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Home Sustainable Design
Presenting Regenerative Design Principles at AASHE
Kyle Ritchie
Architecture, Sustainable Design
Recently, I presented at the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) Conference in Spokane, Washington on the opportunity of regenerative design and the circular economy as it relates higher education projects and campuses. At the largest networking and educational event of its kind in North America, my session, titled "Defining the Finish Line: What the Circular Economy for Universities Should Look Like," helped attendees understand how design principles extracted from the natural world can act as a guiding platform for colleges and universities to develop a circular economy on their campuses.
Sustainability as a concept is laudably a part of everyday discourse now. This prevalence, however, highlights the importance of non-complacency and continuing to think beyond. Sustainability is not an end unto itself, it is a mid-point on the spectrum of performance between degenerative and regenerative. We can do better, and it's important to look to how our buildings can create a net-positive impact on the environment.
We needn't look far. Processes occurring in the natural world provide an excellent toolbox. It is the job of architects and designers to translate these thoroughly time-tested concepts into the built environment. Principles outlined in Permaculture, a design practice developed by Bill Mollison and David Holmgren in Australia in the late 1970's, do an excellent job of getting this conversation started. These concepts appear in many of our projects.
Semans-Griswold Environmental Hall, Washington College: Catch and Store Energy
Waste is not a pervasive issue in the natural environment – everything gets used as a resource somehow – nature excels at catching and storing energy to develop itself. With such abundant resources at hand, there is little reason that we can't apply the same level of resourcefulness to the built environment. To create a circular economy, developing systems that collect resources when they are abundant is absolutely necessary.
Semans-Griswold Environmental Hall is designed to be a net-positive building, meaning it creates more energy than it consumes. Having this be a goal from the outset played a large role in the design. This brought together form, function, and performance beautifully. Rather than attempting to retroactively apply sustainable features late in the design process, extensive analysis at the beginning of the process to figure out the energy needs of the building helped to minimize its impact. By first analyzing energy requirements, then creating opportunities for energy conservation, efficient use of that energy, and optimizing the time of use management allowed for the design to minimize its energy use intensity. Not only did this help the net-positive goal, it also limited the disruption of the environment in the building footprint (originally, solar panels were needed on the landscape; the final design only required them on the roof).
Alfond Commons, Colby College: Use Edges and Value the Marginal
In nature, it is the point at which things meet where the most interesting and diverse interactions take place. These interactions often create the most productive elements in a system, as is observable in estuaries where salt water meets fresh water and mangrove trees thrive in conditions that break expectations for what trees need.
This holds true when exploring the ways in which institutions and their host communities interact. We've talked about the successes of Alfond Commons a number of times here, and we remain impressed by the positive results created by embracing the edges of campus with housing. Many institutions and communities struggle with how to interact with one another, but Alfond Commons demonstrates the eagerness of students and residents to interact and solve problems.
Hayden Library, Arizona State University: Creatively Use and Respond to Change
Change is inevitable. Nature excels at adaptation. When it comes to translating this process to the built environment, it is important not just to repurpose a space, but to focus on its historic, current, and future uses.
For this project, it was important to acknowledge the historic legacy of this building as an icon on campus for 50 years, recognize the changing function of a library on a modern university campus, as well as anticipate a similar degree of change for the future. Libraries as a limited function place, with a primary focus on books is no longer true to the way students learn and gather information. Digital resources have largely overtaken that function. With the Hayden Library, the building remains a crucial learning resource, but with open, flexible spaces encouraging collaboration and interaction.
Kyle Ritchie, LEED AP BD+C, WELL AP, is a Sustainable Design Coordinator working across all discipline groups at Ayers Saint Gross.
Ayers Saint Gross Earns #29 Ranking on the 2019 Architect 50 List
Meghann Boosinger
Firm News, Sustainable Design
We are so thrilled that ARCHITECT Magazine ranked Ayers Saint Gross as number 29 on its annual list of the top architecture firms in the country. This prestigious industry ranking is not just about being the largest firm; instead it rigorously evaluates the metrics of a firm's overall business, sustainability, and design portfolios. The business evaluation includes finances; HR benefits; equity, diversity, and inclusion; and pro bono work. Sustainability measures the firm's internal and external commitments to ecologically responsible building. A trio of judges reviews a selection of key projects in the design category.
The complexity and thoroughness of the ARCHITECT Magazine process speaks to how the industry can and should approach the creation of the built environment. As a multidisciplinary employee-owned design firm with a focus on mission-driven clients, we believe we have an obligation to leave places better than we found them.
We understand that we can make places better financially by building successful, diverse spaces and creating a philanthropic, sustainable business where expertise develops, careers grow, and new leaders arise. Responsible green building has a net-positive effect on our clients' lives and on the planet. And of course aesthetics count too – designs that are beautiful, functional, and inspiring are at the heart of our work.
As we move into a new decade, this honor from ARCHITECT Magazine serves as an inspiration for what our designers and our firm can do next to push our business, our sustainability practices, and our designs to the next horizon. I'm excited to see what happens next.
Ayers Saint Gross at Advanced Building Skins
Dan McKelvey
Sustainability is a core Ayers Saint Gross value and resiliency is a crucial aspect of this goal. With much of the research and technology looking into new construction, it is important not to forget the sustainable possibilities of existing buildings.
On October 28, we will be presenting at the Advanced Building Skins Conference in Bern, Switzerland. This conference brings together Architects, Engineers, and Building Scientists (as well as material scientists and academic researchers from technical universities around the world) to share both the latest theoretical developments in building envelope technology and real-world experience and creative solutions as these advancements are put into practice. We will be presenting on the innovative double-thermal mass skin implemented as part of the Johns Hopkins Hospital Nelson Harvey Building Exterior Over-Cladding and Interior Renovation.
For hospital buildings in particular, where there can be no loss of patient care and the building must remain occupied, maximizing existing resources is paramount. By avoiding the carbon footprint associated with demolition and site work, applying inventive design solutions to existing buildings gains not only the sustainability advantages of new technologies, but also leads to an overall improvement, a substantial cost savings for the owner, and a reduced construction schedule.
For this project, forensic and visual observations of the façade disclosed severe thermal and moisture failures with decomposed flashing and lack of insulation. Similarly, the building was constructed without allowing thermal expansion vertically or horizontally of the building envelope, so areas of the façade were structurally failing, bowing, and delaminating. Like many buildings built over the last several decades, however, the structure was still sound.
Innovative solutions using thin precast concrete panels in combination with existing masonry created a hybrid double-skin envelope. In addition to all of the environmental benefits of ensuring the resiliency of the building, the double-thermal mass wall decreases heat transfer gain/loss through the building envelope for any given season and capitalizes on the high heat capacity of concrete and masonry to delay heat flow through the envelope by an action termed thermal lag. This results in a higher performing building.
We are happy to share these advancements and real-world applications with the world, and look forward to learning all the latest developments.
Green Week 2019: The Carrot Awards
Architecture, Interior Architecture, Sustainable Design
Ayers Saint Gross hosts an internal Green Week every year to advance sustainability literacy within our staff so we can provide better high-performance designs to our clients, reflect on our sustainability achievements to date, and plan for the year ahead.
Over the course of next week, we're sharing information we've learned through project (or projects') certifications, professional certifications, and conference attendance, as well as bringing in invited guests. We're pleased to host Dr. Christine Sheppard of the American Bird Conservancy who will be speaking to our entire firm about Bird-Friendly Building Design. Anne Greenstone from Steelcase will be teaching our Baltimore office about the Fitwel certification and office wellness, and a representative from CMTA will teach our DC office more about design considerations for net-zero buildings.
Since 2011, we have annually reported the predicted energy use intensity of our whole building projects and the lighting power density of our interiors projects using the AIA 2030 Commitment. This data allows us to recognize and reward the most energy efficient of these projects from the previous calendar year with our annual Carrot Awards to inspire other projects to strive for greater energy efficiency.
We believe sustainable design and great design are the same. Our highest performing projects under design in 2018 illustrate strategies every project in our firm aspires to achieve.
We're pleased to announce this year's Carrot Award winners are the Hayden Library Reinvention at Arizona State University and the Brown Advisory Bond Street Office Third Floor Tenant Improvements. Congratulations to the design teams of these projects!
Hayden Library, originally built in 1966, is representative of a design and construction era that was limited by available technology and prioritized considerations for a library differently than today's campus conditions require. The HVAC, lighting, plumbing, and architectural upgrades included as part of the library's reinvention result in a significantly more resource-efficient building than the existing construction. The project is predicted to have an energy demand of 55% less than baseline and will offset a portion of its electricity load with a rooftop photovoltaic array. This work would not be possible without the collaboration of an engaged client and our team at Affiliated Engineers.
The Brown Advisory Headquarters Tenant Improvements provides commercial office space in Baltimore for a privately owned investment management company. The space we designed for them reduces lighting power density by 56%, more than twice the current AIA 2030 reduction target for interior spaces, through daylighting and LED lighting.
Be on the lookout for more sustainability-focused projects from our firm. For more on how Ayers Saint Gross approaches sustainable design, see our firm's sustainability strategy, Take Action.
Ayers Saint Gross at the University of Texas at Austin Energy Week
If you're in Austin this coming week, I hope you'll join me on Tuesday, February 5 for a panel discussion on building energy efficiency.
The Future of Building Energy Efficiency: Smart Building or Building Smart?
Buildings account for 40% of energy consumption in the United States. In the growing age of 'smart' technologies and sustainable design, how do these market drivers influence energy usage in commercial buildings? This panel will assess current design and technology-based solutions for their energy saving capabilities in existing and new commercial buildings and project the future of the industry. Discussion will also touch on the following questions: What does 'smart building' look like now, and in the future? What are barriers to adoption and challenges to implement tech-based solutions? How will standards and certifications (e.g., AEGB, ASHRAE, LEED, WELL, Living Building) evolve to make way for these changes?
Zoltan Nagy, Assistant Professor, Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering, UT Austin (Moderator)
Michael Sweeney, Associate Principal, Arup
Sarah Talkington, Project Manager, Austin Energy – Commercial Green Building
Etter-Harbin Alumni Center
2110 San Jacinto Blvd, Austin, TX 78712
Architecture, Firm News, Interior Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Sustainable Design
We explored a lot on our blog this year, from floating wetlands to Winston Churchill to equity in design. Here's a look at our most popular posts of 2018. We look forward to more exploration, discovery, and design in 2019 with the clients, partners, and communities we serve.
