Eco-friendly hardware can certainly be a challenge to find, but Eleek Incorporated of Portland, Oregon offers a hip line of recycled metal hardware for your home.  Their offerings include door handles, door pulls, switch-plates, house numbers, and signs in addition to unique lighting options and beautiful recycled metal sinks for bath and kitchen. 

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Why not build a prefab almost entirely out of reclaimed materials?  That’s what Reclaimed Space founder Tracen Gardner wants to do.  Mr. Gardner was in between contracting jobs and began constructing a portable building using primarily reclaimed materials.  In the process, he liked what he was doing so much that he decided to create Reclaimed Space to continue building modular, passively-designed cabins.  To start off with, the company will build spaces from 240 square feet and at prices in the range of $115 to $160 psf (min. $25k). 

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• Blue is the new green.
• Green gap: who’s doing all the green work?
• First carbon neutral zone created in U.S.
• Boston: an old city learns new green tricks.
• Debating the green building premium.
• Smart power grid will create ~$65 B industry. 
• Why are green apartments so rare in D.C.?
• Tired of high water bills?  Harvest the rain.
• Big box reuse grows as a phenomenon.

Blogs worth reading: Sustainably + Design Green.

 

The classroom of the future was on display throughout Greenbuild 2008 and it’s safe to say that attendees were impressed.  Project FROG built the classroom using their FROG Zero system of modular construction — a zero-energy building system.  What’s interesting, though, is that the contractor, Fisher Development, assembled and finished it in six days.  And it’s beautiful inside and out.  The company has received venture funding and can sell their classrooms for 25% cheaper than the competition.  Soon enough, we’ll all be able to watch the proliferation of healthy, architecturally-designed learning environments.

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Although not really a convention-type person, I must say that Greenbuild 2008 was quite enjoyable.  By official count, it appears that 29,752 people attended, which is absolutely phenomenal.  There’s seriously something, I don’t know, magical, for lack of a better word, about being surrounded by such diverse people with a similar interest in green building.  I spent the entire time talking with and learning from those around me — which is why I certainly plan to attend next year.  If you weren’t able to attend, you’ll be able to catch some videos on Greenbuild365 in the future.  In the mean time, I’ve listed a few news tidbits that you may find interesting:

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