Fitting in isn't all it's cracked up to be

Amazing stop-motion video with a timeless cautionary tale. Don't look for a happy ending.




Creep (Radiohead) - Scala & Kolacny Brothers from Alex Heller on Vimeo.

Coverings' Project: Green is calling for entries for 2011

LS3P Architects' Center City Green; Charlotte, NC. 

Coverings is on the hunt again for outstanding tile and stone projects where sustainability was a chief mission.

Installations judged worthy of recognition will earn a spot in Project: Green at Coverings 2011 in Las Vegas. Project: Green is a joint program with Environmental Design + Construction magazine that's returning to Coverings in 2011. Projects selected for this distinction will enjoy exposure in a centerpiece display at the March 14-17th international trade show and conference at The Sands Expo and Convention Center in Las Vegas. An added benefit is subsequent feature in a 2011 issue of ED+C.  Entries for Project: Green are now being accepted with submissions due by Friday, January 14, 2011.

In 2010, Project: Green honored 12 entrants. They ranged from the USGBC’s own headquarters in Washington, DC; to a Whole Foods Market in Dedham, MA. Also among those recognized were a healthcare facility in Moderna Italy, and a residential project in British Columbia, Canada. In fact, Project: Green is open to both domestic and international projects. The key criteria are that they use tile and stone in a way that yields an aesthetically distinctive as well as environmentally responsible site, and qualify in one of the following categories:  Residential New, Residential Remodel, Commercial New, Commercial Remodel, Institutional New, Institutional Remodel.  Only projects completed between January 2009 and December 2010 will be considered.

The entry requirements include at least four photographic illustrations, along with two narrative essays. Essay #1 asks for detailed information on the tile and stone used in the project area, where it was applied and how much was installed; Essay #2 must describe how the project meets the judging criteria. There is no fee to enter, and it is open to architects, designers, builders, contractors, distributors, retailers, manufacturers and installers. Multiple entries are accepted. You can find all of the information you need on the Coverings 2011 Website.

To better get into the spirit of things, here are some highlights from last year's Project: Green. Since this is a blog about residential design (usually), I'm going to show the top picks on the residential side.

First up is a kitchen renovation by Harris Welker Architects in Rollingwood, Texas.

Why's it sustainable?


• Reutilization of existing space, no additional square footage added to kitchen area due
to large oak trees outside kitchen breakfast window

• Existing kitchen oak cabinets were deconstructed by Habitat for Humanity and resold/
reinstalled at another location; Cardell cabinets fabricated locally in San Antonio, TX

• Energy Star Kitchenaid appliances

• Vetrazzo recycled glass countertops

• T5 energy efficient cove lighting and LED undercounter lights

• Grohe Faucet and Kohler cast iron sink

• Sherwin WIlliams Harmony No-VOC paint

• Marazzi 13”x13” glazed porcelain floor tile

• Back-painted glass at cooking area backsplash; recycled glass “pool” tile
at wet area backsplash

• Waste management program

Next up is a new home in Winter Park, Florida. The architect and builder is Phil Kean. Phil's a friend I've known for a longer than either of us want to admit and it's a thrill to see him honored like this.

Why's it sustainable?


• Stone walls are pre-consumer recycled quartz panels from RealStone Systems
• Driveway pavers cut from salvaged terrazzo flooring
• Sherwin-Williams Duration Home low VOC paint
• Gammapar bamboo flooring
• Stained concrete floors
• Shaw Green Label Carpet and Triple Touch Green Carpet Pad
• Locally manufactured custom veneer cabinets using low formaldehyde plywood and
water-based stains
• Alternate Energy Technologies solar water heating panels from AllSolar
• NCFI Sealite Polyurethane Spray Foam insulation — organic based
• 95% recycled-content drywall
• Hurd, Low-E, double pane, aluminum-clad wood windows
• Versico reflective roof membrane (minimal heat gain, recycled-content and Energy Star-
labeled)
• Carrier high-efficiency heat pump with 16.3 SEER
• Fresh-air intake; Infinity air purifier with a 15 MERV air filter; dehumidifier
• Dal-Tile ceramic and glass recycled-content tile
• Compact fluorescent lighting (CFLs) in 95% of lights
• Danze, Grohe & Hans Grohe high-efficiency plumbing fixtures
• Toto dual-flush toilets
• Thermador Energy Star appliances
• Bosch Axxis high-efficiency washer and dryer
• Drought-tolerant turf grass: Zoysia Grass
• EcoSmart fireplace

As if the house weren't enough, Phil won a separate award for the bathroom too. In addition to winning Best Bath for Project: Green, it was also named Orlando Bathroom of the Year in 2009. Bravo Phil! Check out the rest of his projects on his website.

