sustainable style foundation*

Just when you think green roofs are catching on, an innovative architect gives us green walls. Mass Studies' principle Minsuk Cho recently designed Belgian fashion designer Ann Demeulemeester's new store in Seoul with forests, ferns and lizards in mind. The latest of six projects that incorporate living surfaces, Cho feels this is his best yet.

Gradon over at Design Boston has put together an awesome list of scholarships for interior design students. IFDA, ASID, and IIDA are all there and as Gradon points out, there aren't many folks applying for them. As they say in Vegas...them's good numbers.

New Orleans natives Harry Connick, Jr. and Bradford Marsalis recently teamed up with the New Orleans Habitat for Humanity to create Musicians' Village, a community that will both provide housing to NOLA musicians affected by Katrina, as well as a focal point for teaching, sharing and preserving the rich musical tradition of the city. The project also includes the new Ellis Marsalis Center. From the website..."Another important innovation in the Musicians’ Village effort is the inclusion of the Ellis Marsalis Center for Music, named in honor of the New Orleans native and legendary jazz pianist, educator and patriarch of the Marsalis clan. Focusing on the ethnically and culturally diverse musical heritage of the city, the Center will include a 150-seat performance space with state-of-the-art lighting and sound. The Center will also support the growth of emerging New Orleans talent and music by providing classrooms, technical and administrative support, and producing the accomplishments of its students. These facilities will be available for residents of Musicians’ Village as well as artists and students citywide." From horns to hammers, here's to sweat harmonies in the 9th Ward!

I (Sean here) was the proud recipient of a Make It Right (MIR) Caputo Cap this holiday season. Made with eco-friendly materials, proceeds from the hat will help build sustainable homes in New Orleans. Brad Pitt has been doing a lot down in NOLA given his sustainable housing work with Global Green and all so I wasn't surprised to find him behind Make it Right and its Pink Project. The very hip hat is sold out now but there are still quite a few items for you environistas out there including another cap, t-shirts, and cool totebags made from recycled Pink Project materials.

We just came across this very cool website, Urban Reinventors. Great look and feel plus lots of great articles on the ideas of urbanism...both positive and negative. There are beautiful images, innovative ideas, and lots of other materials on the topic, both artistic and academic. The site was recently reworked and their second issue of their online magazine adds a lot more to the mix as well.

Terry, a “multi-disciplinary” website produced by folks from the University of British Columbia, is sponsoring a gingerbread house contest with a twist: all the houses must contain at least “four identifiable, sustainable building design elements.” Not so tough, you think? Here’s the hard part – everything has to be edible. By people. Not goats.

Time is running out, and all entries must be submitted by midnight PST, December 31, 2007. The top three finishers will all get a Bake For a Change t-shirt, and of course, all entrants get bragging rights and dessert for a week.

(Pier Paolo - Torino, Italia) The recent appointment of Seoul as World Design Capital in 2010 could be interpreted in two different ways at least. From one hand we could read the attempt to free South Korea from the stereotyped image of the ICT Nation above all. On the other hand we could consider the effort to include a lot of design Korean actions under the same umbrella named Design. In short, the attempt to boost quality and exports of Korean car district well represented by companies such as Hyundai, Kia or Daewoo, considered worldwide as the second regional business segment after IT (with two Korean pillars: Samsung and LG). And giving authoritativeness to international events such as Design Korea, founded in 2003 and now arrived at the third appointment. This event (International conference, exhibition and so on) very attractive for the international design community, has the cultural objective to put together ideas, design policies, associations, institutions, designers, critics and students. And they do it very well under the coordination of KIDP (Korean Institute of Design Promotion), the real motor of all these events.

Therefore the mayor of Seoul, Oh Se-Hoon, last October (when the city was named World Design Capital 2010) mentioned the so call “miracle on the Han river”. This is the period between Sixties and Seventies in which there was an extraordinary and rapid economic and industrial growth in Seoul, the city in which the river Han flows. So Seoul triumphed over cities such as Dubai, Singapore and Toronto and it is really worthy of this appointment beacuse of all the efforts to support a real international culture of industrial design at different levels. The Korean city and its area (which has about 20 million of inhabitants) will be for one year backstage and background of the design events. However my feeling is that Seoul is already an ICT and design international capital.

