Window Farms : The Solution to Greens & Gardens in the City

Check it out! Build your own. Listen to the NPR segment about window farms. Watch a Video about the vertical agriculture movement of Window Farms.

What are Window Farms??

Window Farms are vertical, hydroponic, modular, low-energy, high-yield edible window gardens built using low-impact or recycled local materials.

Auburn University Honored as a Tree Campus USA Univerisity

“The oak trees at Auburn University’s famous Toomer’s Corner are not the only trees getting recognition on campus.

The Arbor Day Foundation has honored Auburn University as a Tree Campus USA University for its dedication to campus and forestry management and environmental stewardship. Auburn is the first college or university in the Southeastern Conference to receive the designation.”

-Jamie Creamer : Wire Eagle : March 3, 2010

Read the rest of the story

The Vertical Garden: bellissimi fiori!

Spring has arrived!  Flora Grubb Gardens in  San Francisco, CA designed these beautiful vertical gardens. Design one for yourself  & enjoy.   Che bella vista!

On the Road to LEED GA…

Photography: Eric Laignel & Envision

The collage above features photographs of the USGBC headquarters in Washington D.C. designed by Envision Design.

I am currently auditing a LEED class through Auburn University’s interior design program.  My goal is to register, study, and pass the LEED GA examination by the end of June 2010.

While researching the U.S. Green Building Council, I have become fascinated and inspired by their Washington D.C. headquarters, designed by Envision Design.  Metropolis Magazine (June 2009) has made a very interesting case study out of the headquarters in Ultimate Client.  This article explores the intention and implementation of adapting reuse, local sourcing, and efficient use heating, cooling, and lighting.  The article gives graphic representations, explanation, and excellent photography of the completed space.  The USGBC headquarters is “the first commercial interior slated for Platinum under the organization’s revised certification program [ LEED 2009 Commercial Interiors]”.

Check it out: Ultimate Client

“The true sex appeal, of course, is in the
furnishings and finishes—the details
that make 2101 L Street the temple of
green design Fedrizzi so lusted after.”

– Metropolis Magazine : The Ultimate Client : June 2009

eBARRITO : A Store Made of Cardboard

Designer : Francesca Signori in Milan

“eBARRITO is a green-thinking brand that specializes in bags and leather accessories with100% Italian quality – its ecological integrity extends right through – even to how its sales outlets are built! They are made from specially carved and shaped cardboard.  The new eBARRITO stores consist of modular, double-pressed cardboard walls equipped with wavy-style shelving – an  effect achieved with interlocking tubular sections and modular lamps resembling bird-cages.

A fresh new ethical style with a strong visual impact created by the designer Francesca Signori for the Milan-based brand.

eBARRITO is full of hope for the future –  its new ethical approach and world made up of perceptions and sensations.”

– FRANCESCA SIGNORI

View the eBarrito website. (awesome background music too…parlo l’italiano??? tutto va bene.)

Healthcare Design

I am currently in my senior thesis studio focusing on Institutional Design (in the interior design program at Auburn University).  We are designing a woman’s and children’s hospital.

In doing research, I have found inspiration through the partnering of Parsons The New School for Design and Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Architects on their Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC).  Below is a series of images that inspire me to create a hospital that supports human healing through a connection to nature and daylighting.  Find out more.

“The goal of the students’ work was to inspire options for chemotherapy suites for patients in a satellite outpatient center in Brooklyn.

“The goal for Parsons was to challenge the roles that interior designers can play in contemporary society by shaping the physical, emotional, and psychological experience for patients in ways that empower them.” _ Staff — Interior Design, 1/12/2010

Eric Malave: Waterfeature

Tracy Ong: Treatment Center

Green Gifts with Great Prices

Cameo Recycled Vinyl Record Earings

Eco-friendly dog  jacket

Fair Trade natural clutch

Egg Planter with basil

Recycled Glasses

Roots & Shoots Table Ware

Recycled & Illuminated

Chumbo Lit Planter

Manufacturer: Sage Design

Sizes:
24”x24”x14” square
18”x18”x18 square

Construction:
Plant Size: 1 to 2 Gallons
100% Post industrial and Post consumer regrind recycled plastic.
Light fixture included.

Finish/Color: 20 standard colors. Custom colors are available.

Additional: -MADE DOMESTICALLY –

Want to learn more about green building?

Watch this! She does feng shui also. It’s interesting.

I heart “The first hotel with a conscious” = Good Hotel

Seeking out the “good in us all.”  Good Hotel is located in San Francisco, California.  I discovered this eco-friendly hotel while researching my senior thesis project for interior design.

“The Good Hotel is a hip San Francisco hotel that practices philanthropy and believes in doing good for the planet. The eco-friendly hotel décor features reclaimed and recycled construction materials. Vending machines in the lobby are stocked with wallets made from FedEx envelopes and are one example of our inventive ideas to promote a good lifestyle. We are also as fun as we are inventive. You’ll find humorous touches like “Be Good” written on walls of your room.”

Not only that but I also discovered that it gets even more unique because it offers: “Good Pizza, located at the Good Hotel, has a philosophy as simple as its name: serving artisan thin-crust pizzas made with the freshest local ingredients.”

Just when you think : that’s good enough…there is more… “ Take one of our resident bicycles for a spin -they are free to use while you stay with us.”

AND you can take your best furry friend!

Find out more…the good just keeps on getting better.  So Refreshing!