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Earth Day Musings

Taking care of our planet is more than a once-a-year obligation. Some of us do a wonderful job; others fail miserably.

Penny Bonda -- Interior Design, 4/24/2007 12:38:00 PM

Since first established by Senator Gaylord Nelson in 1970, Earth Day has become a one-day celebration of our planet. Though not nearly adequate, this recognition serves to focus attention on this place that we and millions of other species call home.

I’m spending this Earth Day in Cannon Beach, Oregon, a truly lovely place, but my visit here has been bittersweet. The highway from Portland winds through mountainous forests of mostly Douglas fir sprinkled with the diversity of species expectedly and abundantly found in nature. And then it’s gone—huge swathes of land clear-cut, laying open the bare soil with tree stubs the only evidence of plant and animal habitats that once lived there. Though I’ve been aware of the insidious encroachment of lenient forestry laws in recent years, it’s jarring to see it—whole mountaintops naked and exposed—first one and then, around the bend, another, and another.

Clear cutting is just plain wrong, not only because of its ugliness but as these old-growth forests are replaced by monolithic tree farms they become susceptible to pests and disease and, consequently, unsustainable. It’s also unnecessary. Responsible forestry practices are doable as defined by the Forest Stewardship Council( FSC), the only credible forest certification system. It is the duty of each of us in the design and construction of buildings to reject irresponsible logging practices and support FSC certified wood through our purchases and specifications.

The oh-so-sweet side of my Oregon visit was a tour of a remarkable home—the product of an enviable collaboration between owner, architectural, interior and landscape designers and an as-good-as-they-come contractor. Built on a cliff overlooking the “haystack” rocks of Cannon Beach, the house is a drop-dead gorgeous example of green building at its most profound.

Though simple in design, architect Nathan Good incorporated a vegetative roof and a photovoltaic system that contribute to the net-zero energy usage of the home. Walls are constructed of Durisol ICFblock made from recycled wood chips, Portland cement and wool insulation. The only PVC in the home is used for electrical wiring sheathing. Interior designer Georgia Erdenberger, along with her landscape architect husband George, incorporated other green features including citrus based wood sealers on the floors and timbers, natural fresco painted wall finishes and, most remarkably, boulders and stones hand-selected from Columbia Gorge and dramatically used as both functional and decorative elements.

One of the greatest impacts of the house, both visually and environmentally, is its use of wood. Mindful of Oregon’s treasured and endangered forests, the design team specified sustainably harvested FSC certified products for the concrete formwork, interior wall framing, roof structure and cabinetry. Wind-fallen trees were used for the interior heavy-timber framing of the loft and archways, the Douglas fir flooring and stair treads, while some of the trim was milled from logs salvaged from the nearby Columbia River. Six tree-truck columns came from the Collins Pine FSC forests. It’s guaranteed that not one stick of lumber for this home came from those clear-cut mountaintops.

The environmental values for this project were driven by the clients who, in their words, “chose to accept responsibility for our personal impact and take whatever measures we can to eliminate that impact.” They became committed to this mission in every aspect of design and construction, fine-tuning it into an ongoing process that continues long after the building phase has been completed. One of their more uncommon goals is to educate others and provide a “how to” that will inspire a new model of sustainably built homes. For example, they rejected going off the grid and opted for heating, ventilation and power systems that could be realistically implemented.

I am heartened by the story of this home especially since I so often hear the other side—green design is too hard, too expensive, too time-consuming, too whatever. So many of the strategies used in this project are easily and affordably replicable and the lessons learned are invaluable. First, no matter what size your project assemble your team early and get everyone’s buy-in. Then set your goals high, strive to achieve them and find yourself a green-savvy contractor. The Cannon Beach team gives general contractor Rich Elstrom a lot of the credit for its success. In fact, the project earned him the National Association of Home Builders’ Green Builder of the Year award in 2005.

The dichotomy between the sorry state of the Oregon forestry practices and the noteworthy achievements of this project calls to mind Henry David Thoreau who asked, "What is the use of a house if you haven't got a tolerable planet to put it on?" An insightful query on Earth Day, and every day.