Copyright (c) 2009 All rights reserved. http://works.bepress.com/mmcdonal Recent documents in Margot McDonald en-us Sun, 31 May 2009 09:32:13 PDT 3600 http://works.bepress.com/mmcdonal/13 http://works.bepress.com/mmcdonal/13 Wed, 16 Jul 2008 14:09:00 PDT Margot McDonald http://works.bepress.com/mmcdonal/11 http://works.bepress.com/mmcdonal/11 Wed, 16 Apr 2008 15:53:25 PDT The conversion of military bases around the country creates an imperative to infuse social, economic, and environmental vitality back into the affected region. Fort Ord in Monterey County, a recent casualty of base closures, is being turned into an opportunity for adaptive reuse as it undergoes the transformation from an army base to a magnet campus for the California State University (CSU) system. The CSU Monterey Bay (CSUMB) campus visionaries included sustainability as a priority in the base conversion. To achieve this goal, the university hired a team of sustainable design consultants. This paper reports on the outcomes of the preliminary design and planning phases. Margot McDonald Sustainability http://works.bepress.com/mmcdonal/12 http://works.bepress.com/mmcdonal/12 Wed, 16 Apr 2008 15:53:04 PDT Architectural education offers students practice with complex problem-solving, most often separate from the public they will eventually serve. Design education that addresses real clients and real world concerns such as renewable energy and resources, social equity and environmental justice, and economic feasibility demands the skills of coordination, communication, vision, and leadership different from conventional architectural education. This paper outlines an innovative university curriculum that moves in the direction of educating architects as community leaders based on sustainable design and the concept of community in every aspect of the teaching model. Specifically, the teaching model creates an interactive group dynamic in the design studio based on cooperation and sharing, engages students in real world experiences so they can develop as community leaders, and, identifies a knowledge base and design methodology (including computer technology) to fill the information gap created by an emerging field. Margot McDonald Sustainability http://works.bepress.com/mmcdonal/10 http://works.bepress.com/mmcdonal/10 Wed, 16 Apr 2008 15:52:13 PDT In 1990, the Dutch Government adopted a national plan to develop integrated and comprehensive policies that would respond on a national, regional, and local level to the need for improved environmental quality for the welfare of current and future generations. The program, called the National Environmental Policy Plan (NEPP), represented a bold effort to develop cooperation and shared responsibility between the public and private sectors setting goals for reduced energy consumption, resource utilization, and improved environmental quality including the reduction of SO2, NOx, and CO2 emissions. This paper reports on key elements of the NEPP and related policies that pertain to sustainable community planning. Although the transferability of policies for one locale to another may be limited by surrounding socio-cultural, economic and environmental conditions, these efforts represent some of the most innovative and pioneering examples of environmental planning currently being explored in Europe and the U.S. and as such deserve our consideration as we seek our own solutions to sustainable planning and architecture. Margot McDonald Sustainability http://works.bepress.com/mmcdonal/9 http://works.bepress.com/mmcdonal/9 Thu, 31 Jan 2008 16:57:32 PST As with any building project, climate has an enormous impact on building and site energy and water consumption, the potential for on-site electrical power generation, indoor environmental quality in terms of thermal comfort and daylighting opportunities, and the creation of protected outdoor environments as extensions of interior spaces. In order to assess the site-climate design potential designers, users, and building owners need to consider issues revealed by quantitative, scientific data of existing conditions, qualitative regional or microclimatic principles that optimize building form, organization, and materials based on this understanding, and simulations of future design alternatives. This paper discusses the relevant questions and requisite data in considering the role of regional and local climate in the design of the research office buildings for the Technology Park on the Cal Poly campus in San Luis Obispo, California. Margot McDonald Sustainability http://works.bepress.com/mmcdonal/8 http://works.bepress.com/mmcdonal/8 Mon, 28 Jan 2008 15:59:02 PST Cal Poly Lands located in San Luis Obispo County experience a collection of idyllic microclimates due to their geographical position relative to the Irish Hills and San Luis Range to the south and west, and the Santa Lucia Range to the east. These ridges create sheltered valleys that retard the persistent summer coastal fog common to neighboring communities to the west and the wide seasonal temperature variations of the Salinas and San Joaquin Valley north of the Cuesta Grade. Margot McDonald Sustainability http://works.bepress.com/mmcdonal/7 http://works.bepress.com/mmcdonal/7 Tue, 22 Jan 2008 16:53:41 PST In January 1993, the American Institute of Architects and the International Union of Architects announced the "Sustainable Community Solutions" ideas competition. This paper describes principles and concepts illustrated in an award winning design competition entry based in Los Osos, California. The focus of this entry is the transformation of a suburban bedroom community on the California coast into a vital ecological city designed around its watershed. This paper outlines sustainable design strategies that encompass the full spectrum of environmental design issues at the full range of scales; global, bioregional, regional, site, building, and component as proposed by the design team. Margot McDonald Sustainability http://works.bepress.com/mmcdonal/6 http://works.bepress.com/mmcdonal/6 Tue, 22 Jan 2008 16:53:10 PST The National Park Service was intent on creating a model "green" development at the decommissioned Presidio military base in San Francisco. Two local firms, Community Equity Builders and Tanner Leddy Maytum Stacy (TLMS) Architects forged a partnership which led to one of the first successful historic rehabilitation since the base conversion. Their efforts transformed the turn-of- the-century Letterman Hospital into the Thoreau Center for Sustainability where energy and resource conservation are at the forefront of the building design and operation. The building complex, now occupied for over two years, has been well-documented as a green building and historic rehabilitation project but without the benefits of a post-occupancy evaluation. This study examines the occupied building in three important areas -- daylighting, electric lighting, and thermal comfort -- in order to assess the actual building environmental performance. Results of the first phase of the post-occupancy study, a lighting and thermal comfort user survey, are presented in this paper. Margot McDonald Sustainability http://works.bepress.com/mmcdonal/5 http://works.bepress.com/mmcdonal/5 Fri, 04 Jan 2008 16:04:51 PST In 2000, the Governor of the State of California issued an executive order (D-16-00) that seeks to reduce costs and improve environmental performance of state buildings in all phases of construction, operations and maintenance. The California Integrated Waste Management Board (CIWMB) has provided leadership in implementing this order through initiatives such as the Sustainable Building Task Force. In the realm of post-secondary education, CIWMB also sponsored the Sustainable Environmental Design Education (SEDE) program in collaboration with Cal Poly-SLO. The project will be used to survey and assess existing sustainable environmental design programs, generate a framework for sustainable design education of current and future building and landscape professionals, and assist the Board with dissemination of the resulting sustainable design curriculum. This project seeks to fundamentally change the existing paradigm for environmental design education that has limited the imagination and understanding of designers for the natural processes underlying environmental design. The benefits of this project will ultimately contribute to designers, owners, and operators who achieve higher efficiencies and reduced waste in energy, materials, and water cycles in their buildings and landscapes. Margot McDonald Sustainability http://works.bepress.com/mmcdonal/4 http://works.bepress.com/mmcdonal/4 Mon, 17 Dec 2007 08:21:28 PST How do you know where the educational opportunities are in sustainability? How can you learn about the existing careers and the new careers that need to be created? How can we teach sustainability literacy and engagement to all? Come hear from experts in sustainability education and community engagement. Learn about resources to locate educational programs that relate to emerging careers. Hear about a continuum of educational opportunities, including K-12, higher education in multiple disciplines, education for the built environment, and professional organizations' initiatives. See how sustainability education can be useful in collaboration with the government, consumer and business sectors to create award winning community and regional partnerships for sustainability. Margot McDonald Sustainability