Page 3 - Sustainable Life - December 19th 2013

Pamplin Media Group Thursday, December 19, 2013
SustainableLife
SuStainablelife C3

pants made the Portland bird
count the largest in the United States, second only to Edmon-
ton, Canada in the Americas.
Down&Dirty
Beginning birders are wel- come.
To sign up or learn more: http://audubonportland.org/lo-
cal-birding/cbc.
Pitching in
A respite from shopping
for the Environment
Looking for some community Architect Stuart
service, instead of another day Emmons, who designed this Party with other de-nailers
at the mall, before Christmas?
Try a community cleanup home on Southeast Here’s something construc-
and grafiti removal project in Northwest Portland, as part of Holgate tive, er ... deconstructive, to help you work off that holiday ham:
SOLVE’s Third Saturday Clean- Boulevard and 97th Ave. in Join The Rebuilding Center for
up on Saturday, Dec. 21, from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m.
Portland, igures a December De-Nailing Party.
Volunteers will help take
Meet at Elephant’s Deli, at 115 he can make modular housing apart building materials to keep
N.W. 22nd Ave., next-door to the Goodwill.
for the homeless them out of the waste stream and prepare them for re-use.
Volunteers are invited to stick around after the event for at $40,000 per unit.
The Rebuilding Center, a project of the nonprofit Our
some coffee and conversation.
PAMPLIN
United Villages, diverts about
For more information, and to register in advance, check out MEDIA GROUP: JONATHAN HOUSE
eight tons of building material from landfills each day. Used
http://www.solv.org/get-in- volved/events/december-third- Portland architect designs building materials are sold to the public or donated to commu-
saturday-south-cleanup.
nity projects.
Ivy removal squad
prefabs for the homeless
The de-nailing party takes place from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sat-
Join a No Ivy League work urday, Dec. 28, at the center on 3625 N. Mississippi Ave., in
party at Portland’s venerable North Portland. To sign up, go to
Forest Park, from 8:45 a.m. to noon. Saturday, Dec. 21.
www.ouvvolunteers.org and ap- ply as an event volunteer.
Volunteers will take a short hike to an off-trail site to remove Modular homes more What is modular For more information, con- tact Dave Lowe, volunteer coor-
English ivy. This is a dirty job, eficient to build,
dinator, at 503-467-4986 or volun-
so be prepared with grubby, long-sleeved clothing and boots. cut down on waste
construction?
teer@ourunitedvillages.org.
Gloves and tools provided.
By JOSEPH GALLIVAN
According to the Modu- Birds count
Meet at the Lower Macleay Field House at the park, 2960 For Pamplin Media Group
lar Building Institute, it’s a process of building off Join a one-day volunteer
N.W. Upshur Ave.
For more information: Many people have fanta- site, under controlled plant conditions, using “bird count” with the Portland Audubon Society between 7 a.m.
www.portlandoregon.gov/ sized about housing home- the same materials
and 5 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 4.
parks/article/472453
less people in surplus ship- ping containers. Portland ar- and designed to the same codes and standards as Spend the day or even just an hour watching birds to help
Down and Dirty offers ways Port- land-area residents can take part chitect Stuart Emmons went down that route, too, but conventionally built facili- ties — but in about half broaden our knowledge of bird life in the Portland area.
in environmental stewardship and thinks he’s found a better the time.
It’s part of an annual Christ-
related activities.
If your organization has an activity idea: factory-made modular buildings.
PAMPLIN MEDIA GROUP: JOSEPH GALLIVAN Structurally, they are gen- erally stronger than conven- mas Count tradition started in Portland in 1926. Similar bird
to promote, please email stevelaw In 2009, Emmons saw stu- dent accommodations in Am- Emmons hopes to build his I’mHome modular units, assembly-line
style, at this Blazer lndustries plant in Aumsville, near Salem.
tional construction, because each module is engineered counts will occur around the country between Dec. 14 and
@portlandtribume.com, and use a subject line of Down and Dirty.
sterdam and a Chinese-owned to withstand the rigors of Jan. 5. It’s the longest-running
hotel in London made of steel shipping containers, the kind transportation and craning onto foundations.
tion waste.
Emmons previously designed
had these buildings fall off a trailer on the freeway and “citizen science project” in North America.
that go from ship to train to It’s easier to achieve qual- the small, nine-unit Kah San they’re ine; we just load them In last year’s Portland bird
truck.
“They’re OK for a cool ofice ity control of the construc- tion process. Materials can Chako Haws affordable hous- ing project next to the Native back on.”
There’s no doubt that modu- count, 238 volunteers observed birds in the ield, and another
or student dorm,” Emmons says, “but they’re too narrow to be safely stored in a ware- house to prevent damage or American Youth and Family Center in East Portland. Units lar building is on the rise, be- cause it’s cheap and practical. 152 watched visitors to local bird feeders. Together, they
Help people in need by be compliant with the Ameri- deterioration from moisture range from tiny, 375-square- The B2 housing tower in Brook- counted 130 species, a record
donating blood today!
cans with Disabilities Act.” There’s no way to include an or other elements.
Removing most construc- foot studios to modest 835-square-foot two bedrooms.
lyn, with some 930 units, will be the largest modular building in number here. Those 390 partici-
ADA-compliant bathroom with toilet, sink and shower and al- tion activity from the ulti- mate building site reduces For homeless people, Em- mons wanted to design some- the world. Swedish company Skanska is building all 32 loors nable
