Once a month our firm holds a “Topics and Snacks” event. These are one-hour in-house presentations of topics covering social, environmental, and technical subjects as they relate to architecture. Recently, Alisa introduced Stalled!  to our group, who describe themselves as follows:

“Stalled! takes as its point of departure national debates surrounding transgender access to public restrooms to address an urgent social justice issue: the need to create safe, sustainable and inclusive public restrooms for everyone regardless of age, gender, race, religion and disability. Stalled! addresses this issue through lectures and workshops, writings and interviews, design guidelines and prototypes.”

After watching the video, we discussed our initial reactions and thoughts about this approach, including reflecting on recent projects that we have had where bathrooms were modified or redesigned. A bulk of our questions and discussion was centered around urinals; do you have them, do you forgo them, and if you have some toilet and some urinal stalls how do you go about identifying which is which? We shared our thoughts on safety, privacy, equitable access, and of course, plumbing walls. We all agreed that design should be inclusive, accessible, and responsive to all users and saw this approach by Stalled! as a wonderful resource for designers and architects to suggest inclusive solutions and push this conversation forward and to encourage our clients to create great spaces for all users.

Shortly after our presentation, I was in a middle school and saw an inclusive restroom in action. I personally used a restroom to get a sense of how it felt and what I noticed about the experience. It was very private and felt secure, the door hardware had occupancy indicators (uncommon in multi-user restrooms) so it was very clear which stalls were or weren’t available for use. The extra wide clear space in between the restroom stalls and the wash area felt spacious and I could see how people of any variety of physical abilities, or those who are acting as caregivers for others, would benefit from the extra “elbow room” to move in and out of the space.

Before leaving the site, I asked one of the administrators about the restroom and what the students and teachers thought of the layout. They had glowing reviews about how much the school community enjoys this set up. Issues of bullying, “hiding out” from class, and any other “inappropriate behavior” had all decreased; the function of the space took precedence and they commented that everyone seems to feel comfortable in using the space. As identified in the HCMA Designing for Inclusivity document, the school found that these restrooms were:

• Inclusive for people with disabilities
• Inclusive for families
• Inclusive for transgender and non-binary people
• Increased privacy and safety
• Increased efficiency
• Forward-thinking design

We are inspired by this approach and will be looking for opportunities to design inclusive, all-user restrooms to remove barriers and support the progress of the normalization of this solution for all. We encourage you to consider it as well!

Additional Reading:

• Why Architects Must Rethink Restroom Designs in Schools
• Inclusive Restroom Design Guide
• Designing for Inclusivity

The post Designing Inclusive Restrooms appeared first on Convergence Architecture.

Once a month our firm holds a “Topics and Snacks” event. These are one-hour in-house presentations of topics covering social, environmental, and technical subjects as they relate to architecture. Recently, I led a 20-minute talk about the more challenging aspects of our profession – communicating effectively through drawings. Drawings are an Architect’s primary tool for telling a builder what goes where and a client how and why the design is their solution. It was a fun presentation and, as it turned out, quite interactive. My approach was to introduce some errors in a construction detail that may pass the casual glance but under closer scrutiny contains some errors that, at best look silly, and at worst cost a project real money.

Here is one example. Can you spot the mistakes? After you take a look, scroll down to see the answers below.

Answers:

• Symbol Location: Finish floor level is in the wrong place.
• Spelling: Cast not “Cask”
• Spelling: Structural not “Sturctural”
• Info Error: R-84 is an extremely high insulative value. Fiberglass insulation has an average R value of 3.2 per inch. That means this insulation is 26″ thick! That won’t work
• Info Error: 8″ thick gypsum board is simply wrong. Boards are typically 1/2″ or 5/8″ thick.
• Graphical Error: 1/2″ dimension on the left is out of place and not needed.
• Info Verify: Is “ESR 1153” in the notes correct or real? Someone should check!
• The 2-hr option is missing an approved assembly reference.

Exercises like these are just one way that we continue learning and  growing in our profession, both as individuals and as a firm.

The post Success is in the Details appeared first on Convergence Architecture.

A quick refresher, what is cob construction?

What’s changed, what’s the update?

What can you do to help push Cob further?

The post Cob and Codes – A 2021 Update  appeared first on Convergence Architecture.

