Green Building and Sustainable Design - Summer Course

Greetings all,

Do you want to know more about green building? Are you feeling the need to gain some hands-on natural building experience this summer?

My name is Ryan Harb. For those of you who don't know me, I'm a finishing graduate student from UMass and in May I will become the first person in the country to receive a MS in Green Building. I have a strong interest in ecological design and for 4 years I have been transforming my single-family home in Amherst, a college rental property, into a model sustainable residence. One project I'm working on now is a front yard transformation – creating a 5000s.f. highly productive, food producing, permaculture garden at my home. Designing sustainable (food and other) systems is one of many aspects of green building.

This summer I will be co-teaching a 3-week Sustainable Design and Construction course at Sirius Community - a model educational and sustainable ecovillage in scenic western Massachusetts. This is one of the few opportunities in the country to receive college credit while learning experientially about sustainable design and construction. All students will receive natural building certification upon completion of this course.

The spots to this class are filling up fast and we would love to see more representation from UMass. This course takes place literally 20 minutes down the road in Shutesbury, MA

Course Topics:

What is Green Building?
We will take you on an ecological journey through the entire green building process: from site selection and laying the foundation to selecting appropriate materials and conducting a life cycle analysis.

Green Structures: Simple to Complex
Green building at its simplest form: primitive shelter building, site analysis, passive solar architecture, patterning for energy efficiency, renewable energy technologies.

Natural Building:
Exploration of natural building materials, their properties and their 'roles' as structural components. Students gain experience in timber frame, straw bale and cob construction.

Community Strategies:
Eco-village and community design; master plans and how they evolve over time. Group design project and presentation.

Course Dates: June 21 – July 11

Apply before April 15th! The deadline is soon approaching.
Contact Living Routes today: http://www.livingroutes.com/programs/p_greenbuilding.htm


I hope to see some of you this summer.

Happy Spring,
Ryan Harb


Please pass this e-mail along to others who may be interested in this great opportunity.