They have been called our third skin, the buildings that we live and work in. We also refer to them as the built environment where, on average, we spend 90% of our day.

As our understanding advances we learn that buildings are much more than a skin. They act as our eyes, lungs, frame and meditation. In short, buildings are more akin to a body, a system that works together.

Baosol is a consulting company specializing in services helping you to take the appropriate steps to a sustainable future.

SEVEN steps to a sustainable building, a performance path.  

Click here to download as a PDF

Step ONE

SITING of the building with a low impact on the land, paying attention to solar gain, prevailing winds, and water issues is key. Good orientation is one of the greatest gifts for a high performance building.

LOCATION provides for walkable neighborhoods close to services, solar potential, good density, reuse and adaptation of existing infrastructure. A building is not an island, it is part of a community.

Step TWO

ENERGY EFFICIENCY is a quality building envelope along with good insulation, low energy lighting and appliances throughout. Remember the environmental impact and operating expense for the building’s lifetime.

WATER EFFICIENCY is for both the outside and inside. Along with hardy landscaping and low flow devices, being aware of how you use it is just as important.

Step THREE

NATURAL LIGHTING means bringing the sun deep into the space, putting light where you need it. Free for all.

NATURAL HEATING/COOLING begins with solar tempering a space, using thermal mass wisely, good overhangs for the summer’s heat, and natural ventilation. Engineer to the sun.

Step FOUR

INDOOR ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY (IEQ) means paying attention to air contaminants (IAQ), and providing a place that the body and mind function well in. Our health is a central concern when we design a building.

Step FIVE

RECYCLED MATERIALS reduces our waste stream. Consider the cradle to cradle aspects of everything, building with recyclability in mind. This is an important goal of our future industries.

RENEWABLE MATERIALS are often low processed, natural, and local. Beautiful, hardy products and supplies meet our needs, and support local economies.

Step SIX

SOLAR POWER often is the best onsite renewable energy choice, both electrical and thermal.

WIND POWER can be bought from your utility, or if you can, put a “genny” up in your back yard.

Step SEVEN

REGENERATIVE/ADAPTIVE is the future of building, utilizing technologies and techniques that positively respond to the greater environment.

What is a performance path?

Many web sites and books have created green building charts that are prescriptive based, meaning they tell you what to use and do. This approach is inevitably incomplete, and often does not provide the right priorities. Money is spent less effectively or inappropriately as a result.

Rating systems like LEED© and Energystar for Homes™ are performance based. They define benchmarks to be met and provide metrics and testing to meet those benchmarks. It is up to the parties involved in the project to determine the best approach to meet those standards. There is also a different mind set involved when designing using a performance path. An array of options open as a clearer understanding of interdependent design is explored.        

Baosol is a company dedicated to helping individuals and small businesses realize their potential for living and working sustainably. This is done by direct, open minded consultation to provide the most from your building, both new and existing. Through extensive work and study in the sustainable building field and a working knowledge of many products and how to best apply them, we can find the most appropriate ways for a project to become sustainable. Baosol attends nationwide building conferences and building courses to stay apprised of the latest building techniques, materials and trends.

Baosol’s name is derived from “baobab” and “sun.” Tree and sun is a simple metaphor about how we can better build and live.

The baobab tree, existing south of the equator in Africa and India, is an ancient species that can store water efficiently for the dry season. Its efficiency allows it to provide fruit, fiber, water, and shelter. Like a spring board, the baobab tree helps us think in new ways about how buildings can work for us. Buildings can provide sustenance, water, and shelter while enhancing the environment around them, and in a very real way, environments far away.

Clearly, our modern lives are wholly dependent on energy. In almost all forms, energy inevitably comes from the sun. We can use the potential energy from the sun in a more direct way; passive (solar heating), active (solar electric) and indirect (wind, ventilation). As a result, our dependence on other sources of energy can be greatly reduced, perhaps eliminated.

When we speak about sustainable building, it is best to start with what we have, take the appropriate steps, and never forget the big picture. Our buildings need to be designed for our health, our financial needs, and for the greater environment.

-Andrew Michler, owner

build for a small planet

Through the purchase of wind power, changing incandescent light bulbs to compact fluorescent or l.e.d. bulbs, installing an energy-star programmable thermostat or a host of other options, you can make a significant contribution to living a more sustainable life. Best of all you can do this all in one day.
Taking the next step may not be as easy but is more rewarding as you make your building work for you, creating a space that is efficient, comfortable, and engaging. Sustainable building is not a-la-cart but a systems approach as each component works with many others.

So what does a green building do?

1. It significantly lowers your monthly operating cost.

1. It lasts longer and requires less maintenance.

1. It improves its curb appeal and market value.

1. It is brighter, energy efficient, has better air quality, and is more comfortable.

1. It relates to the environment and your needs.

Considering the large investments we put into our buildings they all should do these things. The way to get there is through careful consideration of all your options. You have a vision to create a healthy, efficient, functional and beautiful space, but with building the devil is very much in the detail. From considering the life cycle assessment (lca) of materials, the indoor environmental quality (ieq), the thermal envelope, sun tempered space heating vs. thermal mass, the list of choices and considerations is great, even for a relatively small project.
Baosol’s consulting services helps you successfully get from your principles to the projects realization. Baosol can also help you improve you existing building from air quality and comfort to energy reduction and general improvements.  A building that works well is a beautiful thing.

Photo taken at Ponnequin wind farm, northern Colorado.

Phillips earthlight 1991  Contemporary compact