HAND, Housing Association of Nonprofit Developers, hosts a green building discussion in Arlington
Did you know that HAND has been established for over 20 years in Arlington, helping to grow nonprofit developers in the Northern Virginia market? That is pretty fantastic. Builders from all scopes came out to the HAND meeting on Wednesday, January 25, to listen to Emer O’Donovan of Weincek+Associates who had put her head together with Jill Norcross of HAND to pull together a fabulous discussion regarding Weincek+Associates’ project, Colonial Village, a current EarthCraft project that is not only seeking to become a more energy efficient project, but is also a wonderful case study for historical preservation in Northern Virginia.
After Ms. Norcross introduced the group she turned the discussion over to Ms. O’Donovan, lead architect on the Colonial Village project, who chatted briefly about the challenged of the project and why EarthCraft was brought in to consult and be a part of the project from the onset. She discussed that EarthCraft is brought in at the funding stage of development so that everyone will understand the full scope of work and all trades will be on board with the energy efficiency plan from the onset.
A nice cue for Chris Conway to step into the ring, EarthCraft’s Lead Technical Advisor for Northern Virginia and the on-site EarthCraft representative for the Colonial Village project then discussed the phases of construction and how EarthCraft has worked for the Colonial Village project.
The Phases of Construction where you will see EarthCraft onsite:
- Predemolition- assessing the building before construction begins
- Immediately after demolition- assessing the actual project findings and to make any adjustments to the energy efficiency plan as needed with the project team
- Series of project site visits throughout construction- to ensure that the construction trades are implementing the plan of action set forth in the original construction charette
- Pre-drywall Inspection- assessing the air-sealing, insulation, duct-work implementation to ensure that the building has been built tight and will be ventilated right
- Final testing- assessing the clean, dried in, finished out space to test for duct leakage inside and outside of the thermal envelope
After Chris completed his chat about his work on the project and the current status, the group walked over to the site and was able to watch the Conway Energy team representing EarthCraft perform a duct leakage and blower door test on a finished out one bedroom unit on the ground floor of the Colonial Village remodel project. Chris walked everyone through the process and shared the details as to why the findings were as they were. He fielded questions as they arrived and the group was able to see the team in action.
Overall, the HAND green building luncheon for the Colonial Village project was very informative, highly valuable event with a great group of people who are passionate about their industry. From the folks at Hamel to the Habitat for Humanity Northern Virginia and Arlington County members, the HAND group provides a great service to Nonprofit Developers in Arlington and we commend them for 20 years of service to the community.
