Bottle Bank Arcade Machine
October 30, 2009 at 6:51 pm | Posted in Sustainable Practices | Leave a commentTags: arcade game, bottle bank, recycling
What a fun way to get people excited about recycling!
Greening The Blueprint
October 28, 2009 at 4:01 pm | Posted in Green Architecture, Sustainable Practices, Urban planning | Leave a commentTags: eco-innovative, green, hewlett-packard, one planet, san francisco magazine, solar energy
Excerpt from San Francisco Magazine’s article titled “Greening the Blueprint”, featuring seven eco-innovative projects. Credit to Joanne Furio, Photographs by Tim Griffith. Here’s #2!
2: Suburban utopia
INNOVATION: LOW-EMISSION SUBDIVISION
With their water-quaffing lawns, gas-guzzling cars, and gadget-laden McMansions, the suburbs might seem too far gone to be worth the bother for climate-change pioneers. Yet considering that almost a third of Americans live in these low-density areas, you can’t exactly write them off—and one company hasn’t. Codding Enterprises, of Rohnert Park, is the developer behind Sonoma Mountain Village, North America’s first One Planet Community. The company plans to convert a 200-acre former Hewlett-Packard campus into a mixed-use, pedestrian-oriented community of 1,900 homes. Based in London, One Planet, a subsidiary osolar energyf the nonprofit BioRegional, promotes a system that’s even greener than LEED: BioRegional claims that each of its Sonoma homes will be powered entirely by solar energy.
Photograph courtesy of Codding Enterprises
Every project One Planet develops must adhere to 10 eco-friendly precepts, including zero carbon, zero waste, and the use of sustainable materials. But key to the Sonoma Mountain plan is the “five-minute living” layout, which enables residents to walk to stores, offices, restaurants, and schools. Each zero-emission home will be framed in steel (instead of wood) from eight recycled cars, and during construction, the biggest greenhouse-gas savings will come from a 50 percent reduction in the use of concrete. (The production of concrete is what generates the emissions.) In 2008, Sonoma Mountain was awarded California’s most prestigious environmental honor, the Governor’s Environmental and Economic Leadership Award, for its model comprehensive land-use planning. Ironically, Codding Enterprises helped establish the very suburban model that it’s now aiming to reverse. For years, the company made its mark by building shopping centers in Santa Rosa. But when Brad Baker, the stepson of 92-year-old founder Hugh Codding, took the helm as CEO five years ago, he decided to shift the company’s focus more toward sustainable development. Around the same time, Baker started a biodiesel company called Community Fuels, in Encinitas. “We liked the idea of applying green to real estate,” he says. If all goes as planned—some rezoning and environmental approvals are pending—Codding will break ground on the first Sonoma Mountain homes in the middle of next year. The Bay Area may even become ground zero in the United States for One Planet: Renowned architectural firm Gensler is already working on another of the nonprofit’s communities in Stockton.
CREW-SV November Program
October 16, 2009 at 11:31 pm | Posted in Design Trends | Leave a commentTags: bob cox, commercial real estate women, CREW, google, herman miller, multi generational workforce, silicon valley, workplace design, workplace strategist, workplace trends
So I’m really actively involved with the CREW-SV chapter (Commercial Real Estate Women, Silicon Valley). I’m serving on the Board this year as Chapter Secretary, and I’m also part of the Programs Committee. We’re putting together our November program which will be focused on the Workplace. I invited Bob Cox, a Workplace Strategist from Herman Miller (and former Gensler employee!) to come speak about 4 topics:
- Where office environments are headed and what matters to tenants today
- How the four generations in the work force affect work place design, and why it matters
- How work place design fosters creativity and business innovation
- Emerging trends in the work place, including regional trends specific to the Silicon Valley.
In addition to Bob, we want to have an end user or client come in and speak about how they’re applying these principals within their own work space and transforming their work environment. I’m struggling to come up with the “perfect” presenter and definitely looking for some feedback/leads. It should be a company that’s doing something really innovative and cool that can show photos of their space and talk about why they’re making they changes they are, or a really recognizable company like Google, because everyone is always curious to see what they’re doing.
Anyone have any suggestions or leads for me?? Our lunch program is on November 3, so I’m quickly running out of time to get another presenter lined up. Thanks!
Ansel Adams Exhibit at San Jose Museum of Art
September 17, 2009 at 3:28 am | Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a commentTags: ansel adams, exhibition, nature, photography, san jose museum of art
So this exhibition of Ansel Adams pieces just started on September 5th at the San Jose Museum of Art. It’s called Ansel Adams: Early Works and I really want to make sure I go see it while it’s on display. I have plenty of time since the exhibition lasts through the end of February, yay!
