Conditions couldn't have been better for the day’s activities. With cloud covered skies up above and hammers, drills, and saws in hand the club was hard at work on various tasks ranging from mounting and securing plywood pieces for the roof, and installing shear walls, to securing ceiling joists and even a little painting.  Being that the majority of the days volunteers are architecture students at ELAC ensured that everyone would be prepared to accomplish their tasks, not only efficiently, but accurately as well.

As an added benefit to ELAC USGBC Club, every Habitat for Humanity home is also a “Green” or LEED accredited home. 

“Green Building elements [improve] the affordability and sustainability for homeowners and the communities in which they live.  Green Building means addressing certain core elements during the stages of planning, design, development and construction.” 

Some of the practices involved in building a LEED home are by using recyclable building materials, energy friendly green siding, thermal pane windows and doors, recycled carpets among others. This experience is particularly beneficial to ELAC USGBC Club, as pursuing LEED certification is a goal of club members.

The practical application of the skills and lessons learned at East Los Angeles College were on display and shining bright at ELAC USGBC’s Build day with Habitat for Humanity. The group received much recognition for its hard work and for bringing, and maintaining, a fun and positive attitude while completing the goals that had been laid out for the day. Not only was this a great learning opportunity on the skills needed to build a house and the process of LEED construction, but it was an opportunity to contribute and give back to the community, not just locally, to the family to which this home would go to, but also to a bigger community in which we are all a part of, one in which we hope to service by bringing attention to the need for sustainable, healthy, affordable housing. ♦

-R.G

View more pictures here.

This past September saw a changing of the guard for ELAC USGBC Club with the beginning of the fall semester. A whole new cabinet was welcomed in and eager to build on previous successes and aspirations. First order of business was to establish a unique event to further bring exposure to ELAC USGBC Club within the world of sustainability, and in the local community. With Green Apple Day of Service, September 26, right around the corner what better way to for the club to kick off the semester than by hosting a local event?

Green Apple Day of Service is a day where parents, teachers, students, companies and local organizations can come together to transform all schools into healthy, safe and productive learning environments through local service projects. Green Apple Day of Service is sponsored by the U.S Green Building Council.







(From Left: Robert Gomez, David Montes, Michelle Lee, Miguel Avila, Shanshan Bian, Angie Xu, Ivan Wu, Rocio Montano)

ELAC USGBC Club’s event for GADoS took place at Robert Hill Lane Elementary School, located on minutes away from East Los Angeles College. The audience was Mr. Aguilar’s 4th and 5th grade class, and the workshop was led by members of ELAC USGBC Club that had volunteered to participate.

The event was kicked off with an presentation on the fundamentals of sustainability, recycling, renewable resources, alternative energy, water conservation, and native plants. As was expected, Mr. Aguilar’s bright students had an impressive knowledge of some of those basic principles, further supplemented by the presentation. To put their knowledge to the test there was a fun round of trivia and a chance to win some prizes.

The day was capped with a hands-on project to drive home the point of sustainability, the project, to take a plastic bottle and “up-cycle” it into a self-watering planter for a California native plant.  In this way every student could participate, hands-on, in the process of being sustainable by creating something that encompassed the important lessons discussed throughout the day.

ELAC USGBC Club’s Green Apple Day of Service event at Robert Hill Lane Elementary School was a huge success and club members could hardly contain themselves from smiling ear to ear. At the end of the day the goal of promoting awareness to the issues of sustainability and creating an environment at school conducive to learning about these issues was accomplished in a fun and educational way. ♦

-R.G

View more pictures here.

This past week, cabinet members of the USGBC Student Club, including myself, attended the Community College Summit in Pasadena. We arrived, got our name tags, and began our walk-through of dozens of vendor stands. At first, I didn’t know what to expect, but after seeing this bad boy I knew it was going to be fun.  

Vendors were here to promote an idea they were selling that had mostly to deal in sustainability. Products ranged from the most current L.E.D light-bulbs, to recycled and repurposed car tires. Most of the people behind the stands were nice, especially the ones who were excited about what they were doing. I could see how people could get excited, there were some really cool stuff.  I was surprisingly having a lot of fun. 

This booth reminded me of the final is my 3DS Max class with Ms. Patricia

Seeing current building products and methods first hand is a great experience. I loved the detail models that were on display too. Some of us like to design with roof gardens, but how many of us have seen how one is actually placed? I definitely made sure to get plenty of business cards and giveaways. 

The USGBC Student club is working on organizing possible future workshops with a few vendors. Be sure you attend those if you can. 
 

By: E.G

By: E.G

"During the farm tour, Andrew, the project coordinator showed us how Earthworks farm operates, and gave us tips on how and what to grow in our own back yard using only a touch of creativity and recycled material. The experience definitely opened my eyes to a new way of healthy living."
-Thomas Gin 

"During the course of these hours, I had been able to come in contact with some amazing individuals. Sci-Arc and UCLA alumni who are now working within the school district, providing such services as the Green Apple day throughout their communities." 
-Jourdan Elie 

On Saturday, September 28, the second annual Green Apple Day of Service took place in thousands of communities around the world. Over 2,000 family friendly workshops were held thanks to the efforts of thousands of volunteers. Members from our USGBC student club attended two separate events, one in El Monte, and the other near downtown L.A. 

At El Monte, there was a tour organized at Earthworks farm and fruit picking, and at Wilshire Crest Elementary school in L.A, there was a revitalization of a butterfly garden. 

The Green Apple day event was a great opportunity for our club members to be a part of. Many great ideas were shared and valuable networking took place. It was important to see that the promotions of these green movements start within the community. By doing the little things, like a simple clean-up, community members are able to engage and connect at a more wholesome level, and for a greater purpose. We can and should definitely organize our own similar event in the near future. 

By: E.G

After talking to many of the senior design students, I decided to take a few pictures at the recently re-opened Echo Park Lake. This semester the Architectural Design 202 students will design a housing complex in Vernon on the eve of the many environmental scandals currently clouding that city. Their building site includes the L.A river which will serve as a great catalyst for more complex design solutions. 

Echo Park is where I spent all of my childhood. I still have a lot of family living there, so I visit pretty often. If you haven’t had the time to visit Echo Park Lake, I strongly suggest you do. It has recently gone through a complete renovation and revitalization.

Echo Park Lake acts as an urban runoff treatment. Storm water which carries everything from gasoline, motor oil, heavy metals, and trash eventually flow into this lake. Underground separators remove large debris while everything else enters the lake. The new wetlands introduced to the lake help remove left-over pollutants through natural processes. These pollutants settle into the wetland’s soil, which is then absorbed by the plants. The water is kept clean and circulated by a pump system back into the wetlands. 

The lake's ecosystem provides habitat for several different birds and fishes, including an enclosed island where Great Blue Heron nest. Echo Park Lake is famous for its paddle boats and Lotus Festival.

After my walk around the park, I walked a few blocks near Sunset Boulevard and snapped more pictures. The neighborhood is currently going through a cultural transformation, but that's a whole other conversation. Enjoy. 

By: E.G

USC will be screening the highly anticipated documentary "Archiculture"  Friday September 27, 2013. It will be open to the public and it'll be the first public screening in Los Angeles.

click on link: Archiculture Film Trailer

By: E.G