The Softest Sell
When it comes to designing an earth-friendly house, most people want to do the right thing. But the minute the process requires more time, more labor or more money, the impulse to do good quickly wanes. That’s where Global Green USA’s Green Building Resource Center comes in. A joint venture of the environmental organization and the city of Santa Monica, the center wants to pave the way to a healthier planet, not with good intentions but by putting sound ideas into action.
Since opening last year in a small storefront on Main Street, the center has been promoting homes that conserve natural resources, reduce energy consumption and safeguard human health. It’s spreading the word through workshops and panel discussions; a library of books, magazines and technical guidelines; databases of green professionals and a show-and-tell exhibit of green construction and finish materials. What’s more, the services are free to anyone who stops in--homeowner or renter, architect or interior designer, contractor or tradesman, developer or landlord.
“So many people are concerned about what’s going on in the world today, from global warming to icebergs breaking up in Antarctica to the deforestation of the Amazon and British Columbia. They feel helpless and wonder how they can make a difference,” says Matt Petersen, president of Global Green USA. “We make it easier for everyone to figure out how they can be part of the solution.”
Center coordinator Monica Gilchrist and her staff offer a great primer on ecologically responsible design--both interior decoration and nuts-and-bolts construction. You want to know where to find structural insulated panels for walls or which Southland cities issue rebates for installing low-flow toilets and shower heads? Or how to orient a house to maximize natural heating and cooling and minimize utility costs?
“We can help you with your entire building, whether you’re building from scratch or remodeling, whether you own or rent,” says Gilchrist. “We’re like a one-stop shop where we walk you through the process and, depending on your priorities, show you where to spend your money most wisely.”
As a nonprofit undertaking, the center doesn’t pitch Brand X to the exclusion of Brands Y and Z. It delivers accurate, objective information about many different products. Venice sustainable architect Isabelle Duvivier appreciates the unbiased approach. “They’re able to stay current on the newest and the latest,” says Duvivier. “And because it’s not a store per se, there’s no incentive to sell you something.”
The center encounters its share of skeptics, so Gilchrist and her staff spend a lot of time dispelling myths that have dogged green design. “The biggest misconceptions are that it’s too expensive and not attractive,” she says, insisting that going green is not always black and white.
Although some green alternatives cost more than conventional choices, Gilchrist says it’s important to weigh long-term financial savings as well as overall environmental and health effects. Solar water heaters, for example, cost more upfront than their gas or electric counterparts, but homeowners will pay less to run them. Linoleum, meanwhile, can cost twice as much as vinyl, but it lasts six times as long and is made from sustainable organic materials that emit fewer gases.
Comparably priced or even lower-priced alternatives make switching to the green lifestyle even more accessible. At $4 to $12 a square foot, bamboo flooring costs about the same as hardwood but is a rapidly renewable resource, whereas an oak tree takes more than a century to reach maturity. And if you don’t mind recycling and shopping at architectural salvage yards, you might shell out as little as $150 for a used but perfectly functional tub that, if new, could set you back twice that amount.
And Gilchrist says more and more elegant materials are being developed. Natural clay plaster in a palette of 18 custom-blendable colors, organic cotton wall coverings and recycled glass tiles are but a handful of the luxurious-looking finishes that several interior designers have specified for high-end houses.
Besides packaging product samples in a clever hands-on display, Gilchrist and her staff practice what they preach. The center’s floor sports colorful linoleum tiles made of natural cork, sawdust and pine resin, while the walls are covered with nontoxic low-VOC paint, which emits fewer volatile organic compounds, or harmful fumes. There’s also a handsome bookcase and credenza fashioned from formaldehyde-free maple plywood and Kirei panels of reclaimed sorghum stalks that ordinarily would be burned as agricultural waste.
“The center takes the mystery out of this kind of design and makes it tangible,” says Santa Monica architect Lawrence Scarpa. “The beauty is that I can refer clients there or clients can go there first and then come to me. Either way, it helps people make the leap in this direction.”
Green Building Resource Center, 2218 Main St., Santa Monica. Open 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays; 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursdays. (310) 452-7677 or www.globalgreen.org/gbrc.
