Milhaus - vertical mixed-use and urban infill residential environments

posts in "Sustainability"

Thoughts from Houston Green Building Expo

Posted on November 18, 2011 by Tadd Miller

I was fortunate to have a few minutes between meetings to stop by the University of Houston’s Green Building Components Expo. Two intriguing products were exhibited that I could see easily implemented into a Milhaus project in the near future: the Botanica air purifier and the Parametric Precast system. The Botanica is an indoor living wall system that can be installed along existing walls using the plants to reduce the number of pollutants purifying indoor air. The Parametric Precast system is a simple and affordable system made of recycled concrete that can allow a stacking application that includes application of solar panels and living walls within the structure. These are the type of products that we need to continue thinking and exploring at Milhaus to continue to understand how to make our projects more sustainable.

One other more complicated product at the event that is the Z-fab home. This product implements a lot of the things Milhaus has spent significant time trying to figure out in the modular multi-family housing space with Clayton Homes and Genesis Homes. This modular implementation would help mitigate numerous issues we deal with in the urban core and mixed-use issues of delivery, staging, timing, and delivery, not to mention the mitigation of waste and implementation of sustainable practices.

This entry was posted in Design, Sustainability

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Urban living as a laboratory?

Posted on January 10, 2011 by David Leazenby

Urban Living Lab mixed use milhaus That’s exactly what is being built outside Dallas. Located at the Texas AgriLife Research and Extension Center, the project will be the world's largest LEED certified research, demonstration and teaching laboratory. Announced last month by Dr. Mark Hussey, vice chancellor of agriculture and life sciences for The Texas A&M University System, he called it a “lifestyle community built with state-of-the-art and evolving green technologies.”

The UN is projecting that more than 2 billion more people will be living in urban areas by 2030, and the systems required to feed, shelter and transport so many urbanites are being planned and constructed today. This competition for the latest in sustainable products and services has more than 20 companies collaborating on the $128 million public-private partnership for this mixed-use development that will measure energy use. Plans for the development, or what’s known as an “urban living laboratory”, include 600 apartments, 150,000 square feet of office and 105,000 square feet of retail space, and two hotels equaling 250 rooms.

The laboratory can house an estimated 3,500 residents, or provide enough on-site space for 1,800 employees. It's research will span multiple disciplines including energy, environmental quality, waste management/recycling, intelligent buildings, urban design, economics, transportation, logistics and water resource management. Learn more at www.urbanlivinglaboratory.com

This entry was posted in News, Project Highlight, Sustainability, USA West

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Cities producing net positive energy consumption

Posted on October 06, 2010 by Tadd Miller

It is incredible to think, entire cities producing net positive energy instead of sapping the grid, but what is more incredible is that “More than 800 Italian communities now make more energy than they use because of the recent addition of renewable energy plants.” According to Elisabeth Rosenthal’s New York Times article, this fact brings dreams of not writing that monthly utility company check. While I read the NYT’s, I see former president Carter 30 year old replay on CNN installing a solar power water heater in the White House claiming the year 2000 this will be standard, I am sure now in 2010 we have missed that mark. However, I see focus by our customers, lenders, investors, and designers that these sustainable practices are trending significantly in the right direction. Now the daily question comes is how do we make Indianapolis and Milhaus projects net positive energy creators, a precursor to creating net energy cities?

This entry was posted in News, Sustainability

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Living Wall

Posted on September 20, 2010 by Tadd Miller

Walking through Tokyo Japan will expand anyone's design perspective.....however, don't let the grand Ginza buildings and Mori's Roppongi Hills overshadow some great smaller scale design implementations. Specifically I find incredibly fascinating the introduction of "living wall's," as shown in this building near Tokyo's Atago Green Hills. Not just climbing vines, this system embed's soil within a metal structure bolted to a concrete exterior. Quick internet research tells me this is not a "Green Facade," a term reserved climbing vines, flower boxes and trellis overgrowth, instead, this more intricate system is referred to as a "Living Wall." Living Walls are systems whereby there is soil foundation embedded within or attached to the facade wall, allowing plants to grow, or "live," on the wall.

Regardless of whether "Living Wall" or "Green Facade," these systems pay off. According to Nigel Dunnett in Architecture Week, shading walls with these types of systems "can reduce the daily temperature fluctuation by as much as 50 percent, a fact of great importance in warm-summer climate zones." In fact, he further explains that "Buildings are more effectively insulated against high summer temperatures by shading than by building insulation into the structure, for the simple reason that shading stops the heat from entering in the first place." With savings 50% projected, this is something we need to figure out how to implement within some of our new projects.

This entry was posted in Design, Sustainability

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Greyfields: A Mixed Use Dream?

Posted on August 12, 2010 by Milhaus Development

Guest Post by Greg McHenry, Development Assistant and Intern with Milhaus Development

Starting in the mid 1990’s, many enclosed malls began losing tenants because of low sales, causing many to completely shut down. The main reason for this was that Americans were finding other ways to shop besides driving miles to the nearest mall. These empty shells and expansive parking lots became known as “Greyfields“. These vacant malls are becoming a burden on their adjacent economies and communities (e.g. Cloverleaf Mall in Richmond, VA; Hawthorn Mall in Hawthorn, CA; or Lafayette Square Mall in Indianapolis). The website www.deadmalls.com emotionally documents the horror stories behind many dead malls.

