Sadly, Michelle recently broke the news to the public that Michelle Kaufmann Designs (MKD) will be closing its offices. On her blog she states:

Despite our best efforts, the financial meltdown and plunging home values have caught up with us. The recent closing of a factory partner as well as the gridlocked lending faced by homeowners, has proved more than our small company can bear.

Although her company may be closing, Michelle is still very optimistic about the future. She assures everyone that although this chapter in her life is closing, there will be a next chapter. She insists that the mission of greener design cannot go away. It is something important and must not be lost. Healthy, efficient and well-designed homes really do need to be accessible for all. We simply cannot give up on it.

I just want to close with a quote from Michelle’s blog:

I want to urge all of us not to give up on this mission. I look forward to hearing about all the methods that you are creating in your work, in your homes and in your lives – different models of innovation and reinvention during these difficult, yet interesting times.

Good Luck!

For those of you who don’t know what “Twitter” is, let me explain . . . No, there is too much; let me sum up: Twitter is an online tool for social networking, much like Facebook. However, Twitter narrows its focus to answer just one question, “What are you doing?”

It’s a pretty neat tool, I guess. I haven’t really been able to get into it that much, but I know some people can’t live without it. As I was messing around with it the other day, someone posted a link to a site called www.thedailygreen.com. More specifically, they referenced a really neat article about Green Swimming Pools.

I went through and read what they have to say, and I’m convinced that Green Swimming Pools are the way to go. What is a Green Swimming Pool? For decades, European have been developing and implementing what they call “Natural Swimming Pools.” These natural swimming pools use carefully selected plants and conscientious design to create a sanitary mini-ecosystem that will provide people with a great place to swim and relax. Instead of relying on harmful chemicals such as chlorine and ozone, green swimming pools allow plants to perform the same function.

Obviously, some people might say that this raises health concerns; but as more people research the option of having a green swimming pool, more experts are finding that green swimming pools meet (and often exceed) the standards set by conventional chemically-treated swimming pools.

Like I said – after reading the article, I’m convinced that green swimming pools are the way to go, but don’t take my word for it. Check it Out for yourself!

Thanks for your help, Twitter!

Today I started looking at a feature called the “Green Home Checklist.” It was pretty informative, but I ran into a few things that I really disagree with. I realize that there are some very exciting green innovations on the horizon, but many of these products simply aren’t feasible for the average homeowner at this time. So when people start preaching about how everyone should make the sacrifice to incorporate photovoltaic panels, etc., I tend to leave the conversation.

The article I was reading was very good until the author started preaching about how: “The home should generate some of its own energy with technologies like photovoltaic systems” and have a water-conserving irrigation system.

Now don’t get me wrong — I love green design. I think new technologies are very interesting and important, but I can’t stand it when people start preaching that green living is all about expensive, impractical gadgets. Green innovations certainly have a place in our lives, but they should not be our main criteria for judging a green lifestyle. Green living is about simple, clean, renewable, and healthy living.

I hope you’ll forgive my rantings, but I guess this is what a blog is for — ranting. Despite my disagreements, I really do recommend you review the article yourself. Check it Out!

I usually try to find some time each week to surf the web in search of resources about green living. This morning in the middle of my wandering, I stumbled upon www.greenhomeguide.org — a website that is run by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC). Green Home Guide is overflowing with useful information about green living.

You can find anything from Green Home Checklists to Green Living Guides. It really is a great tool if you’re looking to learn more about anything green. You can bet that I’ll be returning! (In fact, I’m pretty sure I’ll be blogging about some of the stuff I learn there). I can’t wait! Check it Out!

AskNature.org kept alluding to biomimicry, and since I had never heard of biomimicry before, I decided to do a little further investigation. Biomimicry, it seems, is the process of mimicking nature’s solutions to solve human problems. For example, scientists are using sophisticated computer programs to mimic bone structures in order to make cars up to 30% lighter, but still maintaining the same crash-test ratings.

I found information about many different biomimicry projects; everything from butterfly-wing pants to photovoltaic paint. But by far, the most far-fetched and interesting idea I read about was BIOSTEEL®. Now, this isn’t exactly cutting-edge news. In fact, my information is sadly outdated. But sometime around 2001-02, Nexia Biotechnologies Inc., from Montreal, ”produced” a transgenic goat with the capability of producing synthetic spider silk. I know what you’re thinking, and let me tell you, it gets even crazier!

Willow, as they called her, was created when Nexia scientists took a single goat embryo and injected it with special sequences of spider genes. The modified embryo was then inserted into a surrogate mother goat and – POOF! – Willow, the spider-goat!

