The Park Service oversees three overlapping areas: Technical Preservation Services, Cultural Resources and National Park Service.

The Technical Preservation Services (TPS)

…develops historic preservation policy and guidance on preserving and rehabilitating historic buildings, administers the Federal Historic Preservation Tax Incentives Program for rehabilitating historic buildings and sets the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties.

TPS Publications

TPS prints both free publications and publications for purchase; it also co-publishes materials with other agencies, foundations and associations.

The following is a list, along with links, to some of TPS’s free publications.

WINDOWS

• Planning Approaches to Windows Preservation
• Exterior Storm Windows: Casement Design Wooden Storm Stash
• Replacement Wooden Frames and Sash: Protecting Woodwork Against Decay
• Interior Metal Storm Windows
• Interior Storm Windows: Magnetic Seal
• Maintenance and Repair of Historic Aluminum Windows
• Repairing Steel Casement Windows

HISTORIC GLASS

• Repair and Reproduction of Prismatic Glass Transoms
• Repair and Rehabilitation of Historic Sidewalk Vault Lights

HISTORIC PRESERVATION TAX INCENTIVES

• Historic Preservation Tax Incentives
• Introduction to Federal Tax Credits for Rehabilitating Historic Buildings – Barns
• Introduction to Federal Tax Credits for Rehabilitating Historic Buildings – Rowhouses
• Introduction to Federal Tax Credits for Rehabilitating Historic Buildings – Main Street Commercial Buildings
• Introduction to Federal Tax Credits for Rehabilitating Historic Buildings – Wood Frame Houses

MASONRY

• Water Soak Cleaning of Limestone
• Non-destructive Evaluation Techniques for Masonry Construction
• Stabilization and Repair of Historic Terra Cotta Cornice

METALS

• Restoring Metal Roof Cornices
• Conserving Outdoor Bronze Sculpture
• In-Kind Replacement of Historic Stamped Metal Exterior Siding
• Repair and Reproduction of Metal Canopies and Marquees with Glass Pendants

–Jean Danielson is director of operations for Indigo Dawn.

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The Des Moines Register featured an article on Green & Main’s vegetative roof initiative. “The Grass is Always Greener Up on the Roof” briefly discusses the lengthy process and partnership between the Green & Main pilot project and Roof Top Sedums, a Davenport company. Pictures, video and text of the event will be on Green & Main’s website in the coming days.

The National Academies through the National Research Council issued a report on biofuels in “Certain Biofuel Mandates Unlikely to be Met by 2022, Unless New Technologies, Policies Developed.” The report, requested by Congress, adds that reaching the current Renewal Fuel Standard by 2022 may actually “be an ineffective policy for reducing global greenhouse gas emissions. [Achieving] this standard would likely increase federal budget outlays as well as have mixed economic and environmental effects.” Additional information may be found here.

Wallaces Farmer, in “World Food Prize to Mark 25th Anniversary,” notes that the international World Food Prize Symposium will be held this year in Des Moines at the Marriott Downtown Hotel. Attendees will include John Kufuor, former president of Ghana, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, former president of Brazil, Josette Sheeran, Executive Director of the UN World Food Programme and CEOs of ADM, Deere & Co., Dupont, Monsanto, Novozymes and Syngenta.

“Specific topics to be discussed in conversation sessions include the greening of agriculture, the role of the private sector in sustainable agriculture development, empowering youth leaders and entrepreneurs, the potential of women and girls in agriculture, improving efficiencies, the phosphate challenge, and enhancing communication and collaboration across all stakeholders.” Additional information may be found here.

— Jean Danielson is director of operations for Indigo Dawn. She likes to sit in Smokey Row Cafe and drink lots of Sumatra coffee with skim milk.

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ComputerWorld: The Voice of IT Management published the article “Green Storage Solutions for SMBs, Part 1.” The author, Sandra Van Dijk, discusses why the small-to-medium business sector is in a prime place to lead in data storage. “With ever-increasing storage capacity and escalating energy costs,” writes Dijk, “the small to medium business (SMB) sector is looking for solutions to address both the capital and operational costs of storage. “ The solution centers on cutting storage management costs, including energy use costs.

“Part one [of the article] looks at the latest technologies to address this growing problem while Part two compares Green messaging and strategies by the major storage vendors including Dell, EMC, Fujitsu, Hitachi Data Systems, HP, IBM, NetApp and Oracle-Sun.”

