Which is why I’m excited about the U.S. Green Building Council of Alabama’s seminar on SmartCode, a model-transect based development code that helps developers create compact cities or communities that minimize cars, traffic, and pollution while supporting pedestrian and bicycle traffic. SmartCode is intended for local calibration to individual neighborhoods or communities, is meant to keep towns and developments compact and rural lands open, and could be put to good use right here in our own piece of the world.

The seminar will feature Faulkner Law Professor Chad Emerson, who is also a published author on land planning law, and will take place on Sept. 21 from 11:30-1:00 in Montgomery. To register, please visit http://www.usgbcofal.org/event.php?cn=136.

Renovation can sometimes feel like brand new construction – and at times that’s exactly what it is. But if you have an entrance that needs renovating, or a door to replace, Special-Lite is making the framing easy.

Special-Lite Retrofit Framing is now available for interior and exterior applications requiring a fire-rated door, and it provides the functionality and appearance of a new aluminum tube frame without the hassle of major construction.
When an existing frame can be returned to a presentable condition, Special-Lite 10-30 Series Insert Framing can return door openings to a plumb and square condition in preparation for new doors. When the existing frame is too deteriorated to remain exposed, the SL-70 Capping System can be used in conjunction with the SL 10-30 Series Insert Frame to completely cover the deteriorated framing.

And SL 10-30 Series Insert Framing is fire-rated for up to 90 minutes in accordance with UBC 7-2, NFPA 252, and UL 10C requirements for interior applications, as well as achieving the Warnock Hershey listing for fire-rated applications.

Effective July 1, House Bill 459 states that all new Alabama public schools must include a Building Commission approved tornado safe space or hallway in accordance with the ICC/NSSA Standard for the Design and Construction of Storm Shelters (ICC 500-2008).

Of course this means that materials for this safe space or hallway must also comply with tornado resistant standards, including doors.

Ambico tornado-resistant doors and frames look identical to their standard hollow metal and pressed steel counterparts, but comply with ICC 500 and FEMA #361 “Design and Construction Guidance for Community Shelters.” They’ve been tested as large as 8”x 8”, an industry leader, come in singles and pairs, may be fire rated in accordance with NFPA-80, and are supplied with a variety of locking options.

When tornado resistance is the law, top notch products are key – and Ambico’s products are leading the industry.

Not only can these doors be fire rated for up to three hours, but their aesthetic appeal is practically limitless. For instance, Ambico’s stainless steel doors and frames can be chemically colored to appear bronze or brass (along with a variety of other colors), which is perfect for an architect who is trying to uphold the integrity of an historic site while still needing a tough and durable door.

On the other hand, a shiny mirror finish on an office building door can add a touch of sleek sophistication for the more cutting edge or modern application.

And to really charge up the imagination, Ambico’s variety of steel alloy, finish, color, and pattern options can be combined in order to seamlessly match a pre-existing site or push the bounds of the imagination on something brand new.

Stainless steel is the perfect answer for aesthetics and durability – not to mention good old fashioned creativity.

AMBICO’s acoustic doors, on the other hand, come as complete operable acoustic packages, which eliminates that margin of error that can be so frustrating in acoustic applications. Because they’re tested and supplied as a complete package, they work just as well in the field as they did during testing in the lab.

They also come in different styles, including both wood and steel, can be fire rated, are available in STC ratings ranging from STC 33 – STC 64, and come with an industry leading 5-year warranty.

In other words, AMBICO has taken the finicky out of acoustic doors – they’re going to have a high performance level without any guesswork, and they’re going to look good while they do it.

And now Special-Lite has even come out with a new Fire Door that combines looks with functionality and durability – the SL-23 Fire-Rated Sandstone Textured FRP Door.

Available in any of our Sandstone-FRP through colors or in custom colors, the SL-23 is also fire-rated up to 60 minutes for both interior and exterior applications. It’s been tested in accordance with UBC 7-2, NFPA 252, UL 10C, has passed the 1 hour positive pressure test and the hose stream test, and has passed 250 degree temperature rise tests to achieve Warnock Hershey listing for fire-rated U.S. doors.

Put simply, it’s a top notch Fire Door that looks good too. Because really, why should you have to sacrifice looks for service?

But lately we’ve been installing Special-Lite doors in another application that’s probably even tougher.
Hospital doors not only need stamina and durability to deal with massive amounts of traffic and use, but they also have to be automated and fire rated, both of which call for a tougher, stronger, and more dependable door.

Special-Lite doors fit these qualifications, and we’ve recently installed them in two Memphis area hospitals, one of which is already ordering more.

Baptist Memorial Hospital in Southaven, Miss. initially installed Special-Lite’s SL-17 doors in its loading dock, and is now ordering SL-21 fire rated doors for use in the Hospital Supply Area. Both sets of doors have automatic operators and SELECT Products heavy duty continuous geared hinges, and the interior doors include fire rated vision lites and electrified exit devices for fire safety.

Similarly, Methodist LeBonheur Germantown Hospital in Germantown, Tenn. has installed Special-Lite’s double egress SL-21 fire rated doors for use as Cross Corridor Fire Doors. These doors also include SELECT Products heavy duty continuous geared hinges, automatic operators, fire rated vision lites and electrified exit devices.

Hospitals are a tough environment, and Special-Lite makes tough door. Sounds like a match to me.

But how do we get there?

“Going green” isn’t just something that you do once and never think about again. If this is to be our industry’s future, and if we’re serious about it, then “going green” is a change in our mindset, the way we view our jobs from the ground up.
And it’s not just about us – our clients, manufacturers, and the general public has to understand the concept of “going green” as well. Of course none of this is easy to do. It’s hard work to shift our own ways of thinking, and even harder work to change the public’s view of what we do. We need to find a way to work together.

That’s why we’ve launched Sustain Alabama, www.sustainala.com, a new social online community for architects, builders, and others in the construction industry to interact both with one another and with the general public in order to promote environmentally friendly construction. People can log on, ask questions, gain information, and work together to find “green” solutions to their building and constructing needs. In other words, we can learn from each other, and we can learn together. And maybe even find a few new clients in the process.

We can “go green” together.

It seems to me that the future might see a need and a desire for enhanced energy efficiency and buildings that are friendlier to the environment. It won’t apply just to new construction, but to existing buildings and structures as well.

This week, I came across an interesting report that gave credence to this idea.

According to Van Ness Feldman’s legal analysis, “Using Executive Authority to Achieve Greener Buildings: A Guide for Policymakers to Enhance Sustainability and Efficiency in Multifamily Housing and Commercial Buildings,” the Obama administration apparently has a current store of $72 billion that could be used to increase energy efficiency in commercial buildings and multifamily housing.

What’s more amazing to me is that this $72 billion is available right this minute, without going through Congress or the long process of approval. And it’s earmarked for energy efficiency, which could very well mark the future of our industry, and the start of its comeback.