Green Buildings: Leading Edge & State of the Art, December 15, 2003

Thomas Mueller provided highlights & insights of leading edge practices and projects and the current state of the art. Examples included both local examples and those showcased at the North American Green Buildings Conference.

Environmental Trixterism: Joining Eco Ethos with Poetic Utility, October 29, 2003

For those who attended the EDRS October evening of discourse with Buster Simpson you’ll probably agree that it can best be described with one word: Wow!

Buster’s works, the stories they tell, and the stories he tells about them, are inspiring and provocative. His works reflect, demonstrate, invite and celebrate connections — natural, social, historic, political. Some works portray our history and the impacts of choices we’ve made in the past while simultaneously providing visible examples of sustainability-encapsulated design and ways we can make more sustainable choices now and in the future. Profound, often whimsical, and sometimes quite cheeky, Buster’s works are connected to their environments aesthetically and functionally and offer teaching/learning moments at the same time.

So often our designs hide or otherwise make invisible the systems that support us and the relationships that connect us to one another. Sustainability has called us to recognize and think differently about many of these veiled or hidden systems and relationships but, even as many scramble and struggle with understanding & finding sustainability-oriented solutions, the sustainability idea itself is becoming normalized and formalized. While this process may be seen as quite naturally a ‘settling’ process, Buster’s work reminds us and challenges us to keep seeking and engaging creative streams; to explore and extend beyond the boundaries of the familiar; and to awaken and re-member the magic and delight of connection and place that should remain familiar to us all.

Thanks to Buster for his presentation and post-presentation time with us; to Bryan (COV Public Art) and Greg (Emily Carr) for providing support & resources to host Buster; and to EDRS Board Members Matt and Dolores particularly for all the persistence to realize a >3year EDRS dream to have an event on public art and sustainability. Buster was certainly well worth waiting for!

For those who missed it, you may want to check out his site at www.bustersimpson.net. My personal favorites on the site: The Water Glass & Water Table, and First Ave Treeguards . But then I had additional stories to go with them too! [grin]

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Eco-industrial Networking: Maplewood Flats, June 24, 2003

This presentation focussed on the work of a team developing EIN and sustainable community plans for the community of Maplewood in the District of North Vancouver. Mark Holland presented the results of this charrette, including insights and background on the practice of EIN and the unique opportunities a community with a significant area of industrial land uses offers in regard to sustainability. EIN is the practice of developing physical and business relationships between companies, a community and a local government to increase profitability while increasing environmental and overall sustainability performance. EIN is rapidly gaining profile across North America as business parks and industrial areas work to increase their efficiencies and environmental performance. This charrette took the step of including a residential community and town centre concept in the industrial considerations. The Maplewood charrette approached the challenge of design starting with energy, water, material and waste flows and identifying needs and possible economic opportunities for each amongst companies and the community and then considered changes in land use and design to support these. Engineers and development economists were involved in each of the teams, along with a team of public artists, to both ground-truth the ideas as the teams went along, and to promote creativity in the engineering.

Kyoto & Climate Change, April 15, 2003

From Rooftops to Restaurants: An Exploration of the Latest in Planning for Sustainable Urban Food Systems, March 18, 2003

BLUE VINYL, February 11, 2003

The Cascadia Chapter of the USGBC and The EcoDesign Resource Society (EDRS) co-sponsored this event & discussion of the film by Judith Helfand & Daniel Gold in search of the truth about vinyl, America's most popular plastic. The film received Environmental Messenger of the Year Award.

Eco-Industrial Networking: The new dimension in green planning, business development and triple bottom line profitability.

With Tracy Casavant. CANCELLED due to presenter illness