By Dan Estabrook - September 12, 2008
I have been remiss in the past couple of weeks recognizing our designated "town of the week" so I'd like to do so today. Tonic's "Town of the Week" goes to...envelope please...
Portola Valley, California!
This Sunday, the town (located not far from Tonic's offices in Palo Alto) will open its new town center which has won a Platinum rating for the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design award to be issued by the U.S. Green Building Council.
The new center is amazing - here's the list of ingredients that has led to this highest rating and award:
Redwood siding is reclaimed timber and logs, stuff that washes up on beaches, from Northern California.
Douglas-fir on walls and latticework ceilings was reclaimed from roofing lumber for the old school buildings, taken off-site and milled.
Upper beams are reclaimed from the old school buildings.
Decorative tree trunks on posts are from diseased alders taken down on-site.
Countertops in the library are old beams from school multi-use building milled in half. Branches of trees are used as decorative posts.
Concrete in the foundations and walls is a slag mix recovered from old smokestacks. The mix cuts by half the carbon footprint of normal concrete.
All framing and window wood and plywood from off-site is Forest Stewardship Council-certified Douglas-fir.
Solar panels on the library and community hall should provide nearly all electricity.
Dashboard in the library will display energy usage in real time.
Flooring is eucalyptus from trees felled and milled in Woodside.
Insulation in exterior walls is recycled newsprint.
Insulation in interior walls is ground-up blue jeans.
Lighting is high-efficient fluorescent.
Double-hung wooden windows open for natural air conditioning.
Oversize windows face south. Screens protect against heat.
Native plants.
Two stands of "cathedral growth" redwood trees, and old valley oaks left intact.
Capped-off culvert pipe is planned for storing 44,000 gallons of water from roof runoff.
Ground up blue jeans for insulation. Genius!
Via San Francisco Chronicle
Tonic Town of the Week is a Friday feature at Tonic News. If you would like to make a nomination (of any town in the solar system), please send an email to dan[at]tonic.com.
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