Now Willow can’t climb walls or fight crime, but her modified mammary glands do produce long-chain amino acids that are almost identical to spider silk. So with a little processing, Nexia was able to transform Willow’s mutant goat milk into a synthetic spider silk (BIOSTEEL®) that exhibited a tensile strength triple that of steel.

The production of BIOSTEEL® was a very promising concept. Everyone seemed to be holding their breath. The medical field, the building industry, even the military; they all wanted it to go somewhere. Unfortunately, BIOSTEEL® and Nexia fizzled-out shortly thereafter. I’m not sure what has become of Willow the spider-goat, but the whole ordeal sure made my afternoon a lot more interesting.

Now that I’ve given a brief summary about the rise and fall of one of Canada’s premier biotechnology firms, I have to bring my tangent back to the beginning. Today’s builders and architects can learn a lot from nature. The natural world that we see around us has had billions of years of research and development, and the more we follow the patterns of nature, the more efficient our designs will be. I don’t think we should be trying to re-engineer goats, but I do think that we can benefit from nature’s expertise.

Recent posts detail this rollercoaster of triumphs and downfalls. A week ago, in his post titled “PV Solar Panel Quote for 100K House”, he laments the $53.9K price tag on the solar system he wished would make the house a zero-energy home (a solar/grid system that would produce enough power to cancel his electricity bill). My favorite line is a heart-wrencher “We wouldn’t even have enough room on the roof to fit enough solar panels…”

Check out Chad’s blog 100khouse.com and see what it takes to build a green home with a tight budget.

I wrote about using old shipping containers to build houses with a few weeks ago. Well here is a great example of a proposed project in Detroit. Designed by architect Steven Flum, in partnership with developer Leslie Horn, the project is waiting city approval. Once received, the condos will end up near Wayne State University.

Other highlights of the story include a 25% cost-to-build savings over condos of similar size and quality, complete re-use of old shipping containers (no new ones), and that cool NASA developed paint insulator.

I was looking for a good example to show how something like this can actually look nice. The condos show an aesthetic that has obviously moved beyond container while remaining refreshingly industrial. For more photos of this kind of construction, visit Container City.

Via Jetson Green and Freep

MKD video 1

MKD video 2

MKD video 3

thanks michelle and preston

Agilewaves Inc, a California based IT company, has created the Resource Monitor (shown above) which displays a building’s performance. Their first client, Nueva School in Hillsborough, CA built green, incorporating such things as solar-electric panels and a living roof. When they wanted to measure the performance, they went to Agilewaves.

Keeping track of performance has long been an important practice in any management setting. It strikes me odd that we’re just barely getting building owners interested in moitoring their energy consumption. I liken it to a blazer I used to drive. This model had a monitor that showed me my mpg on an instant. Watching it go up and down affected the way I drove. Not only did I drive to conserve gas, but it resulted in safer practices that I still use today. I think the tech is pretty awesome and has the potential to instigate many changes. Agilewaves CEO, Peter Sharer, recently wrote “Conservation is the low-hanging fruit of resource sustainability. The only investment it requires is that we become more aware of the impact of our unconscious habits”. Obviously Sharer and Nueva School had a connection. C-Net reported “the school said the application will be valuable to facilities managers and to students as an educational tool.”

Look for this technology to be integrated in home network systems and power strips. There are already a few models out there from GE and P3 International.

via C-Net

Though it may not be the hot topic of the century, building residences with storage containers is getting a lot of attention right now. Let me tell you why.

Structure: The biggest reason the idea has caught on is that the structure is already done. No need to worry about structural support. You also don’t need to worry about fire, mold, or termites.

Customizable: You can put these containers together in just about any configuration. You’ll need a good foundation and a good welder, but that’s about it. The rest can be finished and insulated pretty easily.

Creative: This isn’t exactly a new idea, but it is a creative one. This sort of unique housing is not only fun to live in, but it’s a refreshing statement of modern lifestyle. It’s also a unique solution to conventional housing. Let me put it this way, you can get a 40 foot container with 9 ½ foot ceilings for about $3,100.00 (www.storageaz.com). That’s pretty inexpensive and the work is half done. Cut it open a bit, add your windows and doors, and you’ve got a framed house.

Now I know this still sounds crazy for a lot of people. Take a look at the video by G Living with architect Peter DeMaria for further information on building with storage containers. Visit DeMaria’s website to see more of what he’s talking about.

Cooler than you thought, huh?

Via www.jetsongreen.com(see the video here) and www.storageaz.com