INNOVATORS Gold Award - New Orleans City Business
INNOVATORS Gold Award - New Orleans City Business
INNOVATORS Gold Award - New Orleans City Business
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ON THE BRINK<br />
Green Door Construction<br />
Key innovation: The only company in the city to use<br />
aerated autoclaved concrete, a pre-fabricated concrete<br />
block that is lighter, more fireproof and a better insulator<br />
than common concrete.<br />
Biggest client: Samuel Green Charter School — and his<br />
parents’ Uptown home<br />
Where they’re based: <strong>New</strong> <strong>Orleans</strong><br />
Top executive: Patrick Ibert<br />
Year introduced: 2006<br />
2007 sales: $600,000<br />
AMERICANS HAVE become aware of the necessity to be<br />
more energy efficient, and in most cases consumers are<br />
more mindful about what they drive, where they shop<br />
and what they buy.<br />
Patrick Ibert of Green Door Construction has taken<br />
this philosophy and applied it to the materials he uses in<br />
his construction business.<br />
“We are the only contractor in the city that uses aerated<br />
autoclaved concrete for building projects,” Ibert said.<br />
“It is a pre-fabricated concrete block that is lighter than<br />
common concrete, more fireproof and a better insulator.”<br />
Ibert said the AAC blocks are manufactured from lime,<br />
sand or mine tailings,along with cement,gypsum,an aeration<br />
agent and water. The concoction is poured into a cast, which<br />
produces a solid block that is interlocking and stackable.<br />
“The blocks are a product of Europe,” Ibert said.<br />
“They have unbelievable versatility and are so easy to use.”<br />
Ibert said the blocks can be sawed, drilled, nailed and<br />
routered using normal woodworking tools. The blocks do<br />
a better job of dampening noise than standard concrete<br />
and are much more environmentally friendly, he said.<br />
“They are manufactured from readily available natural<br />
resources,” Ibert said. “The materials are nontoxic and<br />
not a source of indoor air pollution. Less jobsite waste is<br />
created, and the product is completely recyclable.”<br />
Ibert has used the AAC blocks to help Samuel Green<br />
Charter in <strong>New</strong> <strong>Orleans</strong> build three outdoor classrooms,<br />
as well as its edible schoolyard. His biggest client as of<br />
late, however, is within the family.<br />
“I’m rebuilding my parent’s ancestral home in the<br />
Garden District, which burned to the ground during<br />
Hurricane Katrina,” Ibert said. “The project calls for a<br />
complete retrofit of the 100-year-old home to make it<br />
more energy efficient while keeping the historic aspects<br />
of the home intact. A person’s home is their single greatest<br />
asset, and our goal is to make our construction functional<br />
and aesthetically pleasing.”<br />
Ibert said the new home will be more energy efficient<br />
and should hold up better to the elements. The new<br />
home will include solar panels for self-sustaining energy<br />
and will be pest-, fire- and mold-resistant.<br />
“I hope it will be the perfect home for the <strong>New</strong> <strong>Orleans</strong><br />
climate.”•<br />
— Robin Shannon<br />
PHOTO BY FRANK AYMAMI<br />
Patrick Ibert has used his aerated autoclaved concrete blocks for Samuel Green Charter School’s three outdoor classrooms and in renovating his parents’ Garden District home.<br />
<strong>New</strong> <strong>Orleans</strong> <strong>City</strong><strong>Business</strong> 53A