Green
I went to the National Building Museum yesterday to see The Green House exhibit - New Directions in Sustainable Architecture and Design. I recommend it, visually pleasing with a digestible amount of information. And you get to open drawers and push a few buttons.
The first part of the exhibit is a model of the Glidehouse prefabricated home. This is the second segment on prefab homes that I have seen, and they are quite pleasing. These days they have interchangeable parts and a variety of floor plans. The homes are built in a controlled environment, without significant weather issues and can often be cheaper then the average cost of a new American home.
The second section focuses on 20 different styles of sustainable homes. Incredible architecture and purpose, plus my favorite - lego sized model homes. I've always wanted to shellac an ant or a stink bug and put it on the miniature bamboo verandas.
Just like the Solar Decathlon , I left feeling amazed, but lost because I don't own. What about the renters or condo owners? What do we do? We can't install solar panels or composting toilets. I can't convert my walls to straw. I turn off the lights, and probably should put a brick in my toilet tank. I will give the exhibit credit; they did have a lot of green tags about turning off your water when you brush and using recycled items.
Maybe it's not the point of a museum exhibit, but, I would love to see a series that celebrated little changes. Not people that constructed brand new homes (albeit made out of recycled materials) or people that gutted their entire living room for cork floors, chairs made of recycled bottles and natural clay plaster walls. Instead people that made environmental choices as needed. Time for a new countertop; let's pick this one made out of recycled paper. We could celebrate people that buy all used furniture and love the library. I feel like these exhibits ooze a capitalistic solution, rather then a reuse one. Yeah, it might be because this one was sponsored by Home Depot.
And a few photos from China Town...
The first part of the exhibit is a model of the Glidehouse prefabricated home. This is the second segment on prefab homes that I have seen, and they are quite pleasing. These days they have interchangeable parts and a variety of floor plans. The homes are built in a controlled environment, without significant weather issues and can often be cheaper then the average cost of a new American home.
The second section focuses on 20 different styles of sustainable homes. Incredible architecture and purpose, plus my favorite - lego sized model homes. I've always wanted to shellac an ant or a stink bug and put it on the miniature bamboo verandas.
Just like the Solar Decathlon , I left feeling amazed, but lost because I don't own. What about the renters or condo owners? What do we do? We can't install solar panels or composting toilets. I can't convert my walls to straw. I turn off the lights, and probably should put a brick in my toilet tank. I will give the exhibit credit; they did have a lot of green tags about turning off your water when you brush and using recycled items.
Maybe it's not the point of a museum exhibit, but, I would love to see a series that celebrated little changes. Not people that constructed brand new homes (albeit made out of recycled materials) or people that gutted their entire living room for cork floors, chairs made of recycled bottles and natural clay plaster walls. Instead people that made environmental choices as needed. Time for a new countertop; let's pick this one made out of recycled paper. We could celebrate people that buy all used furniture and love the library. I feel like these exhibits ooze a capitalistic solution, rather then a reuse one. Yeah, it might be because this one was sponsored by Home Depot.
And a few photos from China Town...
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