The Numbers

As the site managers were overseeing the landscape changes and preparing for the 'Alice in Wonderland' themed Halloween festivities for last Friday, I was gathering the last bits of information.

Final inverter readings.  Check. 

Photos of those residents I interviewed.  Check.

The recent rains had some washout effects on the stormwater retention basin, and a majority of the patios had been cleverly themed out for the Halloween contest.  Other than that, the site looked clean and moderately lively, as usual for a mid-day visit.

It was during my final walk that I got to meet the two boys below.  They are 3 and 4, respectively.  Three AND A HALF to be precise.  The ages are very important, and so is that half of a year.

So now it's my turn to get to the precise numbers.  comparing, analyzing, and preparing the final paper for issue.  And then that presentation at Greenbuild.  See you there.  And yes, the info will be posted here, stay tuned. 

Vista Dunes Residents

You're gonna love this presentation

Panic stricken on how to get all the information in my head onto the presentation field, my inbox sings something I can only compare to my Nike power song from my ipod running playlist, and sitting there is a link to Prezi from my dad/genius.  (Please recommend he add a photo if you are on Twitter.)  Here is a teaser on the capabilities. 

Affordable

A recent email passing my way had a subject line that caught my attention.

Subject: Blueprint for affordable modern 

Now I am interested in the whole conversation about modern architecture and what is now modern, by definition.  BUT, the affordable part really made me ponder. 

By definition Affordable doesn't even show up in Wikopedia unless describing something.  Affordable Housing is the first search response: Affordable housing is a term used to describe dwelling units whose total housing costs are deemed "affordable" to those that have a median income.




The average money spent at Starbucks on a drink is about $3.20, not including tip.  You've all heard the math, over a month this is $67 (if you don't take advantage of the $2 after 2 pm) and over a year this can add up to be....lada lada lada.  To the majority of those who frequent Starbucks, $67 per month is an immeasurable percentage of their monthy income.  What if $67 a month was measurable to you?  
What if you supported a household and your utility bill was higher than $67 and you couldn't pay it.  

If the latter of the above scenario was you, then what I did for a majority of yesterday and today; tilted solar panels on roofs in 110 degree weather in order to maximize kWh might interest you.  Each kWh here is .0784... and if each day you were now getting about 10 more of those kWh... so you do the math....in a year, that's quite a few lattes. 

But it's a dry heat.....

Yes, it's 105 degrees out here today, and yes it was 118 out here last week, but remember "it's a dry heat".

This is an actual temperature reading taken at 12:45 in the afternoon shining at the light colored paving - fry an egg yet?  Not quite.

The good news:  the inside of the units max out at 85-90 degrees without air conditioning running all day...that was on the 118 degree day. 


More updates coming, but I have to stop dripping for now.

Worth the Weight?

Generation Green

If you are a Treehugger or if you like to read this magazine, you consider yourself Generation Green, or you choose to attend events put on by him (to the right),  it is likely you will benefit from attending the Greenbuild Expo 2010 in Chicago. 


If you decide to go, and you should whether you are in the above category or not,  I encourage you to attend the seminar about this project and another post-occupancy study; it's BL05 on Friday. 

Who's side are you on?

An interesting  phenomenon occurred at Vista Dunes.  At last visit, I realized the access door for the residents to the adjacent park was welded closed.

Remembering back to early on in the design stages of the project, the approval process required that there was access to the park.  We achieved LEED-H credits for access to this park.  Nearly the entire property was lined with a 10 foot block wall- excepting this narrow window of supposed opportunity to venture- a door to the park.


The neighbors originally resisted.
I heard ...."we don't feel safe"...."they have some grass inside the property"......."they can walk around"....

Why was the gate there?  Because the wall was there?  Which came first (the chicken or the egg)?

Did the wall keep the residents in, or did it keep others out?

In fact here it is the latter.  The problem would be those trying to get IN to the property.  Several instances of vandalism were reported even before the project opened.  Once opened, the residents observed people propping the door open in order to access the property and its amenities. 

The on-site YMCA is bursting with kids for the after-school program and activities.  In my interviews of residents outside the project, I found that a large number of those kids participate as well. We'll save that report for another day, but my point is that a project that was originally adamantly protested by those on the other side of the gate..... is now touted as an amenity to the neighboring community. 

Imagine what can happen when you just break down the barriers and intermingle people, neighbors, and opportunities.  Imagine if cities praised this through policies.....gates would open everywhere.

Super

Superman.  A mere human transitioning into someone who can throw buses and lift the world to save it by removing his glasses.

supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.  a high concentration of letters for only 1 word. 

Superintendent.  Someone who watches over a project construction.

Superstore.  (and now self-reference changed to A store that has EVERY EVERY THING.   Wal-Mart.

Wal-Mart is the most consistently mentioned word during interviews and conversations at Vista Dunes.  I'm not saying that it is at the forefront of discussion but only that it seems to creep into every topic under observation.   Location.  Materials.  Groceries.  Shopping.  Health.  It all comes back to Wal-Mart. 

Catchy logo.  Save Money.  Live Better.   Bad stigma.  But if Patagonia can form an alliance, it gives hope that the store can positively influence the process of consumerism or even alter it all-together. 