Written by Diana Delgado

Hello! I am Diana Delgado part owner of CE Engineers.  CE Engineers is a father-daughter owned Electrical Engineering firm based in Portland, Oregon.  Electrical engineering is a very broad field, but we specialize in Electrical Power Distribution Design, Power Studies for Facilities (Arc Flash Studies, Short Circuit Studies, Protective Device Coordination, etc.) and Controls and Instrumentation Engineering.

Out of all the services we provide arc flash studies are my favorite.  It’s easy to take a facility’s electrical system for granted, and typically it is not replaced until something goes wrong. We come across sites where the building has been remodeled or renovated several times over the past 2-4 decades, but the main distribution board and panels remain original to the facility (over 30+ years old).  This always amazes me since we rely so heavily on electricity to power our lights, computers, phones, HVAC units, data centers, etc.  If a main electrical component stops working, a site or part of the site can be out of service for several hours if not days. In the process of performing an arc flash study we get to analyze the electrical system of a facility and find any deficiencies and help come up with solutions.

The post Guest Post – Electrical Engineering appeared first on Convergence Architecture.

After attending the International Mass Timber Conference this past March, and in particular a session entitled: Sustainable Wood from Sustainable Forests with Mike Cloughsey the Director of Forestry with the Oregon Forest Research Institute, there appeared two major takeaways concerning forest management and public perception.

For architects and engineers to be comfortable using wood products at the scale of mass timber, they must not only understand the benefits of wood as a material, but also the principles of sustainable forest management and the methods of regulations and forest certification. Focusing first on sustainable principles of forest management, the stated goal is “managing forests to create present and future benefits while meeting present and future needs.” These needs are ecological, economic, and social. Underneath this banner of Stewardship, there are four S’s which encapsulate the benefits of proper management:

1. Sequester: Forests sequester carbon. According to the 2021 International Mass Timber Report, in the United States alone, forests store more than 14 billion metric tons of carbon (excluding Alaska and Hawaii).
2. Store: Wood products store carbon. In the Pacific Northwest roughly 1,900 pounds of carbon or carbon equivalent is stored per cubic meter of lumber produced (2021 Mass Timber Report).
3. Substitute: Wood is a clean substitute to other common building materials like steel and concrete, which have a higher carbon output in their creation and don’t store any carbon during their life cycle.
4. Sustain: Ensuring long-term forests allows for present and future generations to enjoy and benefit from timber.

While architects and engineers intimately familiar with the construction process may understand the benefits of timber, there are still public misconceptions about the use of wood. Forest regulation and certification go hand in hand with clearing misconceptions and fostering transparency. Trees are a renewable building material, but one of the biggest barriers to market-wide use of timber is the idea that trees should be preserved at all costs. Proper forest management balances harvest and growth, to avoid becoming forest-mining. The current difficulty is overcoming the assumption that cutting any tree down is a bad thing. A similar issue of public perception involves techniques like clear-cutting. Trees like Douglas Firs grow best in even-aged stands and practices like clear cutting mimic natural growth after a forest fire. While this may seem damaging at first, sustainable management requires planting seedlings after this logging. Lastly, instituted forest certification builds trust and accountability in both timber producers and consumers within the construction industry.

Three major forest certification programs stand out in the Pacific Northwest and have various labels which are applied to lumber through adherence to principles concerning forest retention, harvest size, and use of chemicals. The numbers for these certifications were provided by Mike Cloughesy with the Oregon Forest Resources Institute.

• Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) an international program certifying 35 million acres in U.S. and 20,000 in OR
• Sustainable Forestry Initiative, a US and Canada program certifying 67 million acres and 3.8 million in OR
• American Tree Farm System, a US Only program certifying 28 million acres and 700,000 in OR

If mass timber is to take its place as a renewable, safe, and aesthetic material in the public eye, the way forward is advocating and understanding forestry management principles and the certification of harvest in forests that are so beloved and important to their communities.

The post Sustainable Forest Management and Public Perception appeared first on Convergence Architecture.

If you thought about the Americans with Disabilities Act, then you were correct!

From the International Code Council:

“Today’s buildings and community venues are far more accommodating of occupants needs and accessible to a greater segment of the population — The ADA is a wide-ranging, revolutionary piece of civil rights legislation that covers access, provides protection and expands opportunities for individuals with disabilities by reducing barriers in places of employment, state and local government services, public accommodations, transportation, commercial facilities, telecommunications and the built environment. The law ensures equal access to buildings and facilities and that people with disabilities have the same rights and opportunities as everyone else. Curbs, doors, stairs, signage and employment laws have been revised across the country in response to the measure.”

