Register Now for the 2006 Built Green™ Conference & Expo!

Registration is now open for our annual Built Green™ Conference & Expo, presented by King County and the Master Builders Association, on Thursday, March 16 from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Washington State Convention & Trade Center in Seattle. From now through March 13, the cost is $145 for Built Green members and $175 for non-members, with reduced fees available for registering three or more employees (call for details). To register, download the form above and send it to Built Green Coordinator Amanda Reed at 335 116th Ave SE, Bellevue, WA 98103. If you have questions, you may call (425) 460-8238 or email.

Our keynote speaker, presented by the City of Seattle and Otak Inc., will be Sarah Susanka. Our plenary speaker, presented by King County, will be David Johnston. The conference will also include a green products and company tradeshow, numerous educational workshops on green building, design, marketing and real estate, and a presentation of the new Built Green Hammer Awards! Eco-Broker will be coming to teach a special clock-hour class for Realtors®! More information on the conference program, educational sessions and registration details are available on our website.

Sponsorship and exhibiting opportunities are also available! For information on how to sponsor the Built Green Conference or participate in the tradeshow, please contact Sales & Marketing Director Pam Worner by phone at (425) 460-8217, or via email.

Register Now!
Download our Registration Form (pdf 160kb)

Keynote Speaker: Susanka is a nationally-renowned architect, speaker and author of "The Not So Big House". Her "build better, not bigger" approach to residential architecture has been embraced by homeowners, architects and builders across the country, and has sparked a national dialogue. She is a leading advocate for the re-popularization of residential architecture.

Plenary Speaker: David Johnston is a leader in the U.S. green building industry and author the best selling new book 'Green Remodeling, Changing the World One Room at a Time'. Johnston is currently president of What's Working, an international design and consulting firm, specializing in environmental construction technology. He was the founder of the Passive Solar Industries Council in Washington, DC and a founding member of Colorado's Built Green program. He works internationally using his unique approach to harmonize the built environment with local ecology, using culturally and contextually appropriate approaches.

New Members

Are you a Built Green member and a member of the Master Builders Association? Then your company is designated with a small green tree on the Master Builders Association website as a Built Green member. Your company is also listed on the Built Green website.

Welcome to our newest member companies!

The Blueline Group
(425) 216-4051 in Kirkland

Fradkin Fine Construction
(206) 706-1123 in Seattle

Miller & Associates Design
(206) 234-6551 in Seattle

Pryde Johnson LLC
(206) 352-7000 in Seattle

William Buchan Homes Inc.
(425) 828-6424 in Bellevue

WS Feldt General Contractor
(206) 321-2316 in Seattle

Member News

Built Green member builder CMI Homes and the Built Green Home at Suncadia are featured in an article in the Sustainable Home: Design, Build, Remodel online magazine.

Seattle's Conscious Choice magazine featured Built Green members GreenWorks Realty and Martha Rose Construction in an announcement about Martha Rose Construction's new 4- and 5-Star town homes at the new Rainier Vista Community in Columbia City.

If you are a member of Built Green and have news you would like to share with our readers, please email your announcement to Built Green at builtgreen@mbaks.com.

Events

Visit the Built Green Washington website for green home building courses and events across the state of Washington.

Saturday, February 18 to Sunday, February 26
Seattle Home Show
The Seattle Home Show will be held at Qwest Field Event Center from Saturday, February 18 to Sunday, February 26. Built Green will have a staffed booth where we will answer questions about the program, and provide examples of green materials. We'll also have our website available at a kiosk, and a display showcasing the new Built Green Home at Suncadia. Seattle Home Show supports Built Green, and supports saving gasoline and reducing air pollution: vehicles with four or more people park free at several Seattle Home Show-designated lots near the event! Plus, free Metro shuttles are provided from Bellevue, Northgate and south Renton. The show is sponsored by the Master Builders Association, and the Built Green booth is being sponsored by Ikea at this spring's show.

