August 2-23, 2007

The building of the studio ....

We want the studio to be as green as possible, in part to assuage the guilt we have over using so many resources in our back yard. Ken found an idea out of the upper midwest to create a large thermal mass underneath the studio slab. We will create the largest sandbox in south Seattle. An insulated sandbox no less, with vapor barrier and pink foam on the bottom, well insulated stem walls, and lots of sand to soak up the heat produced by the solar collectors on the roof. In theory the 300 tons of sand and concrete will only lose one degree of heat per week during December and January.

If we tune the collectors right and wear enough sweaters we can get by without any outside heat source. Plus we will tune it so that Adele's side of the building will get any heat produced by the panels in midwinter, since painting is less active and requires more heating than sculpture. We reserve the right to wimp out and add backup heat next year.

The stem wall is being created here, and you see Adele laying the vapor barrier before the pink foam is installed.