Why's it sustainable?


• Dal-Tile ceramic recycled-content tile
• Danze, Grohe & Hans Grohe water-conserving and high-efficiency plumbing fixtures
• Toto dual-flush toilets
• Granite-remnant vanity countertops
• Locally manufactured custom veneer cabinets by Frank Bennett of Longwood
• Low-formaldehyde plywood
• Low-VOC stains and finishes
• Sherwin-Williams Duration Home low-VOC paint
• Stained concrete floors
• Alternate Energy Technologies solar water heating panels from AllSolar
• NCFI Sealite Polyurethane Spray Foam insulation — organic based
• Concrete blocks salvaged from previous projects
• Exterior wall concrete block cells filled with concrete
• Concrete made of fly ash, a power plant by-product that increases durability
• 100% recycled-content drywall
• Boracare for termite control
• Hurd, Low-E, double pane, aluminum-clad wood windows
• Versico reflective roof membrane (minimal heat gain, recycled-content and Energy Star-
labeled)
• Carrier high-efficiency heat pump with 16.3 SEER and sized appropriately at 4 tons
(approximately 750 sf/ton)
• Fresh-air intake
• Infinity air purifier with a 15 MERV air filter
• Quiet and timed bath exhaust fans
• Dehumidifier
• Energy Star lighting package
• Compact fluorescent lighting (CFLs)
• Lutron sectional lighting control system

And finally, the best bath renovation from Project: Green 2010 wasn't designed and built by Phil Keane, it's by Sandra Khalil Interior Design in Surrey, British Columbia.

Why's it sustainable?


• Porcelain floor tile 23.5”x23.5”

• Glass wall tile 12”x22”

That may not sound like much but the tile used in that bathroom is is from Mirage in Italy. Mirage, like all Italian tile manufacturers, adhere to a standard of sustainability that's one of the most rigorous in the world. This floor tile , Black Lines from their Fabric collection, proves that sustainability can be breathtaking.

So, if you're a designer or an architect with a sustainable project you're dying to show the world, Project: Green is your golden opportunity. It's open to entries from anywhere int he world and you can enter as many projects for consideration as you'd like. Go to Coverings 2011's website for full details.

Hilarious

You needn't speak a word of French to understand this video.

What do song birds and barrel tile roofs have in common?

I have a thing for birds. I've written about it here pretty often.

Passerina cyanea, the indigo bunting

I have a thing too for barrel tile roofs.

Fortunately, I live in a part of the world where they're a pretty common feature. I took this photo of a house up the street yesterday afternoon.

But until now, there was no way to combine my two loves. Enter the Dutch designer Klaas Kuiken.

Apparently, Meneer Kuiken shares my thing for birds and tile roofs too.

Brilliant, absolutely brilliant.

Speaking of birds, if you haven't seen this week's episode of Nature on PBS you need to. You'll never look at a crow the same way again. I practically idolize them and this program blew me away with how little I know. Good job PBS.

I'm coming out... as a tea drinker

That's right. I drink tea. Deal with it. It's just an aspect of me, not the whole of me. I'm still the same person. Don't hate.

I've been drinking coffee since I was in high school. Coffee's just always been there. By college I was drinking it black. No contaminants for me. Real people drink coffee. Or so I always thought. Besides, I loved the stuff. Ten years ago I bought a roaster and started roasting my own for crying out loud. I not only drank coffee, I understood coffee.

I saw tea people as weak and high maintenance. Coffee for me was as much a statement about who I am as it was my preferred way to get caffeine into my system. Tea people weren't in it for the caffeine I thought. And since you never really had to acquire a taste for tea, I assumed that tea drinkers were people who weren't strong enough to get over the hump and learn to like coffee.

