Build It Green 20/20 Presentation

"Pecha Kucha" is a presentation style that was born in 2003 in Japan by design students looking to share their work in a new and fun way. Each presentation consists of 20 slides that are each explained for 20 seconds. The presenter therefore has 6 minutes and 40 seconds to talk about their subject. Strict adherence to the rules makes the presentations challenging and condenses the subject to its essence.

Build It Green, a non-profit based in Berkeley that promotes green building and education, thought this presentation style (renamed "20/20") would be a fun way to share information between members. Build It Green sponsors "guilds" of building industry professionals in each major area of the bay, hosting monthly discussions regarding green building related topics. Chris Donatelli values his membership to Build It Green and has enjoyed attending the South Bay guild. On Tuesday May 3rd, Chris took the opportunity to do his own 20/20 slideshow. He focused on a specific project that our company completed in the Spring of 2009.

The all new home featured a structure made of SIPs (structural insulated panels). These consist of 2 sheets of plywood with 5 inches of foam btween. This creates a very strong and efficient home. The heat is provided by radiant floor heating and a super efficient water heater with solar input. Interior finishes that are low VOC (volatile organic compounds like formaldehyde) and heat recovering fans that exchange interior air with fresh outside air. These are just a few of the features that helped us achieve a Green Rated score of 140. All in all it is a very comfortable and efficient home that the owners are very proud of and happy with.

Chris was glad to share what he learned in the process of building this home and what it was like to have clients that were so excited about green building and driven to make a very green home a reality.

"One Job for America"

Chris Donatelli Builders participated in a national project that was started right here in the bay area. Carla Emil, a advertising executive working with art and education related non-profits, came up with an idea meant to inspire growth and hope for our slumping economy. One Job for America asks companies across America, regardless of size, to pledge that they will add one person to their ranks. One new hire in a company (especially a larger one) may not seem like much, but by multiplying this around the country the plan is to create a significant impact to the economy. Ms. Emil does not claim to be an economist, a politician or a academic. The inspiration was to use a "grassroots" campaign to succeed where big government and various advisers had failed.

Chris Donatelli was interested in this approach and hopeful in signs that the residential building industry in the bay area was starting to pick up again. He decided to pledge one job and take part in support for this idea. Shortly thereafter, a sales/estimating associate was added to the office staff of Chris Donatelli Builders. Chris' participation, along with a other local companies, was picked up on by a writer for the San Francisco Chronicle in the article One Job for America: 1 Marinite's Idea for the Economy