The Department of Energy on Wednesday released the first report on its Quadrennial Technology Review. The DOE asserts there are six areas that will modernize and support growth in the United States’ energy portfolio: 1) Deploy Clean Electricity, 2) Modernize the Grid, 3) Increase Building and Industrial Efficiency, 4) Deploy Alternative Hydrocarbon Fuels, 5) Electrify the Vehicle Fleet, and 6) Increase Vehicle Efficiency. As The Energy Collective states, “These are all sound strategies to address the three broad challenges imposed by our current energy systems: energy insecurity, environmental threats, and international competitiveness.”  A video introduction may be found here and the full report may be found here.

Green Building hosts articles this week including “Green Building Insulation,” addressing the appropriate type and amount of insulation and how to conduct a home energy audit. In the same article, there is a section on Federal Tax Credits for insulation. Additionally, “Green Building Windows and Doors” discusses window energy performance and window ratings, and provides an installation guide.

On Thursday, the USDA issued the news release “Forest Service Report Documents Environmental Benefits of Wood as a Green Building Material.” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack stated that “this study confirms what many environmental scientists have been saying for years. Wood should be a major component of American building and energy design.”

The U.S. Forest Service also supported the increased use of life cycle analysis in building codes and standards and its subsequent combination with new technologies for improved wood use. According to the USDA, “The use of forest products in the United States currently supports more than one million direct jobs, particularly in rural areas, and contributes more than $100 billion to the country’s gross domestic product.” The full text of the news release may be found here.

– Jean Danielson is director of operations for Indigo Dawn. She enjoys watching independent films whose titles are made up of complete phrases.

***

Aerial photo of Florida International University's U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2011 entry.

The U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon is an annual event held in Washington, D.C. It is a challenge that pits collegiate teams against one another to design, build and operate solar-powered houses. The winner of the challenge is the team that “best blends affordability, consumer appeal and design excellence with optimal energy production and maximum efficiency.”

The National Rural Electrical Cooperative Association published an article on Tuesday, September 20, 2011, “Consumers Seek Value in Smart Grid.” In an ongoing discussion of smart grid technologies, the GridWeek 2011 conference was held to identify and discuss not only the technologies, but the consumer behaviors that employ the technologies. As Derrill Holly writes, “while modernizing the nation’s energy grid represents opportunities for greater efficiency and diversification of energy resources, more emphasis has to be placed on those who ultimately will shoulder the costs.”

SpaceRef, in an article posted Thursday, September 22, 2011, discusses a partnership between NASA and the DOE that assesses building infrastructures via “smart system” technologies. “NASA Partners with DOE to Construct ‘Greenest’ Federal Building” highlights not only the collaborative process between the two, but the implementation of aerospace technologies to guide, instruct and contribute to the United States’ ongoing efforts in integrating building science and sustainability at all levels of community and government.

– Jean Danielson is director of operations for Indigo Dawn. She likes learning how to take technology vacations from listening to podcasts.

Jean Danielson

The Week in Green is a series that highlights green technology, building science and sustainability in the news.

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SustainableBusiness.com reports that the private sector has invested over $2.4 trillion in green businesses since 2007, according to Ethical Markets Media. The media group also anticipates a continued investment and commitment of nearly $1 trillion annually through 2020.

PilotOnline.com in the September 5, 2011 article “Many of the Military’s ‘Green’ Tools go Unseen,’ the author discusses an intricate HVAC system designed to meet clean technology initiatives. This project is “part of a federal mandate to go green,” according to the article’s author, Scott Harper, “to modernize old military bases with energy-efficient technologies, clean alternatives and eco-friendly buildings and materials.”

An Iowa State University press release reported that the National Science Foundation has awarded a  $20 million, five-year grant to “build Iowa’s research capacity in renewable energy and energy efficiency.”

The majority of the research project will take place at three of Iowa’s Universities: Iowa State University, the University of Iowa and the University of Northern Iowa.

– Jean Danielson is director of operations for Indigo Dawn. She is beginning to forsake her friendships for all things Kindle.

Jean Danielson

Below is a brief roundup of green technology, building science and sustainability news locally grown and wherever green news happens.

***

SmartPlanet features an article on Hobbit-inspired structures by Sun Joo Kim. The Hobbit House of Montana is a rentable guest house at $245 a night, located in Trout Creek, Montana. The owner of the property, Steve Michaels, was asked the question, “So, what inspired you to do this?”

The Hobbit House in Montana

His answer: “We were building a small underground guest home for family and friends that would support easy heating in the winter and cooling in the summer. One day the contractor’s son mentioned that it looked like a Hobbit House. From then on, all of our attention and energy has gone into making this a first class Hobbit Abode & Village.”

The house was finished last year and remains a constant 55 degrees year-round.

This week, SmartPlanet also featured an article about the Artists for Humanity EpiCenter building in Boston, Massachusetts, also by Sun Joo Kim. The article provides a play-by-play of how the first LEED accredited building in Boston was built, along with explanatory photos.

