M.L. Vidas stands Thursday in front of her NorthWest Crossing home that she designed in conjunction with SolAire Homebuilders. The Bend house has many green features, including solar panels to generate electricity and heat the home's water, and an irrigation-free yard with only plants native to Central Oregon.

Going green isn’t just about recycling newspapers, plastic jugs and cardboard anymore. Incorporating sustainable building practices also proved to be a survival strategy that helped builders, architects and others involved in construction get through what has been described as the worst downturn since the Great Depression.

M.L. Vidas has always been an advocate of sustainable practices. She’s been an artist most of her life, and she loves nature and the outdoors. Like a lot of people, she started out recycling newspapers, plastic and cardboard, and supporting Earth-friendly causes. But after earning a master’s degree in architecture from the University of Oregon, she turned her attention to green building practices, which she said have helped her company, Sustainable Design Services, survive and prosper during tough times for the building industry.

While she learned much about green building practices at UO, Vidas said a class called Sustainable Building Advisor offered through the continuing education program at Central Oregon Community College opened her eyes to an array of green building principles that she has incorporated into her building designs, including the design of her own home in Bend’s NorthWest Crossing neighborhood.

Everything about the house reflects elements she learned through the Sustainable Building Advisor course — from the passive solar panels on the roof that heat water to another set of solar panels that generate electricity, to the size of the windows, alignment with the sun, width of the roof overhang, the concrete stones in sidewalk that allow rain and storm- water to percolate into the soil, and the plants native to Central Oregon that decorate her front yard with little watering even in summer.

She can leave for several weeks at a time without watering her yard at all with native plants like bunch grass, globe mallow, Oregon sunshine, wax currant, spice bush, rosy pussytoes and of course the venerable sagebrush.

Expanding knowledge

“We’ve got more than 90 people who have completed the class in Central Oregon,” said Vidas, who completed the class herself in 2006 and is now a consultant contracting with the college to arrange course instructors, who are leading experts in their fields, she said.

“We have had quite a variety of people who have completed the course, from the manager of a brewpub, to practicing architects to facility managers, real estate people, land use planners and builders,” Vidas said.

She said many people who have completed the class over the past four years have expanded their work or started new businesses as a result of the course.

Peter Grube, sustainable building adviser for SolAire Homebuilders in Bend, said he took the class a couple of years ago to enhance his knowledge about green building practices, and it helped him land his current job.

“When people come talk to us, they are already interested, if not dedicated to green building principles,” Grube said. “It is literally bringing people through the door — bringing prospects to SolAire.”

During these challenging times, Grube said SolAire Homebuilders has experienced a slowdown, like a lot of construction companies in Central Oregon, but he said the company’s green building expertise helps.

“We are still here. We are still building. We are doing OK,” he said.

“I’ve noticed our clients are more and more sophisticated about green building. They are participating with us to push the green building envelope,” Grube said. “That’s where the sustainable building course really helped us achieve higher levels of sustainable building.

“I learned that building a home for the best sustainability begins by bringing the homebuyer together with the designer and builder to produce the best possible practices, including the most sustainable use of the site, and the best solar orientation, so the building takes the best advantage of the sun during the winter, and is protected from overheating in the summertime,” Grube said.

He said the sustainable building practices also include factors such as using local building materials as much as possible, instead of shipping in materials from long distances, which he said wastes energy and pollutes the environment.

“The goal is to reduce the carbon footprint of the house and the whole building process,” Grube said.

In addition, he said efficient use of water and energy and the durability of construction also are important components that contribute to the long-term sustainability of a home or other building.

“People are still living in houses built more than 200 years ago or longer on the East Coast and over in Europe,” Grube said. That longevity is more sustainable than some of the homes built on the West Coast that last 50 years or less, he said.

Covering it all

Vidas said the solar hot water panels on her home save energy, and her plumbing fixtures are all high water efficiency.

The heating system is radiant hydroponic in-floor heat, installed in the slab — all sustainable building practices.

The photovoltaic solar panels that produce electricity on Vidas’ rooftop provide more than 30 percent of the family’s electric needs during the year, although there are some days in Central Oregon when they produce zero electricity because snow covers the panels.

Vidas said the class covers everything from sustainable design and site assessment to green materials, native plants, environmental health, building maintenance issues, and energy efficiency and construction practices.

If you go

What: Informational meeting on COCC’s Sustainable Building Advisor class

When: Sept. 14, 5:30 p.m.

Where: Boyle Education Center, COCC’s Bend campus

Details: The informal meeting is designed to share information about the in-depth training planned for this year’s class, which will begin Oct. 15 and meet one Friday and Saturday each month through June 4, 2011. The meeting will be followed at 6:30 p.m. by a free meeting for people to learn more about LEED sustainable building certification.

Information: For more information or to register, call 541-383-7270 or visit http://noncredit.cocc .edu/building/default.aspx