Green Buildings, Green Design

Green Architecture is an integration of environmental elements, spiritual and personal well-being, healthy household practices, architectural designs and non-toxic building materials. The integration of all of these things creates the ideal, modern, nutritious home or work place. Better design for the greater good.


"Organic architecture seeks superior sense of use and a finer sense of comfort, expressed in organic simplicity."
-Frank Lloyd Wright

Green Design is Good Design

Enviro Tower - Singapore

Acros, a Giant Pyramid covered in Green Grass. Fukuoka-Japan

Aston Martin, a luxury resort disguised as a giant mountain of Lush Green in Montenegro.
The perfect place for a covert getaway

The view 

Hill-Shaped French Eco House
A gorgeous green house disguised as a grassy hill in Reims, France

A pic inside 

Maximum Garden House creates Green Urban Space in Singapore.

Vertical living wall and green roof

Source Inhabitat

Red Carpet Green Dress at the Oscars

James Cameron may not have taken home the big award at the Oscars this year but the women of his life certainly shined as ex-wife, Kathryn Bigelow, took Best Director and Best Picture for Hurt Locker. I know, Old News..

What you may not have known was his wife Suzy, model, actress, environmental champion, educational activist and mother of five children also shined in her "green" dress.   It was the winner of her "Red Carpet, Green Dress" competition. 

"Caring for the Planet is always in fashion" 

 The competition provided opportunity to aspiring designers to MUSE's, globally green philosophy by applying environmental awareness into everyday lives. Designs were submitted by amateur designers to create a black tie dress made of natural/ organic or sustainable materials while encouraging these future designers to estimate their carbon footprints when creating their clothing lines. 

Winner was Jillian Granz, a senior with majors in apparel and textile design at Michigan State University

MUSE Elementary and MUSE Global emphasize respecting each child, the self, others, and the environment.

Suzy Amis Cameron's hope is that the Red Carpet Green Dress will use the international language of fashion to begin a dialog of healing for humankind and the planet. 

"If there is to be true peace in the world, it must begin with the children" -Ghandi

Modernist Dollhouse with Education for Kids on Eco-friendly Living

Im not sure if I want to put this on my wish list or my daughter's wish list either way, the Emerson modernist dollhouse by Brinca Dada just unveiled at the New York City Toy Fair is a dream.  The whole family will want to get involved in decorating and pretend living in this house.

Not only is it modern, open and clean...its "green!" Its features include six rooms with a large open floor plan, floor to ceiling windows, mitered-glass corners, two fireplaces, sliding glass doors AND solar panels, recessed LED lights, and non-toxic lead-free wood stain and paints.

Brinca Dada's Emerson dollhouse is designed by architect Tim Boyle and is inspired by Neutra's Kaufmann Desert House.  

 What's more?  Its actually affordable ($299) and built for playing as compared with others of it's type such as Sirch's Villa Sibi ($850)

While on the topic, another great dollhouse that has many amenities to help educate your children about the importance of "living green" via play themes is the Plan Toys Green Dollhouse.  It features a solar cell panel with electrical inverter for generating electricity, a rain barrel for collecting rain and recycle bins.  A vegetable garden can also be purchased separately.

Post Author for Globally Gorgeous:

Tamara Wallop

Sustainable Lighting Can Be Beautiful - Its Not Just About Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs

Artist Profile: Brian Schmitt - The funniest home videos are here

Brian
Schmitt of Schmitt Design in San Francisco, Ca
designs some beautiful handcrafted lighting that is also sustainable.  The bamboo veneer shade panels are
produced from sustainably managed bamboo forests and create an inviting warm
glow.  The innovative design is
combined with an energy-efficient light source. The shade panels are inserted
with out the use of glue or fasteners and are able to be shipped flat to
minimize packaging.

Recycled Glass Tile: Luxurious & Sustainable for a Modern Estate

Glass bottles take more than 4,000 years to decompose and approximately 5 out of every 6 bottles end up in our landfill.   Oceanside Glasstile creates beautiful art tile with it instead.  It takes more than two million pounds of bottle glass from curbside recycling programs in a closed-loop process that aims to have appositive impact on our communities and the environment.  Their glass contains up to 97% recycled material as well as being durable and making lasting design statements.  They have also developed a co-processing partnership to eliminate their manufacturing waste from going into a landfill.  They are committed to ongoing advancements and environmental leadership.  We have specified this gorgeous glass tile in our current eco luxury project  on Butterfly Beach in Montecito as well as in this luxurious modern estate we should you here.

Post Author: Tamara Wallop for Globally Gorgeous

Green Gift Guide: Give Eco-Friendly Gifts for the Holidays

Eco Friendly Gift Ideas.  Shop Sustainably here is a great link for Green Giving.

GreenGiftGuide

Luxury Green: Maienza- Wilson Latest Project in Montecito

Please Check out Michelle Kaufmann's Blog about our latest project in Montecito.

"First Home in Montecito slated to be LEED Platinum begins Construction".

We are placing a huge cistern in the underground here that will allow us to store captured site water runoff as well as rain water harvesting from the roof structure. We will use stored and filtered water for irrigation. Below you can see that the pool was poured first as the pool structure will become part of the foundation for the decking around the house and pool cabana. The cistern is buried under ground just to the right of the pool in the photo below.

Luxury Architecture- Sustainable & Green in Montecito, CA

We are currently under construction in Montecito on this home that we collaboratively designed with the MKD Michelle Kaufmann Designs This home originally was intended to the be a modular house, sustainable and as green as they get. We have converted the project to be a custom built, site built, sustainable house and a LEED for HOMES project where we are setting our goal at Platinum LEED Certification. We will be posting about this house, this project and the LEED certification process as we progress through the project. We just wanted to introduce you to the project now, after all it's Green Week on NBC. In the Luxury Real Estate market in Santa Barbara and Montecito this will be a first.

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