So I toured the local Wal-Mart to evaluate.  What can't be found there?  Nothing that comes to mind as you enter the super-lit store.  As I browsed the aisles of items from fruit to floor cleaner, from shampoo to a pedicure spa, I ended my experience by purchasing a couple gift-cards.  Now I am bringing Wal-Mart to Vista Dunes and dangling the prospect of a Living Better gift card for offering more insight into questions about living at Vista Dunes.  Those who were once hesitant to open the door, offered answers before all the questionnaires could be distributed.  Super Fast.

Wouldn't it be Super if Patagonia could transform the store in the same manner the phone booth could change the shy, suited Clark Kent, into the bold caped Superman?

Retention

This project retains all of it's stormwater on-site, mostly due to this retention basin found near the main entry to the site.  Surface Water Management is a Credit under the LEED-H checklist. Yes, the project received the maximum points under this Credit.  During and following a rain, this mix of native planting and appropriate sized basin keeps the water from leaving the site and contributing to the stormwater system for the City.  Overloading stormwater systems can contribute to flooding and damage of the storm sewers  and on-site treatment keeps fertilizers, chemicals, and sediment from contributing into local water bodies down the watershed. 
Now to analyze the resident retention.  Since opening in May of 2008, 36 residents have left the project (as of January 1, 2010).  This is approximately 1.8 households per month, or less than 2%.  This also means that nearly 98% of the residents continue to want to live here.  5% of those that moved out purchased a home.  The clear majority of those that moved out, 46%, were evicted  ~ we'll save analyzing property rules for another day ~ but it appears that the residents are happy with their homes and wanting to stay.  I decided to issue a survey to try to find out more about what retains them.

Slow Down .....

Recently I have inadvertently joined the "Slow Movement" - see Slow Parenting - as my daughter utilizes her walking skills at the pace of a 1 year old.

slowly. 

This could be looked upon as a detriment or an invitation to experience life in a more profound manner.  

Recently the Vista Dunes project was distinguished as a winner in The Slow Home Project.  The Slow Home project covers 9 cities in 9 months, in search for the slowest homes in North America which has gotten The Project mentioned here, and here, and here in the design world. 

As the Slow Food Movement gathers momentum, GOOD Magazine also featured an entire issue about slowing down.  It seems this theme is everywhere right now!

To tie this whole Post together: 
The most consistent comment I've received in my interviews of the residents so far is that "people" speed through the project down Vista Dunes Lane.  It seems this straight road through the project seems to enable people, albeit speed limit signs posted.  Where to go from here?  Speed bumps?  stop signs?  A northern Italian town, Greve,  took a chance in the 1990's and formed Cittaslow, an association of cities committed to preserving their local culture, history, and quality of life.  Is it a pipe dream to vision this as the first Community to formulate a Communislow....A community that engages people to slow down, and find the joy in doing so? 

It's gonna be a bright sunshiny day

As the rains from last week (yes all week) subside, the skies are clear, fresh and clean.  As I am evaluating the performance of the photovoltaic system with California Solar Energy Company we are reviewing the estimated generation vs. actual conditions. 

The results for today: Great news.  Each system was estimated to produce 6.7 KW/H and were ahead of track at about 7.4 KW/H for the systems we reviewed at noon. 

It seems the rain potentially cleaned the panels, paired with ideal solar conditions; a lot of sunshine and mild temperatures, and they were cranking out power. 

Now on to more studies on how we can potentially optimize the generation.   Stay tuned. 

Fill er up

To help enumerate the water savings associated with the features in this project, we've decided to compare it to a "standard" home.  A standard home is one designed to meet minimum code requirements.   These are estimates and will hopefully be confirmed, denied, or amplified, during the life of this study.  The water saving features include dual-flush toilets, low-flow showerheads, and native planting.

I acre foot = 325,851.427 gallons, which equates to approx 1 football field filled with 1 foot of water. 

• It is estimated that 1.9 million gallons of water will be saved per year (5.8 acre feet). 
• Over 55 years this = 104,500,000 gallons of water (320.7 acre feet).

1. Lake Cahuilla has 1,500 acre feet, or 488,777,140.5 gallons of water.  The amount of water saved over a period of 55 years will fill up approximately one quarter of Lake Cahuilla. 
2. The Desert Water Agency says that 1 acre foot of water is enough for a family of 4 to live on for a year.  Vista Dunes saves about six acre feet of water per year - enough water to supply 6 families of 4 for an entire year, or 330 families of 4 over the course of 55 years. 
3. If Vista Dunes saves 320.7 acre feet of water over 55 years, that's enough water to fill almost three football stadiums (based on the size of Arizona State University's Sun Devil stadium which is 122 feet high)
4. The average golf course uses 144 million gallons of water per year, or 441 acre feet.  It would take 76 years to water a golf course for one year using the water saved by Vista Dunes. 
5. The Empire State Building is 115,284,752 cubic feet, which could hold 862,399,833 gallons of water, or 2646 acre feet. 

New beginnings

In the spirit of the new decade upon us I pulled out this photo of the Vista Dunes site as it existed in the mid 1900's.  Known as Happy Dunes Trailer Park, it was the first establishment in La Quinta, California.  You can just feel that fresh desert air with the snow-capped mountains in the distance and the open space around the site.  The road (now Miles Avenue) leads both newcomer and wary traveler the same, into the community. An open invitation to establish a life in any way you choose.   The subsistence of this site has now transpired as much an inspiration and opportunity for a new life as it was in this first photo.

Keep your coins, I want change

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