Annual ASID Alabama State Conference!
Encouragement for Sustainable Residential Interiors
Alagasco's Center for Energy Technology where the conference was held. The building was originally built in 1905 as a railroad depot. The old brick building is now LEED certified silver and powered completely by natural gas.
Design Reverence's Superwoman of the
Week: Annette Stelmack!
Annette Stelmack is the founding principal of Inspirit-llc design
consulting firm, on the board of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), and a
co-author of Sustainable Residential Interiors. To say the least, Annette is a green movement bad-ass.
CEU's can often be dull and redundant, but Annette had a really great message
to bring to the state of Alabama. Sustainable residential interiors
are my passion, and what initially pushed me to apply for interior design
school. Often I am told that sustainable residential is too small of a niche or
just a fad. Annette brought the message that healthy homes are a necessity for
human life and designers can, and are, making a difference. Many great things
were said, but here are the highlights.
Elegant Highlights
1. People are often wary of words like ‘green’, ‘eco-friendly', and
'sustainable.' Instead, clients need to hear words like ‘healthy’ and ‘high
performing’. These are Life goals as well as design elements that everyone in
the world should strive for.
1. Nobody wants to have a “sustaining” relationship. Sustaining can
be defined as providing what is needed, keeping existence, or maintaining. That
doesn’t sound very sexy, does it? A relationship that just gives enough to stay
in existence? As with love, the Earth and the buildings we have put on it need
not just to be sustaining, but always restorative, regenerative, healing, and
life-giving.
2. We need to challenge ourselves to construct buildings that can give
back energy. We need to build cities that are resilient.
3. You can't throw anything away. Where is away? With globalization, the world is smaller than every and we are realizing that 'away' is actually here.
3. "Let's do something to make the mountains glad" So
powerful!
Fun Facts:
- The standard testing for a low-flow toilet is to flush
down 3 tennis balls. So cool! …and yet so graphic.
- You can stain a concrete floor with coffee grounds.
What? I love coffee! And if I had to choose, I would much rather live with coffee grounds on the floor than acid.
References: http://blog.al.com/businessnews/2010/09/alagasco_center_powered_by_nat.html
Photo Credit: http://b.vimeocdn.com/ps/199/844/1998445_300.jpg
