted retrofitting of energy efficient devices into existing facilities.

All levels of government have since begun to promote environmentally sustainable practices. These efforts will certainly promote energy efficiency and also stimulate the growth of a broad green jobs industry. Baltimore County, for example, has devised a sustainability strategy for government operations and is now working to create a community-wide sustainability plan. As a result of this and related state initiatives, there will be a substantial need for a green labor pool capable of meeting the workforce needs of this emerging industry.

But what exactly are green jobs? Green collar jobs are ones that focus on the conservation of natural resources, the restoration of the environment or the mitigation of pollution. Thus, green collar jobs include the installation of green roofs, the auditing of energy use for an office building, brownfields restoration, installing energy efficient retrofits in existing industrial facilities or dismantling and recycling computers. Jobs that help to promote the more efficient use of commodities (such as fuel and lumber), or help to clean up previously unusable industrial sites, certainly help to benefit both our economy and our natural surroundings.

The promotion of green jobs can simultaneously help our environment and economic viability and also create new job opportunities for unemployed or underemployed Baltimore County residents. The emerging cadre of green or environmentally-driven employment opportunities could offer many area job seekers the chance to be productively engaged in the workforce, helping them support themselves and their families financially. Additionally, as more employers integrate new energy efficient practices into their businesses, many existing jobs will become more “green” and incumbent workers will need to upgrade their skills in order to stay qualified for their jobs and retain their employment.

Policymakers and citizens at-large have made it a priority to promote a sustainable, environmentally-responsible future. Not surprisingly, there has been heightened interest on what impact these efforts may have on the job market. A 2007 study conducted by the Cleantech Network, an organization which tracks green investment, indicated that for every $100 million in venture capital targeted to green industries, approximately 250,000 new jobs could be created.  Thus, if our nation accelerated the emerging transition to a cleaner economy, millions of jobs associated with the construction of green buildings and alternative energy could be created.

As exciting as these projections may be, they will only become a reality if individual consumers change their lifestyles to include sustainable practices. New jobs—green collar, blue collar or some other color—don’t just grow on trees. Our willingness to reduce, reuse and recycle will help create the demand, which is the only sure-fire way to guarantee the creation of green jobs. These jobs could offer many area residents the chance to support themselves and their families, all while helping us to preserve our planet.

Source: PerryHallPatch.com

While conjuring up comfort in the home seems like a basic principle, it’s a far more complex process for architect & remodeling guru Sarah Susanka, who believes that comfort can significantly influence the sustainability of your personal abode. With her mantra of “build better, not bigger,” Susanka promotes quality over quantity whenremodeling a home. Through transforming your living space into a more beautiful and comfortable environment, Susanka says that any home’s occupants will automatically take better care of their space in a more sustainable way. We sat down with Susanka to get the low-down on how to do more with less when revamping your space.

TIP 1 – Re-evaluate the Space You’re Working With

Remodeling is often associated with building an addition onto a home. However, Susanka is a strong advocate of re-evaluating the space that your home already contains and working within that original floor plan whenever possible. As she says, it’s important to ask yourself how you can make your existing house more tailored to the way you live. Instead of jumping ahead and planning a structural addition without any thorough thought, take a moment to consider whether or not you could work within the space you already have available. Ask yourself these questions: Do you really need more space? How much space do you need to be comfortable in your home? Can you borrow from the adjacent space to conjure the extra square footage you need? Then, as a last resort, consider a bump out or a small addition.

Unfortunately, most people start at the last resort instead of first weighing the other more economical and quality-generating options. Remodeling can be a difficult and often stressful project, so if you doubt anything along the way, look into hiring a professional to assist in the process. As Susanka says, “When we are having surgery, we normally don’t do it ourselves. Remodeling your home is one of the most expensive investments of a lifetime so we want it done well.” If you are in the market for a pro that understands Susanka’s philosophy on renovation, check out her Home Professional Directory for an expert in your area.

TIP 2 – Get an Energy Audit

When you start engaging in a remodeling project, one of the first things to check off the list is an energy audit. This helps you identify some of the most cost effective ways to make your home more sustainable, and those shifts can easily be incorporated into the changes throughout the rest of the renovation process.

