AltBuild Expo Sets Speaker Series for 8th Annual Design Expo and Conference May 6-7

SANTA MONICA, CA, April 06, 2011 (Press-News.org) The AltBuild Expo and Conference Hosted by the City of Santa Monica has announced its speaker and conference series for the Eighth Annual Expo, to be held May 6th and 7th at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium. The Expo—the largest and most-respected green design and building expo in Southern California for both professionals and public—will feature more than 40 speakers in all sustainable and alternative building practices on two conference tracks taking place in the East lobby and other locations at the Santa Monica Civic Center.

"We're very pleased to have the scope and caliber of speakers and presenters for the Expo; the professional community has come forward with a huge range of talents to share their knowledge with Expo guests, peers, trade and consumer visitors," said Brenden McEneaney, Green Building Program Advisor, Office of Sustainability and the Environment, City of Santa Monica. Each panel offers best practices and practical knowledge of green building from a pocketbook, design and carbon footprint perspective, and while some panels earn attendees such as architects and contractors continuing education credits, "we want visitors to know that ALL the speakers are there to demystify, promote and at times even challenge aspects of environmentally sustainable architecture, building and design practices."

Highlights include:

• A keynote address from Bill Worthen Friday, which will stress the practical, real-world aspects of sustainability as well as the cool designs. Worthen, Resource Architect at the American Institute of Architects (AIA), will discuss the coming revitalization of the urban landscape through the application of sustainable design, as it promises to become the central focus of the construction and design industry over the next five years. Attendees will gain a new perspective on best practices to save both dollars and resources in their work.

• Dubbed "Thinking Outside the Boxes"—where contestants design with shipping containers—Altbuild hosts the LA Emerging Professionals Emerging Talent Design Competition on Saturday. The winner will receive a cash prize as well as consideration of their container-based design for actual building in the City of Long Beach. A panel precedes the competition Friday with contest finalists on the recycling and architectural uses of shipping containers.
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• A water conference "Designing for No Irrigation" for both professionals and landscape architects (Friday) and the public (Saturday), led by Russell Ackerman, Water Resources Specialist for the City of Santa Monica . As one of Southern California's most important issues, Santa Monica leads cities in landscape conservation, xeriscaping, rain capture and grey water recycling.

• One of the most respected green architects and builders in California, Founder and President of Greymar Associates Wally Geer leads three panels: Remodeling with ReUse Materials; Cal Green Building Code ("It's the Law"); and Affordable Housing Goes Green. Also a Director of ReUse People, a nonprofit "deconstruction company" that advocates, advises and conducts "deconstruction" rather than demolition of structures. Geer serves as director and COO of the Central Coast Chapter of the US Green Building Council, among other positions. ReUse People will display the ReUse Haus, "not your grandfather's backyard shed," at the Expo; times pending.

• State Senator Fran Pavley and Howard Choy will talk on Green Building Financing, LA County's adoption of Energy Upgrade and lots else. This new statewide energy efficiency incentive program, an alliance of state and local governments and the electrical and gas utilities, helps homeowners save money through energy-efficient upgrades to their homes. Pavley and Choy, General Manager of the Office of Sustainability at LA County and Board Chairman at Local Government Sustainable Energy Coalition, will start conference attendees on their path to participation at 12:40PM Friday.

• Freyja Bardell of AIA's Committee of Architects on the Environment (COTE) has organized a panel on urban farming, Redesigning the Local Food System "Alt Food System" at 10:30AM Saturday. Following the panel, James Rojas, co-founder of the Latino Urban Forum, will lead a brainstorming session/workshop—tweeted and posted on social networks in real time—in discussing urban agriculture in relation to health, economics and design. Guests will work with his interactive models to design and map urban agriculture. This and other programs offer continuing education credits for professionals as well as a consumer-friendly approach for homeowners. A panel on Urban Ecology follows at 11:30AM.

Between the speakers, Expo guests can browse the aisles of Santa Monica Civic Center, where more than 150 exhibitors feature the world's best in green building and design materials; energy efficiency techniques and technologies; alternative energy; water conservation and management; environmental plumbing; municipal and state agencies, and non-profit organizations.

AltBuild Expo brings the visitor the best in both products and programs to "'green' their homes and property in a content-rich and immersive environment," McEneaney concludes. "The Expo speakers and panels capture the awakening and emergence of sensible—and beautiful—cost-saving green building technologies and products. Environmentally responsible and sustainable building and design practices have reached that critical mass where they are both aesthetically appealing and economically practical. We're now coming fully into the mainstream."

Altbuild Expo takes place Friday and Saturday, May 6th and 7th, 2011, from10AM - 5PM daily at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, located at 1855 Main Street, Santa Monica, CA 90401. The Expo is free and open to the public and features free bike valet parking; automobile parking is $9. For a full conference schedule please visit http://www.altbuildexpo.com.

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