A successful redevelopment of a community-plaguing Greyfield can become a mixed-use developer’s dream. Not only do are these areas low-priced (a true Greyfield will sell at the price of land minus expected demolition costs) but they have the ability to restore a community’s identity if developed right.

Greyfield redevelopments also make New Urbanists and Sustainable Developers happy. For one, these projects help reduce urban sprawl by promoting a more compact lifestyle instead of the commuter culture supported by malls. Also, these projects are shining examples of infill projects; reusing land that has outlived its original purpose. A large community of mixed-use is also a great chance for progressive planners to create active walkable communities. And since these malls are typically located near transportation channels, these communities can be very easily compatible with low-emissions transit. These Greyfields represent an ending of one American paradigm and the beginning of another. It is up to developers to bring this new built-world to life!

This entry was posted in Redevelopment, Retail, Sustainability

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Wind Turbine/Solar Light Lamps

Posted on July 24, 2010 by Tadd Miller

mixed-use-lights-300x300 As long as we are an automobile driven society, no real hope for true sustainability exists, however, I am hopeful that the pace of technological innovation, government underwriting, and public perception will help make some impact to trend toward a sustainable future. In my constant quest to attempt to make my personal lifestyle as well as my projects more sustainable, I am very curious to see both the viability and the impact of all the crazy gadgets and information currently coming to market. My real question is how much is marketing to take advantage of the current sustainability perception vs. financially viable. I am hopeful the current trends and momentum really do create some game changing innovation for real sustainability.

With that being said, I am always intrigued by the options developers have for carbon footprint reduction with minimal time and costs when they design a new project. This week alone I circumstantially ran across a few different products that piqued my interest that I am interested to see the reality of their implementation and actual viability, such as:

Solar/Wind Powered street lamps from right here near out home base, manufactured in Muncie, IN. www.vat-group.eu
Electric vehicle charging stations – http://coulombtech.com/
Measurement of impact at the carbon footprint calculator

It will be interesting to me to check these out in 3 – 5 years, and see what their impact is and if they are still viable sources for continued sustainability.

This entry was posted in Design, Sustainability and tagged solar, sustainable design, construction products, sustainability, wind energy

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Wal Mart v. Mixed Use. Debate continues…

Posted on July 16, 2010 by David Leazenby

There is a great summary of a presentation by Peter Katz over at Citiwire.net. In it he provides the amount of property tax revenue received to a community by a Wal-Mart, a regional mall, and a mixed use building. On a per acre basis, it makes a very good case for communities to seek more compact, mixed-use development. Not only are their long term sustainability benefits to residents, there are real short term fiscal solutions to city coffers. Think about it… how much tax does a parking spot pay? How many are out there?

This entry was posted in Retail, Sustainability and tagged urban planning, property taxes, wal mart

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Is driving really more convenient??

Posted on July 15, 2010 by Tadd Miller

urbanbiker Being forced to do something different can open your eyes to better things. I sent my car to auction 4 weeks ago. Intentions were to replace my expensive SUV with something new, warranted, fuel-efficient, and low mileage. However, this forced a bike ride to work the next day, and four weeks later, I just locked my bike at my office front door before posting this message. My wife reminded me this weekend that “we need to go buy a new car,” and I can honestly say that buying a car had simply slipped my mind and I hadn’t even thought about it.

I can’t lie, I assume I will be a new car owner soon, but I am heavily questioning how badly we need to be a 2 car family! I have only borrowed my wife’s car on 3 occasions in a 4 week period, and, I have already saved a month of parking, insurance, plates, and gas. Most importantly, as long as the weather is decent, I have found that it is actually faster and less hassle for me ride my bike or walk to work than dealing with the one way streets and the parking garage, so even if I buy a new car, I think it will be reserved for those north side meetings. Sometimes you just have to be forced to try something new, and you will find the alternative is sometimes better!

This entry was posted in Lifestyle, Sustainability, Transportation

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Live, Work, Play and Help the Environment

Posted on June 30, 2010 by Tadd Miller

mixed-use-land-use-driving The Urban Land Institute (“ULI”) released a report last week that shows the importance of Mixed Use and Urban Infill on the potential for long term sustainability within the US. Confirming what Milhaus has always found a logical conclusion from opinion based theory, ULI has now substantiated that urban infill and mixed use projects and/or communities where people can work, play, and shop closer to home, actually produce less traffic loads, thus lowering energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. You should check out ULI’s report, Land Use and Driving available for members on their website www.uli.org, or click on the following link.

This entry was posted in Sustainability, Transportation and tagged ULI, Urban Infill, mixed use, mixed use development

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Passive housing

Posted on June 28, 2010 by Greg Martin

mixed-use-sun-300x223 While the focus on conserving energy seems mostly focused on renewable energy, there is another alternative that can also complement other sustainable practices. Passive housing design incorporates building orientation, window types, building materials, etc. to capture and store as much solar energy in homes as possible. A friend of mine, Melissa Baldridge, writes on her post, Live Outside the Box, on June 15, 2010, that energy costs are nearly zero for houses designed to be so tight that they joke “that you can heat them with a hair dryer.” It is an interesting read. In it she highlights the benefits that the Europeans are experiencing from housing standards which promote energy conservation. If we can figure out how to incorporate some of these techniques into mixed use and multi-family projects, then there could be substantial operational costs savings. Whether the tenants or the owners are saving money, there will be value created.