Bill McDonough Likes Green Sandwich
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 03.29.06
Its not his lunch, it is a building system. Says Bill: “I have searched a long time to find a structural building product like Green Sandwich’s system, which is both environmentally friendly and extremely durable. [It is] the first structural building system that is able to meet the Cradle to Cradle design protocol". The sandwich panels are light, recyclable, great energy-savers, and use less water than typical concrete or stucco systems. A super Green Sandwich Bio Panel uses a core made of biomass like rice straw and can be covered in Earthskin, a mix of 80% earth and concrete.
This space-age, durable product is appropriately made in Roswell, New Mexico and Hurricane, Utah, as well as California and Missouri. Bill Mcdonough likes it enough to have become its environmental advisor.
::Green Sandwich Technologies
Read more about William McDonough in Treehugger
From the Company:
"The Green Sandwich Building System allows architects and designers to create beautiful, environmentally sensitive structures approximately twice as fast as conventional building methods. Our patented structural concrete insulating panels (SCIPs) withstand hurricanes, retard fires, defend against pests and mold, and provide the highest levels of energy efficiency. They do all this while surpassing the strictest environmental codes."
* Green Sandwich panels are made from 40% recycled material content by weight, and 60% by volume. All waste is 100% recyclable.
* Green Sandwich uses BASF's environmentally friendly Styropor EPS foam in its panels.
* The wire mesh is 40% recycled steel (Mostly from the auto industry), and the shotcrete skins are a minimum of 40% fly ash (A byproduct of coal burning).
* Green Sandwich Panels can be fabricated with a core of 100% locally-harvested bio-mass. The source of this bio-mass can include "rapidly renewable" content, such as orchard trimmings, road-side weed growth, straw and stalk mowings.
very interesting. i'm curious how this jibes with the c2c premise that recycling is downcycling. what happens when the product reaches it's end of life? can the materials be separated and reused? is there a closed loop of nutrients here?
True, recycling is downcycling materials. By recycling them over and over they lose in quality, and use a lot of energy to be transformed and given a new life. The c2c premise states that at the end of their life, materials should become "food" (more likely to become nutrients for the soil). This is a fantastic philosophy, but we are still a little bit far from this today. Although, we can now see products emerging that can be considered fully biodegradable, and environmentally friendly, which is encouraging. The road will be long, and we need to start somewhere...
The thing I'd be interested to know is whether this system or something like it is available in the UK.
does anyone know what happened to greensandwichtech.com
I like the idea of the SCIP as a replacement for the SIP, as they will not Rot & turn to mush if they get wet (Roof or wall Leak).
I have been using SIP mostly for roof panels, but as a 35 year carpenter, Do Not Like OSB that the SIPs are made of (Orented Sponge Board) they soak up water & Rot quickly.
I will be using SCIPs for a roof system an upcoming project, but dollar for dollar, you can't come close to beating ICFs (Insulated Concrete Forms) for the Wall system.
ICFs R-Value Equivalance is between R-40 & R-50 with the Thermal Mass properties.
The US Dept of Energy took an average Energy Savings Survey across the Nation with different types of ICFs, and found the average Energy Savings to be 44%, but with many variables in roof R-V and windows etc. IntegraqSpec ICF & some others, average above 50% and many 60% to 80% more Eficient
ICFs have a 31/2 to 4 hr Fire rating.
ICFs are Much Stronger 40x stronger (3000 lbs/in2) and will last much longer than thin concrete layers over time.
The Roman Colosseum was built in 72AD out of unprotected concrete, ICFs have protected concrete, and have the potential to last 2000 years.
How many conventional, SIPs or SCIPs homes will have been built in place of one ICF home? Can you imagine the amount of Energy (Heat Savings & Construction Resources and waste) that one ICF will save over it's lifetime, there is no comparison method that comes remotely close.
Now thats what I call Sustainable
Tim Lyden
Dartmouth, Ma.
I like the idea of the SCIP as a replacement for the SIP, as they will not Rot & turn to mush if they get wet (Roof or wall Leak).
I have been using SIP mostly for roof panels, but as a 35 year carpenter, Do Not Like OSB that the SIPs are made of (Orented Sponge Board) they soak up water & Rot quickly.
I will be using SCIPs for a roof system an upcoming project, but dollar for dollar, you can't come close to beating ICFs (Insulated Concrete Forms) for the Wall system.
ICFs R-Value Equivalance is between R-40 & R-50 with the Thermal Mass properties.
The US Dept of Energy took an average Energy Savings Survey across the Nation with different types of ICFs, and found the average Energy Savings to be 44%, but with many variables in roof R-V and windows etc. IntegraqSpec ICF & some others, average above 50% and many 60% to 80% more Eficient
ICFs have a 31/2 to 4 hr Fire rating.
ICFs are Much Stronger 40x stronger (3000 lbs/in2) and will last much longer than thin concrete layers over time.
The Roman Colosseum was built in 72AD out of unprotected concrete, ICFs have protected concrete, and have the potential to last 2000 years.
How many conventional, SIPs or SCIPs homes will have been built in place of one ICF home? Can you imagine the amount of Energy (Heat Savings & Construction Resources and waste) that one ICF will save over it's lifetime, there is no comparison method that comes remotely close.
Now thats what I call Sustainable
Tim Lyden
Dartmouth, Ma.