FreeGreen?

I don't want to judge this too quickly, for fear that my review will be harsh, but the existance of FreeGreen.com is hard to believe. I am formulating a response. I welcome your comments in the meantime.

"letting the green in"

I want to recommend Michelle Kaufmann's blog. Actually I think I just want to recommend her. She is a member of the AIA and is LEED® Certified. Her blog is what this one might aspire to be. . . so check her out!

Also see Michelle Kaufmann Designs, her professional website. Her site is awesome to browse--it's stylish eye candy for the sustainably minded, though that doesn't mean it has no substance. She writes intelligently and with valuable technical knowledge about the field. She presents a "going green" mantra with the phrase "let the green in." The advice she gives is practical but never approaches an inhospitable tone. Her bio boasts that "in 2002" she "began a crusade to make thoughtful, sustainable design available to all" (Bio).

Also check out her videos via her YouTube Channel.

Labels: An Architecture Groupie?

I finally realized that I am just an architecture groupie. I decided to amuse myself and searching with the google query: "define: groupie".

Definitions of groupie on the Web:

-an enthusiastic young fan (especially a young woman who follows rock groups around)

wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

-A person who seeks intimacy (most often physical, sometimes emotional) with a famous person, usually a rock band member

en.wiktionary.org/wiki/groupie

If I am either, I hope to be classified as the former. The latter is a bit creepy--especially in the present discussion.

So maybe I didn't have the experience of being a high school band groupie (though going to 3 The Dog & Everything concerts was close ample exposure for me). I suppose that the making of a groupie for a profession cannot be without its own defining factors. One of the requisites is likely to be the consideration of pursuing the field. Another may be seeking media/information about it (books, blogs, podcasts, newspaper articles, classes, etc). Being a groupie is also more active, so I would vote to include some contacting/networking to architects.

Given these criteria, I am an architecture groupie.

The original idea for this classification is from one of my uncles. He has helped me on my 'job/career search' as of late, and one day he said: "Sweetie, you don't want to wind up just being an architecture groupie." To this I quickly responded "No, of course not." Then I thought about it some more; if I was a groupie for now, and it didn't interfere with my pursuit of other paths in addition, what harm would come? I have since embraced the label and have made some architects laugh (one sly way of being a funny/entertaining groupie).

Being a groupie can occur on multiple levels. A cute quiz posted on The Muse's Muse sheds some light onto this:

6) Finally, you get to meet your [favorite singer]. During your very first conversation, you:
a) Are overcome by nerves and babble like an idiot.
b) Chat somewhat normally and ask a few polite questions.
c) Tell him you want to marry him.

Lucky for me, the closest option would have to be "b." Thank goodness. I don't know what kind of terrified responses "c" would get with architects, but that might be a nice social experiment; maybe next time.

*This post is identical to one on my other blog: Haptic Arts

Green Architect: Rob Vagniernes, Jr.

This post is similar to one on my other blog, Haptic Arts, where I include information from interviews with Chicago artists, architects and people in the 'museum world'. The broad and lofty aim of it is to make the art world more transparent/approachable.

Also on Haptic Arts, I posted a portrait of Rob V.

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Now, on to the post.

Present tense: Robert Vagnieres, Jr. sits with a large white legal pad in front of him. My legal pad is small and yellow. Perhaps the juxtaposition of these two items is trivial—but perhaps not. They are, to me, indicative of our relative positions for the conversation.

Now past tense: Let’s back up for perspective: we are sitting in Rob’s home on the south side of Chicago. Rob is an established Architect and has been practicing or on his own for 23 years. He worked with Solomon, Cordwell and Buenz for 5 years total, but set out on his own quite early. His full-service architectural firm was founded in 1985.

The “office politics” of the mega-firm were not for him. He found the small practice far more appealing. In the smaller firm, (a working definition: from 2 to 20), you are able to see the project through from start to finish and have multiple levels of involvement. Architects have been called late bloomers, but Vagnieres would chalk that up to the lack of experience that larger firms give the individual.

Valuing this individualistic, multifaceted approach is perhaps from Vagnieres’ experience in Paris. He studied there for a year during his fourth year of undergrad. He and I found common ground first on the topic of studying abroad. I studied in Florence and London, and I would recommend living/studying abroad to anyone who has the desire to do so.


After a couple hours of conversation, we reached a point of discussion which ran more deep for us both. This, I could not have imagined. We are both so passionate about green architecture that we hold the policies by the USGBC and others to very high standards. Vagnieres and I spoke about Design Tex, The Academy of Global Citizenship, Green Festival, and about being a co-chair on COTE (Committee on the Environment) for the AIA. My meeting with Vagnieres was a powerful reminder about the importance of dialog for renewing my passion for sustainability. Conversations beget more conversations.

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Philosophy (from Vagnieres' site): We strive to form an alliance between People, Architecture, and the Environment. We are a full service architectural firm founded in 1985, currently concentrating on projects that coincide with our own personal philosophies and beliefs of creating environmentally and ecologically responsible projects. Over the last 20 years we have been responsible for over 80 million dollars worth of hospitality, commercial, and renovation projects in Chicago and the U.S. The firm’s principal, Robert C. Vagnieres, Jr., A.I.A., NCARB, has experience since 1976 in all phases of design, construction, project management and consultation. We dedicate ourselves to our basic business philosophy of developing long term client relationships through prompt and efficient professional service with personal involvement in the specific challenges of each project.

