Casa Alemana: Contributing to the public awareness of sustainability.

The Casa Alemana event successfully took place in Escazu, Costa Rica in March 2011.  The German/American Architect Christian Kienapfel of PARAVANT Architects was invited by the German Costarican Chamber of Commerce (Deutsch-CostaricanischeIndustrie- und Handelskammer) to speak on the topic of “Impact of Sustainable Design on Construction, Gestalt and the User, International Rating Systems: LEED, DGNB, CalGreen,…”.  The following images are of the traveling "Casa Alemana" pavilion.

“Green Building and Energy Efficiency: From Innovation to Policy” presented by GABA the California German American Business Association

On April 14th the first event of the new GABA SoCal Clean Tech /Sustainability Industry Group will host “Green Building and Energy Efficiency: From Innovation to Policy” conference. 
Architect Dipl.-Ing.(FH) Architect Christian Kienapfel, AIA, LEED AP, AIA, LEED AP from PARAVANT Architects will be presenting and participating in the panel discussion on the impact of sustainable design on construction, gestalt and the user - International Certification systems: LEED, Cal Green, DGNB,… The event will be introduced by Marc Eichorn Vice Consul General, German Consulate, Los Angeles and moderated by Michael Boehm: LEED AP, Partner, Haig Barrett, Inc.; Chair Clean Tech & Sustainability Industry Group, GABA SoCal.

When:     Thursday, Apr 14, 2011 | 6:30pm-09:30pm
Where:    Los Angeles Convention Center, Room 409,
                1201 South Figueroa Street, Los Angeles, CA
Fee:        GABA Members - $40 | Non-Members - $50

Casa Alemana | PARAVANT lecture in San Jose Costa Rica

The “Casa Alemana” or German House is a prototype energy-efficient home that is visiting 13 countries in South America, demonstrating new and innovative German technologies used during home construction and for solar energy collection. While these technologies are achieving significant energy savings they are also creating more comfortable living spaces. Through architectural sophistication and technological innovation the "Casa Alemana” shows that beauty and comfort can work together with renewable and efficient energy solutions. The exhibition is based on the Technical University of Darmstadt’s 2007 and 2009 winning Solar Decathlon, an international architecture and engineering sustainable house competition sponsored by the United States Department of Energy. The home, which is open to the public, will offer events for professionals interested in the application of technologies for efficient and renewable energy use, particularly microgeneration. The “Casa Alemana” will be displayed in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Montevideo, Uruguay, Buenos Aires, Argentina, Asunción, Paraguay, Santiago de Chile, Chile, Santa Cruz, Bolivia, Lima, Peru, Quito, Ecuador, Bogotá, Colombia, Caracas, Venezuela, San José, Costa Rica, Guatemala City, Guatemala and México City,México. Detailed information on the project is available at www.lacasaalemana.com. The Federal Ministry of Economics & Technology and the Federal Ministry of Transportation and Building & Urban Development sponsors the project.

Architect Dip.-Ing.(FH) Halil Dolan, LEED GA and Architect Dipl.-Ing.(FH) Christian Kienapfel, AIA, LEED AP will be speaking at the Conference in San Jose, Costa Rica on March 23, 2011 on the topic of"International Sustainability in Germany and the Americas - The impact of sustainable design on construction and the user." (LEED, CalGreen, DGNB,......)

PARAVANT finally has a page on Facebook

PARAVANT

It took Facebook over 6 years and more than 500 million users to convince PARAVANT to be represented on the social network site.  Please visit us at:  PARAVANT on Facebook  and let us know if you like the page. 

Charleston Home & Design Show | January 28th-30th, 2011

The Charleston Home & Design Show will feature custom home designers and vendors for the Charleston, South Carolina metropolitan area. 

Location: Gaillard Auditorium, 77 Calhoun St., Downtown Charleston. Show Hours:  Friday, Jan. 28th: 11am - 6pm | Saturday, Jan. 29th: 10am - 6pm | Sunday, Jan. 30th: 11am - 5pm.

PARAVANT is proud to announce its new branch office in Charleston, SC | Phone: (843) 425-4174. PARAVANT is creating innovative designs for discerning clients.

CAL GREEN | January 1st, 2011

California continues to lead the way in the U.S. to reduce the impact buildings have on the environment. “CAL GREEN” goes into effect on January 1st, 2010.The California Green Building Standards Code is a code with mandatory requirements for new residential and nonresidential buildings throughout California. The code is Part 11 of the California Building Standards Code in Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations and is also known as the CALGreen.

In short, the code is established to reduce construction waste, make buildings more efficient in the use of materials and energy, and reduce environmental impact during and after construction.

