The fall 2014 semester for ELAC USGBC Club was full of success. From LEED study workshops over the summer, to the events hosted, and our weekly meetings alongside with ELAC Architecture Club, both clubs received tremendous support, from both students and faculty. To mark the end of the semester ELAC USGBC and ELAC Architecture hosted a potluck filled with tons of delicious dishes and treats.

THANK YOU! To all of our club members. THANK YOU! to Mrs. Combes-Brighton, Mr. Kawahara, Mr. Hamner, Mr. Navarro, and Mr. Orhan and THANK YOU! to Greg and Sung for your invaluable assistance throughout the semester facilitating student success! 

Special Thanks! to Lolita Fast Food for providing delicious sandwiches for our potluck.

We look forward to a promising 2015!

-R.G

After a long week, an 8 AM Friday morning call time would seem early, but you wouldn’t think it from the enthusiasm and energy that everyone brought with them, some even showing up half an hour early to the build site.  

Part of ELAC USGBC Club’s mission is to bring awareness, not only to issues of sustainability, but to issues or adequate, healthy, and affordable housing; which is why ELAC USGBC Club partnered with Habitat for Humanity Greater Los Angeles to do their part in bringing awareness to this issue for World Habitat Day.

“World Habitat Day is the one day set aside annually to recognize the basic right of all humanity to adequate shelter, and to encourage grassroots action toward ending poverty housing.”

ELAC USGBC decided that for World Habitat Day 2014 they would participate, hands-on, in the construction of a Habitat for Humanity single family home located in Lynnwood, California.

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

The Solar Decathlon made its debut last week (10/03/13) at the Orange County, Grand Park, in Irvine. This is the first “Solar D” (as nicknamed) to take place somewhere other than Washington DC, so this was an event I couldn’t miss. The experience was rich in innovation, and the hot and airy climate of Irvine served as a supportive host.

A quick park and ride took you to and from the main strip which displayed homes along both sides. In a nutshell, the Solar Decathlon is a competition among universities to see who can design and build the most sustainable and appealing home. This year there is 19 schools competing, including a few from Europe and two local schools, Sci-Arc and USC.

Unfortunately I didn’t walk through all 19 homes, the sun and those long lines kept me going back to the shade. I’ll probably go back after all that Sci-arc hype is gone. 

Fortunately, I did get to see the majority of the homes, and got plenty of cool pamphlets and pictures. All structures were raised and had ramps leading to their entrance. Most of these ramps had panels with illustrations and information to keep us entertained while we waited to go in.

It was a great experience to see so many examples of sustainability in person. From the inside out, these homes were designed using amazing technologies, reclaimed materials, and other various sustainable building methods. As we entered the homes, the students themselves welcomed guests and also gave brief explanations of what was occurring inside. 

The winner of this year's solar decathlon: Team Austria
congratulations to all the students who participated. 

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. 

With unmatchable sunlight created by Southern California, a group of Architecture and Art enthusiast met in front of The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA. Unsure of what was in store for them, they entered the gallery, guided by James Kawahara, professor of East Los Angeles College (ELAC) and Advisor of the ELAC Architecture Club, to experience the exhibition of: “A New Sculpturalism: Contemporary Architecture From Southern California.”

Before reaching to the main exhibit, the tour was greeted by an appetizer gallery of Frank Gehry’s work for the National Beijing Natural Museum Competition entry. Mesmerized by the process and study models Gehry produced brought connection to what many of the students do on their daily basis of design class. Looking at the work created by the prestigious architect known for his organic works like the Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, we get to see him push his limits further by incorporating new materials in his signature style.  Everyone couldn’t stop staring and gazing closer and closer to each piece; no wonder the security of the gallery had a tough time telling us to keep our distance to protect the models.

With such an appealing appetizer, it can only be topped by the main exhibit of other famous architect to showcase their experimentation in contemporary architecture in the past twenty-five years. Distinguished by innovative design and their immaculate use of material, it showcase their influences in today’s architecture. Models along with drawings, everyone was able to further understand each project with the QR codes under each piece to give detailed description of each piece. The hours we spent there brought everyone deep in trance of architecture as they snap countless pictures to capture the moments there. 

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