After seeing this slideshow on the New York Times’ website of Brett’s tipi and Jake’s geodesic dome, I decided to track them down.

Living in a Tipi

Brett Butler grew up with Paul Goble’s paintings of tipis in his bedroom, which Brett’s mother believes may have subliminally encouraged him to live in one.

Besides living in a 256 square foot tipi, Brett lessens his impact in just about every way – he rides a motorcycle instead of driving a car, eats organic and local as much as possible, uses a composting toilet, recycles, dumpster dives, and even scrapes up fresh road-kill (yes, road-kill) at times for food.

He also runs an educational company called Field Trips Delivered, which brings environmental field trips to educators, students, and camp directors versus having them plan and embark on an expensive trip themselves.

Abbie: Why did you decide to live in an alternative home?

Brett:  After attending college for a few years [at Appalachian State in North Carolina], I was sharing a house and paying way too much for rent and really having an unhappy time working a lot to pay bills and all that jazz. I had lived in a tent for a month between living in the dorms and moving into that house, so I decided that I would take the plunge, and move back to the woods and live outside and see how it went.

I bought the cover and liner and had a friend of a friend cut some poles for me, and one day a friend and myself cleared a place to set the tipi up on a farm where I was working, and with permission from the farm owner, I set up and moved out of the house and into the tipi. I haven’t looked back since then.

Abbie: Why/how did you choose a tipi? How did you build it?

Brett: A tipi is an extremely simple structure. Canvas and wood, and a few pieces of rope, and you’ve got yourself a home. And not just a little home; it’s big and spacious and warm in the winter, cool in the summer, and comfortable pretty much all year round.

The cover of the tipi is made from a special canvas called Sunforger, which is used to make sailboat sails since it is mold and mildew RESISTANT, and UV light-degredation resistant. I say resistant in bold because it is starting to mildew on the outside and looks a bit rough, but it looks lived-in. [Appropriate,] since “tipi” is actually two Lakota Sioux words, ti pi, meaning “place lived in.”

The actual set up process is quick once you’ve got the hang of it, and I can set up a tipi in about 6 minutes now, and have it staked down in another 5.

Abbie: What’s the hardest part about living in a tipi?

Brett: Everything is just DIFFERENT. I don’t flick a light switch to turn my lights on, I strike a match and light my beeswax candles and oil lamps. I don’t turn the thermostat up or down, I put more wood in the woodstove to heat my place up, or roll up the sides to get a little breeze flowing to cool it down in the summer.

To get water, I fill up 5-gallon water jugs either at a spring or from the faucet at my host’s home and use a small hand pump to get it from the jug to pots, pans, water bottles or my teakettle. I guess I would say the thing I miss the most is running water.

Life in a Geodesic Dome

Photo above: basykes on Flickr

Jake Weller is a student at Juniata College in central Pennsylvania who decided to live in a geodesic dome for the 2009-2010 school year when he figured that he could live in his own structure more cheaply than the other options.

Abbie: What is a geodesic dome and how did you choose to live in one of these versus another type of alternative home?

Jake: A geodesic dome (GD) is a geometrical structure based on a mathematical formula developed by R. Buckminster Fuller. It is a relationship between the side lengths and angles of struts which follow a set pattern.

It is one of the strongest and most efficient structures possible, in terms of materials. And the only one (that I know of) where the strength of the structure increases with size.

I chose a GD for several reasons, including: structural strength, the possibility of using recycled and recyclable materials, aesthetic preference, portability, and ease of fabrication.

Abbie: What is the hardest/worst part about living in the geodesic dome? The best part?

Jake: The most difficult part was deciding on a cover design, especially considering that the structure had to be portable.

The best part has been the experience of actually doing it, and seeing how feasible such a project would be. I have really enjoyed it so far.

Community Connection:

Want a less permanent alternative living arrangement? Read Sonya Harvey’s article to find out how to live in your car!

All photos by author

Yeang has been building ecological and bioclimatic premises for almost 40 years.

A prolific writer of books about ecodesign and a visiting scholar at various universities, he has designed over 200 projects since 1975, including the Menara Mesiniaga Tower in Selangor and the National Library of Singapore, which received the Green Mark Platinum Award.