COST RICA DEVELOPMENT | PROJECT COMPLETION

The construction of the residential development in Atenas, Costa Rica has come to completion after 8 month of construction. It is expected to complete landscaping and interior design within the next 6-8 weeks. 

International Passive House Days

GUEST LECTURE AT VIRGINIA TECH | SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE + DESIGN

Architect Marcus Brown, Halil Dolan and Christian Kienapfel from PARAVANT ARCHITEKTUR were invited to the Guest Lecture series in the School of Architecture + Design.
The lecture was titled "Departure and Evolution" took place on Thursday October 21st 2010 in Blacksburg, VA.

COSTA RICA DEVELOPMENT

The new construction project in Costa Rica is expected to reach completion soon.

PREFAB AGENDA - sustainable dwelling design for the 21st century

PARAVANT ARCHITEKTUR has most recently been published in "PREFAB AGENDA - sustainable dwelling design for the 21st century" the latest online book by Robert Mendel:

"Sustainable Dwelling Design for the 21st Century describes the global challenges we face and how prefab building technologies can effectively address the crucial issues of sustainability and affordability. .... Many of these systems are not well known despite the fact that they are innovative, efficient and cost-effective. These include modular, panelized, steel, aluminum, foam, concrete, hybrid and kit assembly systems."

Among those profiled are:

• KieranTimberlake
• Michelle Kaufmann
• LivingHomes
• Oskar Leo Kaufmann & Albert Ruf
• Paravant
• Graft
• Kjellgren Kaminsky
• Hive
• Larry Sass and 
• Eric Owen Moss

"New Concept Architecture" by Rihan

The book "New Concept Architecture" has been published by Rihan in August 2010. Three projects of PARAVANT ARCHITEKTUR are featured in this new 2 volume book (ISBN: 978-988-18758-5-3). 

• Benetton Retail 
• Interfaith Center Los Angeles
• Urban Planning Tempelhof Berlin

PARAVANT | SHANGHAI

PARAVANT ARCHITEKTUR has opened its new branch office in Shanghai, China. This new office location will help to better serve our clients in the Asian market. You can reach PARAVANT at shanghai@paravantarchitects.com. The office is located at 1-403 Guangfu Road | 200070 Shanghai | P.R. China.

NEW PHONE NUMBER

PARAVANT ARCHITEKTUR's Los Angeles downtown office located at 811 Wilshire Blvd. | 17th Floor has an additional new phone number. You can reach us now any time at (213) 787.6330.

COSTA RICA AREOPAGUS RESIDENCE UPDATE

Charter School for Los Angeles

PARAVANT is creating an optimal learning environment for the students of KIPP LA at one of its new locations in South Los Angeles, CA. This plan provides 20 classrooms for 620 students. Each classroom has access to a skygarden which is open to the outside. This proposal also has multiple window seats, a unique student lounge space, and various floor openings which allow for moments of architectural interest. The walls on the classroom side of the corridors on the second floor are skewed. This distorts the perspective and breaks up the experience of the long tunnel-like corridor. The third floor dining area is a free-form exterior space, providing natural light through its glass walls to the remainder of the circulation area and classrooms.

Passive House "two" | Passiv Haus "Zwei"

PARAVANT Architects in Los Angeles, California is proposing it's second house using the "European Passive House Technology". Passive House II  is a two bedroom, two bath single family residence with a detached carport. During the hot summer month a movable sun protection louver screen is shading the glazed winter garden. During the cooler month the glazed area is used to heat the building. 

More information about how PARAVANT is using More passivHAUS technology in the U.S. can be found at our website at www.paravantarchitects.com or at facebook.

"Richtfest" | "Topping-Out Ceremony"

The residential portion of the project in San Jose Costa Rica just celebrated the so called "Richtfest" (German for Topping-Out Ceremony). This indicates that a milestone in the construction process has been reached. Completion is expected to be on time this summer. Please see below current images of the buildings.

3rd Energy Efficiency Symposium | German American Chamber of Commerce | UCLA

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa opened the 3rd Energy Efficiency Symposium and welcomed the German Delegation. Mayor Villaraigosa speaks about the responsibility the City of Los Angeles has in regard to Climate Change. The mayor predicts a great future for "Green-Tech-Companies" in LA.

The Symposium was organized by the German American Chamber of Commerce and took place at the UCLA Campus on Monday April 26, 2010. The event is part of the Export Initiative supported by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology. PARAVANT ARCHITEKTUR a member of "Energie Effizienz made in Germany" participated in business matchmaking meetings after the conference.

COSTA RICA: RESIDENCE & DEVELOPMENT FOR LOS ANGELES CLIENT

The development for a Los Angeles based client located outside of San Jose, Costa Rica is designed by PARAVANT ARCHITECTS. The project is now since 8 weeks under construction and the completion is expected in the summer of 2010.