Vistacraft Engineers
Your “Away Room”: A Quiet Place of Remove
A couple’s compartmentalized built-in desk alcoves. With two separate alcoves, each partner in the relationship is assured of having an...
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Vistacraft Engineers
Aug 13, 20144 min read
Ten Effective Daylighting Tips for Homes
Why is it important? Effective use of daylighting can improve one’s mental state, enhance moods, boost focus and mental acuity, lower...
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Vistacraft Engineers
Jul 18, 20147 min read
10 Steps Towards the Affordable Net-Zero Home
What is a Net-Zero Energy Home? Detail of Vega House, an NZE home located in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Net-zero simply means that a...
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Vistacraft Engineers
Jul 14, 20142 min read
Household Electromagnetic Fields and You
The potential health effects of the very low frequency EMFs surrounding power lines and electrical devices are the subject of on-going...
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Vistacraft Engineers
Jul 11, 20142 min read
Integrated Design Process (I.D.P.)
LEED NC 2.2-registered SLVWD Facilities Consolidation Project exemplifies results arising from the IDP process. Integrated building...
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Vistacraft Engineers
Jul 9, 20142 min read
New Building Energy Efficiency (Title 24) Standards
The 2013 standards update for lighting, space heating and cooling, ventilation, and water heating are anticipated to add approximately...
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Vistacraft Engineers
Jun 15, 20142 min read
Greening The Palomar
Designed by prominent California architect William H. Weeks the historic Hotel Palomar building is considered to be quintessential of...
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Vistacraft Engineers
May 27, 20142 min read
The Dew Point in Insulating Wall Assemblies
Diagram depicting dew point in relationship to elements of wall assembly. This assembly utilizes cork board as the exterior insulation...
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Vistacraft Engineers
May 21, 20144 min read
Shipping Container Architecture: Advantages and Challenges
Cité A Docks Student Housing project located in Le Havre, France. A four-story building that houses 100 apartments made of old shipping...
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Vistacraft Engineers
May 15, 20143 min read
The Annals of Urban Design: Kresge College
by Matthew Pinsker University of California, Santa Cruz Daniel Matthew Silvernail Architect Intern The assemblage of buildings known as...
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Vistacraft Engineers
May 8, 20142 min read
The Brave New World of Insulating Wall Assemblies
A proprietary wall system marketed in Germany which utilizes 60-80mm reed insulation as the exterior insulation material. The effective...
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Vistacraft Engineers
May 5, 20143 min read
LEED-ND: Developing Viable Communities
by Matthew Pinsker University of California, Santa Cruz Daniel Matthew Silvernail Architect Intern The Leadership in Energy and...
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Vistacraft Engineers
Apr 30, 20143 min read
Comparing Insulated Structural Systems
It is useful to compare two types of Insulated Structural Systems – namely, Insulated Concrete Forms (ICFs) and Wood Waste Masonry (WWM)...
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Vistacraft Engineers
Apr 27, 20142 min read
Cradle to Cradle Thinking
Diagram of the cradle-to-cradle approach to environmental sustainability. Cradle to cradle is a concept popularized by the American...
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Vistacraft Engineers
Apr 8, 20143 min read
Santa Cruz Greenbelts
by Matthew Pinsker University of California, Santa Cruz Daniel Matthew Silvernail Architect Intern Greenbelts within Santa Cruz,...
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Vistacraft Engineers
Mar 22, 20143 min read
Net-Zero Buildings
One NZE building: the Research Support Facility in Golden CO, approximately 50% more efficient than it’s conventional counterparts. The...
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Vistacraft Engineers
Mar 11, 20142 min read
Buildings and Light Pollution
When animals live in cities, they have to adjust their behavior and life histories to novel environments. Noise pollution puts a severe...
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Vistacraft Engineers
Mar 10, 20143 min read
The Urban Heat Island Effect
Aerial view of the city of Los Angeles California An urban heat island is the name given to describe the characteristic warmth of both...
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Vistacraft Engineers
Mar 7, 20142 min read
Your Ecological Footprint
This unit of measure was first conceptualized in the PhD dissertation of Mathis Wackernagel under the supervision of William Rees at the...
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Vistacraft Engineers
Feb 12, 20141 min read
The San Francisco Federal Building
San Francisco Federal Building Most of us have noticed the new Federal Building complex in South of Market – it’s readily apparent and...
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