One Silly Green Goose » Design

ACADIA 09: reForm() Building a Better Tomorrow

Poonam Sharma — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 22:38:04 +0000

I am attending the ACADIA conference in Chicago this week and am impressed by the both the city and the innovative projects presented there. ACADIA, the Association for Computer Aided Design in Architecture has held a conference in a different city and with a different theme each year for the past 29 years. This year’s theme was appropriately “Building a Better Tomorrow” and the projects demonstrate how hardware, software and middleware technologies can transform the way buildings perform, act and operate.

One thing that really stood out to me about the work was a nearly ubiquitous bottom-up approach where the designer started with the material, technology or unity, developed a mock-up to explore its potential, subjected it to various experiments and then made adjustments or second and third versions based on their findings in an iterative design process. This approach seems like a natural one for scientists, but also signifies a return to craft that has profound implications on both the way architecture is taught in schools and the relationship between architects and fabricators in practice. Ultimately, the prospect of architects actually making things is exciting. Well at it’s least more exciting than drawing lines on an Autocad screen. But this bottom up approach also seems like a much more fluid way to achieve innovation and makes me wonder if architects haven’t been swimming against the current for the past couple of decades.

I will showcase some of the innovative projects from ACADIA 09 in the next few posts so stay tuned…

Green Pieces Puzzles by TDC Games

Poonam Sharma — Wed, 13 May 2009 21:09:10 +0000

The Green Pieces jigsaw puzzles by TDC Games takes sustainability to the next level, by not only using recycled and renewable materials, but also embedding an added value to the puzzle that is implemented after the puzzle has outlived its usefulness. Backed by recycled paper imbued with wildflower seeds, once you are done with the puzzle, you can literally throw the puzzle pieces on the earth and watch them grow into flowers!

The Green Pieces jigsaw puzzles are 100% Recycled, 100% Renewable, 100% Biodegradable and 100% Carbon Neutral.

Although not currently C2C certified, The Green Pieces jigsaw puzzle embodies the holistic principals of cradle-to-cradle design described in the book Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things by William McDonough and Michael Braungart. The book warns that, although recycling slows down the process, the products of our consumption inevitably end up as waste sitting in a landfill. Reducing consumption is a solution to combat this inevitability- but not a very fun one. Instead McDonough and Braungart, inspired by nature, propose a sustainable solution of guilt-free growth, prosperity and abundance, where consumer products are designed as either biological or technical nutrients.

Biological nutrients are materials or products designed to be a part of a biological cycle, or in other words, designed to be consumed by animals and/or microorganisms and eventually return to the earth as nourishment (think composting).

The Green Pieces jigsaw puzzles by TDC Games is a great example of a product designed as a biological nutrient to be returned to the earth as nourishment once it has outlived its primary use. Kudos to TDC Games for taking a holistic, cradle-to-cradle approach to creating a great product!

The Best Free LEED Resources Online

Poonam Sharma — Sat, 09 May 2009 14:46:33 +0000

Thinking about taking the LEED exam but discouraged by the compounding cost of all the study materials required to take the test? While studying for the LEED AP for New Construction exam a few months ago, I discovered a bunch of free resources of LEED study materials. Of course I only discovered all this free stuff after I had already shelled out hundreds of dollars on study materials. But I guess that’s how it goes. I recommend scouring these free resources before investing in costly exam prep materials.

1) USGBC

Seems like a no-brainer, but you would be surprised at how much valuable free content is buried within the convoluted subpages of the USGBC website.

http://www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CMSPageID=220 contains links to past and present versions of the LEED Rating System, which is basically a condensed 100 page version of the 400+ page LEED Reference Guide. The LEED Rating System concisely outlines the intent, requirements and potential strategies related to each credit. However, it does not include the detailed calculations, referenced standards and submittal documentation information provided in the LEED Reference Guide.

