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GBlist: Sign-on letter
Hello to all --
In order to promote alternative forms of construction and encourage
building officials to consider a broader range of material and design
options, the Wood Reduction Clearinghouse is writing the letter below to
congratulate Hesperia for approving the world's first totally
earth-constructed museum and nature complex.
If you would like to join us in applauding Hesperia, please SIGN-ON to the
enclosed letter by JUNE 20, 1997. To do that, just email a reply (to me
only, not the entire list) and give your name, organization and address. I
will include your name on the letter.
I will send you a reply letting you know how many people we got to sign
on. Feel free to pass this letter on to colleagues and/or other listservs
you think would be interested. Thanks!
June 20, 1997
Mayor Rosemarie James
City of Hesperia
15776 Main Street
Hesperia, CA 92345
Dear Madam Mayor:
We would like to congratulate the City of Hesperia, the Hesperia Building
and Safety and the Hesperia Recreation and Park District for their
leadership in endorsing and supporting the development of the prototype
Superadobe and Ceramic Hesperia Museum and Nature Center with Cal-Earth
Institute. This project breaks new ground in building technology and helps
bring sustainable building into the forefront of the design and
construction industry. Most importantly, Hesperia is establishing
precedent and making it easier for other localities to incorporate
innovative building systems into their own community development plans,
especially for housing.
Earth architecture allows for inexpensive, durable and low-impact building
design using simple materials and techniques available to anyone. It also
helps reduce the pressures placed on our dwindling forests and forest
resources. Construction accounts for the greatest end-use of
lumber/plywood in the country, accounting for 50 percent of all wood used
in the United States. The destruction of forests to meet this demand
leads to global deforestation, polluted watersheds and fisheries,
increased air pollution and clogged landfills. It also kills millions of
invaluable plant and animal species. Earth architecture built with
regionally appropriate materials is one method of preserving these forest
ecosystems while providing affordable housing.
The approval of the Superadobe and Ceramic structures by the Hesperia
building official in consultation with ICBO (International Conference of
Building Officials) can also help shape the future of building codes, and
hence building design, nationally and abroad. Regional building codes, as
well as most local codes, deter alternative building materials and
techniques. In addition, efforts to develop a uniform international code
by the year 2000 may not include earth architecture. The results of the
live-load, seismic and other tests for the Hesperia Museum and Nature
Center buildings, which determined they could withstand the harshest
possible conditions, may help change the current pattern and pave new
inroads into conventional testing beliefs and methodologies.
We encourage Hesperia to continue its commitment to environmentally
responsible building practices, and we look forward to the completion of
the 20-acre "Hesperia Lake Desert Village," which will include a community
center, amphitheater, equestrian center, Native American villages, shops
and cafes in addition to the Museum and Nature Center. Hesperia is a
national model that will help steer the United States toward an
economically and ecologically sound future, and we hope other
municipalities will follow your lead.
Sincerely,
Nicole Capretz
Wood Reduction Clearinghouse
Washington, DC
__________________________________________________________________
This greenbuilding dialogue is sponsored by Oikos (www.oikos.com)
and Environmental Building News (www.ebuild.com). For instructions
send e-mail to greenbuilding-request@crest.org.
__________________________________________________________________