Art + Architecture + Design
Green Design
South Lake Union Discovery Center wins COTE award, 2008
Aug 25th
More good news for Seattlites; our South Lake Union Discovery Center earned an AIA/COTE Green Design award! One of ten awards given out this year, the Center is a model of green and modular thinking.
I love the design, and how amazing is it to be able to reuse these modules! Just unbolt and go, like an upscale shipping container, to any site you like. I read somewhere that an UW arch studio workshopped different ways to use them next and one group suggested upending them, transforming the horizontal into vertical! Just like playing with Legos back in the day! Congratulations to all…
From GreenSource:
“For moving purposes, Miller Hull’s team carefully determined the maximum dimensions allowed on the roadways to the most likely new locations, arriving at a 40-by-73-foot optimum bay size. Working with engineer Jay Taylor of Magnusson Klemencic Associates, the team chose a simple structural system of quadrilateral steel bents that could be fabricated offsite. With gluelam purlins supporting the roof, the bents create a clear-span structure in which a service corridor of restrooms, a catering kitchen, and a sales office sit “a bit like a mobile home” inside. The glass front slopes inward beneath deep overhangs, giving the building the feel of an oversized screened porch. The resulting quartet of modules easily bolts together at three joints to create an 11,000-square-foot building. Splice plates “zipper” the floor seams while the gaps in the standing-seam metal roof panels are bridged by a simple cap flashing. Mechanical units bolt to the top with minimal ducting routed under the bents.”
read the rest after the jump…
The Bill Nye Interview at TreeHugger
Aug 11th
When we lived in Hollywood, I used to see the willowy Science Guy walking the Topanga Canyon trail with friends and dog in tow, so I feel a particular affinity, however unfounded, for Bill (we’re that close) one of my childhood heroes.
If you feel the same, be sure to hit the interview over at TH.
From the interview:
TH: And maybe you can give us one great eco-experiment or
investigation that you can suggest our readers try at home to better
understand environmental issues?BN: You know, I did some research into what were the most heavily
traded commodities in the world. The first, of course, is oil… But the
second is coffee, which surprised me. It’s not something you need, like
wheat or rice, but something you can choose to buy… So I’d ask you to
keep a running record of how much you spend on coffee and bottled water
for a week or even a month, and compare them. It’s amazing what you’ll
find… And if you can convince people to change some really basic habits
you can really change the world… Just think of the enormous impact
coffee consumption has on the planet.
read the rest after the jump…
Philippe Stark’s Rooftop Windmill is Beautiful, of course
Aug 5th
Yes, he’s a pain in the a**, but at least he’s starting to walk the ‘green’ talk. Have a look at this rooftop wind turbine for residential use. If he can pull it off, even half of it, it will be his best work to-date:
From IHT:
"Take Starck’s claim to have "invented a concept called Democratic
Design," which, he says, gives everyone high quality products at
affordable prices. Sounds great, but didn’t the modern movement try to
do that for most of the 20th century? And how can he claim to have "won
the battle" by designing "a chair that sells for less than €100," or
$157, when that’s still too expensive for most people? Let alone the 90
percent of the world’s population who are too poor to afford the
basics? What has Democratic Design done for them? "Oh please, I’m not
God," pleads Starck. "I’m just a designer, and I’m doing my best.""
read the rest after the jump…
Reclaimed Lumber Bookshelf by Blankblank
May 21st
Anything that makes me laugh out loud must be shared.
via Inhabitat
Natural Retreats, UK: Stylish Eco-tourism
May 2nd
I will be staying here next time I visit Little England…
"Combining the highest levels of luxury and sustainable development with beautiful locations, Natural Retreats
offer a chance to explore beautiful national parks, bask in luxury, and
feel confident that your holiday has a low environmental impact. Built
with sustainability in mind, these eco-getaways can be found within
four of the UK national parks, with plans to acquire sites in, or
alongside, ten more. At current, green-minded travelers can escape to Yorkshire Dales, Snowdonia, Lake District, and North York Moors – all beautiful landscapes and perfect settings for an eco-friendly nature retreat."
H1 by Brio54, Knock-out Sustainable Residential Design
Feb 19th
I fell in love with the creative simplicity of the design of the new H1 residence by Brio54, a new Arch. firm made up of partners Gernot Bruckner and Philip Macari. These are still in design development with construction slated to begin later in the spring. Be sure to check out their site for detailed descriptions of all the mechanicals and such:
from the always fabulous Inhabitat: "As soon as we saw them, we instantly fell in love with Brio54’s new set of prefab residential prototypes. A young, design-driven development firm, Brio54’s
mission is to provide sustainable, affordable design while delivering
high quality construction. Home buyers of all types will delight in Brio54’s
wide variety of offerings – whether you live in a suburban area, are
looking to refurbish or rehab, or have an empty urban infill lot.
Brio54’s first prefab prototype, the H1, (pictured above) is currently
in the final stage of planning, and construction is slated to begin
production in the spring of 2008.
T-POST
Oct 30th
Great idea, can’t wait for my first issue:
From Cool Hunting: "The world’s first international news magazine on cotton, T-post is a subscription t-shirt service based in Sweden. Silkscreened onto American Apparel tees, subscribers get a new "issue" every six weeks with a design about a current news item on the outside and a short article on the topic printed inside. Many of the stories covered by T-post are outside the radar of the traditional news media—like conversations overheard on the subway or microchips implanted in butterflies—but that is precisely why the editors at T-Post think they’re important. Available worldwide, each edition costs €26 including shipping and back issues are not for sale—"you can’t go trying to buy one like ‘you was with it way back when.’"
TAGS: Clothing, Fashion, Limited Edition, Sweden, T-Shirts,
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