Artists for Humanity EpiCenter in Boston, MA

The mission of the EpiCenter is to “bridge economic, racial and social divisions by providing underserved youth with the keys to self-sufficiency through paid employment in the arts.”

Wired Magazine online features an article about electric cars in “Where Will We Plug In?” by Chuck Squatriglia.

For our building science aficionados, GreenBuildingAdvisor.com has an article on “Choosing a High-Performance Wall Assembly” by Scott Gibson. Included in the discussion is how to minimize thermal bridging and specific construction methods to achieve net-zero energy performance.

– Jean Danielson is director of operations for Indigo Dawn. She enjoys visiting the Des Moines Art Center regularly, as her favorite Francis Bacon painting resides there.

Jean Danielson

As Kermit the Frog has said, it’s not easy being green.

We at Green & Main are here to make that statement not true. Part of knowing how to make being green easier is to see the vastly different areas that are impacted by sustainable technologies and innovations.

Below is a roundup of green technology, building science and sustainability news locally grown and wherever green news happens.

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Renewable Energy Magazine is an online magazine of nearly ten years that centers on clean energy journalism, predominantly within North America and South America. Toby Price in “Green Light for Hybrid Solar and Geothermal Project” writes of a Nevada-based project being developed by Enel Green Power. This renewable energy plant, located in Churchwater County, combines solar and geothermal power. States Price, “While solar and geothermal energy have been combined in small hybrid residential systems, the Stillwater project is the first of its kind in the US, and will make a significant contribution to achieving Nevada’s goal of generating 20% of its electricity from renewables by 2015.” To read the complete article, click here.

ConstrucTech Magazine on “Educating the Next Generation on Efficiency” writes about the Walking Mountains Science Center in Avon, Colorado. The science center is a non-profit organization that provides environmental science education for schools, day camps and other groups to learn not only about the environment but about green building science. The Center is equipped with meters and energy monitoring devices so that students may have immediate feedback on energy usage. To read the complete article, click here.

GreenBuildingAdvisor.com has a podcast called Green Architects’ Lounge. The current podcast (with transcripts) is an interview with Martin Holladay. Martin talks about his off-the-grid life, how he would build a house for himself and what is on the horizon for green building technology, science and construction.

When asked about a prediction in green construction, Holladay notes, “I think what we really need to do is educate builders and designers about basic air-sealing techniques — getting the basics down, which we’re still not doing. I don’t see any whiz-bang technological inventions ahead, and I’m very bad at predicting trends. I think the only thing that will change people’s attitudes is a doubling or tripling of energy costs, which is quite possible — although I’ve said that for years and have been wrong most of the time. But if and when energy prices take another huge leap, that will change residential construction in America very quickly. But, that’s about all I’ve got for predictions.”

To read the complete article, click here.

– Jean Danielson is director of operations for Indigo Dawn. She looks forward to seeing the Butter Cow deep fried and on a stick at the Iowa State Fair.

Jean Danielson

Report on Green Jobs and the Economy

Our Monday postings include information on the integration of green technology and building science.  The flavor of today’s posting is marinated with green jobs, the economy and how these jobs are developed for the short and long-term.

In the middle of July, the Brookings Institute issued a report on green jobs assessment. Talking about green jobs – whether in construction, agriculture, healthcare industry or forestry – is consistently difficult to define. Given one’s perspective, green jobs could have anything to do with sustainability (including makers of Smart Cars to people who paper-push, then recycle) to task-based jobs that create or manage (manufacturers of solar panels to websites that house online, real-time meetings that dramatically lessen the use of oil and gas for travel).

Additional Questions to Ask

In April, Chaden Halfhill and I went to the Northern Plains and Rocky Mountain Consortium Green Jobs Conference in downtown Des Moines. This was a two-day conference in which labor market specialists, economists and a host of others answered questions that included:

• “What are the new and emerging technologies in green energy?”
• “How many people work in green jobs?”
• “Are green skills different from non-green skills?”
• “What does green mean to economic development?

As there was much to cover, the speakers addressed these topics individually in their totality or through the lens of a profession or region. The methodologies were critical in discussing how the data was obtained, but what was of bottom-line importance included the following: 1) Does the government or the private sector initiate greater, more sustained growth? 2) Is the citizenry provided with enough information about the green technology growth sectors so it knows how to make employment and resources decisions? 3) How can training in green jobs be facilitated more quickly for displaced workers?

The answers were similar to the conclusions in the Brookings Institute report.

