Green' House Featured on Planet Green's ‘Renovation Nation'
Green' House Featured on Planet Green's Renovation Nation'
If you tuned in to "Renovation Nation" on Discovery's new Planet Green Channel any day between June 5 and 8, chances are you saw Jill Bouratoglou, professor of architectural technology at City Tech, describing details of one of her most exciting architectural projects. Indeed, it would have been hard to miss her, since the segment she taped was broadcast at least a dozen times throughout that weekend.
"All this began," she explains, "when my husband, John, and I purchased a three-story 1890s row house in the Cobble Hill/Boerum Hill section of Brooklyn in 2007. At the time, we had no idea how much we would learn from the process of transforming the house and how totally and intimately the house would become interwoven with other aspects of our lives.
"The house had been occupied by the same woman for over 50 years," she adds, "and little work had been done on it in all that time. In short, it needed a complete renovation, including all systems. We knew we had a huge job ahead of us."
Soon after they purchased the building, Jill and John became friendly with one of their new neighbors - Lori Bongiorno, who is the author of Green, Greener, Greenest: A Practical Guide to Making Eco-Smart Choices a Part of Your Life. Naturally, their interests dovetailed and the renovation of the Bouratoglou house became a model for using "sustainable design" in every possible way. With Bongiorno's help - she shared websites, ideas, products -- her philosophy of making eco-smart choices became a motto for dealing with every aspect of Jill and John's renovation project.
"John and I divided the tasks according to our preferences,"
Jill continues. "He loves to be on the jobsite, working and overseeing the project, while I work on the drawings and material selection. Focusing on sustainability, we considered noise quality, air quality, local products and transportation, along with renewable resources and materials.
"Which brings us back to our recent appearance on 'Renovation Nation.' As many people know, Steve Thomas, the show's creator and host, spent many years as the host of PBS's popular home improvement series, 'This Old House.' Known as the 'ultimate home enthusiast,' Thomas recently expanded his expertise in the home renovation field to incorporate green practices.
"So when he learned of our project," she added, "he invited us to share some of our experiences with his viewers on 'Renovation Nation.'" Thomas had told them that the green home-building movement was unfolding in real time on each information-packed episode of the show and that the story of their home renovation process would fit in perfectly with its theme.
A full day of shooting was condensed into 11 fact-filled minutes of air time. In addition to presenting an overview of the renovation effort, Jill gave viewers an in-depth look at two specific products she had used in her new home: the insulating material A1 Foam Spray and IceStone countertops.
"A1 Foam Spray has grown, in just five years, to become one of the most popular spray foam insulators in the metropolitan area," says Jill. "It improves indoor air quality, saves on heating and cooling costs, and helps reduce the nation's dependency on foreign energy. And IceStone," she explains, "is an extremely eco-friendly product. Made of recycled glass and concrete, it has outstanding durability and sustainability, and easily wipes clean from spills of such substances as wine, lemon and olive oil.
"Doing the show was a lot of fun," she says, "and, most important, I think we gave the viewing audience some valuable tips on 'going green' in the construction or renovation process."
Professor Bouratoglou has developed a new course, Sustainability Through Architecture, to be offered at City Tech beginning this fall. Needless to say, it will incorporate many of the lessons learned during the extensive renovation of the Bouratoglou family's new Brooklyn residence.
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