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Urbanoutdoors
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Username: Urbanoutdoors

Post Number: 150
Registered: 11-2005
Posted on Sunday, March 25, 2007 - 9:36 pm:   Edit PostDelete Post   Move Post (Moderator/Admin Only)

IHM Sisters Host Second
Green Building Conference

The IHM Sisters, recipients of seven awards for the sustainable renovation of their Motherhouse, will host their second Midwest conference teaching tradespeople how to build "green."

The Midwest Green Building Conference will be held at the Monroe campus of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (IHM) on April 24-25. The conference is open to tradespersons, builders, architects, interior designers, engineers, faculty, students and others interested in learning about sustainable building products, systems and the new techniques for building green.

New this year is "Green Advantage," an environmental certification program for building-related practitioners, primarily contractors, sub-contractors and tradespeople. The course provides training in state-of-the-art "green" building practices, technologies and techniques. To be certified after taking the course, attendees must pass the Green Advantage Certification Exam. The cost of this one-day training on April 25 is $425 and includes the first day of the conference.

The conference will feature a variety of workshops on topics such as construction waste recycling, geothermal systems, renewable energy, marketing green buildings and, also new this year, earth-block construction.

Jim Hallock, founder of Earth Block Inc., and one of only a handful of earth-block builders in the country, will be a presenter. Currently, Hallock is a consultant in the creation of a community of 6,000 homes built of earth blocks--the largest such community in the world--in Baja California Sur, Mexico.

Conference keynote speakers are Terry Gips, president of the Alliance for Sustainability, and Norm Strong, F.A.I.A., vice-president of the American Institute of Architects.

Gips, a nationally recognized sustainability leader, has worked for more than 30 years in the public, private and nonprofit sectors. An author (Breaking the Pesticide Habit), ecologist and professor, Gips has served as a White House and Congressional aide, Cargill economist and Aveda Corporation director of sustainability. He is co-founder of the Sacramento Community Garden Program and serves as president of Sustainability Associates, a consulting firm addressing the sustainability needs of business and communities.

Strong is the managing partner for the Seattle-based architectural firm Miller/Hull Partnership. Established in 1977, the firm has been recognized for innovative sustainable designs, receiving more than 150 design awards, including 80 AIA awards and the 2003 AIA National Architecture Firm Award.

Cost for the conference is $55 per day or $100 for both days and includes meals. In addition to the IHM Sisters, conference sponsors include Mauser Harmony with Nature Foundation, State of Michigan Energy Office, The Christman Company and the U.S. Green Building Council-Detroit Regional Chapter, in partnership with the American Institute of Architects, Henry Ford Community College M-TEC, Forbo Linoleum Inc., Interface Flooring Systems and the River Raisin Institute.

For more information, contact Sharon Venier at 734-240-9754 or via e-mail at svenier@ihmsisters.org.

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