Check out this 9 minute documentary on November 06's Greenbuild, the annual conference and expo of the US Green Building Council - yes, that USGBC... the folks behind LEED. Since its first year in 2002, Greenbuild's growth has been exponential, in a time when attendance at many trade shows is dropping.
Our friends/documentarians Adam and Marty Butler came to ask about the remarkable growth that green building has seen, and how it is tipping into wider markets. They were curious to know if it's all more than a trend. And what is sustainability, anyway? And where is it headed?
So they interviewed experts like eco-minded editor Deb Snoonian of Plenty Magazine, wonderdesigner Melissa Mizell of Gensler, metathinkers Holley Henderson (Chair of LEED-CI Core Committee) and Lance Hosey of William McDonough's group, manufacturer Bo Barber of Nood Floorcovering, a couple of us from Tricycle, and more. They even got a hands-on demo of Shaw's new cradle to cradle recycling process.
Next stop, PBS, MTV, CNN? Well, as long as people are thinking, rethinking, taking second looks, then we'll be delighted. As Deb says, we're at a tipping point in terms of awareness; what we need next is a tipping point in terms of people making different kinds of choices in their lives....
photo credits the Butler Bros and Anj McClain
It must be trash to treasure month at Tricycle because here's another one… I spotted these plywood and lumber scrap reliefs at the 59th & 3rd Urban Outfitters in New York.
They were nicely lit by a reinterpretation of Rand Elliot's solution for Imagenet.
Stuart Haygarth too is transforming trash into treasure in his collection 'man made.' This chandelier is made from debris that washed up on the coastline of Kent. The artist has been gathering debris for years in anticipation of the 'man made' collection. Haygarth says, “my work revolves around everyday objects, collected in large quantities, categorized and presented in such a way that they are given new meaning. It is about giving banal and overlooked objects new significance.”
Another example of trash transformed -- if not into treasure, then at least in something that calls for a 2nd look and a 2nd thought.
NYC street+gallery artist Rene Gagnon, whose paintings bridge gaps between graffiti and contemporary ab/ex, has started stencilling "TOP DOLLAR GARBAGE" on curbside trash. Playing with the idea that objects become covetable because of a pattern set onto their surface (Coach, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, etc), this art asks the question: is it the product, or something stamped on the surface, that brings value?
Check out Muji (which asks the same questions from the opposite direction) subverting the 'rules' of branding by making beautiful, high quality products with no labels.
And look at more trash art courtesy of Wooster Collective, which celebrates ephemeral art found on streets and cities all around the world.
CNET News has an interesting gallery of solar power chargers and devices. Though the effect is small compared to say, powering a building, it's no less important as we all seek new ways of minimizing our dependence on fossil fuels to generate electricity. To be honest it's still a struggle for me to consider carrying another chunk of plastic and then search out a sunny spot to recharge my iPod. I believe kinetic options are better today because they are made to
accomplish the same task without requiring the user to change his or her habits. In the consumer world, the most successful revolutions happen easily by design.
Oh! that American icon Wal-Mart. Once known for conspicuous consumption on such a grand scale that it looked like waste, the country's leading retailer is starting to look conspicuously green. For years we've been tempted by their low prices on toothpaste, but is there now something more? Can it be as simple as we hope? Why or why not?
Check out a very interesting article from Outside Magazine on Corporate Social Responsibility, Wal-Mart style here.
This month the Tennessee chapters of
AIGA are hosting the second annual
Ten Show, a celebration of "volunteer state" graphic design. Our
Chattanooga chapter is organizing and hosting the event along with enthusiastic support from the City, community and
arts associations. I'm the featured speaker for the opening night, so if you wonder what Tennessee graphic design has to do
with Amazon selling a
pink camouflage diaper bag, Phillipe Starck designing an 18Kt gold
Kalashnikov lamp, or Motorola issuing a phone named
RAZR you may find the presentation entertaining while you browse the surrounding award-winning designs with a martini in hand.
Visit the Tennessee AIGA Chapters: Chattanooga, Knoxville, Memphis, Nashville
Our blog is mostly about sustainable design in the interiors industry,
especially carpet. Sometimes it's just about us. Updated when we've got something good to say.
