It is becoming more and more difficult to know what is really sustainable and what is not. I believe that as designers, it is our duty to educate our clients on what sustainability is and what really isn’t sustainable. To do this, we must educate ourselves on these products and take a stand.

How do you feel about greenwashing? Can you think of a company that you believe is greenwashing?

Link: http://www.stopgreenwash.org/introduction

A couple of weeks ago I went inside H&M in Atlantic Station and I remember I kept seeing signs up saying “Don’t Let Fashion Go To Waste”. I came to the conclusion that maybe H&M is trying to go green. I think it is a good idea that sustainability is coming into the retail world as well. This was not an easy road for H&M to go down. It took a long time for them to build up this sustainability brand image. Today, H&M practice uses organic cotton to make their clothes with a goal by 2020 to have all the cotton it uses to be sustainably produced.

Customers can enjoy benefits too of the sustainability approach at H&M. “Don’t Let Fashion Go To Waste” is a campaign by H&M promoting customers not to throw away their old garments. Instead they would like customers to bring in their old garments to be recycled. In return H&M will give you a voucher for 15% off a new purchase. H&M also practice saving water by using water saving methods in the production of their denim. Their goal also includes sourcing 100% of electricity from renewables and zero discharge of hazardous materials. By this year, H&M hopes to have 95% of the waste handled in their warehouse to be recycled.

H&M happens to be one of my favorite stores because the prices are so affordable and I can always find trendy clothes to wear. I think this is a great move by H&M and it could possibly put them ahead of other competitors.

Do you think this is a good approach?
Should other stores consider this approach?

Check out the article here!

We all are aware of sustainable methods, but in various other countries, there is lack of knowledge and awareness. Other countries have copied the whole building design. even the materials, which are certainly not suitable for them, from various parts of the world. This immature act has cost a lot to the environment.

( I am using this word as I can relate people acting like kids, how they behave, they see other having a particular toy, even they want to have the same one without knowing the consequences or if its suitable for them)

Airports covers maximum building space. I have always been interested in public transportation areas, how it works, how they are mapped, and constructed. Achieving LEED points can be challenging for such large scale projects. San Francisco International Airport is the first airport to achieve LEED Gold certification, which definitely inspired me to learn more about what they incorporated. SFO is leading the way with one of the strongest airport environmental programs.

Solar Panels (SFO International Airport)

To read more about the sustainable programs in SFO click here: http://www.flysfo.com/web/page/about/T2/sustainability/

San Francisco International Airport2011 Environmental Sustainability Report: http://www.flysfo.com/downloads/reports/SFO_2011_Environmental_Sustainability_Report.pdf

For more interior Images click here: http://inhabitat.com/exclusive-photos-sfo-terminal-2-is-the-first-u-s-airport-to-achieve-leed-gold-certification/sfo-terminal-2-renovation-by-gensler-leed-gold-13/?extend=1

IMG solar panel : https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=592006997485487&set=pb.110504348969090.-2207520000.1368744093.&type=3&theater

Take a look at what 11 year-old Birke Baehr has to say about making a difference and about what you can to make a difference.
What's Wrong With Our Food System

Do you feel organic farming is truly helpful to the environment? What is your opinion on genetically modified crops? Do you feel stores should raise their standards and only carry organic products?

As mentioned cradle to cradle in our presentation, it is a concept that materials are recyclable over and over again. The term “upcycle” in the book, has popularized over recent years. The authors of Cradle to Cradle have just released their new book, Upcycle: Beyond Sustainability – Designing for Abundance, so I want to introduce the book. The Upcycle takes a concept that the process of turning waste materials into new products for better environmental value. This book focuses on how to better understand causation and incorporate that knowledge into pragmatic design. Pioneers of Cradle to Cradle say that everyone can enhance our environment through well-design. I have not read the book yet, but this book will obviously inspire all designers and be a good source to come up with or create something innovative for sustainability.

Image from: www.inhabitat.com

Since Professor Cutter advised us to go outside of our profession for new sources of inspiration and innovation, I’d like to introduce an idea put forth by Professor Donald Shoup of the Transportation Center at UC Berkeley: there is no such thing as free parking.