National Aquarium Floating Wetland Prototype Wins ASLA Honor Award for Research. This innovative design earned our firm its first ASLA award. The floating wetland was created in collaboration with the National Aquarium and our teammates at Biohabitats, McLaren Engineering Group, and Kovacs, Whitney & Associates as a continuation of Studio Gang's EcoSlip concept.
A New Model for Floating Wetlands. For a deeper dive (pun intended) on the award-winning floating wetlands, check out this explainer on how the apparatus was designed and how it works.
Renewal of Mid-Century Campus Legacies. As more institutions decide how to handle mid-century buildings, these case studies provide progressive strategies that make investments in current students and future generations.
Legacy and Leadership: Designing the National Churchill Library and Center. Because Winston Churchill was a man of true historic importance, we designed his namesake library at The George Washington University to reflect his august legacy in a new and modern way.
Hack the Block: Notes from the Equity by Design Hackathon. This Equity by Design event brought together designers to tackle how to improve justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion in the profession of architecture and in the communities we serve.
30 Years of Embracing Change: Reflecting on Jim Wheeler's Career at Ayers Saint Gross. 2018 was the first time in three decades that Jim Wheeler was not involved in the day-to-day operations of the firm, although he remains our Chairman of the Board. His professional legacy lives on in our commitment to forward-thinking business and design strategies.
Comparing Campuses: Student Housing. We examined campus living in our 20th annual Comparing Campuses poster. (We also have online archives of all the Comparing Campuses posters and our student life portfolio.)
The Little Gray Bath House and the Great Residence Hall: Adaptive Reuse at VCU. The integration of a Neoclassical façade into a modern building illustrates how a perceived design obstacle can be turned into an opportunity.
Green Week 2018: The Carrot Awards. Projects at The George Washington University and Washington College earned this year's top sustainability honors.
WELL 101: Creating Healthy Places. The WELL building standard poses a people-centric, rather than planet-centric, question: How can a building support better health, happiness, and well-being for its occupants?
WELL 101: Creating Healthy Places
For many people in the AEC industry, sustainability is synonymous with LEED, the world's most widely used green building rating system.
At Ayers Saint Gross, however, we define sustainability as balancing the unique needs of people and ecological systems with the economic realities inherent in each project. That definition recognizes that there are multiple ways to measure success in sustainability. It also supports the triple bottom line of people, planet, and payback, and acknowledges that LEED may not always be the most appropriate yardstick with which to measure sustainability on every project.
One of the latest green building rating systems to take the AEC industry by storm is the WELL Building Standard. WELL poses a people-centric, rather than planet-centric, question: How can a building support better health, happiness, and well-being for its occupants?
I was inspired to become the first WELL AP at Ayers Saint Gross, earning my certification in June 2018, because we often design buildings for the education of health care professionals, such as our recently completed Howard Community College Science, Engineering, and Technology Building and the University of Pikeville Health Professions Education Building. It's important to me that these projects more directly support occupants' well-being and put the environmental factors that influence health outcomes on display. The WELL system was developed over a six-year period and formally launched in October 2014. Now administered by GBCI, WELL provides a pathway for measuring, certifying, and monitoring how buildings support human health and well-being.
Every WELL Precondition or Optimization is substantiated by medical, scientific, or industry research to ensure a data-driven system. WELL also requires ongoing monitoring, annual reporting for some features, and re-certification every three years.
This level of rigor ensures that a building doesn't just operate as intended on day one, but that it continues to do so on day 1,001 and beyond. It's an exciting prospect to move beyond how buildings are predicted or intended to function, and to talk about how they do function on an ongoing basis.
The WELL Building Standard v1 sorts its 105 Preconditions and Optimizations into seven concepts: air, water, nourishment, light, fitness, comfort, and mind. Below are more details on these concepts, and some suggestions for how designers and clients can thoughtfully approach the WELL certification process.
Air. This concept aims to optimize indoor air quality through the minimization of introduced contaminants, as well as filtration and testing to ensure air quality is conserved throughout occupancy. High indoor air quality has been linked to improved cognitive function, so it makes sense that this concept is the most heavily weighted subject within WELL.
Water. The water concept aims to ensure easy access to potable water and to maintain stringent standards regarding inorganic, organic, and agricultural contaminants in water for human consumption. To meet Preconditions and Optimizations, WELL projects incorporate a variety of filtration systems to ensure the purity of water for human consumption.
Nourishment. This is my favorite WELL concept because even without owning a commercial or institutional building, there are requirements in here that can change how I go grocery shopping and help me improve my health. Among other standards for projects that provide food service each day (including vending machines), processed foods are held to sugar restrictions and dinnerware must be within prescribed size limits to support portion control.
Light. The light concept addresses access to daylight and views, as well as the impact electric lighting can have on circadian rhythms. While energy conservation is not a stated part of the WELL Building Standard, many of the features within this concept help minimize energy use. Designers can develop appropriate building masses that allow for greater levels of daylight penetration to support success in this concept.
This concept encourages active transportation both for commuting and within a building. Project owners have multiple policy requirements within this section including activity incentive programs (like those offered at Ayers Saint Gross).
Comfort. The comfort concept addresses ergonomics, acoustical comfort, olfactory comfort, and thermal comfort. WELL recognizes that different kinds of work require different kinds of spaces, and create different acoustical and thermal conditions. Building a variety of comfort conditions into a building ensures that everyone can maximize their learning and productivity.
Mind. The mind concept addresses biophilic design, adaptability, sleep, business travel, and other subjects that impact mental health. Opportunities for innovation are also recognized within the mind concept.
While LEED is an important tool for talking about sustainability in the built environment, I am excited to engage with newer rating systems that allow us to have more human-centered discussions about sustainable design.
Just as LEED and other codes, standards, and rating systems are updated on a regular basis, WELL has been updated this summer. WELL v2 is a pilot program and it's unclear how long the pilot period will last. As of this posting, projects can choose to register under either WELL v1 or WELL v2 and IWBI assures project teams that when WELL v2 becomes the dominant WELL Building Standard advance notice will be provided.
Check WELL's FAQ for more on the transition between WELL v1 and WELL v2. You can also reach out to me to learn more about how WELL might be applicable to a project you're considering at awilson@asg-architects.com.
A New Model for Floating Wetlands
Adam Ravestein
Landscape Architecture, Sustainable Design
The National Aquarium has an ambitious mission to inspire conservation of the world's aquatic treasures.
With its prime location in downtown Baltimore on historic shipping piers, the Aquarium wants to localize this mission by restoring aquatic environments in its own backyard, the Chesapeake Bay. To that end, the Aquarium is planning to redevelop an inlet at the heart of its campus with a large-scale floating salt marsh.
These recreated wetlands will serve multiple purposes. They will support greater biodiversity in the Inner Harbor and provide infrastructure for supplemental oxygenation of the water. They will also be an immersive experience for learning about the Chesapeake Bay watershed and its component ecosystems.
Several major technical challenges stand in the way of realizing this vision. First, conventional floating wetlands are costly, and yet they typically last a mere five years. It would be prohibitively expensive for the Aquarium to replace such a large floating wetland structure (planned to be 16,000+ SF) twice per decade.
Secondly, conventional floating wetland systems are topographically flat and not readily calibrated to create a range of microhabitats. They are incapable of supporting the ecological diversity that the Aquarium desires for this unique environment.
Lastly, conventional floating wetlands are not stable enough to support maintenance personnel. For the Aquarium to be able to manage such a landscape, the structure needs to be designed with a high degree of stability.
To realize the client's vision, our designers (and our partners at Biohabitats, McLaren Engineers, and Kovacs, Whitney & Associates, continuing Studio Gang's EcoSlip concept) had to create a durable and more topographically varied floating wetland.
A brief history of Baltimore's Inner Harbor: in pre-Columbian times, there was tremendous biodiversity in this zone of the Chesapeake Bay. With the rise of the Industrial Revolution, the area became a major shipping port. Hard infrastructure development mirrored rising urban populations into the early 20th century, replacing natural shorelines. Humans reshaped the harbor to suit the needs of industry and shipping, which resulted in lost habitats and waning species diversity.
The heavy industry eventually faded, and in the 1980s the Inner Harbor was one of the first post-industrial waterfronts transformed into a cultural amenity. Unfortunately, while the land surrounding the Inner Harbor's water was revitalized, the water itself was largely neglected.
Another significant development that affects the health of the Chesapeake Bay is sprawling urbanization throughout much of its watershed. Hard surfaces cover soil and prevent infiltration of rain water into the ground, so when rain falls on buildings and pavement, it carries lawn fertilizers, pet waste, and road salts into storm drains. Leaks in an aging network of sewer and stormwater pipes, running underneath the city, also added excess nitrogen and phosphorous to Inner Harbor waters. This polluted urban stormwater runoff joins suburban and rural runoff and ultimately flows downstream into waterways like the Inner Harbor. Excess nitrogen and phosphorous, transported in polluted stormwater runoff, is utilized by naturally occurring phytoplankton species and fuels an endless cycle of algae population explosions and crashes throughout the Inner Harbor. When the excess fertilizers that enabled the algal blooms to occur are consumed, a massive die-off of phytoplankton follows. The dead algae sinks to the bottom and provides food that fuels a major bacterial bloom. The rapidly growing bacteria population uses up all the available dissolved oxygen in the water and effectively smothers fish, crabs, and other aquatic life.
Reversing years of environmental degradation and creating a renewed and thriving ecosystem requires a large-scale intervention capable of delivering a wide array of ecological services. Floating wetlands were a natural choice for the Aquarium's project.
However, as noted above, conventional floating wetlands have some significant drawbacks. They are typically made of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) injected with marine foam for buoyancy. Plants are placed in drilled holes to allow their roots to reach directly into the water. The PET layers are typically flat with upper layers extending out of the water – a form that does not mimic the varied topography and microhabitats of most wetlands or tidal shorelines. Thus only a limited number of aquatic species can thrive in them (falling well short of the Aquarium's ambitions for this project).
Additionally, with time, biomass accumulates from plants and bivalves that colonize the PET mesh, causing the entire wetland to sink under its own weight.
Therefore, while current models of floating wetlands can serve decorative and educational purposes, they are ultimately more akin to a flower show exhibit than to a real-life habitat that is both durable and functional enough to achieve the Aquarium's objectives. We had to develop a new floating wetland model and adapt an array of technologies from other disciplines to realize our goals.
In collaboration with the Aquarium and our multidisciplinary team of scientists and engineers, we designed a new kind of floating wetland. It improves upon the technologies of conventional floating wetlands while remedying their shortcomings in terms of habitat-creation capabilities and the lifespan of the final installation. These new technologies and variables have been prototyped and are currently being tested within the harbor on the Aquarium's campus.
