Sustainability and Anti-Weapons Initiatives Meet at the London Olympic Stadium

The design proposal for the new 2012 London Olympic Stadium by Populous (formerly HOK Sports) boasts many green building initiatives, not least of which is their use of recycled guns and knives as structural steel. In the last year, the Metropolitan Police have collected more than 52 tonnes of scrap metal from old keys, knives and guns and now it’s being melted down to form the structure of the new stadium!

Sustainability doesn’t stop at the structure, the design also features a host of other environmentally friendly materials such as a façade of hemp.

Furthermore, and possibly most exciting, the entire stadium will be prefab and flat-packed. This construction technique not only significantly reduces the environmental impact of the structure as it is constructed but allows for the entire stadium to be broken down and shipped off to the next host city for reuse. The potential is enormous! Gone are the days of reconstructing massive stadiums every two years for a single use, this new system effectively eliminates wasteful obsolescence.

Currently, talks are underway with Chicago, but London organizers hope that their offer is taken up by whoever wins the games. If the plan goes forward, this would be the largest amount of seats ever moved from one place to the next, and the first time in history that a stadium of this size has been moved.

Via Inhabitat.

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Going Green At The Home Housewares Show, Chicago 3.22.09

This years Home Housewares Show is once again big, expansive, overwhelming, extraneous, wasteful, etc., but it also included many new green products and materials, giving hope to those of us who desire change.

They featured 50 of the most sustainable products in a separate display and had several speakers to present the “latest thinking on green design and practice”.  CA Webb from Preserve shared the reality of having a successful business based on the re-use of materials and also discussed the importance of transparent practice and straightforward information when developing an authentic relationship with the consumer. Accordingly, Howie Fendley from McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry, discussed eliminating the concept of waste, which is vital to America utilizing it’s by-products more efficiently and effectively.

Seeing so many thousands of products presented at the show, I can’t help but hope that very soon all of these companies integrate and prioritize a higher level of green innovation and responsibility.  The effects would be far-reaching and could actually benefit the company, as well as the consumer and the environment.

Top 10 eco-items scouted at the Housewares Show:

1. EZ Bagz – 100% biodegradable trash bags in 12-24 months, even in a landfill and they are actually puncture resistant, affordable and sold everywhere!

2. Ecologic dishware – made from bamboo fibers.

3. Aladdin Recycled and Recyclable Plastic Products – coffee tumbler.

4. Twist – a collection of natural sponges and cleaning clothes.

5.  Zak designs – Confetti – recycled melamine dishware.

6. EcoGen – durable, affordable and biodegradable products for the home.

7. Pedrini – Eco-line – the first line of biodegradable kitchen tools.

8. Blue Avocado – cool kit grow bags – a compacting system of all the bags you need.

9. “Power Plant” by Prepara – very attractive, good for indoor air quality and automatically dispenses nutrients.

10. Oots – 100% recycled fiber and handmade seed paper for boxes, bags, place-mats etc.  They also make a great baby bib that covers a larger surface area – the bbib.

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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.

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Connect – Nau in Chicago

Chicago area shoppers will soon get a chance to see the new progressive and sustainable line from Nau clothing at Connect, a sustainable retail and event space opening its doors on November 7 in the Wicker Park/Bucktown neighborhood.

Connect will be one of only two retailers in the world to house Nau’s entire 2008 fall/holiday collection. Nau, which unexpectedly closed it doors in May, has re-launched its clothing line and will be bringing its sustainable apparel back to Chicago. Along with Nau, Connect will showcase other collections that also focus on sustainability and social and environmental responsibility.

As well as being a retail store Connect will also be hosting monthly fundraising events in their showroom and at other locations as well. They will feature numerous non-profit organizations at their events and will give a portion of sales from their own private label back to the local community. Connect’s innovative approach to retail and commitment to the community pair perfectly with Nau’s goal of responsibly revolutionizing the apparel industry. For those in Chicago, look for Nau clothing at Connect when it opens it doors on November 7!

Connect Chicago
Nau

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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.

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Nau We’re Talking!

For anyone who missed it, Nau (the cutting-edge, amazing eco-friendly clothing brand) who closed their doors this May, have announced they will re-open this October. Their new line will release for the fall and holiday season, incorporating the same design philosophy of balancing beauty, performance, and sustainability. The re-opening of Nau is being taken on by a group of former Nau employees, and they’ve found a partner to purchase the bulk of the company’s assets. The partner company, called Horny Toad, is a successful Santa Barbara-based lifestyle apparel business. Nau will continue to source materials and produce garments in the most environmentally possible ways, while adhering to their high factory standards and practices. Clothing will still be available for purchase on nau.com, however they will not be operating their own retail stores (at least not yet) upon this re-launch. To quote their site, “we’re coming back. Smaller and a little wiser, our ambitions tempered a bit by the experience, but our passions most definitely intact.”

To learn more about Nau and their re-launch, visit their blog – The Thought Kitchen.

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Daryl Dulaney Talks About Environmental Changes in Building

First Business is a nationally syndicated business news television program, produced by a TV station in Chicago. Host Tom Hudson brings business news from the Chicago Board of Trade. The program is designed to be an idea-source for traders: “Not just equities, but any investment moving the market including futures, options and geo-political news.” In this segment he asks Daryl Dulaney, President and CEO at Siemens Building Technologies, “how do you decide to turn a building green or keep it as it is?”

Ecolect & NAU meet up: Chicago

Dear Chicagoans,
Forward-thinking apparel company NAU will be hosting Ecolect’s “3rd Coast” launch party in your forward-thinking city on Friday, January 18. Please join us for product giveaways, sustainable material samples, local green designerati sightings, drinks, and hors d’oeurves (plus the introduction of new Ecolect site features). Let us know you’re coming; RSVP to party@ecolect.net.

Click for map

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