It seems that WDC nomination is going to move rapidly from cities that consider design as an instrument for transformation and social-economic change (this condition seemed to be really important at the beginning of the award WDC), to capitals already known as design or ICT cities.

In short, from an award to virtuous cities with their processes of transformations to an award to industrial districts and companies. Of course this nomination is a positive message for European cities such as Barcelona, London, Milan, they will have more chances to get this award. What about other fizzy and interesting cities such as Valencia or Gwangju?

(picture by Sergio Corsaro)

(Pier Paolo - Torino, Italia) - Apologizing for my basic English I am starting blogging today, first post, first pictures, of course from Torino, the city where I live. A special thank to Sean who invited me to join SSF, I am really proud to do this. Why blogging from Torino? First because the city has been changing a lot for 5-6 years, when was appointed to be Winter Olympic Games in 2006. After the Games, the city has continued to enhance its development and now we are approaching the Year of Design. Torino has been changing very rapidly from One company Town (Fiat Group Automobiles) to a city of services, of culture, of creativity, arts and sports. And the city today shows all the signs of this profound transformation.

Now we are awaiting 2011 when we will be celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Unification of Italy. In the meantime the city will be the first World Design Capital for one year, a leading project of the International Design Alliance (IDA), currently managed by the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design (ICSID). Twelve months of events, exibitions in Torino and in the entire region to offer a clear vision on the design culture in Piedmont. A design approach that sometimes seems bold and multi-faceted, other times hidden, anyway almost always high level projects.

The real commencement of the World Design events was fixed for the New Year’s Eve of Design, December 31, 2007. After that the programme will tie up with the well established calendar of fairs, exhibitions and festivals that take place in the city’s major venues all through the year. For instance in October the main subject will be design and food, to coincide with the Taste Fair and Terra Madre World Food Meeting edited by Slow Food movement. In November the focus will be on the relationship between art, media and industrial design (Torino Art Fair and Torino Film Festival) and before the summer period two important appointments: “Changing the Change: Design Visions, Proposals and Tools”: this is the title of a conference that will be held on July 10-12, 2008 at the Politecnico di Torino in the framework of Torino 2008 World Design Capital. It will highligt new visions in the field of sustainability and outline the state of the art of ecodesign research. The second event is the 23rd International Union of Architects World Congress that will bring to Torino the International community of architects, planners and designers (June 29-July 3). Green will be the colour of the visual communication of the Year of Design. Why green? First because green represents the combination of the two “corporate” colours of Torino: blue and yellow.Second because it occupies a central position on the scale of human visual perception, it is the colour of reason and of course also the one of sustainable design (green design, eco-design, systems design).

Last but not least I want to mention the Luci d’Artista works and installations. It is a real art gallery en plein air set in streets and squares of Torino from November to February. It has become one of the symbols of the city for 10 years. The 2007 edition includes 19 installations with the well known works of Rebecca Horn, Nicola De Maria and Mario Merz (who used the first Fibonacci numbers written with red neon on one side of the Mole Antonelliana four-faced dome).

Torino, Italia (Pier Paolo) - Apologizing for my basic English I am starting blogging today, first post, first pictures, of course from Torino, the city where I live. A special thank to Sean who invited me to join SSF, I am really proud to do this. Why blogging from Torino? First because the city has been changing a lot for 5-6 years, when was appointed to be Winter Olympic Games in 2006. After the Games, the city has continued to enhance its development and now we are approaching the Year of Design. Torino has been changing very rapidly from One company Town (Fiat Group Automobiles) to a city of services, of culture, of creativity, arts and sports. And the city today shows all the signs of this profound transformation.

Now we are awaiting 2011 when we will be celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Unification of Italy. In the meantime the city will be the first World Design Capital for one year, a leading project of the International Design Alliance (IDA), currently managed by the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design (ICSID). Twelve months of events, exibitions in Torino and in the entire region to offer a clear vision on the design culture in Piedmont. A design approach that sometimes seems bold and multi-faceted, other times hidden, anyway almost always high level projects.