First, we addressed the issue of topography.
In lieu of a flat floating sheet of PET, our team created a layered topo-model with varied planting surfaces at different elevations, some submerged, relative to the water surface. In the middle of the prototype, a deeper channel provides habitats analogous to shallow salt marsh tidal channels. On the edges, the layers stack up to simulate the low and high marsh environments of the Chesapeake Bay. The prototype also features airlifts and air diffusers, which help to oxygenate and continuously circulate the water and prevent water stagnation in the channel and around the outer edges of the form. All together, these interventions create a variety of microhabitats, which will be utilized by a greater diversity of species and life stages of those species.
Secondly, we addressed the issue of buoyancy. Conventional floating wetlands have what is called static buoyancy from integrated marine foam, which means they can generally restore equilibrium in response to pressure (ie, they don't capsize or sink easily). Our design adds a rigid support structure underneath the PET layers with capabilities for adjustable buoyancy. This "skeleton" is made of high density polyethylene (HDPE) pipes and pontoon structures that provide the wetland with ballast.
Adjustable buoyancy is essential to longevity. As the plants grow and become heavier, the PET bed can be raised or lowered by pumping water into or out of the pontoons as needed. This design feature also allows for easier maintenance and unique research opportunities. The pontoon structure acts similarly to a ship's ballast system, whereby trim and list are controlled through adding and removing water. That way, the elevations of individual areas of wetland can be controlled, rather than solely raising and lowering the entire structure uniformly.
The reserve buoyancy system within the PET layer is one of the most difficult and sensitive portions of the design. As buoyancy is directly related to the weight of water displaced, PET mesh itself has very little buoyancy in reserve to counteract the added weight of maintenance workers and waves. To address this issue, we filled hollow cavities in the PET layers above the waterline with marine foam, which is engineered to provide added buoyancy and stability to allow people to stand on the edge of the wetland without it swamping. The foam cavities are carefully spaced in linear strips to avoid interference with plantings.
Additionally, we added a cementitious bonding coating to the PET to increase longevity with regard to ultraviolet degradation.
The 200-SF prototype was shop-fabricated, transported in pieces, and then assembled in a shipyard on the Middle Branch River before being towed to its current position in the Inner Harbor in August 2017. Aquarium staff then planted it with over more than 1400 plugs of native plants. (The staffers were pleased to report that the wetland was stable and firm underfoot—a pleasure to work on compared with the small conventional floating wetlands that have been used on a small scale around the Inner Harbor.) Every square inch of this ecological powerhouse provides opportunities for a diverse range of organisms to grow, colonize, molt, spawn, or eat.
Nine months into the experiment, preliminary results are promising.
Almost immediately after implementation, Aquarium scientists observed a rapid colonization of the submerged woven PET material by biofilms, a type of beneficial bacteria that creates a sticky, living coating of the vast PET surfaces. Biofilms feed on excess nitrogen and other nutrients in the water and are the first step towards reaching broader biodiversity and recreating a more natural and multi-layered food web.
By the third day, schools of killifish moved into the prototype's central channel, and a blue crab was observed molting in the protected shallow water of the new habitat. More fish, anemones, and crustacean species soon followed, along with the arrival of larger species like wading birds and muskrat. The recreated wetland has brought several native species back to the Inner Harbor and into full view of people passing by.
Going forward, the performance of the prototype will continue to be measured. Its impact on water quality will be monitored using data collection equipment installed nearby in the same inlet. This information will help us to calibrate and refine the design of the floating wetland system, so that it has maximum impact when it is fabricated at full scale.
We're excited to see what's next for the Aquarium, the Harbor, and the Bay, and what role our newly designed wetlands can play in improving these vital and beautiful places.
Jonathan Ceci, Shelly Drees, and Amelle Schultz contributed to the writing of the article.
Ayers Saint Gross hosts an annual Green Week to advance sustainability literacy within our staff so we can provide better high-performance designs to our clients. We use this time to:
Evaluate our performance in the AIA 2030 Commitment, a voluntary program of the AIA in which we report the predicted energy use intensity of our whole building projects and the lighting power density of our interiors projects.
Recognize the most energy efficient whole building project and interiors project under design with the annual Carrot Awards to inspire other projects to strive for greater energy efficiency.
Share information colleagues have learned through project experiences, professional certifications, and attendance at conferences.
Since Green Week's inception in 2013, every year's programming gets more robust and more engaging. Last year's Green Week included five sessions and awarded 99 continuing education units to our staff. This year hopes to top those numbers by offering seven sessions across all three of our offices.
So what exactly is a Carrot Award and who are this year's winners? Sustainable design is sometimes oversimplified to as "carrots and sticks" process, in which carrots are enticing incentives that inspire great design and sticks are cumbersome requirements design teams have to meet. We believe sustainable design is great design, so high-performance projects are a carrot to us. Our highest performing projects under design in 2017 are aspirations for every project in our firm to reach for.
This year's whole building Carrot Award goes to Washington College's Semans-Griswold Environmental Hall in Chestertown, Md. It is a new construction project of approximately 11,000 GSF that will support academic and lab spaces for environmental programs and the Center for Environment & Society at Washington College. The project is working toward a Petal Certification under the Living Building Challenge and is predicted to have an energy demand 71% less than baseline. The remaining energy consumption of the building will be offset by on-site solar power which will allow the building to achieve net-zero energy operations annually. To achieve this extraordinary level of energy savings, the project prioritized appropriate building orientation to maximize passive heating and cooling strategies. It will also optimize on-site solar production. A highly efficient geothermal heating system supports the project's capacity to meet all of its HVAC demands without any on-site combustion.
The project is designed to use daylight whenever possible and supplement as needed with efficient LED lighting. End users have also strategized with designers about how to minimize plug loads, as these become a higher percentage of the total end use of energy in net-zero buildings than in other buildings.
This work would not be possible without the collaboration of an engaged client and our teams at Gipe Associates and CMTA.
This year's interiors Carrot Award goes to our renovation of George Washington University's Marvin Center. This student collaboration space in Washington, DC acts as a campus living room and decreases lighting power density by 73%, nearly three times the current AIA2030 reduction target, through daylighting and LED lighting.
Congratulations to this year's winners, and be on the lookout for more sustainability-focused projects from our firm. For more on how Ayers Saint Gross approaches sustainable design, see our firm's sustainability strategy, Take Action.
Ayers Saint Gross at AIA DC's Building Enclosure Council
If you're in the greater Washington DC area this week, I hope you'll join me on Tuesday March 27 for a lecture sponsored by AIA DC on an in-depth case study of a unique approach to a high-performance renovation.
Over-Cladding for Thermal Performance and Building Resiliency
The Nelson Harvey Building patient tower occupies a dense urban site in the heart of the Johns Hopkins Hospital campus in Baltimore, Maryland. Ayers Saint Gross teamed with Wilmot Sanz to renovate the exterior and interior of the nine-story, 33-year-old, 118,500-SF building. The innovative and sustainable approach in developing a new hybrid building envelope combines high-performance over-cladding with the existing envelope. The result is a modern design aesthetic that is energy efficient, environmentally sustainable, and highly resilient. In addition to new exterior over-cladding systems, the renovation includes new pat ient rooms, the first-floor lobby, main entrance, and plazas.
After attending this course, participants will be able to:
Identify the code implications related to exterior enclosure on existing infrastructure that inform design decisions in a repurposing project;
Describe the role that technology plays in assessing, coordinating, and implementing design strategies for new enclosure design on existing infrastructure;
Examine the impact of design decisions related to cladding materials, fenestration, roofing, and insulation on the constructability of a new enclosure design; and
Discuss the various strategies to future-proof buildings through innovative design systems that address short-term and long-term building enclosure performance and sustainability objectives.
Dan McKelvey, Associate Principal, Ayers Saint Gross
421 7th St NW, Washington, DC 20004
2.0 HSW | LUs
SITES 101: Creating Sustainable Landscapes
Shelly Drees
Most people connected to the AEC industry are by now well familiar with Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, more commonly known as LEED, the world's most widely used green building rating system.
Less familiar to many is the Sustainable Sites Initiative, aka SITES. SITES is, broadly, LEED for landscape. The rating is a way of helping designers set and reach sustainability goals with clients. The system was developed through an interdisciplinary effort by the American Society of Landscape Architects Fund, The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center at The University of Texas at Austin, and the United States Botanic Garden. After a rigorous testing period, the program was transferred to Green Business Certification, Inc (GBCI) in 2015. It's a relatively new force in sustainability for the built environment, and in my opinion, it's a powerful one. I am excited about how SITES can help create a holistic approach to sustainability in the built environment.
Every SITES prerequisite or credit is based on the idea of ecosystem services. Ecosystem services are the benefits we receive from natural systems, comprised of both the living and the nonliving components of the landscape. SITES sorts these benefits into four categories: provisioning, supporting, regulating, and cultural. Below are more details on these categories and some suggestions for how designers and clients can thoughtfully approach the SITES certification process.
Provisioning. Any useful product produced by the landscape would be the result of a provisioning system. These products include food, lumber, energy supplies, medicines, and similar items. These credits can be earned through a variety of approaches such as incorporating edible gardens, or using local quarries for stone elements on a site.
Supporting. Supporting systems keep ecosystems healthy. They include soil formation, photosynthesis, habitat creation, and biodiversity. Credits for supporting can be reached through both design intervention and preservation. Much of the program focuses on preserving healthy soils and ecosystems that would take years of in-situ cultivation to recreate. Improving degraded sites through soil remediation and using native planting to improve habitat value are another way to earn credits.
Regulating. Regulating systems produce benefits by maintain larger systems through carbon sequestration, local and global climate regulation, and water and air cleansing. A common regulating technique is the use of bioretention and filtration to clean water and recharge the water table. Biofiltration facilities allow stormwater management infrastructure to function in a healthy way rather than adding to city storm water systems. These systems can often add a cultural value as well by improving the aesthetic of a place.
Cultural. This category includes a wide range of tactical choices, like outdoor exercise and gathering spaces, highlighting local icons, and healthy benefits. It's everything from the creation of a healing garden near a hospital to the inclusion of native plants in a landscape design.
Personally, the thing that excites me most about the SITES system (and about being the first SITES AP at Ayers Saint Gross) is the ability to help a landscape project improve a place's ecological functioning. Living landscapes are unique for their ability to recharge systems and can make a place function better than before intervention. Too often we see a LEED certified building that is a sustainable island in a landscape that doesn't support the same high-performance objectives. SITES is a terrific tool to help align the development and management of land with innovative sustainable design.


