Blog

Madison Park Green Roof

We wanted to share a quick update on the Madison Park House.  We have completed installing the green roof over 100% of the structure.  This is the largest green roof installation we have done and we are excited about the resulting impact on design.  Ultimately this was installed to mitigate rain water from infiltrating the Seattle storm sewer system especially during heavy rains, but also serves as a dramatic impact to the design and look of the house.

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Taylor Callaway
Madison House Update - EnviroDri

Framing is substantially complete on the Madison House and we have recently installed a liquid applied House Wrap alternative called EnviroDri.  The main benefit of a liquid applied Weather Resistant Barrier (WRB) is there are no mechanical fasteners which means less penetrations. It is also permanently attached and therefore never moves or shifts and there are no seams for a continuous layer of protection.  This not only helps protect the house from water infiltration over a traditional house wrap, but also helps seal the exterior for a tighter envelope.

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Taylor Callaway
+ 33%

We are excited to announce a new member of First Lamp... Aaron Trampush.  In addition to his strong design skills he brings a background in construction which makes him a perfect fit for our "bags-on-architect" model.  Aaron received his masters degree in Architecture from WSU and Bachelor in Construction Technology with a business minor from Eastern Washington University.   Stay tuned for more exciting news about Aaron and an exhibition he is working on with a colleague in the near future.

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Taylor Callaway
Where Good Design and Science Meet

Recently ran across this well designed info-graphic showing where greenhouse gas emissions originate from and how much we are producing.  While Cow Farts have been getting a bad rep these days it looks like energy use still tops the list.

Click here for the article and high resolution image. 

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Taylor Callaway
Shou Sugi Ban

The recent sunshine pulled us from behind the monitors long enough to experiment with this Japanese wood treatment technique. It involves charring the surface of the wood prior to sealing with protective oils. While the traditional method is much faster, the final finish isn't suitable for the project we have in mind. This method was originally used to reduce deterioration from moisture and the spread of fire from one building to another, although here we're searching for ways to express the natural character of cedar.

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Taylor Callaway
Blower Door Test Results - Ballard Aperture

We are happy to announce that Ballard Aperture achieved a blower door test rating of 2.5 Air Changes per Hour which is well below the Northwest Energy Star Standards.  Along with other requirements such as High efficiency lighting, High efficiency Heating and Cooling and High efficiency appliances such as the dishwasher and water heaters the project has officially been Energy Star Certified!

For more detailed information on Blower Door standards see this article here.  You can also find out more information on the Northwest Energy Star's website here.

We have also met the requirement for 5-Star Build Green (approved by our certifier at Green Dog) and are awaiting the official news any day.

Here are a few shots of the test under way...

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Taylor Callaway
Heat Pump Water Heater

For Hot Water we chose to use Energy Star Certified Heat Pump Water Heaters.  Where the most efficient electric water heaters have an efficiency factor of around .92, Water Pump Heaters have a factor of around 2.3 which translates into using 62% less energy.  For more information you can visit the Energy Star website here.

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Taylor Callaway