The Center for the Advancement of Sustainable Living

Meet CASL

CASL meets in the basement of the UO Annex (12th and Kincaid) every Thursday from 6:30-7:30. Come have a great time hanging out and working with CASL.

Weekly Workparties

Do you love using hammers, saws, and nail guns? CASL has weekly workparties every Saturday 11-3pm at 1801 Moss Street. Everyone is welcome.

Come visit the CASL house at 1801 Moss St. on October 9^th from 12:00-5:00pm and the 10^th from 10:30-5:00pm. There are plenty of tasks for anyone who would like to get involved, priming, calking, cleanup, chimney deconstruction, roof repair and much more.  Bring your positive and hard working attitudes for an interactive learning experience with others interested in green construction.  Remember to wear appropriate  clothing and footwear (boots with thick soles are preferable) the tools and duties will be waiting for you!

What better way to kickoff fall then celebrate CASL’s new beginning? Help repaint CASL’s exterior on Friday, September 11, 18 and 25 from 12-5 p.m locatd on 1801 Moss Street. Prepare the house for painting on September 11 by priming the exterior and finalizing paint colors. The two painting sessions will take place on September 18 and 25 from 12-5 p.m. onsite. Local Eugeneians have the opportunity to attend any or all three of the painting workshops. Repainting the CASL house will not only improve its aesthetics, but establish CASL as a distinct landmark on the University of Oregon campus. No prior painting experience needed because instruction will be provided.  For those CASL followers who do not live in Eugene or are unable to attend the painting workshops view the updated photos on the blog toward the end of September.

Learn how to reinsulate an old house during CASL’s free workshop on Friday, August 14 from 12 noon-5 p.m. The workshop will be hosted at CASL’s house located on 1801 Moss Street. A professional contractor will lead the workshop, which will cover the first phase of the reinsulation process by exploring basic framing principles and explaining how to tighten up a drafty house.

In this workshop we will be doubling the thickness of the exterior walls to create a larger space for insulation. In order to do this we will be framing a secondary wall system on the inside face of the exterior walls. If you’ve never framed a house now is the time to learn!

After the workshop join us for our weekly BBQ potluck and meeting to find out more about CASL. The BBQ will be held across the alley from the CASL house at 1878 Villard Street. The BBQ starts at 6 p.m. and CASL updates begin at 7 p.m.

Questions? E-mail CASL project manager Nick Wakem at nwakem@uoregon.edu.

Architecture students receive instruction from Professor Michael Cockram

The final review for the summer architecture class offered through CASL will be held Wednesday, August 12 from 1:30 p.m.-4:30 p.m. at the CASL house located on 1801 Moss Street. The students in this class each designed their own interpretation of the CASL site and front porch and then in a collaborative effort established a final design plan for the front porch. After the design was created the architecture students constructed the front porch. The students will showcase their work consisting of design plans for the front porch and demonstration pods.

The work will be pinned up to the interior of CASL and will be open to the public. Come attend the open house to see the front porch that architecture students have spent the last 8 weeks constructing. Following the review CASL will host a potluck on the newly constructed porch. Bring your own dish and enjoy some food from CASL’s garden

At Friday’s meeting CASL members gathered around a blanket that hundreds of paint swatches transformed into a quilt-like pattern. The goal: choose CASL’s exterior paint scheme. Members mixed and matched paint swatches to formulate a three-color paint arrangement for the house, trim and door. While the corn roasted on the grill, members discussed if they should paint the sustainable home an obvious green color to represent the “green” house or opt for a more fun color trio. CASL decided that three distinct colors will portray CASL’s rooted belief in creativity and flexibility better.

A long conversation among members produced 14 possible paint schemes, which allowed only one hour of daylight to make a decision. CASL members incorporated fresh tomatoes from the CASL garden to the potluck-style dinner to fuel the continued discussion.

After dinner, members voted on their three favorite color schemes. The votes revealed that two paint schemes were most favored. The first choice was a clay-orange house with a deep-red trim and a brown door; the second choice was a red-purple house with charcoal trim and a bright green door. Allie Corcoran, one of CASL’s new co-directors, offered her opinion. She said, “I prefer the scheme that uses the bright green door because it embodies CASL’s mindset of living ‘green’ in modern times.” The members agreed with Allie and raised their glasses to a final decision. When CASL completes the house, many people will exit the green door with a renewed sense of what it means to live sustainably.

Graduate students from the School of Architecture and Allied Arts are making progress on the front porch for CASL. The students helped design the front porch and ramp under the instruction of Michael Cockram and will continue to build until the summer class ends in late August (see below for more information regarding the class).

On site today we tore down the walls and beams inside the house to create an open workable space for renovation. During the deconstruction conversation about paint choices continued. Paint color is not the only determining factor in our decision. We want to ensure that the paint is environmentally friendly by containing little to no VOC. The choice will be made tonight at the potluck where hard-working members will cool off and enjoy some tasty food.

We are looking forward to a productive summer that will transform the existing structure into a livable model for sustainable living. If you want to help feel free to stop by the work parties or enjoy the weekly potlucks to find out more about CASL.