Hey i founded a error, the game craches when I try to play World leauge. PLZZZ HELP!!
Set roster as default, and make sure every team in your world league rsg file is activated.
Thats the real world rating also.
if friend you can upload the team editor and explain how to use it. thanks.
in my case I ended up with all the kits just missing some international kits that have not come to light ... I am now working on the wallpapers and some more details .. I hope to launch the update of the game in a few weeks .


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Netflix's US Subscriber Count Falls After Price Hike
Richard Sherman to visit with the Lions
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The Seattle Seahawks released an iconic figure in their franchise history on Friday, parting ways with cornerback Richard Sherman.
It also might convince defensive end Julius Peppers, who's weighing his future, to decide to play another season. Health will surely play a role in the type of contract Sherman receives in free agency.
But maybe Detroit's "preliminary interest" in Sherman signals that they're about to be more active in the veteran cornerback market than we thought.
Yet, the 49ers are expected to be cautious when evaluating Sherman after an Achilles injury sidelined him for the final seven games last season.
Still, the Patriots would be well-served to explore the possibility of bringing Sherman into the fold.
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It's ironic. Sherman, 30, was a central figure in the classic 49ers-Seahawks rivalry of the early 2010s.
Sherman was part of five Seahawks playoff teams, appeared in two Super Bowls, and helped Seattle win Super Bowl XLVIII.
Since entering the league in 2011, Sherman has been one of the NFL's best at the position. Niners general manager John Lynch has plenty of salary-cap space to potentially sign Sherman - roughly $70 million, according to Over The Cap.
Asked by Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network on Friday what he wants out of a new team, Sherman said: "Looking for a great fit".
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How to survive daylight saving time
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Conrad Sangma sworn in as new Chief Minister of Meghalaya
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Review: Lights Out
2016-07-25 11:00:00by Alec Kubas-Meyer
What's in an ending?
Last April (man, time flies), I saw a film called Unfriended. I liked it well enough, but as is so often the case, the things I didn't like about it were more interesting than the things I did, so I ended up writing an obscenely long review. The funny thing about that, though, is that despite its 2700ish word length, I still didn't touch on the thing I disliked most: The ending. I felt like the film's ending fundamentally undermined everything that it had been building towards, and I was generally upset with it.
I saw Lights Out in the same room at the same movie theater, and as the film ended, I thought back to Unfriended. Because it ended kind of like I wanted Unfriended to end, but not how I wanted Lights Out to end. And I don't like that. I don't think it undermined anything in doing so, and given the development of the narrative, it's probably the "correct" way to end it, at least in the moment... but sometimes you just reject the way a narrative goes. And that's what happened to me here.
So, let's unpack that a bit. (Don't worry, this won't be another treatise.)
Director: David Sandberg
You wouldn't know that David Sandberg directed Lights Out if you had just seen the trailer. The only name I remember from it was James Wan, who produced the film. I saw The Conjuring 2 in theaters just a couple of weeks ago, and I can see why the comparisons were made. I will also say that I found Lights Out to be both more and less compelling than Wan's film. (I'm curious how long before we start seeing Sandberg's name on trailers for movies he didn't direct.) Those trailers tell you two things about the film: The mother is unwell, and the monster can only be seen in the darkness. The light turns on, and she (it) disappears. This plays out in the trailer as a red light from outside a character's window brings the shadow thing in and out of being. I remember watching the trailer thinking, "Is this the whole movie?"
In the opening scene of Lights Out, the first time the monster appears, the woman who sees it flips a light switch at least six times. The audience started to laugh. The woman tells the father of the children in the trailer (and husband of the not-well mother) that something weird is going on and he should be careful. The only thing I could think was, "I don't remember this dad character from the trailer. He's going to die, isn't he?"
(Yup.)
A lot of Lights Out plays out the way you would expect it to. It's genuinely scary at times, though this is in large part due to the ease of jump scares when your monster effectively teleports. But it works (mostly). This is true because the monster itself is interesting. The origin story of Diana is sort of convoluted, and part of me wishes that they'd done less with it. There's a lot of detail for something that ultimately doesn't matter very much. You can grasp the fundamentals pretty quickly, without the hyper-expository (though admittedly creepy) flashbacks, but... whatever. It's fine.
The more interesting thing is what Diana represents. It's not a spoiler to say that Diana is the specter of an abusive relationship. The way she treats the mother and terrifies her kids; the hold she has on everyone and everything. The way she explodes when anyone tries to get in her way. (And refuses to listen to the only "instruction" she's ever given.) The best monsters are ones that play on real fears, that represent terrible things. Ways for a fantastical version of a real horror as a way for audiences to confront that in a way that feels a bit less visceral but nonetheless meaningful. Diana is that. Lights Out does that. It's not effective all the time, in part because Diana periodically falls into the trap of being Just A Movie Monster on a few occasions (most obviously in a very creepy sequence lit by black light, where her reveal reads too "THIS IS A MOVIE JUMP SCARE" and not enough "THIS IS A REAL THING THAT MAKES SENSE"), but overall she's a fairly unique take on a ghost. I liked what they tried to do, and think they were more successful than not.
But, there's a problem, one that has almost nothing to do with Diana.
I want to talk about the ending. Spoilers, obviously, to follow:
Lights Out ends with a suicide. The suicide of the mother (whose name is Sophie) in order to save her children. Diana only exists as long as Sophie is under her spell. Sophie suffers from severe depression, and Diana feeds off of it. Something terrible happens (the death of her husband, which is never really discussed, and no one seems to question it, despite the particularly horrific circumstances of it). Sophie goes off her meds, and Diana is there to pick up the pieces. She is Sophie's only friend.
In order to keep Diana away, Sophie needs help. Therapy, medication, hospitalization, whatever. She clearly needs something, and just when you think she's going to get it, she kills herself. In that moment, it is truly the only way to stop Diana. I get that. I understand that her suicide is the "correct" thing to do. The person I saw it with said, not incorrectly, that Sophie made her bed (with Diana) and was forced to lie in it. She subjected her kids, her husbands, to the horror, and paid the price.
But on a purely visceral level, I reject the notion that suicide is the correct answer. I reject the notion that the narrative had to go down that path. Given the path it went down, sure; but I don't see that as the inevitable path. It's only inevitable because of the tension the sequence created. The slow, methodical treatment of the mother from the brink wouldn't have made for a particularly satisfying resolution, but that doesn't mean that the film had to take the road it did. Unfriended should have ended in suicide rather than one last jump scare, because that's what the film was about. It would have brought everything full circle in a horrific (but meaningful) way. In Lights Out, it comes seemingly out of nowhere. It doesn't really build to that moment. It just happens. And then the movie is over just a couple minutes later. Maybe there will be a sequel where the kids have to grapple with what they witnessed (though the return of Diana would undermine rather than highlight the tragedy of Sophie's martyrdom, and would only make me angrier), but that's not what we get here.
I have a problem with that. I have a serious problem with that.
And it's unfortunate, because I liked so much of what Lights Out does and is. It's a well-crafted film, one that's absolutely worth watching. There is a fascinating divisiveness out there that I don't really understand (and would love to talk to someone who disagrees with me on any or all of this), because I think it's as effective a PG-13 horror movie as I've seen in quite some time. It's more effective than most R-rated ones I've seen recently.
But I just can't abide by that ending.
Lights Out reviewed by Alec Kubas-Meyer
Slightly above average or simply inoffensive. Fans of the genre should enjoy it a bit, but a fair few will be left unfulfilled.
How we score: The Flixist reviews guide
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Alec Kubas-Meyer signed up for Flixist in May of 2011 as a news writer, and he never intended to write a single review. Funny, then, that he is now the site's Reviews (and Features) Editor. After... more + disclosures
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The Weird and Wonderful Platypus
EUSci 8 January 2021 8 January 2021 Leave a comment
Sophie Teall explores some of the more surprising features of this unusual mammal.
Image credit: Klaus, Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0
Imagine a glowing creature with venomous spikes that stalks its prey in the night with eyes shut tight. It may sound like a thing of legends (or nightmares), but this creature is very much real. It is also surprisingly adorable, covered in dense fur and with a cartoonishly large beak and webbed feet. The platypus may be famous for looking like a fusion of several different animals – indeed, Aboriginal tales describe them as the offspring of a duck and a water rat – yet somehow their outward appearance is not the strangest thing about them.
Native to Australia, platypuses are a member of a group of mammals known as monotremes. The only other members of this group are echidnas, small hedgehog-like animals with long snouts. While other mammals give birth to live young, both platypuses and echidnas lay eggs. Once the eggs hatch, like other mammals, female monotremes will provide their young with milk until they can start searching for and catching food themselves. However, things get even stranger than the platypuses ability to lay eggs.
Hunting in murky waters at night, most senses become useless to a platypus. Once in the water, their nostrils close and their eyes and ears are temporarily covered by folds of skin. This allows them to protect their eyes and prevent any water from entering the nasal cavity or ear canals. Despite this, platypuses are still able to locate prey hidden in muddy river beds with remarkable accuracy.
The bill of a platypus is covered in thousands of receptors. Some of these are pressure receptors which can detect movement within the water. The others, electroreceptors, pick up the electrical signals produced by muscle contractions. As a platypus moves through their watery world, they rapidly move their head from side-to-side to determine the direction and the distance of their prey from the information gathered by these receptors. The shape of their beak plays a role in this too, as its large surface area gives a higher sensitivity to the exact direction of their prey. It has been observed that if a platypus accidentally swims over the source of a signal then they will quickly turn back to investigate the area.
Platypuses are not completely unique in their use of electroreceptors. Water is a better conductor for electrical signals than air, so many aquatic species such as the Guiana dolphin can use electricity to find prey. Given platypuses' watery hunting ground, it makes sense that they too would use the detection of electric signals for hunting. Interestingly, both the long-beaked and short-beaked echidnas have receptors in their snouts. These species either forage for food in damp leaf litter or humid ant nests. However, with the ability to utilise other senses, the snouts of these animalscontain significantly fewer electroreceptors than the 40,000 found on the platypus bill.
The use of electroreceptors was not without trade-offs. Historic relatives of the platypus appear to have been toothed and fed closer to the water surface. Modern-day platypuses lack this feature and instead have to collect gravel in their mouths to help grind food down. Comparisons of the skulls of the modern platypus and its historic relative suggest that to be able to use electroreceptors with such precision to feed in murkier waters, the space in the skull for teeth became restricted to the point where they were lost.
Cute Yet Deadly
A second platypus trait that is rare among mammals is their use of venom. Male platypuses have a single sharp spur on the back of each rear foot. These claw-like structures allow platypuses to pierce the skin and inject venom via the wound. They are incredibly strong and able to support the full bodyweight of a male platypus, with people who have been pierced needing assistance to physically remove the animal.
The venomous claw-like spike found on the rear heel of a male platypus
Image credit: Stowe Boyd, Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0
The venom of a platypus contains multiple proteins, many of which are similar to those found in other venomous species such as snakes, although these proteins seem to have evolved independently of one another. While this venom can kill other animals such as dogs, it is non-fatal to larger animals such as humans. However, it has been described as incredibly painful and will temporarily incapacitate the recipient. Curiously, it does not appear to be fatal to other platypuses, as living males have been found with multiple puncture wounds.
The presence of puncture wounds on other individuals indicates that males may primarily use their spurs during the mating season while fighting other males. Both males and females are born with spurs, but only males retain them into adulthood, suggesting that they are not necessary for activities that both males and females participate in, such as hunting. Additionally, the production of venom in males increases during the breeding season along with aggression levels and the frequency of puncture wounds.