Both Professors Cutter and Totten briefly mentioned the unsustainability of surface parking today, and as a class we also discussed some alternatives to impervious cover. Contemporary, environmentally conscious designers are always thinking of ways to incorporate public transportation in order to minimize the problems of car pollution and traffic congestion associated with American’s traditional, preferred mode of transportation: personal vehicles.

According to Shoup, there’s a very easy way to curb Americans’ appetite for cars: he states that parking rates, especially in metropolitan areas, are vastly undercharged. This is undoubtedly a very unpopular way of thinking for most Americans, but Shoup says that most Americans are unaware of the true costs of their “free” parking:

Everybody likes free parking, including me, probably you. But just because the driver doesn’t pay for it doesn’t mean that the cost goes away. If you don’t pay for parking your car, somebody else has to pay for it. And that somebody is everybody. We pay for free parking in the prices of the goods we buy at places where the parking is free. And we pay for parking as residents when we get free parking with our housing. We pay for it as taxpayers. Increasingly, I think we’re paying for it in terms of the environmental harm that it causes (Shoup, 1997).

According to Shoup, the problems attributed with car pollution and traffic jams in the United States can be very easily solved by increasing the price of parking to what “demand” requires. When drivers have to put a monetary value on their attachment to their cars, there will be quite a few who are willing to forgo it if the public transportation infrastructure is available. This will in turn facilitate more public policy towards the building of one. Right now, there are often limited public transportation available, making cars the only viable choice for most Americans, but if we had the choice between easily accessible public transportation and individual cars, which would you choose? And how much are you willing to pay for parking before you look for other options?

A copy of his paper can be found here at the UC Transportation Center. You can also hear a Freakonomics podcast about the high economic costs of parking here called “Parking is Hell”.

The installation cost about $3200, which is not bad considering the size and type of design project.  However, I think this would have been much cooler if it was made from found/savaged cardboard, which equals FREE!  Overall, I believe this project was still a good example of “up-cycling” when re-using materials.  It also shows the potential uses for recycled cardboard.  Even though this project used the material on the interior, there are other examples of how recycled cardboard can actually be used on the exterior as well, as it has good insulation properties.  Particularly, Shigeru Ban and Peter Ryan are two architects that have been working with this material for a while to develop shelters and temporary structures for disaster relief.

Cardboard also provides a way to erect structures in an inexpensive and quick way, which I think is perfect for many temporary projects.  It makes you think about the damage of using very permanent materials in impermanent designs.  What do you think about this material now being used in construction?  Would you want your house made of cardboard, or would you be skeptical?

Article Link: http://inhabitat.com/yeshop-papercut-interior/

Paper counter tops have their own benefits. These are listed in the article:
• Dense and durable nonporous construction
• Stain resistant
• Heat resistant
• Able to accommodate longer spans without additional support
• Easily tooled and can be cut, or routed for crisp, defined edge profiles
• Not easily damaged
• Much lighter than natural stone

Learn more about Paper stone here: http://www.paperstoneproducts.com/docs/PSbrochureelectronicdistformat030211.pdf

                                                              Variety of finishes

There are several benefits of cork flooring in the article:
 Thermal Insulation – cork historically was used in refrigeration applications, such as in         the walls of freezers

 Impermeability – Since the inter-connected pockets of air are truly so tiny and                      microscopic, cork is considered impermeable yet breathable – which is why it’s                      desirable for corking wine.

 Give – the pockets of air compress and then expand again, never collapsing within the          product core, giving the cork resilience and memory. It has excelled for use as flooring         due to the softness under foot, as it is often recommended for people with back pain who     stand on a floor for an extended amount of time.

 Design Flexibility – the beauty of cork is that it can be cut in numerous ways that enable      veneers with different aesthetics to create highly decorative surfaces. Cork                            conglomerate, a recycled cork material, is also readily available. Cork conglomerate is          often used in conjunction with veneers.

 Buoyancy – Cork floats, and has been used as buoys, floating decoys, and as runners for      pontoons and other water craft.

 Slip resistance – cork, due to the softness and bounce-back, is very slip resistant, and          has been used extensively on the deck of naval ships.1

 Beauty – cork offers a natural beauty and organic feel to homes. It pairs well with                  bamboo to create style in a sustainable building plan.

                                                               Variety of colors

images: http://www.greenlivingdesigns.info/studio/cork-flooring

To read the article click here: http://www.greenbuild.org/sustainable-materials/sustainable-building-cork/