Designing a Sustainable City Lesson Plan Urban Education
Standing in front of twenty-eight eighth graders last Tuesday, I found myself doing something I never expected when I started Smart Build Southwest: teaching kids how to design cities. The…
Designer Sustainable Brands Fashion Environmental Leaders
You know, I never thought I'd find myself digging through fashion brands' sustainability reports with the same intensity I bring to analyzing building insulation R-values. But here I am, at…
Designing a Sustainable Building Architecture Planning Process
Last Tuesday, I found myself staring at blueprints spread across my kitchen table, coffee growing cold as I tried to explain to a frustrated homeowner why her architect's "sustainable" design…
Green Building and Sustainable Design Integrated Approach
Walking through a newly completed "green" subdivision in Scottsdale last month, I couldn't help but laugh at the irony. Every house proudly displayed ENERGY STAR certificates and boasted about their…
Eco Friendly Sustainable Interior Design Green Spaces
When my friend Sarah showed me the pictures of her newly renovated living room last month, I honestly didn't know what to say. The space looked like a magazine spread—gorgeous…
Design of Sustainable Schools Educational Facility Planning
Last Tuesday, I found myself standing in the cafeteria of a brand new elementary school in Mesa, watching third-graders complain about how cold their lunch room was while the maintenance…
Design Thinking for Sustainable Innovation Problem-Solving
Three weeks ago, I found myself sitting in a cramped conference room with five other building professionals, staring at a problem that seemed impossible. A local nonprofit wanted to retrofit…
Design Thinking Sustainability Combining Methods and Goals
I've been wrestling with something that keeps me up at night. You know how everyone talks about sustainable design these days? But here's the thing that bugs me: most of…
Design Strategies for Sustainability Comprehensive Approaches
The call came in at seven thirty on a Tuesday morning. Mrs. Rodriguez from Carefree wanted to know if I could help her understand why their new "green" house was…
Design Your Own Sustainable City Interactive Planning
Yesterday I watched a group of middle schoolers argue passionately about where to place a sewage treatment plant in their imaginary city. Not exactly the kind of debate you'd expect…