Considering how unique and wacky these mammals are, maybe the fact that they glow does not even come as that much of a surprise. A recent study found that when platypuses are observed under UV light, their fur fluoresces with shades of purple, blue and green. This glow has been observed in plants, birds and other nocturnal mammals such as flying squirrels, but this is the first record of fluorescence in a monotreme. Due to being observed in both wild and museum samples, it appears to be a genuine property of platypus fur, and not just a result of museum preparation.
There is currently uncertainty as to why platypuses glow. It is, however, possible to rule out a couple of possibilities. Some other animals, such as bluetits, show a difference in degree of fluorescence between males and females. Females will show a preference for mates with a brighter fluorescent patch, and so this trait is selected for due to mate choice. In contrast, fluorescence is equal in both male and female platypuses, indicating that this feature is unlikely to be linked to seeking a mate. In fact, it is unlikely to play any large role in platypuses interacting with each other owing to their reliance on navigating the world without their eyes. Instead, it may be used to avoid predation at night by helping the platypus to blend in with the fluorescent plants in its environment. Alternatively, it may serve no modern function, and may simply be a historical trait that platypuses have managed to retain.
While the platypuses' combination of fascinating traits certainly makes them stand out, they also offer a fascinating glimpse into the evolution of mammals. The presence of both egg laying and milk production in monotremes indicates that lactation in mammals evolved before this group split off from the rest of the mammals, over 166 million years ago. The glow observed in platypuses and other nocturnal mammals may be an ancestral trait that only some mammals have kept, and the venomous spikes found on males appear to be the last case of an ancestral trait that has been lost in all other mammals. With their unique lifestyles, platypuses are full of surprises.
Written by Sophie Teall and edited by Ailie McWhinnie.
Sophie is a final year undergraduate biology student, specialising in Zoology. Find her on Twitter @sophteall and LinkedIn @Sophie Teall.
Posted in Feature Tagged animals, electroreception, fluorescence, platypus, venom, zoology
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Texas Saved Billions Cutting Special Ed: Now The Bill Comes Due
by John O'Neil, Bloomberg News/TNS | October 2, 2018
NEW YORK — Texas's 5.4 million students are returning to school this fall amid the usual scramble for textbooks, lockers and desks. The state is also facing a huge problem of its own creation: how to find, evaluate and properly teach as many as 200,000 students wrongly denied special education or overlooked as it sought to limit spending for the nation's fastest-growing school population.
And then there's the question of how Texas, under orders from the U.S. government, will pay for it all.
The federal mandate, intended to make up for a de facto cap put in place by the Texas Education Agency in 2004, may amount to the biggest single expansion of special education services ever. For more than a decade, local school districts were pressured to turn away students in need. Now that must be undone.
The federal order is an opportunity to improve the life prospects of young people with disabilities and a challenge to the low-tax, high-growth, small-government model Texas has pursued while under Republican control. The state and local districts now confront spending increases projected to reach more than $1.5 billion a year.
Nationwide, schools are struggling to provide special education services in the face of tight budgets, heightened legal scrutiny and shortages of qualified teachers, psychologists and therapists. Texas needs all of those experts to climb out of its hole, plus the help of parents whose trust in their schools has been deeply eroded.
Last year, Heather Beliveaux thought she was done fighting Houston school officials after her daughter was finally deemed eligible for special education. The year before, the girl, Sophia Salehi, had been denied services for visual impairment despite being legally blind.
But Beliveaux found herself again working with a special education lawyer. The new battle wasn't over whether Sophia, 11, should get help, but whether she could get that help without having to transfer out of a school where she'd begun to thrive.
"I thought the big thing was to get her eligible," Beliveaux said. "I thought once that was settled, they'd have to step up."
It's been almost two years since The Houston Chronicle revealed that the percentage of students in Texas special education classes had fallen by roughly a third since the TEA set enrollment targets in 2004. Before then, the special education share in Texas was 11.8 percent of all students, not far below the national average. Over the next decade, the Texas figure fell to 8.6 percent, while enrollment nationwide remained largely unchanged.
While the TEA denied that the target had been meant as a cap, the U.S. Department of Education concluded in January that it had functioned as one. According to the report, administrators and teachers told federal investigators they'd felt pressured to reduce special education enrollment, with one superintendent saying that "he 'leans on the administrators' if the numbers are too high because the school board 'leans on him.'"
U.S. officials ruled that both the state and local districts in Texas had violated the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA, a federal law that requires all students who qualify to receive special education services.
Since IDEA's passage in 1975, educational opportunities afforded American children with conditions including autism, dyslexia and cerebral palsy have changed profoundly. Rather than being isolated, more than 60 percent of them spend more than 80 percent of their time in general education classrooms, receiving specialized assistance while integrated into the broader school environment.
Problems remain, of course — not least of which is the temptation among state governments to cut education funding. The U.S. Department of Education's latest annual review found that 29 states and the District of Columbia fell short of meeting their special education obligations in the 2016-17 school year. But what happened in Texas falls into an entirely different category.
Lindsay Jones, the chief policy and advocacy officer for the National Center on Learning Disabilities, or NCLD, called the move to deprive vulnerable students of necessary services "absolutely the largest-scale violation" of the law since its passage in 1975.
By one TEA estimate, the level of enrollment before 2004 indicates that as many as 200,000 students who should be getting special education services are not. Additionally, by one estimate more than 150,000 students who have since left may have gone unserved.
As the 2018-19 school year gets underway, the TEA is under orders from Washington to ensure that districts find, evaluate and provide services to eligible students currently enrolled, and offer compensatory services to those who missed out. State officials and disability rights advocates say that's going to require unorthodox searches, including looking for young adults in mental hospitals and correctional facilities, two populations studies have shown to have higher-than-average rates of undiagnosed learning disabilities.
After its initial resistance, TEA officials now speak of the "opportunity" the crisis has handed them for sweeping improvements — but they're frank about the challenge. Penny Schwinn, the TEA's deputy commissioner for academics, said, "It's difficult to fathom the true scale of what we're talking about." The TEA now projects that special education enrollment will rise over the next few years to 12.2 percent, still below the national average but higher than before the cap was put in place.
The TEA has drawn up a plan for helping districts with teacher training and student evaluation, as well as beefing up its own monitoring capacities — all at a cost of $211 million over five years (the plan is still under federal review). Even so, Commissioner Mike Morath told the legislature that the "heavy lifting" of paying for an expected spike in evaluation requests will fall on districts.
Texas reimburses districts for some of the extra costs of special education through a complicated formula based on the severity of a student's disability. The TEA told a legislative panel earlier this month that the expected rise in enrollment will likely require more than $3.2 billion in additional state aid over the next three school years and more than $1.5 billion every year after that. Local officials have long complained that the state reimbursement falls short of actual special education costs. Because both local special education spending and state reimbursement are mandatory under federal law, districts and the state will probably face a choice of raising taxes or cutting other school spending.
Kristin McGuire, the director of governmental relations for the Texas Council for Administrators of Special Education, said the plan developed by the TEA has "very good goals and expectations." She just has one question: "How are we going to get it all done?"
Texas is by no means alone. "Every state in the nation reports shortages of special education teachers, psychologists and counselors," Jones of the NCLD said. "Texas is facing — in an exacerbated way, and of its own doing — a similar but more difficult situation."
Linda Darling-Hammond, president of the Learning Policy Institute at Stanford University and a member of California's Commission on Teacher Credentialing, said Texas already has "a huge shortage," noting that last year 29 percent of Texas's special education teachers weren't even certified in the field. Her group estimated that meeting the expansion of the special education student population could require 10,000 additional teachers. Currently, Texas schools are preparing just under 2,500 such teachers per year.
The state hasn't even returned to staffing levels that existed before a deep round of budget cuts in 2011, said Chandra Villanueva, an analyst at the Center for Public Policy Priorities in Austin.
Sonja Kerr, the lawyer representing Sophia Salehi, is skeptical change will come. She's continued to receive calls from parents complaining schools are wrongly denying services to their children, claiming the child's disability doesn't qualify them for special education — something that was commonplace during the cap era.
Cheryl Fries, an Austin parent and a co-founder of Texans for Special Education Reform, said "repairing the culture of the schools" will be an enormous challenge. "To maintain that cap, the whole system became infected with a toxicity of bad practices," said Fries. "An entire generation of teachers has been mistrained."
Special education covers a wide range of needs, including medical and emotional disorders. Since IDEA and the subsequent inclusion of children who have special needs with other students, there has been an increase in "team teaching," where a general education and a special education teacher share duties in class. Also gaining widespread use is social-skills training, which focuses on children with autism but is often provided to a wider range of students. Children with greater needs may have individual aides assigned to them, or they may leave the classroom for "pullout" sessions of speech or occupational therapy, or for more intensive sessions in math or reading. Still other students may attend specialized schools.
Texas was a leader in providing services to dyslexic students in the 1980s, creating one of the first statewide programs. But while those students are supposed to be eligible for special education services, in Texas the state's official dyslexia handbook presented it as an either-or situation. Many parents and advocates said that after the TEA target was established, districts funneled children who needed more extensive services into the dyslexia programs as a way of staying under the cap.
Robbi Cooper, a parent who leads the Texas chapter of Decoding Dyslexia, a nationwide advocacy group, said putting lagging readers into the state dyslexia program instead of special education meant that families were deprived of the right to help shape their child's treatment afforded under IDEA. "That's just wrong," she said.
In June, the TEA sent a letter reversing the position taken in the handbook and emphasizing that any child who qualifies for special education should get it, whether or not they were in the dyslexia program. McGuire said administrators expect that dyslexia may be the biggest area of conflict as districts respond to parental requests.
In the finger-pointing that followed the federal report, the Texas Education Alliance, a group representing large districts, blamed the 8.5 percent target on a 2004 report by a legislative committee that suggested a cap could be a way of holding down special education spending.
Asked what the purpose of the target had been, Thomas Ratliff, a former member of the state board of education, echoed a common response when he said "saving money is what they had in mind."
The TEA plans to ask for a temporary increase in its budget when the legislature meets in January. But ultimately, how the increased special education spending is divided between the state and local districts, which rely on property taxes, is a key question facing a commission appointed to revise the school funding formula.
At a meeting this spring, the panel's chairman, former Texas Supreme Court Justice Scott Brister, asked members if the state should be spending education dollars "on the brightest kids or the slow learners?" He later apologized for the comment.
Ratliff said that while the state's strong economic growth means revenue estimates have been raised, much of that money "is already spoken for." Something, he said, has to give.
"I think you can only lower the tax burden so much and maintain civil society," he said. "Everybody loves to talk about jobs and growth and the Texas miracle, but at some point there has to be a fundamental review of our tax structure."
Perhaps to underscore the fact that special education spending isn't just another budget item, the TEA's corrective action plan states in its introduction that Texas has a responsibility "legally and morally" to provide needed services.
Fries and other advocates applauded the language. Still, she said her group's biggest concern is that "the current response places all of the burden on districts."
"It's like, 'Hey, schools, guess what? You have to provide evaluations and services and compensatory services, and there's no money and we've already been cutting your money for years, so good luck,'" Fries said. Like many other parents, she worries that the situation "sets up children with disabilities for blowback from the general education community if schools feel like they have to cut other programs."
© 2018 Bloomberg News
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC
More in Education Comments
View this article online at https://www.disabilityscoop.com/2018/10/02/texas-special-ed-now-bill-due/25561/