low room for doors to swing on-site disruption, construc- thing that would be more af- of the steel-framed units at the Sustai
open, he says.
So Emmons looked for an- tion safety hazards and vehicle traffic. Efficient fordable, and sustainably repro- duced, than Bud Clark Com-
Brooklyn Navy Yard.
In Sweden, Ikea and Skanska Lifestyles
other way to pro-
vide super-afford-
building techniques can re- sult in energy savings and mons in Portland’s Old Town.
have teamed up for BoKlok, a prefab living unit that comes
able housing in a
reduced construction waste, “At $213,000 per fully decked out from the Ikea
inherent advantages when it comes to sustainability.
financially and environmentally
bed, that just set me off,” he says. “I Listen to, “Pet Nutrition & News with Chip Sammons” catalog.
Bonnie Serkin is a developer
sustainable fash-
ion. He thinks he
like Bud Clark Commons, but we every Saturday morning from 8 - 9 on KPAM 860 AM.
n Emmons’ Kah San and modular enthusiast. She and her husband own and man-
Ikea. Even the packaging is ig- found it in Aums-
only took 220 peo- Chako Haws project: www.emmonsdesign. age 3,000 acres near Newport
ured out in the most eficient way. It’s all pre-engineered. ville, where his
modular home-
ple off the street.” He figures there com/kah-san.html Modular Building and are building a sustainable village called Wilder. So far, s Dir
And you get a bed for $149. less units will be
are 19,000 people n Institute: www.modu- they have built three prefabri- 1 SL Bu
Why can’t we take that idea to the construction industry?”
made. In a factory
under controlled
homeless in Mult- nomah County, in- “he Health Food Store For Pets”
15599 SE 82nd Drive, Clackamas @ I-205 & Hwy 212 • 503-656-5342 lar.org/HtmlPage. aspx?name=why_ cated cottages from panels. Serkin insists upon sustainable 95.03171
Susan Emmons (no relation to Stuart) is director of the conditions, bath-
rooms and kitch-
cluding those on the streets, couch Hours: M - F 10 - 6 and Sat. 10 - 4 • www.holisticpetcenter.com
National Holistic Pet Store of the Year
modular
design while trying to keep prices down.
379.2
Northwest Pilot Project, which ens are installed,
surfers, and others
Awarded by Pet Product News!
Prefabs save on building
provides services to elderly and poor people in danger of and paint and carpeting are added. Units are assembled living 10-deep in one-bedroom apartments
time, which saves money, she says. “There’s none of that $1.00 OFF 422566.041813 SL
homelessness. “We are in dire need of housing,” she says. like Legos, and the electrical and plumbing lines are hooked The Kah San Chako Haws modules cost around $190,000 scheduling nightmare with the trades and inspections,” she
“There’s a shortage of 20,000 together in a few hours.
each unit, but Emmons says says. The money saved can be
units for people at 30 percent of median income. That could be Emmons designed a 265-square-foot mini-studio the price will drop as his manu- facturer, Blazer Industries of put into sustainable features.
a family of four, people on lim- ited Social Security, or veter- apartment for homeless singles called I’mHome, with a living Aumsville, makes more.
Learning from Steve Jobs
Emmons has architecture PURCHASE OF $5.00 OR MORE
ans on a pension. We’re not room and bathroom. It has Modular coffee shops?
degrees from the Pratt Insti-
developing much housing for those people.”
been priced at $40,000 per unit, fully furnished down to the As Emmons walks through Blazer’s tidy facility on a fall tute of New York and Harvard. He started in woodworking and Exp: 1/24/14
SUS-029 Redeemable ONLY at:
She’d like the emphasis to be light bulbs. To cut costs, it just afternoon, he greets journey- cabinet companies before ris- 13 SL
The Healthy Bread Store
at Killer Breadquarters
on creating a building that is possible to live in. “I’d like to has a microwave and refrigera- tor instead of a full kitchen.
men carpenters working on modular classrooms, single- ing as an architect, eventually doing the master plan for Port- 43.12195209 SE International Way
see a design for a housing unit that can be easily replicated “The idea is to get people off the streets, where they are family homes and bathroom blocks for state parks. The land’s South Waterfront.
His bread and butter is big- 4269M M
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but that is also habitable.”
warm, safe, dry and can keep company also makes buildings ticket remodels for West Hills
Stuart Emmons thinks he’s got something that its the bill. their dignity,” Emmons says.
The I’mHome units have on- you may have seen at strip malls. Who knew your local residents. But as the Great Re- cession hit his practice, he
But so far, he says, his modular homes are getting more inter- ly been out on the market for two months, and Emmons has Starbucks, or that Goodwrench Quick Lube, were craned into wanted to do something differ- ent for the homeless.
est from Seattle and San Fran- pitched the design to folks in place from the back of a truck?
He settled on modular Offer excludes Sin Dawgs, merchandise, and all non-DKB items.
cisco than Portland.
Spokane, Seattle, San Francis- co, Philadelphia and Portland. Blazer’s finance manager Brent Buchheit points out that homes.
“When Steve Jobs wanted an Limit one coupon per household per day. Cannot be combined with any other offer.
He’s hoping to make his irst sales soon.
his staff work quickly because they are out of the rain, and Apple showroom 10 years ago, he built a full-scale prototype
Modular building advocates Blazer uses better-quality ma- in a warehouse in Cupertino, Whole Grain Store
say it’s an inherently more sus- tainable technique. It’s more terials than the average manu- factured-home maker.
where they worked everything out — lights, furniture — then Restaurant & Bakery
eficient, requiring less energy and producing less construc-
“They’re earthquake-proof too,” Buchheit says. “We’ve
mass-produced it around the world,” Emmons says. “It’s like
Breakfast & Lunch

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