Chicago Center for Green Technology: A new Ecolect Partnership

With a 38,000 square foot green roof on city hall, Chicago is leading the way in being a genuinely eco-aware city. An active green business community combined with a progressive environmental department has led to a platform for leadership in sustainable development.

The CCGT, which opened in May 2002, was designed by a team of community businesses led by Farr Associates and was the 3rd certified LEED building in the nation. The building is a model of progressive green technologies (solar panels, ground source heat), and traditional resource efficient practices (passive solar heat, water barrels, greenhouses). Most of the construction materials used in this project were manufactured within 300 miles of Chicago Green Tech and 40% of the materials are made of recycled content.

Today, the Chicago Center for Green Technology is a resource for visitors to learn about the practices exhibited in the builidng. Homeowners tour the space as research for at-home green roof projects, radiant heating designs, etc. More serious or info hungry citizens and industry professionals attend the Green Tech U classes to acheive a greater understanding of the systems supporting “green” elements and their facets in society. They also have a resource center that serves as an exhibition space of green materials and a consultation space for homeowners and industry professionals.

Ecolect is proud to announce a new partnership with the CCGT. Interns from the resource center will be loading material profiles for us on Ecolect.net. In turn, Ecolect will be hosting an online materials database for them. Intern and material scientist Jessica Weninger, has already created profiles for materials such as EcoCycle Porcelain Stone, and Aluma Floor. Our goal is to build this database to include all 200+ mateirals found in the Center for Green Technology resource center.

We are proud to welcome them to our community and excited about the opportunities this partnership holds. To discover this growing database of sustainable materials search “CCGT” from the Ecolect.net home site.

Ecolect + MoSS

This past weekend was the first year edition of MoSS- Museum of Sustainable Style in Chicago. MoSS is an exhibition of sustainable fashion and furniture that highlights the reality that one does not have to sacrifice style for the environment.  Curated by Pivot  boutique owner, Jessa Brinkmeyer, the exhibit was created to run in parallel with Fashion Forward Chicago, Chicago’s fashion week.

It was the first Ecolect + MoSS collaboration. Ecolect was invited to curate a sustainable materials Petting Zoo focusing primarily on the fashion and furniture design industries. We highlighted materials such as hemp linen, faux biodegradable leather, Geami packaging, LoVo paint, and a sorghum surfacing material. The MoSS exhibit was designed as a self-guided tour.  First, buyers and fashionistas walked through to learn about the garments, the designers, and the story behind each designers decisions. Then they ended up at the Petting Zoo with hands on experience to the materials themselves and corresponding material information.

Saturday afternoon MoSS hosted a panel discussion moderated by Jonathan Shaun of Connect and 3.Zero, and on it sat Natural Living Expert and TV show host Sara Snow; fashion designer Lara Miller, Brentano founder Iris Wang, and Green Exchange founder Barry Brusak. The panel conversation highlighted the importance of our decisions as consumers to make responsible purchasing decisions.

In all, we taught viewers the importance not only of the end result but of the importance of sourcing decisions, transportation and packaging decisions, and all the associated design decisions that make sustainability a vital Pivot point.

MoSS: Museum of Sustainable Style

This weekend in Chicago, Ecolect is hosting a custom curated eco-materials Petting Zoo at MoSS- the Museum of Sustainable Style. Moss is a part of Fashion Forward Chicago, Chicago’s fashion week.Curated by Jessa Brinkmeyer of Pivot boutique, MoSS exhibits garments by Chicago eco-fashion designers, and seats and tables by local sustainable furniture designers. The collection exhibits how one can live and outfit sustainably without sacrificing style. To go along with this theme Ecolect was invited to co-curate an eco-materials library of fashion and furniture specific materials. Included in the exhibit are materials from Brentano, Hemp Traders, Pickering International, Noon Solar, and more.A panel discussion will be held on Saturday, October 4 from 2-3pm to discuss the details of sustainability, style, function, and our tomorrow. Come by and check out the collection. Admire the custom designed patterns by Chicago’s graphic design guru, Alex Fuller, and a video animated by Chicago’s One Design Company.

Toys for Elementary Math Education in the Developing World

Project H Design is an Ecolect partner and a global design nonprofit who believes design can change the world. Their team has assembled a group of industrial designers, social entrepreneurs, and manufacturers to conceive and produce a toy for elementary math education with applications in the developing world and the US retail markets. Their case study is the Kutamba School for AIDS orphans, located in Uganda. Project H’s team will develop a locally-made version of the toy for Kutamba and broader distribution in the developing world, along with a sister US retail version based on the same system.

In addition to taking donations on their site, Project H is submitting their proposal on Ideablob “the living, breathing community of ideas”. Their team is striving to delve more deeply into the design development, prototyping, user testing and distribution. According to Emily Pilloton, Founder of Project H Design, “We will be able to fund the initial production of the math toys for both the Kutamba case study school as well as the US retail production and associated legal/intellectual property protection.”

If you like what Project H is up to, sign-into Ideablob and give them a vote!