Susanka tells Inhabitat that 20% of carbon emissions come from existing housing stock. By incorporating energy audits into the renovation process, not only will you end up with economical savings, but you will also contribute to the larger home emissions issue. This will help make your home easier to maintain as well as reduce your carbon footprint. It’s a win-win situation for both you and the environment!

TIP 3 – Invest in Quality Over Quantity

When you get home and enter a space that exudes quality and character, you automatically feel more at home. On the other hand, if you go overboard with quantity because it’s the knee-jerk response to generate change, you end up with a lot of uninspiring stuff. What Susanka reiterates throughout her books is the importance of utilizing the space you have to its highest potential. By creating a room that’s comfortable to be in, we are motivated to care for and sustain its beauty. Instead of tossing dollars around to quantify space, use your budget to induce quality elements that address your particular needs and aesthetics.

Ask yourself what will add more of your own personality into your space. What colors, shapes, or artwork do you enjoy looking at? Which rooms do you spend the majority of your time in? Do you have good heating and cooling systems that maintain a comfortable atmosphere in your home? These thought-generating questions will help you determine the best ways to approach the concept of quality over quantity.

TIP 4 – Use Lighting to Amplify Perspective

The way you introduce light into a space can have an enormous effect on an environment, hugely improving its quality and character. Susanka can’t say enough about how reflective surfaces can influence rooms throughout your abode. Reflective surfaces help bounce light around, augmenting the presence of natural light within a space.

One less obvious way to do this is by adding a built-in bookshelf near a window. The shelving edges act as reflective surfaces, bouncing extra light into the room.

Another option is to place a window adjacent to a perpendicular wall, instead of in its typical central location; that wall then becomes a reflective surface as well. Finally, placing soffits above windows can help transfer light into a room. All of these alternative lighting sources help with the ambiance and feel of a space.

TIP 5 – Enhance Your Space With Color

The way the light falls on different colors can completely transform a room. Determine the most important wall in each room — the place to which you want to draw peoples’ attention — and paint it to your heart’s desire.

This is the point in remodeling that can allow for personal freedom of expression in your home. Susanka points out that there’s no need to be shy in this process; be creative and experiment with a variety of colors to sense how they each make you feel in the space. Paint large pieces of paper in all the colors you could imagine and even all the colors that you’d never expect to use. You might just find that the brightest or most unexpected shade fits perfectly on your favorite wall.

Images from Sarah Susanka and Mark Vassallo’s book, Not So Big Remodeling, published by Taunton Press in 2009; by photographer Randy O’Rourke.

Green Remodeler – Sarah Susanka

Sarah Susanka, FAIA, is the leader of a movement that is redefining the American home and lifestyle. Through her “build better, not bigger” approach to residential design she has demonstrated that the sense of “home” we seek has to do with quality, not quantity.  A thought leader and acclaimed architect, Susanka is the best-selling author of nine books that collectively weave together home and life design, revealing that a “Not So Big” attitude serves not only architectural aims, but life goals as well.  Her books have sold well over one million copies.  Susanka’s most recent book, More Not So Big Solutions for Your Home, was released in February, 2010.  Join her online community at www.notsobig.com.

Article taken from Inhabitat – Green Design Will Save the World – http://inhabitat.com
URL to article: http://inhabitat.com/5-tips-for-a-green-home-remodel-from-eco-architect-sarah-susanka/

Michael Rath

CEO and Director of Design Development

• Year Joined Trilogy: 1998
• Position: CEO and Director of Design Development
• Education: Williams College, Cornell University
• Experience: Has been the owner of Trilogy, Designing and Building homes for nearly two decades.
• Other work Experience: Financial Markets, Independent Film Making in New York
• Favorite Things: Happy Clients, unique projects and creativity, Colorado when it’s warm and Hawaii when it isn’t. Running and biking the trails of the 10 Mile Range.
• Best Trilogy Moment: Finishing our first house and selling it the next day. WE WERE IN BUSINESS.
• The best thing I’ve learned is: Think outside the box. Always. Create, don’t repeat.
• Where do you want to be in 5 years: Here, there, and everywhere designing great homes, working with amazing clients, finding just the right piece of furniture in a market in Bali.