Largely regarded as the “father” of the bioclimatic skyscraper, Yeang uses his concepts of ecodesign in all his architectural projects. Based on his personal principle of ’ecomimicry’, his designs seek connectivity between the built environment and surrounding ecosystems via motifs like eco-land bridges, vertical landscaping, green living walls, skycourts, vertical linked enclosed green atriums, and windscoops.

One of his latest projects, scheduled for completion in 2011, is Tulip Turkuaz, a 1,700 unit development in the Bahcesehir district of Istanbul. It has an emphasis on bioclimatic facilities like solar-energy, natural light channels, low energy electrical fittings, and water arcades.

I interviewed Dr. Yeang about the Tulip Turkuaz project:

Paul:
TulipTurkuaz is your first bioclimatic project in Turkey. Will you design others?

Dr. Yeang:
We are already preparing a TulipTowers project together with the Tulip Group. It will be put into practice immediately after TulipTurkuaz. Apart from these, time will show which developments will occur in the long term.

Paul:
What distinguishes TulipTurkuaz from your other projects?

Dr. Yeang:
It’s a unique project for Istanbul with original architectural design and a special concept. This is the first time biochemical architecture will be applied in Turkey. TulipTurkuaz also meets an important part of its own energy requirement with solar panels and full biological purification systems. There are large water channels, located among blocks, and plenty of environmental features via the landscape, covering even garages.

The location of TulipTurkuaz is also extremely exclusive, adorned with completely open, non-closeable sea and lake views at the entrance of Bahçeşehir-Ispartakule, a single new settlement unit of Istanbul European Side.

Paul:
What kind of structural and aesthetic elements are you most pleased with?

Dr. Yeang:

The plan was to create a civic environment without damaging the ecosystem by constituting a balance between ecology and civic life. Traffic is left out of such an ecosystem. Parks and service roads are dominant. Highways will be hidden. The project appreciates nature and there are plenty of green spaces like park lands, a marina, and an aqua park.

Paul:
Tell us about your concept of bioclimatic skyscrapers.

Dr. Yeang:
I wrote a book titled Rethink the Skyscraper. This book is a complete reading about understanding what is [a] skyscraper for me. Although skyscrapers are structures developed by Americans in 20th century, when you research, you see that no book was written about [the] architecture of skyscraper[s] even 50 years after their first occurrence.

I noticed that we learned the construction of skyscrapers only by trial and error. My aim was to think about them more in advance. I realized they are a civic design that we have an opportunity to rethink, adding elements like sky gardens, landscapes, and plazas under the body of structure.

Paul:
What are your future plans?

Dr. Yeang:
I would like to continue to attract attention to the subject of bioclimatic architecture. I’m working on a new book, which I suppose I will complete in the autumn.

For more information on the Tulip Turkuaz project: www.tulipturkuaz.co.uk
PR & Marketing for Tulip Turkuaz: Seda Consulting

Community Connection:

Dr. Yeang may be making Istanbul more beautiful, but what about the world’s ugliest buildings? Eileen Smith rounds-up the world’s worst in The World’s Ugliest Buildings.

The largest JW Marriott resort in the world / All photos by author

Last month, my wife and I spent two nights at the recently opened (as of late January this year) JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort and Spa. Our lodging and meal costs were comped.

This place is massive. There are 1,002 rooms, 85 of which are suites.

Big, empty event room

The “executive suite” we stayed in had as much square footage as our house, I’m pretty sure, and featured a giant dead space in the sitting room that could’ve served as a mini square dance area.

Add to that a couple 40,000sqft “ballrooms,” some 20 smaller (but still enormous) meeting/conference rooms, three wedding/event venues, a 26,000sqft spa, a waterpark, half a dozen restaurants, hallways of shops and cafes, and two 18-hole golf courses.

It is the largest JW Marriott resort in the world.

So when I saw them also proudly pushing their “Greenitiatives” (an unfortunate neologism I hope doesn’t catch on elsewhere) on their website, I knew what my junket would focus on. I mean, all else aside, the idea that a golf course of any size, one hole or 36, could be “green” is bullshit.

What I found during my stay, however, was that not all of these — okay, fine — “Greenitiatives” were totally contrived. And, given the land development alternatives in the region, signing off on the resort might have been the city council’s way of making the best out of an inevitably bad situation.

