Potential of ADUs

Developing Environmentally Responsive Building Approaches

SESSION FOUR - RECORDED OCTOBER 21ST, 2020

Every new construction project is an opportunity to incorporate the best building methods and materials possible, creating buildings that are better for human and environmental health and more resilient. In this session we look at practices to measure environmental and health impacts, minimize harm, and beyond—toward revitalizing the places materials are sourced from and where they land, especially in ADUs.

We want to create healthy, environmentally-friendly homes of all sizes and meet an acute housing need, while also creating thriving communities and a thriving planet. Is it possible? Here we welcome three different perspectives on natural, low-carbon materials and their applications, to offer ideas of what’s possible.

Learn more about this series here.

Hosted by:

Ray Boyle

Build It Green

Ray has spent the last 15 years exploring how to build regenerative and inclusive cities. She’s currently a Board Member for Build it Green, and pursuing a Masters of City and Regional Planning at UC Berkeley.

Guest Speakers:

Massey Burke

California Straw Building Association

As Co-Director of CASBA, Massey works with cities, counties and the state to make building with straw bales an accepted form of construction throughout California.

“How do you capture co-benefits in a lifecycle analysis form? How do you capture regenerative supply chains and reorient this technical document to that reality?”

– Massey Burke

David Mar

Mar Structural Design

David is both a structural engineer and owner of Mar Structural Design, an award-winning, mission-driven, firm on the forefront of performance-based seismic design and sustainable design.

“I appreciate all the consideration that goes into material choices. There’s an environmental karma [Cash] is describing for us. I think people with more choice will make better choices if we understand what the impacts are.”

– David Mar

Cash East

Higg Co.

Cash works at Higg Co. to deliver a common language for sustainability to empower businesses to protect the well-being of factory workers, local communities, and the environment.

“Understanding the function and the context of materials is such a critical piece. For example, how does using more durable materials that add lifetime to the product affect the overall carbon or water footprint? How does the durability affect the end of life or the recyclability of (the product)?”

– Cash East

Action steps you can take

Learn more about Life Cycle Analyses (LCAs). Check out Higg Co.’s Material Sustainability Index (MSI), a cradle-to-gate material assessment tool created for all the materials you would find in the fashion industry, and MIT’s Concrete Sustainability Hub for building material LCA resources.
Attend a natural building material workshop. Check in with natural building organizations like CASBA, StrawBale.com, EcoNest, or Natural Building Alliance.
Consider natural building materials or processes for your next project.

Check out Ecological Building Network’s BuildWell Source, an online user-built library of low-carbon building materials.
Learn more about David Mar’s engineering and seismic testing for straw bale vaulted ceilings and load-bearing plastered straw bale walls.
StrawBale.com also offers a good introduction to building with straw-bale.

Be intentional with your material choices. Explore the packaging, supply chain, and ingredients. Are there other options? Compare them to each other and think about the impact your purchase will make.