Wednesday, February 22 - New Date!
Trash Fashion Bash and Cake Competition
Join International Sustainable Solutions for a fun evening of sustainable cakes and trash fashion show on Wednesday, February 22 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Seattle Asian Art Museum! Built Green members such as Jim Potter of Kauri Investments, Bert Gregory of Mithun, and Diane Sugimura of the Seattle Deptartment of Planning and Development will be among those modeling their most glamorous haute trash. All attire will be designed and created out of recycled and salvaged organic materials. In addition, teams from architecture firms throughout the Northwest will be creating cakes based on the theme of sustainable building designs. Judging and awards for the cake competition will be held just prior to the fashion show. Proceeds from this event will be used to help put on an international conference in Seattle in June 2007 called Great Cities. The cost is $125 in advance, and $1,050 for a group of 10. Click here to purchase tickets online. For more information, contact Patricia Chase.

Wednesday, March 1
Understanding Green Materials
Please join King County's EcoDeals.org and the Environmental Home Center for a free brown bag lunch workshop on Wednesday, March 1 from noon to 1 p.m. at the Environmental Home Center, which is located at 4121 First Ave. S in Seattle. The meeting place is barrier free. This free workshop will help you understand everything you need to know about selecting products that are healthy for your home and the earth. For reservations or more information please contact Lisa DiMartino via email or by phone at (206) 682-7332, ext. 1923.

Puget Sound Energy

With all that is going on in the new year, don't forget that Puget Sound Energy is still offering several rebates on energy efficient products. For 2006, PSE is offering a $250 rebate on Energy Star® qualified natural gas furnaces, up from $150 in years past.

Other available new construction rebates include high-efficiency natural gas water heaters, Energy Star-qualified dishwashers, clothes washers, fixtures and bulbs, and homes.

For more information on new construction rebates available to builders, contact Chris Boroughs at (425) 456-2431 or via email.

Recommended Reading

Eco-Tech: Rapidly Renewable Building Materials Are Hitting The Market
The January/February issue of eco-structure magazine has a great section devoted to rapidly renewable building materials. The Eco-Tech section, on pages 62 to 71, contains five articles on bamboo, wheat straw, sunflower hulls, cork and sorghum. The section and articles are also available online in PDF format here. The magazine itself is available for reading in our Built Green Resource Library at the Master Builders Association Housing Center in Bellevue.

Resources

Ecospecifier
Ecospecifier is a guide to eco-preferable products and materials for the construction industry, specifically targeted at the needs of decision makers and specifiers. It responds to the need for greater clarity about what is and is not "green," for the desire to specify products that will lead to better indoor air quality and wellbeing, and for the growing body of public and private sector clients who want to save energy, water and use sustainable resources. The website includes a database of more than 1,000 environmentally preferable products, materials and resources, as well as technical guides and links to more resources. Ecospecifier is a membership service, although significant functionality and a limited list of products are available in the public domain from the website.

Volunteers Needed

We need volunteers to work a shift at our Built Green booth at the Seattle Home Show! Most shifts are three and one-half hours long, and many are available on each day from Saturday, February 18 to Sunday, February 26. Each volunteer will be paired with a Master Builders Association employee, and Built Green will be hosting an appreciation and training luncheon at the association's office on Wednesday, February 15 from noon to 1 p.m. to get everyone prepared! You will receive one free pass for admission to the Home Show for volunteering. Please contact Built Green Coordinator Amanda Reed at (425) 460-8238 or via email if you are interested. Thank you!

New Certifications

Congratulations to Stickney Murphy Romine Architects for certifying a 49-unit 3-Star Built Green multi-family project in Seattle; Fradkin Fine Construction for certifying a 3-Star Built Green remodel in Woodinville; and Murray Franklyn for certifying one hundred sixty 3-Star homes at Snoqualmie Ridge in Snoqualmie.

Classes

Visit the Built Green Washington website for green home building courses and events across the state of Washington.