Water Conservation

Since my last post, I have been doing some research about water conservation. Here are some tips on conserving water at home. The best site for this information compiled: Sahra

-Get your house checked for leaky pipes
-For your toilet, twice a year add a few drops of food coloring to the tank. If the colored water enters the bowl on its own, then you know you need to have it repaired. (Thanks to this link.)
-Run the dishwasher only when it is full.
-Take shorter showers (sorry)
-Water your lawn in the morning, since moisture is mostly evaporated by the sun.
-Install low-flow faucets



Also, I like the line by designer Linda Loudermilk called Water is a Human Right. Her necklace (pictured above) is gorgeous and would be a fantastic conversation piece. Afterall, conversations make all the difference as we try to move toward sustainability.

Grey/Graywater in Homes

Water recycling can start at home. Reusing the excess water that contains trace amounts of dirt, soap, etc. makes sense from any vantage. Saving the water from traveling outside your home will make a huge impact for you and the environment. An icon of water management was featured in a Dwell Magazine Article in November 2007: The Clovelly House. The home's "sustainable showpiece—a pocket-sized water-treatment plant" can store " nearly 800 gallons of rainwater collected on the roof." The water collected from the roof is reused for everything shy of consumption (drinking and cooking). The impetus for these clients was dialog: "The whole point was to contribute to the discussion of green energy—to show it is possible to do these sorts of things" Mary Henning, one if the inhabitants told Dwell for the article.

Greywater (or graywater*, depending on your spelling background) Here are two publications (PDFs):

Washington Greywater

Arizona graywater brochure 10-07

*Parenthetically, I would argue that not only is the presence of 2 spellings poetic ('a grey/gray area'), but a neat way to think of it is that gray is a color, grey is a colour!

Compliments for the AIA Podcast, thoughts on the Ninth Ward

I am an avid podcast listener (anytime the topic comes up, or rather, when I bring it up, I recommend All in the Mind, Science Friday, and Musecast, among others). It is a joke among my friends how often I will bring up my 'exciting new discoveries' from podcasts. My most recent discovery is this: AIA Podcasts, and I am extremely impressed by the series (available for free download on iTunes or at AIA PodNet). I have thus fas listened to eleven in the span of six days. They are my new favorite commuting companion for my daily (and lengthy) Chicago "El" time. I regard podcasts as something that make my commute "worthwhile" because I am learning and thinking critically and listening to (usually) extremely intelligent people discuss and dissect topics of interest. They are a wellspring of knowledge and stimulating ideas.

The AIA podcasts have been particularly interesting since I am now seriously considering going into a career in architecture; but I digress.

I would particularly recommend the episode called Green Homebuilding by Design, featuring Peter L. Pfeiffer, FAIA, LEED AP, NCARB. Pfeiffer's comments are remarkably insightful and clear. His strong criticism of architect's proposals for Brad Pitt's MIR Project in the New Orleans Ninth Ward was a genuine reaction to an important issue. I do not know if I fully share the same sentiments as Pheiffer, but I can say that his tongue-in-cheek remark "what are we gonna do, gentrify the Ninth Ward?" is critically important as a specific and also a broader question.

Sustainability is sometimes perceived as achievable and other times irreconcilable to our current lifestyles. In architecture and design, professionals must consider the (potential) buyer or client and approach every project as unique. In a project like MIR, I wonder if the point that Pfeiffer is speaking to is an arguably gray area. Since Brad Pitt's name is on the project, I would imagine the inherent publicity could attract buyers looking for more upscale homes. However, I hope that the aim of meeting basic needs and having affordable housing for the original inhabitants of the still-rebuilding city is the foremost concern. I want to be clear that I do not know how these homes are being funded or who they are being sold to, I am merely speculating and reflecting based on Pfeiffer's commentary and what I could garner from the MIR site; if anyone wants to correct me or give me more information I would be interested to learn more about the project.

Here are some images from MIR's site:

Above image by Concordia


Above image by Billes


Above image by MVRDV

I would like to offer my praises for the AIA podcast with one point of criticism: the AIA PodNet website is not the easiest to browse. It would, in my opinion as a site visitor, be a more accessible series if first the transcripts were offered and second if the episodes could be viewed chronologically rather than divided into four categories (design, leadership, practice, and building performance). Regardless, I applaud the AIA for having such a fascinating spectrum of interviewees and topics, M.J. Crosbie for being an impressive interviewer, and the AIA for extending this information to the public in the exceptionally accessible arena of podcasts. It is important for architecture to be accessible. It is, afterall, 'the unavoidable art.'

UPDATE/ADDENDUM: I recently read that there the MIR project is "funding 150 affordable and sustainable homes in an area leveled by Katrina". This info and more can be seen in this PDF: http://www.cherokeefund.com/pdfs/MIR%20Cherokee%20Press%20Release.pdf