A Sneak Peek at Nine Products Under GreenSpec Review (And a Chance to Rate Them)

For some fun around the holidays, GreenSpec is holding a virtual "open house"--giving you a sneak peek at some cool new products we're reviewing, and our first impressions. We'd like to hear what you think, so please read our first impressions below and then take the quick survey. Happy holidays! Update: Thank you for your feedback. We have closed the survey and are using it to inform our ongoing research agenda.

Posted by Tristan Roberts on December 20, 2011

Comments

Stephen Colley
Wed, 2011-12-21 20:04
In my opinion, this is the most sensible material one can choose for construction. There are examples world wide, and not just single family homes. I am familiar with a manufacturer of machines very similar to this in San Antonio and have been supporting compressed earth construction for years. Incidentally, the choice of soil to use in block making is important, and with some care and basic inexpensive testing, many soil mixes can be used without depending on portland cement. Soil too sandy, add clay and vice versa. Provide the right proportion of sand, silt, and clay. Leave out organic material (top soil). No need to worry about blocks dissolving in the rain even in hot, humid, or rainy climates. Design sensibly with proper overhangs and most importantly with lime plaster. 100% fire proof, mold proof, bullet proof, humidity-moderating, and phase change material. Conventional construction just can't stack up. Oh, and who would ever take demolished dirt walls to the landfill?
Kunal
Thu, 2011-12-22 00:59
Interesting technologies but the ones on recycled wood are old ideas. Otherwise there a wide range of other ideas which need to be tracked like Vertical farming.

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About the Authors

Alex Wilson is founder and executive editor of BuildingGreen, Inc., and coeditor of GreenSpec. For more than 30 years, Alex has been the most trusted voice on energy efficiency and environmentally responsible design and construction. Since launching Environmental Building News (EBN) in 1992, he’s built a reputation, resources, and staff to serve the companies for whom sustainable design is a core value. 

 

Brent Ehrlich is BuildingGreen’s products editor, conducts research and writes product and category insights for the company’s GreenSpec product directory. He also contributes product reviews and feature articles for Environmental Building News, and is a contributing editor to McGraw-Hill’s GreenSource magazine.

 

Jennifer Atlee is research director at BuildingGreen, responsible for guiding the in-depth independent research that is the hallmark of all BuildingGreen resources. With her broad knowledge in sustainability, analytical acumen, and passion for improving the standards used to assess the sustainability of products, processes, and organizations, Jennifer brings strong direction to the research process behind GreenSpec’s product-screening decisions, and technical rigor to BuildingGreen’s custom research projects.

 

Tristan Roberts is Editorial Director at BuildingGreen, Inc., a position that requires broad knowledge about sustainable design, deep understanding of products, and mastery of all things LEED. Tristan Roberts brings that to Environmental Building News, GreenSpec, and LEEDuser, a plug-in tool supported by the U.S. Green Building Council to provide credit-by-credit advice for LEED projects.

 

Peter Yost brings more than 25 years' experience in building, researching, teaching, writing, and consulting on high-performance homes to his role as director of residential services for BuildingGreen. He has been called upon to provide his building-science expertise to the nation’s leading homebuilding programs, including NAHB’s Green Building Standard, USGBC's LEED for Homes, EPA’s WaterSense, and the U.S. Department of Energy's Building America.

 

Paula Melton, BuildingGreen’s managing editor, brings a dynamic style, critical mind, and sharp wit to the many feature articles, blog posts, and product reviews she writes for GreenSpec, BuildingGreen.com, Environmental Building News, and other BuildingGreen-supported websites.

 

Nadav Malin is president of BuildingGreen, where he oversees the company’s industry-leading information and community-building resources and consulting services. He also convenes and facilitates gatherings of industry leaders, and lends his technical expertise and vision to GreenSource magazine. Nadav was the founding chair of the Materials & Resources Technical Advisory Group for LEED.

 

 

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