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INDIA – VATICAN
Let the spirit of Regensburg enter inter-faith dialogue, says Mgr Dabre
by Nirmala Carvalho
The bishop of Vasai, who yesterday was appointed to the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious by Benedict XVI, talks to AsiaNews about the importance of the Pope's Regensburg 'lectio' in which he laid down the bases for a true and fruitful dialogue between religions. This is especially fundamental in Asia where 95 per cent of the people are not Christian.
Mumbai (AsiaNews) – Inter-faith dialogue "has to be an urgent priority for the Church," above all "since the Second Vatican Council earnest efforts have been made by the Episcopal conferences." This is true especially in Asia where 95 per cent of the population is not Christian, but where the "Church plays a fundamental role in the areas of health care and education," said Mgr Thomas Dabre, bishop of Vasai, who yesterday was appointed to the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious by Benedict XVI.
Speaking to AsiaNews, Bishop Dabre said that the Pope made it a "key principle of his pontificate" as clearly demonstrated in his famous lectio magistralis in Regensburg. His "speech was a clarion call for dialogue between religions and faith on the one hand and reason and science on the other."
For the Pope, "Western intellectuals [. . .] should be open to other civilizations and the societies who believe in God." In turn, "[r]eligion must be open to reason and reason must be open to faith. Religion must be reasonable and reason must be open to faith."
Instead, "[s]ome in the West have exclusively emphasised the role of reason, science and technology neglecting the positive contribution that religions and faith can make to humanity. In fact [in his Regensburg speech] the Pope was telling Western intellectuals that they should be open to other civilisations and the societies who believe in God."
Benedict XVI described religion as "a fundamental ingredient for dialogue in which faith is open to science and science to faith. Unfortunately some did not correctly understand the intention of the author (the Pope) and its great meaning."
Yet, the Pope's visit to Turkey was proof of its effectiveness. A pontiff visited a Muslim place of worship in "a spirit of openness and respect" with positive results.
Interfaith dialogue is very important from the perspective of globalisation since it places all confessions on a same level with the same challenges like materialism, "hedonism, profit making and earthly prosperity. The needs of the soul are not in focus in the globalisation of today" and this harms everyone. "Religions can work together to solve these problems which often cause violence and tensions."
Lastly according to Bishop Dabre, to live in peace we are called to collaborate and engage in dialogue. "A spiritual guide, of whatever religion, must understand the value of introspection, ask questions and offer answers. Only this way can we reach true peace, which rests on recognising that God is the author of man's dignity."
dabre
Inter-religious dialogue and evangelization can co-exist
"The various religions must engage in a dialogue that is truly open-minded, says Mgr Dabre
Catholic music to promote dialogue in Ambon, the city of sectarian violence
Pope talks about the Middle East, the Holy Land and the food crisis with Bush
Justice and forgiveness to defeat terrorism, says Indian bishop