Don't believe coffee's an acquired taste? Set a cup of black coffee in front of a kid sometime. Hilarity will ensue, I assure you.

Anyhow, all of that changed almost a year ago.

Last December I was a house guest in the lovely home of Sara Baldwin, the doyenne of American Mosaics. Sara drinks tea exclusively. It wasn't 'til we got back from dinner that she broke the news to me that there was no coffee in the house. I remained cool on the outside but I was panicking on the inside. Waking up without any coffee in the house had long been a recurring nightmare but I was a guest. I was determined to tough it out.

The next morning I walked into the kitchen and Sara was making a pot of jasmine tea. I had a cup.

It was pleasant. Really pleasant. It had caffeine in it and for that I was grateful, but more than anything the jasmine tea was pleasant tasting. I'd grown so used to shocking my system into action every morning with the murky bitterness of black coffee that it never occurred to me that I could do the same thing a little more pleasantly.

I drove home to Florida from Virginia that day. It was a 15 hour drive and the the entire way home all I could think about was that jasmine tea.

Tea is made from the new leaves of the Camellia sinensis, a warm-climate evergreen shrub that's a kind of camellia, as its Latin name suggests.

I bought some when I got home and I started drinking jasmine tea. I've never been one to do anything half way so within a week I'd installed myself at the tea shop down the street and I set about learning all about tea.

As befits a member of the camellia family, tea blooms.

Nearly 11 months later and there has to be 30 kinds of tea in my kitchen. In the mornings I like a Lapsang Souchong. In the afternoons I like a good Earl Grey or a chai with black pepper. At night I usually go for something citrus-y and without any caffeine in it. I'm hooked on the tastes, I'm hooked on the ritual and I love the whole package.

By mere happenstance I ran into someone on Twitter named Jim Shreiber. Jim's a tea merchant in Chicago and he Tweets as @JimmyDoesTea. Jim's a riot and he really knows his tea. Jim's business is named Shui Tea and his approach is two pronged. He sells tea through the store on his website and he also does in-home tea tastings in Chicago. I admire his approach to tea and since he blends his own, he knows what he's talking about.

Two weeks ago I ordered some teas from him. I ordered a blend he calls Moscow After Hours, a maté blend called Caramelo Rápido (maté is made from the leaves of an Argentinian holly tree and is a parallel obsession of mine) and a non-caffeine tea called Cherry Bomb.

Moscow After Hours is my new afternoon tea. What a complex and delightful blend it is. He starts with a blend of Lapsang Souchong and high-mountain Ceylon. He then adds bergamot, milk thistle and safflower. The bergamot gives it the he familiar ring of Earl Grey, but the milk thistle and safflower leave it with an effect that can only be described as smoky. To quote from his website, "Smoky and strong, the assertive aroma will make those around you whisper, "What on Earth are you up to?"

I mix up my afternoons with Shui Tea's Caramelo Rápido. Maté is in a league all it's own and I don't care what anybody says it has caffeine levels that dwarf tea and coffee. Two cups of maté at around 3pm leaves me hanging from the rafters. Maté by itself is a treat enough but when it's roasted and blended with a hint of caramel it's almost heaven. If you've never had maté, track some down. You won't be disappointed. On second thought, order some Caramelo Rápido from Shui Tea!

Finally, my evenings are now spent int he company of a blend called Cherry Bomb. Cherry Bomb starts out in life as Rooibos tea blended with cherry, chili, rose, safflower, peony and carrot. Those disparate flavors combine into something of such stunning complexity that caffeine's beside the point. Imagine the flavor of a lingering cherry popsicle, with just a little earthiness, the scents of peony and rose and then a chili pepper end note that kicks you in the teeth. I can't get enough of the stuff.

Oh I still drink coffee from time to time and it'll do if I'm out and don't have any of my tea supplies handy but at this point, nothing does it for me the way a nice cup of tea does.

My orders from Shui Tea arrive days after I order them and everything I've purchased has exceeded my expectations in every way. If you're curious about the world of tea, I suggest you take a quick trip through the Shui Tea store. And if you're in Chicago, set up an in-home tasting with Jim, I'd love to know what they're like.

Shui Tea's website and blog is here and you can go to the tea store directly here. Give it a try, there's a whole new way of looking at the world available through the miracle of tea.