The real commencement of the World Design events was fixed for the New Year’s Eve of Design, December 31, 2007. After that the programme will tie up with the well established calendar of fairs, exhibitions and festivals that take place in the city’s major venues all through the year. For instance in October the main subject will be design and food, to coincide with the Taste Fair and Terra Madre World Food Meeting edited by Slow Food movement. In November the focus will be on the relationship between art, media and industrial design (Torino Art Fair and Torino Film Festival) and before the summer period two important appointments: “Changing the Change: Design Visions, Proposals and Tools”: this is the title of a conference that will be held on July 10-12, 2008 at the Politecnico di Torino in the framework of Torino 2008 World Design Capital. It will highligt new visions in the field of sustainability and outline the state of the art of ecodesign research. The second event is the 23rd International Union of Architects World Congress that will bring to Torino the International community of architects, planners and designers (June 29-July 3). Green will be the colour of the visual communication of the Year of Design. Why green? First because green represents the combination of the two “corporate” colours of Torino: blue and yellow.Second because it occupies a central position on the scale of human visual perception, it is the colour of reason and of course also the one of sustainable design (green design, eco-design, systems design).

Last but not least I want to mention the Luci d’Artista works and installations. It is a real art gallery en plein air set in streets and squares of Torino from November to February. It has become one of the symbols of the city for 10 years. The 2007 edition includes 19 installations with the well known works of Rebecca Horn, Nicola De Maria and Mario Merz (who used the first Fibonacci numbers written with red neon on one side of the Mole Antonelliana four-faced dome).

I attended the International Sustainability Institute's Trash Fashion Bash tonight and must say that I was totally blown away by the amount and quality of the designs. Many of the designs were from the fabulous design divas at Haute Trash but there were many local designers that wowed the crowd too, from a tofu packaging wedding gown by Chaco to women's business suit made from circuit boards. And then there were the models! Several SSF favorites including Lynne Baker (pictured at left) part of the City of Seattle's green building team (and frequent SSF OSSA Award judge), Diane Sugimura, Director of Planning & Develolpment for the city of Seattle, Joanie Parsons of Parsons Public Relations, Kaye Smith-Blum of Butch Blum who was one of the evenings MCs. There were many other architects, urban planners, and even several budding high schoolers striking a pose for sustainability as well. Any why did the models look so fabulous you ask, well, becuase SSF Co-founder and Senior Stylist Rebecca Luke was on the scene in wearing her les Egoistes hat training all those high-profile sustainability celebs how to strike a pose on the runway of course. All in all, another great example of how we all can look fabulous, live well, and do good.

SSF is a big fan of utilizing design to incorporate more sustainable ideas, practices and products into our lives. Sometimes, though, we like to think about these things on a larger scale and work more on systems rather than just products and stuff. One of the ways to do this, and really have a more sustainable lifestyle, is to undertake a major home project, like a remodel, and incorporate as many sustainable designs as possible along the way. We like to think of it as going green, from the inside out.

Thanks to the advent and explosion in popularity of blogs, there are lots of ways to keep an eye on this process. A new one that is doing a pretty thorough job of this is called EcoVertex, which we found through our friends at Apartment Therapy in San Francisco. The blog follows the ins and outs of a home remodel, sustainble-style, of one Celia Canfield. One of the things we like best about it is that Celia doesn't claim any expertise or have a whole lot of experience thinking about and sourcing green ideas and products; even so, she's discovered Richlite countertops, has thought through the idea of carbon offsets as a guilty pleasure, and found a favorite green paint. The best part: she's learning as she goes and is showing that you don't have to be a pro to really dig in to green design and green products for all the right reasons. If you're thinking about (or are already in the middle of) re-thinking your home and remodeling a room or two, we recommend taking a peek. It looks like they post about once a week, but each post is substantive and thoughtful; check out more at her blog. [EcoVertex] via [Apartment Therapy]

Yesterday, the American Institute of Archiects' (AIA) Committee on the Environment (COTE) announced their selection of this year’s Top Ten examples of "sustainable projects that protect and enhance the natural environment." The selected projects leverage design for good, each addressing significant environmental challenges by thoughtfully combining architecture, technology, and natural systems. This year's list showcases how pervasive green building has become, with a wide variety of projects, including a single family home (LivingHomes' Z6, pictured), a library, two nonprofit headquarters, a school, and a water treatment facility that doubles as a park. Though limited to 10 entries (to go in the "top 10"), the judges awarded four "honorable mentions" because they felt that there were so many outstanding projects, a "Top Ten Awards" first. Now, without further ado, the recipients are, in alphabetical order:

