USGBC - Northern California Chapter's First Ten Years

Contributed by Sharon Refvem, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, Founding member and past President

In August of 2001 in Tucson Arizona, at the annual, pre-GreenBuild, USGBC National gathering, a call went out for people interested in forming a USGBC Chapter in northern California. A group of about 30 people showed up the next morning to talk about what it would take to begin a chapter, names and contact information were gathered, and the Steering Committee was formed. The Steering Committee met monthly in San Francisco over the next two years to pursue the establishment of the chapter. During that time the Committee grew and shrank, but a core group of about a dozen people provided the continuity and dedication needed to organize and launch the chapter.

The official 501(c)3 paperwork was submitted to the State and USGBC National as the Northern California Chapter moved from organizing group, then provisional chapter, to full Chapter status in 2004. The Northern California Chapter (NCC) name and the Chapter territory, which includes most of northern California south through Monterey County and east to the Nevada border, were then officially recorded.

Thank You GCI General Contractors

USGBC-NCC welcomes back GCI General Contractors as a renewed Silver Chapter sponsor.

“GCI considers green building and LEED to be central to our business strategy, so it’s important for us to partner with and support USGBC-Northern California Chapter. The Chapter’s role and impact is unique - as a convener, educator and policy advocate, USGBC-NCC engages all sectors of the industry, and has contributed enormously to the growth of green building in the Bay Area,” said James Jenkins, President of GCI.

GCI is a San Francisco based commercial contracting and construction management firm that specializes in commercial interior, corporate facility, and building renovation projects throughout the Bay Area and Northern California.

GCI has been an industry leader in promoting green construction practices and guidelines to the commercial real estate sector in San Francisco and the Bay Area. In 2001, GCI became the first commercial contractor to perfect indoor air-quality systems and material recycling programs in spite of the logistical challenges imposed by high-rise buildings and without significant cost increases to their clients.

GCI has completed 24 LEED construction projects to date: 19 are certified and 5 are in review, including one of the first LEED-CI projects in San Francisco in 2003-2004: the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). ClimateWorks Foundation, awarded LEED-CI Platinum in February 2010, is the highest rated LEED-CI project in California under v2.0 and the 3rd highest ever.

GCI has completed approximately 22% of all LEED-CI projects constructed in San Francisco, and almost 70% of their total LEED projects have been certified LEED-CI Gold or higher.

USGBC-NCC Executive Director, Dan Geiger, said, “We highly value GCI General Contractors’ leadership and support. They’ve always been actively involved with USGBC, and help the Chapter in so many ways. Companies like GCI make our work possible - on behalf of the industry and the green building movement, thank you very much!"

For more information about GCI, visit gcigc.com.

USGBC-NCC’s work is made possible by support from visionary firms like GCI General Contractors. Learn more about sponsorship opportunities >>

Advocacy Retreat and New 2012 Leadership –Get Involved!

Contributed by Ashleigh Talberth, Senior Manager, USGBC-NCC

Advocacy Retreat: December 15th

We are pleased to announce the opening of committee member positions in USGBC-NCC’s advocacy committees. This is an incredible opportunity to advance sound green building policy and build grassroots support for green building at the local level.

Now Recruiting 2012 Committee Members (committee descriptions to follow):

• Green Schools Committee
• Sustainable Neighborhoods Committee
• Green Residential Committee
• Sustainable Healthcare Committee

Become a Green Building Advocate at the kick-off Advocacy Retreat on Dec. 15th in San Francisco at 4:30pm:

• Advance USGBC’s mission of green communities for all within this generation
• Bolster personal and professional contacts
• Develop your leadership experience

Retreat attendance is by application only; please submit the application by November 23rd.

Steven Ehrlich's 'Multicultural Modernism'

Presented in collaboration with AIACV, USGBC Capital Branch and UC Davis.

 

Architect Steven Ehrlich spoke to a full, captivated audience at the Visionary event at UC Davis on October 5th about his personal architectural journey. Ehrlich discussed the foundation of his ideas that he acquired from his travels abroad and has developed to define his style of ‘Multicultural Modernism’.

Out of school, Ehrlich became the first Peace Corps volunteer in Marrakech where he saw how culture and architecture were not simply coexisting together, but defined, aligned, and adapted together with their environment. His time in Marrakech taught him how architecture could not only be simple, but beautiful and sustainable. In his presentation, Ehrlich described Marrakech as a place where there is still no central air conditioning; he showed how the city instead has covered streets and continuous housing with courtyards to take advantage of air movement to keep cool. The city landscape has blended the exterior and interior, people and place, as well as local environment and architecture, and is built of connected structures made of local materials. Abroad, he saw how shade structures of fabric and geometric shapes cast beautiful shadows and can be the only decoration needed while being functionally essential.

With these observations Ehrlich became, as he put it, an ‘architectural anthropologist”. He brought back to the U.S. the idea of applying the insights he saw abroad to modern buildings. His buildings are culturally and environmentally connected, and he stressed that a good building cannot be informed by only one or the other. He is also a realist to the modern means and the global opportunities available for both his built and un-built spaces, while remaining respectful of history, environment and place. He imbeds sustainable decisions through passive design, and innovative global technology. With this vision, Steven Ehrlich has designed modern buildings which serve to reinvigorate communities by connecting architecture, culture, people and place with clean lines and great beauty.

For further information, browse Ehrlich’s website where you will find informative write ups and images of his stunning designs.