A legend and LEED

In the last few weeks world famous architect Frank Gehry has been in the news because of his stance on LEED. He has basically come out and said he is not a fan that architects are designing for the LEED seal of approval and not for the good of the building or project. He also said trying to get LEED can be a waste of time and money. As far as I know Gehry is the biggest architect (or “starchitect” as some people call him) on record noting his disdain for the process. The question now is will anyone care? Sadly, probably not. LEED has improved over the years but it’s still a program that more people follow for the wrong reasons and in doing so they probably step over good energy efficient or energy performing products in order to meet a LEED requirement. And when that happens no one wins. The complete article, with some interesting comments can be found HERE. Oh and as for the whole green product issue, check out the following quotes from another story… very interesting….

"While green buildings have many positive benefits, there is also strong evidence surfacing to suggest a direct correlation between new products and innovative design with building failures," says Paul Roecker, an attorney with Orlando, Fla.-based Roetzel & Andress, who focuses his practice on environmental litigation. "From a risk perspective obviously there are a lot of products coming to market very quickly that advertise themselves as green. Many of them have not been 'tried and true' tested," he said. "They are new so in their applications of their efficacy … their potential to actually create a risk is really unknown."

Elsewhere...

-- U Value vs R Value…. Slowly but surely more and more people are talking with R instead of U when discussing that part of the glass performance. R has always been used in other building products and really more from a residential angle. A quick look around the web at commercial players web tools and it’s still all “U” – wonder when someone will flip that switch. (and yes I am aware of how easy it is to figure the R from the U….but still…)

-- Stoked to share blogging space with guys like Chris Mammen, Bill Evans, David Walker and so on. Very interesting takes these guys take and you always learn something from them. Which is a different outcome than when you read my stuff….

-- Do you know when you have made it as a marketing genius? When your ad is sitting framed in a random glass shop in Idaho. It was there I saw the famous and awesome Glassopolis ad. (the one with the senior citizens working the jobsite). The folks at this shop loved the ad so much that it sits prominently, framed, on their reception desk. Yep, that is what you call a major marketing hit.

-- Some of the main Solar media must be closely listening to Apogee’s Russ Huffer as they are starting to echo a lot of his sentiments towards solar. Last week a few pieces hit the streets wondering if Solar really does have a future in the market. I am still a believer but I do also agree that the costs must come down to make this fly. I don’t think they have to come down as far as some folks think, but they do have to start tracking down, or performance has to really shoot up- and I don’t see that happening soon. All that said I did see the announcement where Architectural Glass & Aluminum (AGA) has partnered up to get in the Solar game. AGA is very well run company and I know they did big time due diligence here, so that is a very interesting sign.

-- The NBA Playoffs started this weekend, so I have to jump in and make my picks… in the East, it’s hard not to go with the Cavs… LeBron just too good. In the west, I am going to say the Nuggets… but it doesn’t matter who comes from the west, it’s Cleveland’s year.

-- Last, I gotta touch on the NFRC meeting from last week… but I actually am saving that for another post. Some very interesting notes that I received from the meeting and its coverage, so check this space either later this week or in next week’s schedule for those comments.

Off to the links!

So what do links on this website and the TV shows “The Jefferson’s” and “Private Practice” have in common? Hmmm…. Anyway on to some cool stuff!

-- Amazingly interesting story on the effects of the Volcano of 1815… and makes you think how the current Volcano we have right now may affect us in the future. A short must read.

-- Last week I experienced my first ever earthquake… it was minor, but still an experience. Obviously nothing like the massive one that hit China… and as for that quake, one person got out thanks to her ability to sleep through it!

-- The update to the big “Carry on” bag controversy. The Senate is stepping in. Wonder if they will fare any better on this then how they fared when they tried to stop the World Trade Center from using Chinese glass (same Senator involved and yes for the record that whole WTC thing still infuriates me)


Video of the Week:

Got several good submissions from last week and if you have a video that you think should be here, just drop me a note at maxbcat@aol.com … anyway the video of the week is the reaction to Whitney Houston’s comeback tour in Australia. Evidently she was really bad, and this report talks to people who went to the show… brutal!