Maine Preservation

The Greenest Building Premiere

admin — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 18:29:28 +0000

A 1980 poster from the National Trust for Historic Preservation

Americans are on a path to demolish one third of our existing building stock either for redevelopment or from lack of planning. This evocative film explores the environmental value of reusing buildings rather than demolishing them and asks: “Is a new building the greenest building choice?”

Join Producer and Filmmaker, Jane Turville, for a Maine premiere of The Greenest Building. This one-hour, national-award-winning film, narrated by David Ogden Stiers, is challenging the way Americans are utilizing natural, cultural and economic resources in the name of sustainability.

This thought-provoking event presented in Portland, Farmington and Bangor is open to the public, and recommended for inquiring minds of all ages.

$5 suggested donation at the door.

Portland
Wed May 16
Portland Public Library
Rines Auditorium
Doors open at 5:30 pm, Movie at 6 pm
Panel discussion+Reception to follow
FMI: nbarba@barbawheelock.com

Farmington
Thurs May 17
Roberts Learning Center at UMF
Lincoln Auditorium
Reception 6:15 pm, Movie at 7 pm
Dessert reception to follow
FMI: reflin@mdf.org

Bangor
Fri May 18
Bangor Opera House
Doors open at 5:30 pm, Movie at 6 pm
Reception to follow
FMI: mike.pullen@wbrcae.com

Generously sponsored by:

Barba + Wheelock
E.L. Shea, Builders & Engineers
Inn at ParkSpring
Maine Downtown Center
Maine Development Foundation
Maine Preservation
U.S. Green Building Council – Maine Chapter
WBRC
Anonymous
Architalx
Portland Society of Architects

Historic Tax Credits

admin — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 22:04:47 +0000

Since its passage in 2008, the Maine Historic Preservation Tax Credit has been a catalyst for 30 privately developed historic building rehabilitation projects, investing more than $150 million in projects completed or under construction. This program is administered by the Maine Historic Preservation Commission, with projects located all over the state. They reuse our existing infrastructure – roads, water, sewer and utilities and the vast majority are in or near downtowns. Buildings that have previously been “eyesores” are now clearly community assets.

In an Economic Impact Report commissioned by Maine Preservation earlier this year, Frank O’Hara, author for Planning Decisions, wrote: “When a historic building is fixed in a neighborhood, it stimulates investment and enterprise from neighboring property owners, creating new jobs and more revenue to local government. A rehabilitated historic building on Main Street brings customers to other downtown businesses, and improves the image and ‘brand’ of the community.” For these and other reasons, the 2011 legislature extended the historic tax credit for 10 years with unanimous bipartisan support.

Read the Economic Impact Report.

Energy

admin — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 15:20:15 +0000

Energy efficiency is one of the most discussed topics in Preservation right now. For decades and across the country, homeowners, trades professionals, and scientists have been studying the publishing the energy performance of older home construction with respect to energy consumption.

Two observations to consider about how occupants controlled their building climate in generations past:

Climate control was local. Occupants sat in front of the fireplace or stove in the winter, and under the shady porch in the summer. Keeping every room in a house at a constant temperature is a relatively modern concept.
Older buildings were constructed “green.” Most of the building materials were sourced regionally and were organic (no petroleum or synthetic ingredients). Before technological advances, many buildings were designed for life without fossil fuels or electricity.

Using technology and energy to meet modern standards of living is necessary, but understanding how a building was designed for climate control before modern technology and fossil fuels were introduced can greatly enhance an old building’s energy efficiency.

Maine Preservation was commissioned by the Maine State Planning Office to write energy guidelines for older homes and buildings with a grant from the US Department of Energy. These guidelines have been incorporated into the Maine Uniform Building & Energy Code.

Read the complete guidelines:

Guidelines for Improving Energy Efficiency in Historic Buildings

The brief summary:

Preservation is all about planning and phasing. Maine Preservation recommends the following approach to improving energy efficiency in older buildings.

Initiate your project by identifying and evaluating the historic features of the building.
Conduct a building performance evaluation.
Seek to retain historic features that were designed to save energy and increase comfort. Think holistically about the building.
Determine the most cost-effective energy-saving strategies: insulate attics; retain and weatherize historic doors and windows; seal gaps and penetrations to minimize air infiltration.
Develop a long-term energy efficiency plan that prioritizes rehabilitation decisions and establishes short-, middle- and long-term phasing for desired goals.
Employ durable and repairable materials with a lifetime of 30 years or more.
Make changes that are reversible and can be monitored and inspected. Be wary of unproven materials on the market.
Control for moisture, particularly in walls and basements, and for unhealthy air quality.

For further reading, the National Park Service has also released Preservation Brief 3, Improving Energy Efficiency in Historic Buildings.