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was signed into law by President George H. W. Bush, on July 26, 1990. The bill had been in development for four years prior (primarily by the National Council on Disability – an independent federal agency), and the International Code Council (ICC). The ICC had been regularly incorporating accessibility provisions into the code since the mid-1970’s, with the first accessibility standard being published in 1961. Even more importantly, the passage of the ADA was the culmination of years upon years of struggle and activism by people with disabilities to establish and protect basic rights that so many were denied.

It can be hard to imagine that the guidelines that we so readily follow industry-wide today are relatively new to the world of architecture and to our built environment. Or, that so many struggled for so long before these specifications were developed and implemented. While we happily complete accessibility reviews and design based on current ADA requirements, we appreciate the need to increase the application of ADA standards in existing built spaces, as well as the need for ADA requirements to better address the full range of physical abilities to continue our country’s progress toward being truly equitable and accessible for all.

The post July 26, 1990 appeared first on Convergence Architecture.

One aspect of our practice is collaborating on large, engineering heavy projects. We made this video to help promote our firm and the work that we’ve done in partnership with engineering firms and while working in the engineering sector. We have never created video content before, and so this was a big first! Some of the more interesting things about this video:

• Everything was done in-house; from script writing to graphics, sound and recording, to editing.
• It was completely created during the COVID-19 outbreak – so we really got to exercise our collaboration and communication skills since each person working on this was doing so remotely.
• Allen’s son, Peter (age 12), was instrumental in our success of being able to create a finished product.
• Peter was able to use a program and his experience from digital arts class to put the video together. He used iMovie for video editing and recorded the audio using the same equipment that professionals use!
• Peter and his friends have formed their own “label” and that’s their logo at the end.

We’re a team of architects and designers, so this promotional project was quite the adventure. But, it really is proof in the pudding that when we put our minds on something, we figure it out and make it happen! We hope that you enjoy the results of our efforts.

The post Our First Promotional Video! appeared first on Convergence Architecture.

In October 2019, I was able to attend an event at the AIA of Portland called: “Making the Financial Case for Net Zero”. The event was a part of Sustainable Building Week 2019 and featured a number of speakers, each experts in their fields.  It’s always difficult to succinctly summarize events like these, because there is just so much information given and everyone has different things that they feel more drawn to or that are bigger priorities to them. That being said, I’ll do my best to share my thoughts and what I learned from this talk.

The first speaker was Matt Hyder, an Energy Consultant at RWDI. Matt began by discussing how buildings that are constructed today will be in use as we begin to experience more and more effects of climate change in the next 50+ years. He spoke of mitigation methods, the Energy Code, Net Zero, and Conservation. He suggested planning ahead, we need to adapt to/ prepare for the changing climate zones. For instance, Portland is currently a 4C climate (Mixed Marine) but 50 years from now, it will be a 3A climate (Warm Humid) – as a reference point, Atlanta, GA and Dallas, TX are both 3A climates now. For the purposes of this study, Matt and his team ran scenarios of the Kellogg School project, and did a model comparison. Option one: Build a High Performance Passive system. Option two: Build a High Performance Active system.

I interpreted this data as to say, you don’t need to spend large amounts on all of the bells and whistles of a high tech mechanical system. A well done passive building can be just as (if not more) effective in heating and cooling. All buildings require the basics of walls, windows and insulation. By choosing high quality and high performance versions of these pieces, the client will save on energy and operating costs in the long term – for the life of the structure.

The next speaker was Nicole Holt of SERA Architects, she volunteers with Zero Energy Ready Oregon. Zero Energy Ready Oregon (ZERO) is comprised of volunteers from 32 organizations, and was created in response to Executive Order 17-20, which has energy efficiency standard requirements to be in place by 2023. ZERO creates educational and communication tool kits, makes Policy and Energy Code recommendations, and works on Zero Energy design funding.

The numbers are pretty compelling. Clearly, if you have a Zero Energy home, you may feel like you’re spending a lot upfront, but that initial investment will more than pay for itself in cost savings in under 15 years… better yet, it’s not as if the savings expire, the ROI continues on for the life of the home. Note: Zero Energy Homes are not just new construction, existing homes can be retrofitted to be Net Zero.

Speaking of retrofitting, the next speaker was Kevin Bates, of Sharp Development. Kevin has made quite the splash down in California, taking typical 1960’s warehouse buildings and turning them into energy saving powerhouses.