Here is some more free content you need to know for the LEED exam from USGBC:

Candidate Handbook
Test Specifications & Sample Questions
LEED-Online Sample Credit Templates
PowerPoint Presentations
Credit Checklist
Registration Process
Registration Fees
Certification Process
CIR Guidelines
Guidance on ID Credits

2) In The LEED

InTheLeed.com is an invaluable site created and maintained by an architect who went through the process of studying and passing the LEED exam himself. The site is packed with free tips and advice from both the creator and users of the site. The active discussion forums are a huge help as well as give you the opportunity to be a part of a supportive community of other test takers. I honestly don’t think I would have passed the exam on the first try without the tips on this site.

Here is some of the content that I found the most useful:

WIMSEE chart
A Typical LEED Exam Question: A Closer Look
LEED AP Exemplary Performance / ID Credit Breakdown
Post-Test Evaluation & Brain Dump

3) University of Florida “Learning to LEED - Test Taking Resource”

This site contains essential summarized content, quizzes and test-taking tips.

Referenced Standards Spreadsheet
Exemplary Performance Spreadsheet
LEED Acronyms
Flashcards
Quizzes
Mini Quizzes
Test-Taking Tips

The Kor One Hydration Vessel: A Water Bottle

Poonam Sharma — Fri, 08 May 2009 17:47:00 +0000

The Kor One Hydration Vessel is the slickest reusable water bottle on the market. Despite the pretentious name, Kor One scores high points for an inspiring design and environmental responsibility.

The thoughtfully sexy design brings the act of drinking water to a whole other level. Like drinking tea in your favorite mug, water just tastes better when sipped from this “hydration vessel”. Also convenient to use, the hinged cap and handle allows for easy, one-handed access (ideal when working out) and the spout is just large enough to insert ice cubes.

But don’t be scared away by the plastic. Made from a new type of plastic known as Eastman Tritan™, the Kor One does not contain the harmful chemical Bisphenol-A (BPA) found in traditional polycarbonate bottles.

Kor One is also committed to raising awareness and funds for worthy non-profit groups that focus on water related issues such as ocean protection, watershed protection, container recycling and the global water crisis. Each of the available four Kor One Hydration Vessel colors represents one of the four nonprofits dedicated to the above causes, namely The Algalita Marine Research Foundation (blue), The Wetlands Initiative (green), Container Recycling Institute (orange) and Blue Planet Run (pink). Kor donates 1% of all sales to these nonprofits as part of their Thirst for Giving™ program.

The “Think” Modular Recyclable Trainer

Poonam Sharma — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 15:47:50 +0000

Here is a great product that is implementing the design principles outlined in Cradle to Cradle.

The “Think” trainer is a running shoe composed of modular parts assembled with mechanical locks instead of adhesives or cements, meaning each part of this intelligent design can be removed, recovered and recycled. This also means that you could buy extra parts in different colors and change the look of your shoe any time you want! Designed by Ben Chappell, the pictures are of the “Think” prototype.

Unfortunately, despite an exhaustive search, I couldn’t find any info about whether this shoe has hit the market yet and where to buy it. How frustrating! Read more at Yanko Design.

ReProduct’s Zero Waste Greeting Cards

Poonam Sharma — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 17:38:36 +0000

Despite my disappointment over the controversy surrounding Cradle to Cradle design principles, I did manage to find one fun C2C product that I plan on using soon:

ReProduct’s Zero Waste Greeting Cards

left: Reproduct Greeting Card designed by William McDonough, right: Reproduct Greeting Card designed by John Mayer

Made from materials that are healthy for both humans and the environment, ReProduct’s Zero Waste Greeting Cards are 100% reusable. This is how it works: you send a greeting card to your loved one in a two-way envelope. Similar to Netflix, once your loved one is done enjoying the card, they just place it in the postage paid self-addressed return portion of the envelope and drop it in the mail. The card ends up at Shaw Industries, where 100% of the card is reused in the manufacturing of Shaw carpet tiles. Click here for demo.

