The 'Burh Becc at Beacon Springs' Visible Green Home® Tour
The Visible Green Home® Tour series is very excited to present a multiple tour event of Burh Becc at Beacon Springs. Burh Becc is a new home construction project in Ann Arbor, Michigan registered with the International Living Future Institute, seeking full Living Building Challenge (LBC) certification. Full LBC certification means a home that is net-zero energy, net-zero water, and net-zero waste- essentially a home that is invisible to nature. To date, only one other private residence in the entire world has achieved this level of certification. The series will showcase the home’s journey from construction to completion and how, when completed, it is intended to meet the world’s most rigorous standards of sustainable, restorative, green building.
Tours will be offered as fully narrated guided events, one day only. Each tour in the tour event series will focus on a different aspect of the home’s sustainable construction. Experts will be on hand to answer questions and provide insight on how you can make smart, effective sustainable choices for your own homes- no matter what the level of ‘green’ you aspire to. Tours may be attended singly, or the entire series in order to get a more complete understanding of the full scope of what this project aspires to achieve. Separate registration is required for each individual and each tour in the series.
A completion/commencement tour at the end of construction will allow visitors to see the finished home and to help celebrate Tom and Marti’s Certificate of Occupancy. We’ll wish them success as they begin the journey of the mandatory one-year audit period to record and verify actual performance in order for Burh Becc at Beacon Springs Farm to achieve full Living Building Challenge. When the project achieves full certification, a grand finale tour will be hosted to celebrate the momentous achievement with the homeowners.
Each tour lasts one hour. Space is limited. There are only six tour time slots and they typically completely sell out. Pre-registration is required. Tours will commence every hour and a half from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. There will be time allocated between each tour to allow for questions and to get more specific insights about anything that was presented as well as information on any projects that you might be considering for yourself and your own living situation.
Tour Event One, September 26, 2015: Introduction to LBC/Design/Planning/Building Envelope.
On this first of the four tour events attendees will learn about the Living Building Challenge program and the homeowners’ ambitious goals for the project and their vision for a sustainable future. We will share the core design concepts that gave birth to the building, it’s siting, its form, and its envelope and their integration with the LBC's required 7 Petals and 20 Imperatives for certification. You will learn from design and architecture experts how Burh Becc has been conceived to meet the strict, industry changing, LBC standards.
Tour Event Two, October 24, 2015: Net Zero Energy/Water/Waste
At the second of the four tour events attendees will learn about the home’s “life support” infrastructure systems – its mechanical, water supply, and waste recovery systems. Participants will also learn how the home’s infrastructure was designed to achieve net positive impact on the environment; when completed, the home will have the capacity to generate all of its own energy with renewable resources, capture and treat all of its own water, and process and recycle all of its own waste. You will learn from technical experts in each of the specific fields.
Tour Event Three, November 21, 2015: The Red List
The third of the four tour events will focus the principles of Net Zero Energy and discuss and illustrate in detail how Burh Becc at Beacon Springs will address the three hurdles to Net Zero: Conservation, Utilization and Generation. We will review the importance of the building thermal envelope including the roof, walls and floor. We will also explain the critical aspect of understanding and designing for complex thermal-hygro dynamic aspects of a high-performance building enclosure.
Tour Event Four, June 18, 2016: Sustainable Interiors/IEQ
The fourth of the tour events will focus on the home’s interior including finish materials, surfaces, lighting and “the Red List” of 600 toxic chemicals to be avoided in a Living Building Challenge project. The US Bureau of Labor and Statistics suggest we spend upwards of 90% of our time indoors – but, as you will learn, we routinely create a toxic indoor environment through standard construction practices. Tour participants will learn from experts how the indoor environment of Burh Becc will support rather than compromise the health and the well being of its occupants.
Post Construction
Tour Event Five, November 20, 2016: The Completion-The Commencement
In the fifth Visible Green Home Tour you will have an opportunity to visit the finished home to both view the culmination of the construction as well as the commencement of the mandatory one-year audit period for Burh Becc at Beacon Springs. During that year the home's actual performance is measured against the requirements of the Living Building Challenge® Standard for full certification. This tour will showcase the features that will, hopefully, allow it to qualify as potentially the second fully certified Living Building Challenge® project in the entire world!