The centerpiece “Greenitiative”

Golf is what it’s about. The resort’s two 18-hole courses make up the private TPC San Antonio club and will host PGA Tour tournaments. I don’t know what that means.

But I do know golf greens are on par with Superfund sites in terms of toxicity, a result of all the chemicals used to keep the grass nice and pretty and green.

And these courses I’m sure are no exception. In fact, we saw signs along the greens warning of pesticide contamination.

But TPC San Antonio’s 36-hole complex does differ from the standard golf course in other ways. It’s built over a shield of 75,000 cubic yards of impervious clay that largely keeps the contaminated water from seeping into the earth below.

It features a closed-loop irrigation system that captures irrigation and rainwater runoff, preventing it from leaving the course and recycling it for future irrigation use.

And there are monitoring stations at the entrance and exit of the local watershed to measure how much contamination is escaping the system via water that manages to pass through.

All this kinda puts TPC San Antonio out in front of golf “greenery,” if there is such a movement:

Scott Halty, director of resource protection for the San Antonio Water System, said he’s been unable to find another system like it anywhere in the country. Vernon Kelly, president of PGA Tour Golf Course Properties, said the system…goes far beyond anything the tour has installed at its 26 other Tournament Players Clubs.
Source: San Antonio Express News

Great. They’re trying. Why?

Author enjoying one of the heated pools

Green by necessity

San Antonio tap water is delicious. The bulk of it is pumped from the Edwards Aquifer, a subterranean network of porous limestone that traps and stores enough water to supply two million people.

The recharge zone for this aquifer — the area where water from precipitation and creek systems enters the ground — is spread over 1,500 square miles of the Texas Hill Country. And the JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort and Spa, golf courses and all, sits on top of a sliver of that recharge zone.

The aquifer is an abundant but fragile artesian water source:

In most places, rain passes through layers of sand or gravel that act as natural filters before it enters the underground water supply. But over San Antonio’s recharge zone, a thin layer of grass and dirt has less ability to filter impurities.
Source: San Antonio Express News

This is why previous development proposals brought by the land’s owners, the Austin-based Lumbermen’s Investment Corp., were rejected by the city. They failed to provide adequate protection for one of San Antonio’s most essential natural resources.

The investment in the clay shield, closed-loop irrigation, and monitoring system, then, can be seen as a concession, the absence of which would have scuttled the entire project. You could call it an “Involuntary-Greenitiative” (amalgamate that!).

Another fundamental of Lumbermen’s proposal was that the entire 2,847-acre Cibolo Canyons Development (which includes the resort and golf courses as well as residential properties) cannot exceed 15% impervious cover.

This figure comes from studies showing that “the recharge zone’s natural ability to filter pollutants is compromised when the area covered by streets and houses exceeds 15 percent of the land’s surface.”

Additionally, 758 acres adjoining the golf course are to remain untouched, within which is a 100-acre bird sanctuary. It has walking trails, but they’re closed March–October to protect the endangered golden-cheeked warbler.

(Also included in the deal was a living wage commitment to resort and golf-course workers, something on which Marriott generally has a good track record.)

The argument made to me by Mike Kass, the resort’s Director of Sales and Marketing, was that all of this is “better than the alternative”: an extension of the tract housing that uglies up the rest of north San Antonio. Streets and roofs and driveways that collect and channel motor oil, paint, and other everyday toxins into the recharge zone. Totally unmonitored.

It’s the same argument Jim Mayor, chairman of the board for the San Antonio Water System, made back in late 2007:

I truly believe that this is the best environmental plan that any organization could put together with a private property owner over a most-sensitive part of our aquifer… It’s the maximum that could be achieved short of taking somebody’s property.
Source: San Antonio Express News

Voluntary or not, these “Greenitiatives” seem to be better than nothing.

Lunch plate at 18 Oaks

Green by choice

Of course, the JW Marriott, like most other mainstream hotel/resort chains these days, knows consumers like “green.” And they’ve adopted some policies I’m assuming weren’t arm-twisted out of them.

The most impressive is their participation in the Windtricity program, a service offered by South Texas’s CPS Energy. Residences and businesses pay a premium to help fund the capture and transmission of energy from wind farms in west and northwest Texas to the state’s electric grid.

