VOTE!

For my Honolulu architect friends, the AIA has opened voting for AIA members on the best of the best for the year. There is a ridiculously large amount of entrants this year, and some quite good work. Congrats HI architects, well done.

Voting only for members now....commoners vote next week.

http://www.aiahonolulu.org/vote

Energy Star project competition

The AIA is holding a competition on their Facebook page and asking us to vote as the jury. Sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), this contest features the 2010 ENERGY STAR Challenge design projects intended to achieve carbon reductions of 50 percent or better. Each building shows it's Energy Star rating and CO2 reduction. I thought it was interesting how they asked us to vote on their energy saving merits as well as their beauty. I am proud of architects today for taking responsibility for improving energy use in buildings while remembering the value we supply by creating buildings that are also beautiful. Comment on the pics in this album: http://www.facebook.com/aia 

Beautiful Venice house

This house, designed by Maya Lin (the amazing woman who designed the Vietnam Memorial www.mayalin.com) is so beautiful. It is on a little strip of land right on Venice Beach with the residence on the beach and an office in the back. Just fantastic. I love the crisp stucco/concrete look to the finish. I wonder if they used soy based wood stain....

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/home_blog/2010/05/maya-lin-designs-a-venice-house.html

Green Flooring

At the USGBC Green Home Guide site today I found this really great (and rather extensive) article on different sustainable flooring options. Too many to choose from, all with pros and cons.
http://greenhomeguide.com/green flooring



I also recently talked to a woman at a sustainable building conference in Santa Monica about green concrete sealer. She recommended this great line that is soy based of all things. Who knew? They work for wood too, with pretty good ratings in ocean front exposure.
http://www.ecoprocote.com/

modular growing wall tiles

I just can't get enough of this image. I love how they look, and how they work.

http://inhabitat.com/2010/05/19/lifewall-modular-vertical-garden-panels-clean-the-air/#more-118602

i love my president

Obama just announced a plan to use the GM bailout money to refurbish old GM plants. Can this guy get any smarter?

http://inhabitat.com/2010/05/19/president-obama-allocates-800-million-to-repurpose-old-gm-factories/

World Trade Center - actually moving forward

A great article about the current state of all the building and designing going on at the WTC site. They are finally making some progress!

http://www.architizer.com/en_us/blog/dyn/2575/2575/?utm_source=facebook_status_wtc100504

decks - double your living space

I just came across this article on outdoor decks. A few nice spots, I just can't for the life of me like wicker. Not even after almost five years living in Hawaii.

I do like the spaces that utilize change in elevation - steps. And having space in the shade next to space in the sun is always great for added comfort.

I especially like slide 8 - i love the idea of the fire pit. I am not sure what the gap around it is to the owners, but to me it screams out as a great place for a hot tub.

http://realestate.msn.com/slideshow.aspx?cp-documentid=23650068

composting - the new recycling

I just came across this news report on composting. I can't believe this has hit the mainstream. Seems like a good idea to me. Our landfills have completely stopped working, time to take on the responsibility ourselves.

http://www.wavy.com/dpp/living_green/nbc-video-composting-the-next-recycling

Here is a link to one brand of compost bin I have found. http://www.naturemill.com/