So far a good conference. The standards committee meetings that were the main reason for my being here were reasonably productive, I think. Nothing too hair-raising, earth-shattering, or spine-chilling. (Corresponding to any developments in wind loads, earthquake loads, or snow loads, respectively...*grin*). Thanks to jet lag, I woke up before the alarm yesterday, so I took a quick stroll along the Seawall. Found a nice pub/steakhouse next to the hotel for dinner last night and chowed down on a prime rib.

There was a reception this evening on the top floor of the Hyatt to kick off the conference. Nice views of downtown and the harbour. Can't say much for the food, which mostly involved either pasta or pork. The conversation was much better. I encountered two former JHU civil engineering grad students whose time overlapped my undergraduate studies. One of them introduced me to a colleague as "the best student I ever had." I managed not to dissolve in laughter. Apparently he managed to forget in the 18 years since I graduated Hopkins that I was at best a C+ student. Also had an interesting conversation with a guy from a company called Flextegrity, that's apparently hawking some sort of scalable, bucky-ball-like system that can be used for everything from walks to walls to (scaled up fully) entire buildings.

After the reception I was still hungry (just having nommed on some cut-up melon & pineapple, and a small piece of overcooked wild salmon), so I strolled down to Gastown. Found an Italian restaurant and had a nice dinner of veal medallions in a wild mushroom sauce. I did get to see the Steam Clock in action.

Yesterday I went downtown to check out the Solar Decathlon, a biennial competition run by the U.S. Department of Energy and co-sponsored by a number of organizations including my humble employer. The competition involves 20 teams of college students designing solar-powered, energy- and resource-efficient homes. The teams are graded in 10 categories including architectural & engineering design, marketability, interior comfort (temperature & humidity), and of course, the amount of solar power generated and used.

The architectural styling varied. A couple of the homes appeared to be no more than an RV with solar panels slapped on the roof. Others were considerably more attractive, appearing like a typical ranch home. At least two homes incorporated greenery into portions of the exterior walls (the "hanging gardens" style). One home featured small ponds and gardens as part of an exterior deck.

Many of the houses were designed with large windows or double doors on opposing sides of a room. This is to facilitate cross-ventilation for cooling off a room, rather than resorting to air conditioning or electric fans. One observes that such natural design strategies are nearly a lost art.

Of course, I also must observe that few of these homes would work for the average fan. Most had either large expanses of doors and glazing, and a couple were constructed from translucent panels. The interior spaces were also open-plan, an additional aid to ventilation. Unfortunately, this leaves little room for bookshelves or CD/DVD racks. OTOH, I suppose a book and music collection consisting almost entirely of eBooks and MP3 downloads is "greener" than the alternative...

I'd mentioned this briefly to thatcrazycajun at Conterpoint, finally getting around to digging up and posting the link (with a wave to singing_phoenix who will no doubt find it interesting too.)

The Washington Post recently carried an article on Kenya's Middle-Class Home-Buying Boom. Apparently recent changes in Kenya's financial laws have led banks to lower mortgage interest rates from around 30%, meaning only the rich could afford homes, to 13%, putting homes in the reach of Kenya's middle class and creating at least a boomlet, if not a rocket rise in home ownership. The article describes new homewoners who grew up as subsistence farmer in wood-frame and mud huts and are now able to afford traditionally-styled yet modern block masonry houses with electricity and running water.

This one’s for my friends in the Seattle area: the American Society of Civil Engineers is hosting its 20th Annual Concrete Canoe Race June 14-16 at Lake Sammamish in Issaquah. The races feature teams of students from universities across the US and Canada racing canoes designed and built entirely out of concrete. And believe it or not, these canoes not only actually float but move pretty well across the water. I saw these races in VA a few years back and can attest to this; the only boats that sank were the ones with clearly novice paddlers who accidentally paddled water *into* their boats. For the curious, it’s an amusing way to spend an afternoon.

And yes, we survived Balticon and a week in Rochester. More later.

It's all folkmew's fault. She sent me a bunch of links relating to treehouse construction (it made sense, in context). I just couldn't resist sharing with the rest of the class!

First was Treehouse Engineering, a site for an engineer who appears to speacialize in structural design of treehouses. And even appears to be doing research into connections, analysis techniques, and other stuff. Makes me want to start writing building code proposals for treehouses!

And for those who actually want a treehouse built for them, there is Forever Young Treehouses, which has some pretty impressive pictures of various treehouse projects they've completed. We're not talking your basic dad-built backyard model here; much bigger scale. We're talking projects for schools, community parks, etc., with a particular focus on environmentally-friendly construction and universal accessibility.

Although I confess the notion of an ADA-compliant treehouse boggles my mind...