Where is the C2C?

Poonam Sharma — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 04:17:41 +0000

Eager to know what products are currently incorporating C2C strategies after reading Cradle to Cradle, I set out to do a bit of internet research, expecting to be blown away by numerous innovative products. Instead I found a lot of criticism directed towards William McDonough for thwarting many designers eager to implement their C2C designs because of his legal ownership of the term.

Roger Cox, a Dutch attorney and ardent C2C advocate, has declared that “there’s a need for the founding fathers of C2C to change their closed and proprietary approach of C2C. Urgently.” According to a letter posted by Roger Cox on Duurzaam Gebouwd, a sustainability blog based in the Netherlands, the lack of market competition due to the exclusivity of C2C could be to blame for the relative paucity of new regenerative products on the marketplace, when compared to the massive critical acclaim generated by the book.

A listing of Cradle to Cradle Certified products and materials approved by McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry (MBDC), a consulting company founded by the authors of Cradle to Cradle can be found here. Herman Miller, Steelcase and Method Products are among the list of companies with C2C Certified products. On the other hand, an extensive article about the hegemony of Michael McDonough and MBDC can be found at Fast Company.

However, similar to the case of LEED Certification for buildings and interiors, couldn’t a product or material embody the principles of C2C design without being officially certified or even referred to as a C2C design? Wouldn’t this solve the proprietary issue or is riding the wave of hype about C2C really that crucial?

Cradle to Cradle Design

Poonam Sharma — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 21:02:24 +0000

I finally read the book Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things
by William McDonough and Michael Braungart. The book is a must-read on many levels, but I was particularly inspired and encouraged by the fact that unlike the previous generation of sustainability manifestos that pit the economy against equity & ecology, Cradle to Cradle “sees commerce as the engine of change” and allows one to embrace their inner capitalist by proposing a sustainable world of guilt-free growth, prosperity and abundance. Instead of viewing consumer waste through the austere lens of the 3 R’s (reduce, reuse and recycle a.k.a. downcycle), McDonough and Braungart, inspired by the abundance of nature, propose the visionary idea of designing consumer products as either biological nutrients or technical nutrients.

Biological nutrients are materials or products designed to be a part of a biological cycle, or in other words, designed to be consumed by animals and/or microorganisms and eventually return to the earth (think composting).

An example of a product designed to be a biological nutrient is a biodegradable upholstery fabric, containing no harmful chemicals, that can be torn off of a chair when no longer desired and thrown on the ground to biodegrade and provide nutrients for the soil.

Technical nutrients are materials or products designed to be a part of a technical cycle, or in other words, designed for a return to industrial use as a raw material that has not lost any value since its original form (think upcycling).

Currently, recycling forces the reuse of materials and products that were not originally designed for recycling. This often results in downcycling and toxicity problems. Downcycling, means the recycled material is not as valuable as the virgin material. For example, when cars are recycled, all the metals (high ductile steel, stainless steel, copper wiring, etc) in the car are melted down together, resulting in a metal of lesser quality that can never be used to make new cars. Secondly, toxicity problems occur when the harmful chemicals that are used to create the original product are disturbed through recycling and are released into the air through off-gassing and/ or abrasion of the new recycled product.

An example of a product designed to be a technical nutrient is a television designed for easy disassembly, so that its various components (copper, plastic, and even chemicals, etc) can be easily upcycled or reused to make new televisions. This strategy may even incorporate the concept of the product of service, whereby customers purchase the service of a television for a defined period of time after which they return it to the manufacturer for a new one, as opposed to the consumer buying the television itself and then being responsible for its disposal later.

I am curious to see what products out there are already implementing this visionary idea of designing for a positive impact on the environment (as opposed to designing to minimize the negative impact). If you know of any products that are designed as biological or technical nutrients I would love to know. I am going to do a little research myself and create a list of products to post.