» by Robert Sculthorpe | Uncategorized | Wed, 19 October 2011
Fox Blocks ICF exhibited at the USGBC GreenBuild Show in Toronto a few weeks back. This was the first time the GreenBuild Show has been held in a city outside of the USA. Toronto was an excellent location for such an event, as it is located just across Lake Ontario from Rochester, NY. Held in the heart of the city, the Toronto Convention Centre is surrounded by hotels and restaurants. Further, it is beside the Air Canada Centre, the sports arena which is home to the Toronto Maple Leafs and Toronto Raptors, as well as the GreenBuild Opening Keynote Celebration and Maroon 5 concert.
More relevant is that Toronto’s financial district has embraced sustainable design and construction. Over the past few years developers have observed that LEED registered buildings lease more quickly and with rent premiums of up to 30%. Coupled with this is the fact that Toronto has a district cooling system utilizing the cool water from Lake Ontario, and BOMA has implemented energy conservation retrofit programs with the electrical and gas utilities. With so many of these GREEN activities ongoing in the city Toronto was a natural host for the Greenbuild Show.
The GreenBuild show was a success. The EXPO was larger, up by 30% to over 900 exhibitors. Unfortunately attendance was down by 15% at a little over 23,000 attendees. This decline was likely due to two factors, the economy and also that the location was outside of the USA. However the show was attended by architects, engineers, developers, contractors, building material suppliers of which Fox Blocks was one, and green entrepreneurs. It was a truly international EXPO with participants coming from a total of 108 countries. The interest level of the attendees was upbeat and everyone was networking. We at Fox Blocks found the show very worth while, we learned a great deal, met old friends and made many new contacts.
All in all it was an excellent show.
» by Robert Sculthorpe | Uncategorized | Thu, 19 May 2011
Fox Blocks ICF wishes to extend condolences to all those families who have lost loved ones from the storms over the past few days. We have all seen the reports and it is just tragic.
More than 300 lives have been lost and many more injured. Property damage was extensive where ever the 148 tornadoes touched down. This year’s storm season is anticipated to be severe, worse than usual, and it has only started.
But this loss of life, injury and property damage does not have to be a normal experience America must just accept. Insulating Concrete Form (ICF) wall technology is a well known cost effective building system which due to its inherent features of the strength of its reinforced concrete core, and weight / high mass, resists the forces of nature much better that typical frame walls when in the path of a tornado.
Research by Texas Tech Wind Science and Engineering Research Center has demonstrated that ICF walls better protect occupants of houses from windblown debris, than frame walls. Being hit by windblown debris is the most common cause of injury during tornadoes.
FEMA has published documentation on how to build storm shelters using ICF walls. Take that a step further and make your next house a whole house storm shelter!
The Portland Cement Association (PCA) has reports documenting the abilities of concrete walls to resist the forces of calamitous storms.
So, this loss of life, injury and property damage is something we can protect against. So why not just do it? It requires change and many people are reluctant to change. But we have made similar changes in the past.
Historically, mankind has had to deal with the risk of fire in towns and cities. At first it was just accepted as a risk of urban living. But we learned to control the risk by having fire departments and a system of fire hydrants throughout cities.
America has a similar opportunity to build to resist tornados. Build with Fox Blocks ICF walls. It may cost a little more up front but you will sleep at night knowing you have a solid defense for you and your family. As well you will enjoy the other well known benefits of Fox Blocks ICF walls which include: reduced energy costs, a quiet home, fire resistant construction, and a more durable structure. How could you accept anything less for your family?
Consider the alternatives and build, or re-build, with Fox Blocks ICF walls.