In this editing workshop I take an ok image and create magic. I remove unwanted items that are in the background and transform this image from a snapshot into a portrait. I show you how to change tree colors, handle difficult skin use color toning and hand edit every piece of the image to produce the final portrait. This video is lifetime access . This workshop can be downloaded straight to your devise and played at your leisure, even played offline. Need extra inspiration or help? Join our free learning forum and participate in our weekly challenges ! This workshop is filmed in Photoshop CC. ©Kimberly Hannah. Selling, sharing and or redistributing is strictly prohibited.


Radiation treatment or radiotherapy, frequently truncated RT, RTx, or XRT, is treatment utilizing ionizing radiation, for the most part as a major aspect of disease treatment to control or slaughter threatening cells and ordinarily conveyed by a direct quickening agent. Radiation treatment might be healing in various sorts of malignant growth on the off chance that they are restricted to one region of the body. It might likewise be utilized as a component of adjuvant treatment, to anticipate tumor repeat after a medical procedure to evacuate an essential harmful tumor (for instance, beginning periods of bosom malignancy). Radiation treatment is synergistic with chemotherapy and has been utilized previously, amid, and after chemotherapy in defenseless malignant growths. The subspecialty of oncology involved with radiotherapy is called radiation oncology.


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Ryszard Zając (ur. 6 stycznia 1951 w Jeleniej Górze) – polski rzeźbiarz i muzyk

W latach 1965–1968 uczęszczał do Szkoły Rzemiosł Artystycznych w Jeleniej Górze. Został z niej relegowany za udział w protestach przeciw inwazji wojsk państw Układu Warszawskiego latem 1968 w Czechosłowacji. W latach 1970–1973 uczył się Państwowej Szkole Muzycznej w Jeleniej Górze.
W 1972 r. rozpoczął twórczość rzeźbiarską. W latach 1980–1984 prowadził prace renowacyjne Świątyni Wang w Karpaczu. Wykonywał prace rzeźbiarskie m.in. na potrzeby świątyń katolickich i protestanckich w Polsce i Niemczech. Komponował muzykę kościelną z wykorzystaniem tekstów biblijnych. Od 1991 jest członkiem Związku Polskich Artystów Plastyków.

