Joshua Foss, principal of Thrive Design Studio and ambassador for the Living Building Challenge, recently completed this clean and contemporary kitchen renovation in a home near Theodore Wirth Park. Foss and the owners went with a color palette that, in the end, resembles nature in many ways. The light blue walls resemble water or clear blue skies, the steel and aluminum mimic smooth stones, and the cabinets and floors ground the space with wood.
The web is alive with news that a Taiwan company has built a three-level exhibition hall — EcoARK — using about 1.5 million plastic bottles. According to Reuters, the building was commissioned by Far Eastern Group and will be donated to city government in Taipei. But what's really interesting is the fact that the objects used for the facade are more than simple plastic waste bottles. The product being used here is called Polli-Brick from Hymini.
What's black and blue and all over the wall? It's Newsworthy, a recycled content wall covering from Weitzner Limited. Newsworthy is being offered in the company's Spring 2010 collection and, according to the New York Times, sells trade for $125 per yard (47 inches wide). It's kind of like grasscloth in that 100% real newspaper strips are woven together and paperbacked for application to the wall. And, as you might imagine, coloring tends to vary.
Whether you’re looking for an innovative material for wall paneling, interior signage, or some furniture piece, ECOR may just be the right choice. ECOR is made through a proprietary process with old newspapers, old cardboard, and various agricultural fibers, including processed bovine fibers, commercial fiber crops, and other residue fibers. You can see how this is done in the video below.
If you work with LEED, you’re familiar with FSC, and if you read good books and magazines, you’ve probably seen both SFI and FSC. FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) and SFI (Sustainable Forestry Initiative) both certify and provide labels for wood and paper products. Consumers look to these for comfort with regard to environmental impact and sustainable harvesting of wood, but after you read Monte Paulsen’s five-part series on the topic for The Tyee, you may not be so sure about what’s going on.
Project Profiles