Project Open Hand & The Plate-to-Plate 5K
August 31, 2009 at 3:09 am | Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a commentTags: 5k run, 5k walk, baseball game, colorado rockies, grand slam, plate to plate, project open hand, red power divas, san francisco giants, seek balance, sweep
So today I participated in a 5k run/walk in San Francisco to benefit Project Open Hand. The event was called the Plate-to-Plate run because you get to cross home plate at AT&T Park (home of the San Francisco Giants) and because Project Open Hand provides meals to those who are elderly, shut-ins, people affected by HIV, etc. Plate…..to plate!
I found out about the event from gals in my walking/running club, the Red Power Divas. We’re a very diverse group of women of all ages, sizes, races, physical abilities….you name it! You know, we’re not even exclusive to women — there are Divo men too! We’re training for the San Jose Rock and Roll Half Marathon, but we each have our own personal goals. Some of us just want to be able to walk a mile, and some of us are really competitive and want to win a race. What’s so fun about the Divas is that no matter what, everone is welcome and accepted! Idigress…
I’m certainly more of a “blue-cheese stuffed olive gin martini” gal, and not so much the “wheat grass shot” gal, but I love the Red Power Divas and I love getting together with them for training and events. I had a great day where I was motivated to be the best ME I could be, and challenge myself physically and mentally. I did better than I thought I could do and felt great to have risen to my own personal challenge. Of course all while “seeking balance” and still enjoying a post-event beer and meal at Momo’s before the baseball game.
As part of our race entry fee, we each got a ticket to the Giants game, so we could watch the professionals cross home plate, which really wasn’t as glorious as each of us crossing the plate. The baseball game was great! The Giants swept the Colorado Rockies in a come-from-behind victory, and there was even a Giants Grand Slam!! So exciting! I had an amazing day with a wonderful group of people. Thank you, San Francisco, for putting on such a nice show for us!
ANEWfound.org
August 26, 2009 at 4:18 am | Posted in Green Architecture, Sustainable Practices | Leave a commentTags: anewfound.org, donations, FF&E, landfill, recycling
ANEW: Doing What’s Right with What’s Left
Do you ever wonder what to do with office furniture that’s left behind when a tenant’s lease expires? Or what to do with old carpet, doors, ceilings and millwork when you refresh your office space? ANEW is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to collecting, organizing and repurposing surplus furniture, fixtures and equipment (FF&E) for donation to the underserved and those who support them.
The construction industry generates incredible amounts of waste every year that get sent to the landfills, or if we’re lucky, are managed to be recycled into new products. ANEW is “doing what’s right with what’s left”, which means that are able to divert materials from the landfill and donate them to non-profit organizations in need, including schools, public agencies and community programs.
ANEW will visit your site, assess the materials that may be able to be donated (or recycled), and match you with a recipient. They handle the logistics of schedule, furniture disassembly and removal, transportation and shipping, and delivery to the recipient. At completion, they also provide you with tax receipts and a sustainability certificate that highlights your commitment to environmental responsibility.
Gensler offices in Southern California have partnered with this organization previously, but I’d love to get something happening with them in the Bay Area and nationwide. If you’re interested in learning more about ANEW, please visit their website at www.anewfound.org, or email info@anewfound.org for more information.
Barbie Flagship Store….in Shanghai?
August 14, 2009 at 4:05 pm | Posted in Retail | Leave a commentTags: barbie, flagship store, shanghai
Barbie Flagship Store in Shanghai
So I tend to think of Barbie as an American icon. Little girls in the US have grown up with this doll as the epitome of a beautiful, sunny California blonde, right? So I guess I’m a little surprised that the first ever Barbie flagship store, designed by New York based firm Slade Architecture, is in Shanghai. Shouldn’t it be here somewhere in the US? Do the Chinese love Barbie even more than we do?!
At any rate, the store interior looks fun and of course is bathed in pink. So girly! And from the looks of the spiral staircase, this is where Barbies go to “heaven”.
Photos plucked from the article here: DesignBoom
International Left-Hander’s Day!
August 13, 2009 at 9:34 pm | Posted in Architecture, Everyday life | Leave a commentTags: left-handed
Today is International Left-Hander’s Day! Given the chart below, I would think an architecture and design firm would have a higher percentage of lefties than other the general public. Take the poll below…and enjoy the day, Lefties!!
The Dog That Really Was??
August 13, 2009 at 3:38 am | Posted in Everyday life | 2 CommentsTags: dogs, fate, fleas, stray dog
Ok, so last week I posted about the dog I found, but then later found the owner. Boo hoo. Well, today I’m walking my dog after work, and the same little dog is wandering around by my house off-leash!! I get close to her, the dogs sniff each other, and Iscoop the tiny thing into my arms. She’s filthy, shaking, and covered in fleas. Awwww, no one has been taking good care of her, and she got out again!! I carried her home, bathed her twice to kill as many fleas as I could, and gave her some food and water. She seems to be getting along well with my dog and seems totally happy that someone is giving her some love and care. I don’t kn0w, is it totally wrong if I don’t make a huge effort to find the family that “owns” her again? They don’t seem to be taking good care of her. I feel like this dog needs me, and to find her twice? It just seems meant to be!!
Dogs at Play
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