Thursday, February 2, Bellevue
Build Green & Profit
This interactive workshop will help you develop Built Green™ priorities for your company. Whether you are a builder, designer, developer or another allied professional, you'll leave this program knowing how to use this special tool to build your business. The class provides an overview of the Built Green rating system, an introduction to green building design, a discussion of how building green affects your bottom line and an offering of "top picks" from the checklist. This course will be held from 8 a.m. to noon on Thursday, Feb. 2 at the Master Builders Association Housing Center in Bellevue. The cost of the course is $100 for association members and $125 for non-members. Built Green credit. To register, contact the MBA University registrar at education@mbaks.com or (425) 460-8208.

Tuesday, March 21, Bellevue
Introduction to Built Green™
This free seminar provides an introduction to the Built Green™ program from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. on Thursday, January 19 at the Master Builders Association Housing Center in Bellevue. Learn how to certify a project and use the checklist, how to join, how the program works, and other resources. The seminar presents examples of projects and covers how to fill out the Built Green checklist. This orientation is required in order to certify homes as Built Green. To register, contact the MBA University registrar at education@mbaks.com or (425) 460-8208. If you can't make it on March 21, the class is also scheduled for later in the term on Tuesday, May 16.

Call for Entries

ASLA 2006 Professional & Student Awards
The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) invites professionals and students to submit entries for the ASLA 2006 Professional and Student Awards. The ASLA Professional Awards honors the best in landscape architecture from around the globe, while the ASLA Student Awards program gives a glimpse into the future of the profession. The awards program his divided into five categories: General Design, Residential Design, Analysis and Planning, Research, and Communications. Entry forms and payment must be received by Friday, February 10, for Professional Awards and Friday, May 19, for Student Awards. Submission binders must be received by Friday, February 24, for Professional Awards and Friday, June 2, for Student Awards. For more information about the awards and applications, see ASLA's website.

Metafore's Inaugural Innovation Awards
Metafore, a Portland, OR-based non-profit, is now accepting entries for its first-ever Innovation Awards recognizing outstanding product and service innovations that offer improved environmental, social and financial results. Award winners will be announced from among the finalists at an awards ceremony during Metafore's Forest Leadership Forum Wednesday, May 3 to Saturday, May 6 in front of a large audience of leading buyers and suppliers of wood and paper products with billions of dollars of collective purchasing power. Entries must be submitted by Friday, February 10. For more information about the awards and applications, see Metafore's website.

King County

A Letter from Patti Southard, Built Green Representative from King County
With February being Women's History Month, I wanted to profile some of the amazing women I get to work with on our Built Green Program. King County has always been generous with time in developing and helping to manage the Built Green program but, as you know, we could never get all the work done without the help of private business owners and their huge contributions.

The steering committee and sub-committees of Built Green have been fortunate to experience an amazing array of talent through volunteerism. Diane Glenn, Brenda Nunes and Lisa DiMartino are a few outstanding examples.

Diane Glenn, of The Construction Consultants, works hard on jobsites assisting builders to certify their projects, and is an active member of the Built Green Executive Committee and chair of the 2006 Multi-Family Checklist Review Committee.

Brenda Nunes, of Associated Earth Sciences Inc., is the dream weaver behind the Built Green Home at Suncadia, volunteers on the Built Green Steering Committee, and is developing a Built Green site tour which will be offered the day after the 2006 Built Green Conference & Expo.

Lisa DiMartino, of Environmental Home Center, is one of the newest volunteers to the program and is working with Brenda on the Built Green Home at Suncadia, as well as developing free green material workshops for the public, and will host the bookstore for the upcoming 2006 Built Green Conference & Expo.

Many thanks go out to these women and all the other generous volunteers. I hope that you have time to meet these amazing women and see their work in action at the 2006 Built Green Conference & Expo on Thursday, March 16.

Contact Built Green

Master Builders Association
335 - 116th Avenue SE
Bellevue, WA 98004
P: (425) 460-8238
F: (425) 646-5985
builtgreen@mbaks.com
www.builtgreen.net

Master Builders Association Calendar of Events

If you have news items for this newsletter, please send us an email. Click here for Directions to the Master Builders Association.