Tour Event Six, April 22, 2018 (Earth Day): A Grande Finale Celebration- The Realization of the Dream
In the Celebration Visible Green Home Tour, you will have an opportunity to visit the finished home and celebrate with the homeowners, Tom and Marti and key members of the Burh Becc team, the fruition of a four and a half year journey- the realization of the dream of becoming a fully certified Living Building Challenge® home. This tour will include a broad presentation of information on the entire project including its genesis, design, systems and features that helped it to become only the second fully certified Living Building Challenge® residence in the entire world!
Tours will be offered as fully narrated guided events, one day only. Each tour in the tour event series will focus on a different aspect of the home’s sustainable construction. Experts will be on hand to answer questions and provide insight on how you can make smart, effective sustainable choices for your own homes- no matter what the level of ‘green’ you aspire to. Tours may be attended singly, or the entire series in order to get a more complete understanding of the full scope of what this project aspires to achieve. Separate registration is required for each individual and each tour in the series.
A completion/commencement tour at the end of construction will allow visitors to see the finished home and to help celebrate Tom and Marti’s Certificate of Occupancy. We’ll wish them success as they begin the journey of the mandatory one-year audit period to record and verify actual performance in order for Burh Becc at Beacon Springs Farm to achieve full Living Building Challenge. When the project achieves full certification, a grand finale tour will be hosted to celebrate the momentous achievement with the homeowners.
Each tour lasts one hour. Space is limited. There are only six tour time slots and they typically completely sell out. Pre-registration is required. Tours will commence every hour and a half from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. There will be time allocated between each tour to allow for questions and to get more specific insights about anything that was presented as well as information on any projects that you might be considering for yourself and your own living situation.
Tour Event One, September 26, 2015: Introduction to LBC/Design/Planning/Building Envelope.
On this first of the four tour events attendees will learn about the Living Building Challenge program and the homeowners’ ambitious goals for the project and their vision for a sustainable future. We will share the core design concepts that gave birth to the building, it’s siting, its form, and its envelope and their integration with the LBC's required 7 Petals and 20 Imperatives for certification. You will learn from design and architecture experts how Burh Becc has been conceived to meet the strict, industry changing, LBC standards.
Tour Event Two, October 24, 2015: Net Zero Energy/Water/Waste
At the second of the four tour events attendees will learn about the home’s “life support” infrastructure systems – its mechanical, water supply, and waste recovery systems. Participants will also learn how the home’s infrastructure was designed to achieve net positive impact on the environment; when completed, the home will have the capacity to generate all of its own energy with renewable resources, capture and treat all of its own water, and process and recycle all of its own waste. You will learn from technical experts in each of the specific fields.
Tour Event Three, November 21, 2015: The Red List
The third of the four tour events will focus the principles of Net Zero Energy and discuss and illustrate in detail how Burh Becc at Beacon Springs will address the three hurdles to Net Zero: Conservation, Utilization and Generation. We will review the importance of the building thermal envelope including the roof, walls and floor. We will also explain the critical aspect of understanding and designing for complex thermal-hygro dynamic aspects of a high-performance building enclosure.
Tour Event Four, June 18, 2016: Sustainable Interiors/IEQ
The fourth of the tour events will focus on the home’s interior including finish materials, surfaces, lighting and “the Red List” of 600 toxic chemicals to be avoided in a Living Building Challenge project. The US Bureau of Labor and Statistics suggest we spend upwards of 90% of our time indoors – but, as you will learn, we routinely create a toxic indoor environment through standard construction practices. Tour participants will learn from experts how the indoor environment of Burh Becc will support rather than compromise the health and the well being of its occupants.
Post Construction
Tour Event Five, November 20, 2016: The Completion-The Commencement
In the fifth Visible Green Home Tour you will have an opportunity to visit the finished home to both view the culmination of the construction as well as the commencement of the mandatory one-year audit period for Burh Becc at Beacon Springs. During that year the home's actual performance is measured against the requirements of the Living Building Challenge® Standard for full certification. This tour will showcase the features that will, hopefully, allow it to qualify as potentially the second fully certified Living Building Challenge® project in the entire world!
Tour Event Six, April 22, 2018 (Earth Day): A Grande Finale Celebration- The Realization of the Dream
In the Celebration Visible Green Home Tour, you will have an opportunity to visit the finished home and celebrate with the homeowners, Tom and Marti and key members of the Burh Becc team, the fruition of a four and a half year journey- the realization of the dream of becoming a fully certified Living Building Challenge® home. This tour will include a broad presentation of information on the entire project including its genesis, design, systems and features that helped it to become only the second fully certified Living Building Challenge® residence in the entire world!