Kevin is a developer and is interested in keeping his costs low and seeing strong ROI. He’s found great success in converting buildings to Net Zero & Carbon Neutral. Kevin advised the group, “Don’t underestimate the value of doing the right thing, for the right reasons, the right way.”

Finally, ML Vidas of Vidas Architecture spoke. To be honest, she didn’t speak much to the financial case of building to Net Zero, but she was inspiring and brought real heart to why we do what we do. ML spoke at length about the Desert Rain House which is a project that she worked on in Bend, OR. The Desert Rain House is Living Building Certified and an excellent case study of what buildings have the potential to do and to be.

In all, the evening was incredibly informative and inspiring. The speakers were complimentary of one another, each offering their unique perspectives on what it means to build and retrofit Net Zero buildings and why we ought to speak to our clients and peers about this opportunity more often. For every concern about or reason not to build in this way, there’s a logical and compelling reason to build this way. Architecture and the built environment can be very damaging to our ecosystem and to the people who live and work in the spaces that we build. Creating places that respond to the climate and are inviting, comfortable and profitable seems like the best path forward.

The post Making the Financial Case for Net Zero appeared first on Convergence Architecture.

Whether you’re upgrading the roof of your shed, or working on a large scale commercial project- Can you have your garden roof and your warranty protection, too?

For years the standard critiques of eco-roof systems have been centered on a few issues:

• How do they perform?
• What about maintenance?
• What about leaks?

Most architects have heard all or some of these if they’ve spent any time talking about eco-roofs with potential clients or the general public. If you’re a homeowner who’s been curious about eco-roofs, these questions may have crossed your mind as well.

On a trip to Los Angeles,  I saw the L.A. Metro Division 13 Bus Operations and Maintenance facilities green roof system. I asked out loud, “I wonder what they used for the membrane.” I just happened to be standing next to a colleague of ours from Stantec, who was Project Architect for Division 13. “Oh, it’s a Hydrotech system.” He went on to explain that Hydrotech was able to warrant the system, providing LA Metro transit enough assurances that it would perform. He explained that Hydrotech warranted the assembly provided you met their requirements and used their components, all the way up through the growing media and the plants. If you’re working on a residential project, you might find that hiring a professional to build your eco-roof will offer you the same level of component capability and a warranty.

Garden Roof Assembly from Hydrotech

What should you consider when deciding whether or not to install an eco-roof? Every project, whether big or small, has its list of pros and cons. Here are some points to alleviate eco-roof concerns:

• Aesthetics: The benefit of being surrounded by garden-like settings.
• Longevity: Properly installed green roofs can double the life expectancy of a membrane as they tend to protect the membrane from UV and from temperature extremes.
• Cost: The installation costs are increased because of the added components. The long-term maintenance costs are reduced because of the protection from UV and temperature extremes. Energy savings result from the insulating effect of a green roof. The GSA puts the “payback” for a green roof at approximately 6.2 years for a 40 year green roof, vs a 17 year conventional roof (GSA Green Roof Benefits and Challenges, p. ii).
• Storm-water Management: For building owners with storm-water management concerns, green roofs are a way to help mitigate the effects of storm-water. From Multnomah County, eco-roofs offer “Mitigation of storm water runoff which causes flooding, increased erosion, and which may result in raw sewage that is discharged directly into our rivers.  Eco-roofs can absorb storm-water and release it slowly over a period of several hours.  Green roof systems have been shown to retain 60-100% of the storm-water they receive”

Fun fact: According to the fall 2019 Living Architecture Monitor, in 2015 Portland had a population of 570,000 and a total area of Green Roofs of 157,989 square meters. This put us above Copenhagen, Singapore, Toronto and Chicago for our area of eco-roofs per inhabitant.

For More Green Roof Information, visit:

https://www.hydrotechusa.com/assemblies/garden-roof-assembly (technical information, more often for a commercial application)

https://www.portlandoregon.gov/bes/44422 (general eco-roof information from the City of Portland)

https://www.portlandoregon.gov/bes/article/492807 (A DIY guide for those wanting to create an eco-roof on their own)

Placecraft provides alternative construction and is located right here in our neighborhood. If you have an idea for a project and are looking for a builder, we recommend reaching out to them!

The post An Eco-roof and a Warranty Protection appeared first on Convergence Architecture.

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