• EpiCenter, Artists for Humanity (Arrowstreet, Inc.), Boston, MA
• Global Ecology Research Center (EHDD Architects), Stanford, CA
• Government Canyon Visitor Center (Lake/Flato Architects), Helotes, TX
• Hawaii Gateway Energy Center (Ferraro Choi and Associates), Kailua-Kona, HI
• Heifer International (Polk Stanley Rowland Curzon Porter Architects, Ltd.), Little Rock, AR
• Sidwell Friends Middle School (Kieran Timberlake Associates), Washington, DC
• Wayne L. Morse U.S. Courthouse (Morphosis & DLR Group), Eugene, OR
• Whitney Water Purification Facility (Steven Holl Architects), New Haven, CT
• Willingboro Master Plan & Public Library (Croxton Collaborative Architects, PC), Willingboro, NJ
• Z6 House (LivingHomes with Ray Kappe Architects), Santa Monica, CA

2007 Top Ten Award Honorable Mentions

• Gerding Theater at the Armory (GBD Architects, Inc.), Portland, OR
• Provincetown Art Association and Museum (Machado and Silvetti Associates), Provincetown, MA
• Stillwell Avenue Terminal Train Shed (Kiss + Cathcart Architects), New York, NY
• William J. Clinton Presidential Center (Polshek Partnership Architects), Little Rock, AR

Congratulations to all the recipients and those who received honorable mentions! Read more about the awards here. [American Institute of Architects]

Attention, sustainable stylers in New York: Architecture and fashion come together to produce the 2007 Project Earth Day fashion show, a showcase for the future of clothing featuring sustainable practices and materials from up & coming designers. Presented by Teknion, o2-NYC, Green Drinks and the New York chapter of Emerging Green Builders (part of the US Green Building Council), the show will featured the work of SSF pals aGaiN NYC, loyale clothing, Terra Plana and many more of the best in sustainable fashion. Garments made of reused material and sustainable fibers like organic cotton, hemp, soy, bamboo, seacell (seaweed), tencel (wood pulp) with recycled fiber fabrics such as POP (recycled soda pop bottles) and INEGO (created from corn) will strut their stuff, along with a student competition showcasing wears made from recycled and biodegradable textiles with a cash prize of $1500 and a mentorship opportunity awarded to the winner. A chic runway with a bamboo backdrop constructed from salvaged materials and flooring made from recycled detergent bottles provides the backdrop for the event.

What will we be wearing tomorrow? The beautiful future of sustainable style will be this Thursday, April 19th at the Teknion Showroom at 641 Ave of the Americas (here's a map) from 6:00 – 9:00 pm. Get more details at Project Earth Day's site. [Project Earth Day 2007]

The modern, sustainable prefab homes designed by LivingHomes have exploded onto the green building scene this year with the first residence to receive the US Green Building Council's Platinum LEED certification. Steve Glenn is not just the founder & CEO; he's also a client (so to speak), moving in to the prototype after it opened and living there ever since. He sat down with Alissa Walker from Core77 to chat about green building for the residential sector, modern prefab and where the two meet, and the result is a pretty interesting conversation. It's available for listening and as a download from Core77's site (or just click on his picture at left); Glenn's home is also available to virtually tour at livinghomes.net. [LivingHomes] via [Core77]

The good people at Natural Home Magazine are hard at work building their first show house in Brooklyn; upon completion, it looks like it'll not only be an excellent example of urban green building, but will be New York City’s first American Lung Association Health House. This means that the building must meet stringent certification standards that address moisture and humidity control, energy efficiency, air filtration and ventilation, and materials emissions, but that's just the start of its green credentials. Solar electric panels will provide electricity in the building, and an innovative hybrid solar-thermal and gas-fired system will heat and cool the home. Eco-friendly materials will include cement made from fly ash (waste from power plants), countertops made from recycled glass, bamboo flooring finished with low-VOC water-based poly, and kitchen cabinets made from sorghum stalks -- whew! Pictures of the burgeoning project are in the Jan/Feb 2007 issue of the mag, and online as well (looks like they'll be more pics in this month's issue, too), where you can also check out the plans and get more details about the project. The building was damaged in a fire and originally slated for demolition before being resurrected by Natural Home -- gotta love that! We can't wait to see it when it's done. [Natural Home Magazine] via [Apartment Therapy]