Marriott isn’t feeding off renewable energy directly (such as they would if they had turbines on their property, for example), but their annual premium supposedly pays for 70% of their power. So, in the abstract, the resort gets 70% of its electricity from a renewable source. It’s the largest single user in the Windtricity program.

The list of smaller green initiatives is long and includes a few from Julie Schwietert’s 10 Steps Hotels Can Take to Go Greener. Here’s a sampling:

• Recycled steel studs and low-VOC (volatile organic compound) glues and paints were used in the resort’s construction.
• Rooms feature “smart” heating and cooling systems that shut off when exterior doors are opened.
• Plumbing in guest bathrooms is supposedly low-flow. Our “executive suite” shower definitely wasn’t, though.
• Guest literature advertises the standard “linen reuse” program. However, there were no instructions in our room on how to participate.
• The clubhouse restaurant, 18 Oaks, features menu ingredients sourced from within a radius of 150 miles.
• A planned on-site greenhouse will provide fresh produce for the restaurants.

I was even given a “green” press kit — a little cartridge with a USB interface. Sweet. For some reason, though, it was accompanied by an attractive but ultimately wasteful cardboard-bound photo brochure.

Executive suite bedroom

My case study conclusion

Is the JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort and Spa “green”? No.

It is a behemoth, it is sprawl, it devours energy and natural resources. Plus, there’s no guarantee all the fancy clay cover, closed-loop business on the golf course is going to work.

In the words of Graciela Sanchez, director of San Antonio’s Esperanza Peace and Justice Center:

“What they presented us was the best that they thought they can do, but they have no history with this. We don’t know for a fact that it is not going to leak. It’s just going to be, ‘Try it and see how it goes.’”
Source: San Antonio Express News

I can think of dozens of “greener” uses to which this land could have been put. But the truth is that no one was going to make a park, or a 2,800-acre bird sanctuary, or a giant disc golf course (still golf, but none of the chemicals!) on this prime piece of real estate.

If it hadn’t been the resort, it almost certainly would’ve been something worse. Something much less controversial and thus much less scrutinized and monitored.

It’s a “lesser of two evils,” “opportunity cost” scenario. But maybe this is how we baby step towards true sustainability in the hotel industry.

What do you think? Would you ever consider a resort like this one to be “green”? Been to a resort that does it better? Speak up in the comments.

Community Connection

Over at BNT, Jennifer Bernstein looks at The Inconvenient Truth About Green Travel. And Nights has profiled The 9 Best-Designed Hotels Worldwide.

When I moved to New York City 10 years ago, the Meatpacking District was a sketchy, marginal neighborhood frequented by prostitutes and drug users.

Today, it’s a neighborhood populated by trendy, expensive boutiques, name-dropper restaurants, and some of the city’s edgiest, most exciting architecture.

It’s also the location of New York City’s newest park: the High Line.

So named because the park is built atop an abandoned rail line that was originally constructed in the 1930s, the High Line was an urban eyesore from 1980 until this summer, when a 10 year old dream of the Friends of the High Line was finally realized.

Back in 1999, the city had slated the elevated rail for demolition. But some folks didn’t want to see this part of New York City history destroyed, and they effectively rallied to turn the space into an ambitious and unique urban park. Construction began in 2006 and the first part of what will be a mile and a half long park opened last month.

1. The wood used on the benches and decking was harvested from a managed forest certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. It was selected for its longevity and durability.

2. If you’re lucky enough to snag one of these seats at sunset, you’re all but guaranteed a spectacular light show on the Hudson River.

3. This IS an urban park, after all. These benches offer a view of a New York City street, but insulate park visitors from car noise.

4. Most of the plants and grasses on the High Line are native species, “inspired by the self-seeded landscape that grew on the out-of-use elevated rail tracks during the 25 years after the trains stopped running.”

5. The popularity of the High Line has attracted all sorts of new businesses to the neighborhood, including Van Leeuwen, which scoops up artisanal ice cream. They’re “green,” too: their cups, spoons, and straws are all made from corn husks.

6. View of the Meatpacking District from the High Line, now attracting the less criminal element.

All photos by Francisco Collazo.

Community Connection:

Planning a visit to New York City? Be sure to consult our Green Guide to New York City first!