Fall 2009

E 76
Designer in Nature
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Instructor: Dave Deppen, Architect
Dave Deppen has pioneered nature-friendly design techniques for over 30 years. He studies and works with professional naturalists. In this special SFIA workshop, we will be in Marin County, immersing ourselves in the natural world. Includes: Native awareness techniques, advanced  solar orientation, ways of the animals, birds and plants, community and ecology learning by experience. Please note that this workshop includes a fair amount of physical activity. This workshop will be held on wild land near Mt. Tamalpais. After enrolling, you will receive information on the specific workshop location and logistics.

E 75
Art & Technology of Green Roofs & Living Walls
3 units
Instructor: Fred Stitt, Architect, Director

Guest speakers include Paul Kephart, the world’s leading expert on green roofs and creator of the green roof at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco; Ingrid Severson of the Green Roofs Program for Bay Localize; and others to be announced. Class topics: The multiple advantages of green roofs and green walls, and why they’re being adopted in all major cities across the U.S. and around the world, the many varieties of design and construction of green roofs and green walls. Case studies: the best of the newest green roofs, small and large, Green walls inside and out:  even more advantageous than green roofs, choosing plant species, growth media, latest information, retrofitting existing buildings – huge new career opportunities

E 51
Creative Green Buildings
3 units
Instructor:  Fred Stitt, Architect, Director

How to design and construct buildings that produce more energy than they use, provide their own water, eat pollution, grow food, clean the air, improve health, and eliminate waste. Applying the latest in creative design and problem-solving methods to green building planning, design, and construction. Includes a complete summation of everything happening in green building, from earth building to solar energy, to buildings that do it all.

DE 200
EcoDesign Studio
6 units
Instructor: Dave Deppen, Architect
Dave Deppen has an extensive background in ecological design projects.“Resilience” will be the theme, since it is at the core of the next generation of ecological design, both in physical planning and the community and in our hearts and minds. We will explore this theme in realistic and creative design assignments. Designing for an actual inner Bay Area site, there will be options for you to pursue either a community master plan or a specific eco-building design. Studio class includes: Project Setup, EcoDesign process, from program through presentation, Mixed-use and mixed-age development, Human behavior factors, Timeless natural energy techniques, Water, crops and trees for delight and sustenance. All are welcome to enroll.  This design studio will provide a supportive and invigorating atmosphere for students at all levels of experience. There will be ample time for one-on-one discussion with the instructor and idea exchanges among all participants.

E 180
Greywater Reuse, Rainwater Capture & Ecological Sanitation
3 units
Instructor: Laura Allen, Greywater Guerrillas
Drinkable water on our planet consists of less than a small percentage of 1% of all the water available. Water will have to be conserved and collected on a local scale and building by building in the years ahead, to avoid catastrophic consequences. Meanwhile, it’s a practical economic benefit for buildings to go “off the pipeline,” in terms of water supply, just as many are going “off the grid” to generate their own electricity. This class will cover the basics of ecological sanitation: rainwater harvesting, greywater reuse, recycling greywater for landscaping, and waterless composting toilets. It will cover the new greywater-friendly code for the state of California; the most common types of low-tech systems; and high-end and commercial-scale options. Also covers crucial health and safety issues and the do’s and don’ts you must know.

E 150
Solar Energy
3 units
Solar power gets cheaper and more efficient every year. As people switch to plug-in hybrids and all-electric cars, the economics get better and better. This class covers all you need to know to understand solar technology, how to choose systems, the best methods of installation and operation, and how to combine solar energy with other alternatives, such as wind power.

E 22
Green Project Management
3 units
Instructor: Dave Deppen, Architect

Dave Deppen has long experience working with real-world green building projects. The skillful management of a project is crucial to the accomplishment of green objectives. This class will emphasize powerful and little known techniques of project management, as well as specific approaches to help achieve positive environmental results. Topics include: project setup, contracts, programming and project priorities, budgeting and cost estimating, schedules, codes, certifications, green rating systems such as LEED, project team dynamics, we will review many examples from real projects.  The core discipline will be architecture, but the class is for both students and beginners in project management, as well as all design professions, including engineering and design consulting.

D 7
Work in Progress Lecture Series
3 units
Leading Bay Area architects, designers, and builders will describe what they do and how they do it from the front lines: instructive in showing real-world problems, in making buildings happen, and inspiring in showing the extraordinary possibilities of nature-based architecture.