Leaf of the Month 02

Our second "Leaf of the Month" comes from a sign posted at a long abandoned gas station at the corner of Oak Lawn and Lemmon in Dallas, Texas.

The sign is for Evolution Fuels, which is "coming soon" according to the sign. You have to admire the fact that they're opening locations at previously abandoned gas stations, rather than paving over a park, but there' no word on their website about using any sort of green standards during construction. Their second location is planned for the abandoned 7-11 at Travis and Knox in Dallas. Word is that they're eyeing eight stations altogether, but let's see if they get the first one off the ground.



Once is it up an running, the station will sell "environmentally friendly" fuel alternatives, mainly ethanol. They have developed a specialized blending dispenser that allows the customer to choose the percentage of ethanol in their fuel, and it automatically adjusts the cost accordingly. From what I've read, this verges on revolutionary, but sounds to me about as exciting as putting shampoo and conditioner in the same bottle. No matter how revolutionary the dispensary process, they'll still be mixing ethanol with gasoline, neither of which are environmentally friendly. Sure, ethanol production boosts the profits of farmers (this is a good thing) by inflating the cost of corn, but it's takes about 1 gallon of fuel to plant, harvest, manufacture and distribute 1 gallon of ethanol. This is not the definition of environmentally friendly, but we'll wait and see what how the actual construction shapes up, and if other fuels will be offered before making a judgment.

Status - Pending

Leaf of the Month 01

Our inaugural "Leaf of the Month" comes from a sign in front of a Chase Bank construction site at the corner of Greenville and Mockingbird in Dallas, Texas.

JPMorgan Chase as a company has used "green" claims to justify its decision to build a behemoth new hangar at Weschester Airport to house its new corporate jet fleet. County officials even justified giving them the lease by saying it "is the best deal for county taxpayers and the best deal for the environment." They no doubt benefit publicly from talking green, but let's see if they walk the talk.

JPMorgan Chase did make a big splash in 2007 announcing a new headquarters tower at Tower 5 of the World Trade Center site. The building was to be LEED Platinum, but plans have since been scrapped. Also scrapped was the retail building that once sat on the site that has since been scraped clean to make way for the new Chase Branch Bank in Dallas. Although the irony is palpable, the building that will be built will likely follow in the footsteps of it predecessors and shoot for LEED certification.

The company began its green building program with the opening of its first green branch bank in Denver in 2007. Since then the company has regsistered thirty-five buildings, seven of which have been certified. Six of those certified projects are in Texas and five have reached Silver certification. Although that first branch in Denver is still languishing in "registered" land, it seems that this company does back up it's display of the Leaf.

Status - Verified

Leaf of the Month: Introduction

We're starting a new segment on the blog called "Leaf of the Month".

As Adrian Parr writes in his book Hijacking Sustainability, "The idea of 'sustainability' has gone mainstream. Thanks to Prius-driving movie stars, it's even hip. What began as a grassroots movement to promote responsible development has become a bullet point in corporate ecobranding strategies...[T]he more popular sustainable development becomes, the more commodified it becomes; the more mainstream culture embraces the sustainability movement's concern over global warming and poverty, the more 'sustainability culture' advances the profit-maximizing values of corporate capitalism."

We will explore "green" claims from all corners of the market, and try to determine the viability of each claim by giving each LOTM entry a stamp of "verified", "greenwash", or "undetermined". We hope to create a worthwhile discussion about the commodification of the green movement, and while AIA Dallas COTE has plenty of leafs to discuss, we welcome nominations from our reader as well, so we look forward to hearing from you.

- DVaughn

AIA Dallas Home Tour: Labron House

This year’s Dallas AIA tour of homes featured many well designed homes; beautifully done with simple modern lines. However, almost certainly… of all the homes visited that fall weekend, one in particular stood out. The Labron Residence is set within a heavily treed 1950’s neighborhood adjacent to many public parks.

view from the street


Living in a sustainable home was so important to the owners’ they not only desired to have a third party certified sustainable home from the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED® for Homes rating system, they also made sure that the original structure helped the environment and not harm it. Deconstructed piece by piece, 95% of the materials were either reused or recycled. In light of this, it’s worthy to note that some of the best sustainable features do not shout out how “green” it is with a brightly colored windmill or glaring solar panel, it can be simply and quietly done for its worthiness alone.

Of course, none of this is observed as you come upon the home. Approaching the front door, the organic rolling waves of Texas Buffalograss are striking next to the clean yet warm brick and wood exterior. Heading up the concrete stepped entry, one may catch a glimpse of the original foundation behind the native plantings. Interestingly, the existing 1,440 square foot foundation was reused, thus saving the need for virgin concrete mix materials and tons of CO2 emissions from the making of cement.

fountain at the front porch


From the back, you can see the owners’ desire to relax and meditate among their low maintenance native garden and under well established Pecan Tree. The entry leads into a naturally daylit stairwell beckoning you to come up to the main part of the house. At the top of the stairs, as architect Kelly Mitchell describes on her website, you do feel like you are in a ‘tree house’. At first glance, all one notices is the large green trees of the neighborhood surrounding them. Next, for those of us who are trained in design, you begin to notice all of the unique and well thought-out apertures in which naturally filtered daylight is allowed to fall into the open living room and kitchen. Adding to this, the white quartz countertops and glass tile walls in the kitchen smoothly reflect light into the fresh yet comfortable dining and living area. Moving to the balcony, wide overhangs allude to how this shaded ‘tree house’ feel is accomplished.

Walking into the art studio, above the separate garage, it is easy to see the owners’ love for art and now how effortlessly it should be for them to get inspired. Finally, while the master bedroom and bath can be closed off from company, it’s hard to imagine why you would want to. Both of these again look onto the serene backyard and fully open onto a patio with plenty of space.

driveway to the back gate


The holistic design by Mitchell Garman Architects earned a LEED for Homes Platinum certification for two passionate owners. But arguably, the best feature of this home it its size. So many well designed “green” homes are also enormous and thus adding to the energy loads to heat and cool the home. The Labron House successfully meets the challenge to design a small sustainable home. Even on the a hot summer day; the home’s large overhangs shade the seamless veranda and patios. The operable doors and windows effectively disappear while providing natural ventilation and therefore minimizing the need for conditioned space.

The rare opportunity to see such a beautiful home was not lost on those who toured it that weekend and being the nature of a private residence, it’s uncertain if we will have another one. Fortunately, the owners’ of the home have created a great website and blog with many photos. Feel free to learn more.

- article and photographs by Beth Brant, AIA, LEED AP