One of the important pillars identified is for both private and government sectors to work in tandem to stimulate the economy, create jobs and encourage innovation. The Green & Main Pilot Project in Sherman Hill is a prime example of this collaboration, leading to jobs not only created but maintained.  The positive impact of this demonstration building on multiple communities, and the combining of building science and green technologies, is invaluable. It provides tangible examples for home owners, building professionals and small-town community revitalists on forward-looking possibilities.

When you have a chance, check out the report.

– Jean Danielson is director of operations for Indigo Dawn. She is just beginning to read a 900-page novel, The Instructions, and hopes to have it read before the Mayan calendar ends.

Installation of the basement concrete floor using a concrete boom truck.

On a Monday in early June, while the heat index was slated to reach 114 degrees, the concrete basement in the Green & Main building at 800 19^th Street was poured by Rick Hogan Construction. The construction team brought in the concrete boom truck and positioned it to allow best access to the basement.

Extra challenges encountered were not due solely to the heat, but to pouring a basement inside an already existing building – which created a couple of logistic challenges – but nothing that long pipes and hoses could not address.

Looking down into the basement opening from atop the basement wall of the addition.

The layers of the basement floor are very specific. First, there is earth. Next comes 6 inches of 1 inch river rock followed by 2 inches of styrofoam. On top of the styrofoam is a layer of polystyrene which is followed by another inch of styrofoam. The icing on the basement cake is 5 inches of concrete. This concrete mixture is composed of crushed glass, fly ash and slag – all recycled products. Finally, there is a bentonite strip that is placed around the internal edges where the floor meets the wall to help with waterproofing.

One additional component to the concrete mixture is microfiber. Microfiber helps to reduce shrinkage cracks, and in the heat of an Iowa summer, helps to slow the process of drying when the high noon sun is beating down on the freshly laid concrete.

Rick Hogan, owner of Rick Hogan Construction.

An interesting side note is that Rick Hogan, who owns the company, worked for a Pepsi distributor when he was 18, having grown up on the west side of Des Moines. He made multiple deliveries to this building when it was H&H Grocery, getting to know the owner a little bit. As time and choice would have it, Rick returned to this site, contributing to its ongoing historical narrative through his construction contributions.

For additional photos of the basement concrete flooring process, please see our photo gallery.

– Jean Danielson is director of operations for Indigo Dawn. She believes in a free lunch and the tooth fairy.

Sustainable brick patio in a suburban backyard.

The other day I was helping the teenage son of a friend pick weeds out of the backyard brick patio. I took that moment to tell Owen about stormwater management and how, even though we live in a built environment, we are not separate from the world around us. We are responsible for managing and engineering ways that are compatible at the very least – and assistive at the very best – in creating a sustainable way to exist and thrive in tandem with one another.

After talking about this briefly, and hearing pauses and seeing head tilts, I put it in language I knew he would understand. “It is about urban engineering,” I said, as I knew he created worlds in his computer games and understood causality well. “Instead of having a slab of concrete that moves the water to places around the base of the house that could impact the structure, the cracks between the bricks help the water soak into the ground where it lands, instead of moving it en masse to places where it could do damage.”

He nodded and we returned to our weed picking.

A Chiminea fireplace with potted flowers.

For many days I have been thinking about sustainability and memory, historical preservation and remembrance. The built environment provides us with a different type of memory. It is a perpetual ‘memorial’ to what went before us. As memorials too often reference something or someone that no longer exists, I was struggling to figure out ways to re-imagine how individual and collective memories are made solid around us and how to talk about this. In doing so, I was immediately reminded of the Main Streets Conference in Des Moines last week, put on by the National Trust for Historical Preservation in Washington D.C.

An untold number of volunteers have gotten together through the Main Streets program to create dynamic and sustainable forms of community living that repurpose buildings so they may be used in current, economically viable ways that provide a solid footing for not just a few years down the line, but 20 years, 50 years and beyond.

These volunteers and managers understand that their present will be the past of those who are yet in pre-school or junior high. Once these young ones reach adulthood and have families and work in their home communities, it will be a present that they, too, seek to enrich by shared community histories and experiences.

Buildings are part of the language of memory. The structures of our main-street, urban and rural communities are tangible narratives of the best ideas and worst ideas of who we are. The Green & Main Pilot Project seeks to take the best of a particular piece of history in the Sherman Hill neighborhood and re-envision it. We are doing this through extensive dialog with preservationists and just as extensive dialog with sustainability experts at the intersection of building science and green technology.

As my mother said to me the last time she hugged me before we parted, “I am creating memories.” This is what the Green & Main team is doing as well – though we are still in the throes of creation.

– Jean Danielson is director of operations for Indigo Dawn. She believes that lemonade is best served with sunshine.