Wybór rzeźb i miejsca ich ekspozycji
 Ołtarz (Świątynia Wang)
 Figura Lazarus (Świątynia Wang)
 Józef z Maryją i Dzieciątkiem Jezus (Kościół Lutra w Kilonii)
 Krzyż kościoła Winterkirche Rothenburg
 Stacje Drogi Krzyżowej (Görlitz)
 rzeźby: Ökomene,Gottes Hand (Boża Dłoń) (Görlitz)
 Wniebowstąpienie (kościół w Reichenbach)
 Gevelsberger Geschichte (Historia gevelberska) (kościół w Gevelsbergu)
 Ołtarz, ambona i chrzcielnica, płaskorzeźba Jezus z Marią Magdaleną (Bochum)
 Ołtarz Zmartwychwstanie (kościół ewangelicki w Brunszwiku)
 Płaskorzeźba na ołtarzu Matka Boska Bolesna (kościół ewangelicko-luterański na Węgrzech)
 Pilgerweg (Droga pielgrzyma) (Manderveen, Holandia)
 Figurki szopki bożonarodzeniowej (Sztokholm, Jönköping w Szwecji)
 Płaskorzeźba ołtarza Syn Marnotrawny (Kløfta w Norwegii)
 Trolle (Vang w Norwegii)
 Lebensbaum (Drzewo życia), (Oslo)
 Wierzenia Wikingów (Urnes Solvorn w Norwegii)
 Ołtarz, ambona, krzyż i chrzcielnica, figura św. Dionizego (kościół ewangelicki w Paderborn)
 Ołtarz, ambona i chrzcielnica (kościół ewangelicki w Tomaszowie Mazowieckim)
 Stacje Drogi Krzyżowej i płaskorzeźba Mojżesz i 10 przykazań (kościół ewangelicki w Kolonii)
 Ołtarz, chrzcielnica, krzyż i 2 płaskorzeźby "Chleb" i "Wino" (kościół w Senftenbergu)
 Jan Chrzciciel, Boża Dłoń (gimnazjum w Hoyerswerdzie)

Przypisy

Polscy rzeźbiarze
Członkowie Związku Polskich Artystów Plastyków
Urodzeni w 1951

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Definitions: Number and percent of population enrolled in TennCare. TennCare is the healthcare system for persons who are Medicaid eligible or lack access to health insurance. Data reflect total enrollments as of December of the year.
Data Source: Enrollment data were obtained from the Bureau of TennCare, Tennessee Department of Finance and Administration. Population data were derived from data supplied by the Office of Healthcare Statistics, Division of Policy, Planning and Assessment, Tennessee Department of Health. The KIDS COUNT division of the Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth organized data calculated rates.


Let us supply all of your editing needs by becoming a 'virtual' core facility. This option enables everyone in your institute or department to source one of our expert editors. Our 'virtual' core facility provides all the benefits of a shared resource, without the overhead costs. And there is no risk for trying us out.
priority services (4 day turnaround, including weekends) when required. Faster turnarounds can be negotiated.
advice on strategy for revisions, rebuttals, cover letters.
expertise from our entire editorial team.
You choose whether to subsidize the facility.
We can support a specific funding round.


Makita LM01W 12V MAX Lithium-Ion Cordless Compact LED Flashlight delivers bright illumination in a compact design with a running time of up to 9 hours per charge. It is constructed with a compact design and weighs less than one pound with battery to reduce fatigue while prolonged use.
Ultra compact LED Flashlight runs up to 9 hours per charge.
Much brighter than anticipated. Works fantastic.
Works well in tight areas.
Aircraft mechanic use this product everyday. Love the fact it is very bright and uses the batteries from my impactdrill battery. Product would be alot better for my everyday use if the head pivoted so I could position it better so I could use both of my hands. I do love the long battery life. I would buy another one that had a head that rotated.


Okay, so I've moved to Nottingham. In a few weeks, I hope to venture further than the gym and meet some people; Appreciating another city, it isn't easy, but I will start to discover certain gems over the next few weeks.
Right now, I'm trying to appreciate my surroundings in a different way. When things don't seem to go well for others, I've never understood how people revel in others' misfortune. However, I've always shown empathy. That's okay, but now I am also trying to learn objectively from other people's problems so that I can hopefully apply these or other strategies if (not when, touch wood) times get difficult for me.
It's always easier to give the medicine to our 'patients' than it is to take our own. I do believe though, that by acknowledging and appreciating our surroundings in a spiritual way we can increase the chances of having a happy, mindful equilibrium. We can decrease the overthinking paranoia we can all feel and tackle situations head on as they arrive rather than negatively become preemptive towards issues that have not even arisen.
I am a firm believer that if we fixate so much on something good or bad happening, we can make it happen. It has happened to me. We can perform positive and negative magic in our lives. It's not a case of only allowing for positive performances of magic, but just letting go and allowing the right thing to happen without preempting the kind of outcome. The right thing will always happen when it is supposed to. For some reason. To teach us some kind of severely beautiful or painful lesson. Embracing either, more the latter, is the hardest thing.
So to perform the little magic in my next stage of my life, I'm going to perform a meditative, mindful approach and be grateful and take note of my surroundings. Learning from others. Like a marriage. For better, for worse.
Next "In sickness and in health, for better, for worse… And all that tosh," she declared at the 21st century altar.


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As a reminder, please do not use snow shovels to clear any of the court surfaces (tennis, pickleball, or basketball) as it could potentially damage the surface. The divider net between the two pickleball courts will be installed soon. We look forward to seeing you out enjoying the amenities!
Two pickleball courts are available in the West park.
You must be registered on this site and logged in to see the Reservations page.
The courts are labeled: Court A and Court B
Court A may be reserved by residents of Piney Creek here. Non-reserved court time is on a first come first play basis.
Court B may not be reserved and will remain open for first come, first to play at all other times.
Reservations may be made for the following days and times: Monday-Sunday –starting at 8:00A.M. and ending at 10:00P.M.
Courts may be reserved in half hour increments made on the hour or half hour.
Members may reserve one court per day not to exceed two (2) hours
Please do not make more than 3 reservations per week per household.
Reservations can be made up to 2 weeks in advance.
Anyone 15 minutes late for their reservation time will lose that hour of court time to anyone who may be waiting to play.
Reservations on court A have priority use of Court A, and those using Court A without a reservation have to vacate the court when asked by a person having a reservation.
Operating Hours and Access
The courts are for residents and their quests only.
Gates will be locked from 10 pm to 6 am, and may be locked when there is snow on the courts.
Court gates are to remain locked at all times.
Members will need a key card or the Open Path mobile phone app to access the courts. Key cards may be obtained from the Community Manager at the clubhouse office.
All children under 12 must be accompanied by an adult resident.
All guests must be accompanied by an adult resident.
The courts will be lighted until 10:00 p.m., seven days a week.
Proper footwear required.
Food and beverages (other than drinking water) are prohibited in court areas.
Glass or other breakable containers are not permitted in the court area.
All tobacco products, alcoholic beverages, marijuana products, and vapor cigarettes are prohibited in the court area.
Pets, with the exception of service animals, are not allowed in the court area.
Shirts must be worn at all times.
Do not adjust pickleball court nets.
Turn off lights if others are not waiting to play.
First Come First Play Rules
It is a 4 on 4 off format: When there are more than 4 players waiting for a court, you play one game to 11. Then exit court and wait for next free court.
Line up by placing paddle against fence according to your place in line. The first 4 paddles take next court.
If playing singles and other are waiting. You may consider inviting to play doubles.
© Copyright 2023 Piney Creek | Community Website by HOA Sites | Terms of Use | Admin


I love this setup – thanks for sharing, Val! I'm going to try it for tomorrow.
Love this! Would this process work ok in Slides? Or do you recommend making it in PowerPoint first? Learned some neat new tricks too!
I'll have to find out what Slides do… I'm interested. I'm always looking for new tools.
Do you have the powerpoint or the image of your background available anywhere?
I can make all of the ones pictured available. I'll work on that and posta again here.
I added a link in the post, under Examples and Shares.
I love the idea, I just wonder, if you use presentations later, during the day, how do you keep these contents available for the students through the class. (I am thinking "metas" my Admin would like to see available for the whole class period) Do you repeat this somewhere else?
I don't have the Metas showing all class period. I have discussed this with my admin and they agreed that what mattered most was pointing them out at the beginning of class and making sure students understand the goals. But I know many say you have to have them displayed all period, so you might have to also have them on a board or something.
I dont think the link is working to your examples.


During my 4 years as an undergraduate student at Cornell University, I participated on a project team that designs and tests solar ovens for Las Mujeres Solares de Totogalpa in Nicaragua. At Cornell, we had access to Solid Works modeling, numerous construction materials, and test equipment, which made it easier for us to test various oven designs than for the group in Nicaragua. In Nicaragua, the women in the solar oven cooperative provided a willing set of researchers for further field tests and design development.
One sub-project focused on designing a prefabricatable oven that aimed to minimize the oven weight and fragility so it could be shipped via postal service to customers of carried up the side of a mountain on a llama. The team's innovations included removing much of the wooden frame and trying a plastic top instead of double pane glass, since it is difficult to ship glass.
Here is a video describing Las Mujeres Solares and the Cornell collaboration.