I met some amazing people from all different fields; interior design, architecture, graphic design, engineering, and more. I was one of the younger attendees and can only hope that, in ten years, I measure up to some of the other folks — their accomplishements and careers were off-the-charts impressive. Design professionals shared stories about how they started new companies, went against the status quo of company operations, and did their own thing!

This is just a general synopsis of my experience at the DFC Summit, I am going to list some links to inspiring projects I learned about in my next post. There are some amazing start ups all over the country that are devoted to public health and sustainability. Radical.

Some photos from the conference:

Woo!

A break out session, where a topic is given [ex-how to break out of the status quo within your company] 

Lovely lunch on the terrace! Gorgeous Atlanta fall weather and view of the city.

Alan Balfour, Dean of the College of Architecture at Georgia Tech, was one of many fantastic speakers.

The conference ended with a tour of Perkins + Will new office space.

The finished award! I am supremely happy with the way they turned out. Bicycle gears were slightly damaged and donated by Sopo Bicycle Co-op here in Atlanta. The middle, clear disks were cut out from plastic take out containers. The verbage was stamped on the plastic by hand with paint. The marble base was cut out of marble slab reclaimed from a demolished building in Atlanta. The big “gear head” piece is attached to the base using a simple bolt, no adhesives necessary. I think it has a tough, industrial edge with an elegant streak.

Some of the staff of the Sustainability Division holding an award; (left to right) Leslie Caceda, Mary Talukder, Diana Trettin, Bill Vondersmith, Yours Truly, Suzanne Burnes, & Lauren Travis.

The Governor of Georgia, Sonny Perdue, presenting the Innovation Award to the staff from Unicoi State Park at the Natural Leaders Awards Ceremony this past Wednesday. For more images from the event and the list of winners, go to the Natural Leaders Awards website.

This week I am working on finishing up a birdhouse for [The Atlanta Chapter] Architecture for Humanity’s 2nd Annual Birdhouse Social! My main goals were to create something simple, sustainable, and suitable for a birdie to live in.

Some verbage on the design so far >>

My idea was to retrofit an old basket since it has an organic, nest-like feel and is already designed for hanging. Then I took the concept of an old-school basket two steps further… I incorporated a bowl of some green liveliness (a low maintenance cactus) into the structure to add life/color/interest/contrast. The bowl of cactus also provide a roof structure to plug the opening in the basket and shelter the bird. To really emphasize the hanging position of the birdhouse, I am in the process of creating a mobile of plant root silhouettes. The silhouettes will be laser cut out of some scrap white acrylic that I have. The mobile will suspend from the bottom of the basket.

The basket and bowl were found at Salvation Army. The white plastic ring and wooden dowel were left over scraps from studio last semester. Overall, it cost me less than $10 to make and I was able to manipulate everything with hand tools.

Details about the Birdhouse Social (from the official site) >>

The event takes place on Saturday, August 14th 2010, from 4 to 8 pm.  The evening will feature a silent auction of custom birdhouses, and chicken coops, designed by some of Atlanta’s most creative residents. This year, the Birdhouse Social will benefit the Greater Vine Cities Outreach Program and English Avenue Campus renovation. Studioplex once again plays host to this outdoor event with Graphite Design also returning to create glorious birdhouse displays via creative installation.

Hope to see some of you there!

I was surprised that many students thought that sustainability DOES compromise the design process. Without naming names, one student said negatively affecting the environment (with new product and mass-manufacturing) was justified because it meant we were evolving technologies and intellectually growing as a society. My answer — If we are evolved and intellectual, why can’t we think of ways to still move forward as a society without destroying the very planet we live on. Anyways, I feel the exact opposite. I hope all designers do — designing for sustainability is definitely a challenge, but it in no way should stifle the advancement of ideas and innovations — instead, sustainability might lead us down a new path.

I can understand why people feel like living sustainably means reverting back to primitive ways when technology and mass production did not exist. Yes, that was one period of time where people lived more sustainably. Reducing our consumption and production of products is one way to live more sustainably — but what if we just consumed biodegradable products or produced products with wind powered factories. You don’t have to be “green” and cynical!

I have so much faith in future designers/engineers/architects/visionaries. I know that if we are optimistic and keep our creative and innovative juices flowing that we won’t have to sacrifice the norms of our current society to be green. We will think up ways to live sustainably AND advance technology — those two realms are so closely interconnected to me. I just hope that future designers are up to the challenge! Because my class last week got me feeling pretty pessimistic.

If future designers are not optimistic, then how will they affect future consumers?

[taken from the website]

Atlanta Pecha Kucha is an informal forum for creative work encompassing a range of disciplines: advertising, architecture, art, fashion, food, graphics, media (digital, moving, mixed), products…

The key to Pecha Kucha is the simple formula: 20 slides for 20 seconds each. Each invited speaker has the spotlight for 6 minutes 40 seconds to share and show off their work before the program moves on to the next presentation. The unfolding mix of stuff on show keeps everyone engaged and talking. The bar eases the conversation.

If you are in the Atlanta area, you should come out on Feb 21!

Pecha Kucha is held at Octane Coffee Lounge
[1009 Marietta St NW, Atlanta, GA 30318]

Hope to see you there!

Wish me luck next week!

My friend Cristina, an intern at the People of Resource, told me today that a Closed Loop business card was featured briefly in a commercial for Mojito. Mojito is a new, compact wallet designed by Malcolm Fontier. People of Resource did a great job creating the commercial.

Click here to watch the Mojito commercial. Look for the Closed Loop card in the top left corner.Check out Mojito Promo Part 1 on vimeo too if you are interested.

Now I know in the commercial most of the cards, included Closed Loop, were deemed “unnecessary”. However, I am just excited that Closed Loop is starting to build a presence in the Atlanta design community (even if just for a few seconds).

This Thursday I will be speaking about Closed Loop at Avant Design Discussions that is hosted by People of Resource and the Museum of Design in Atlanta. Avant is “a modern take on the age old tradition of dinner, drinks, and design discussions. More details to come…

Watch this video >> AVANT 101 to learn more about the Thursday shindig.

This Thursday I am volunteering to help out at the GreenBusiness Works Expo. I am not really sure what my volunteer work will entail yet… but I am excited about the networking opportunities. My title is “recycling volunteer”. I am not sure if that means I am supposed to educate people about recycling… or am I volunteering to recycle things for people? That is kind of funny considering this Expo should be full of people who love recycling. We shall see..

Anyways, there are going to be SO many companies with sustainable objectives that I could talk to. It is going down at the Cobb Galleria Centre on September 2nd and 3rd if anyone is interested in attending. Check out the GreenBusiness Works Expo website and program.

I am going to make up a ton of cards to give out. I wish I had more time to really fix up and organize the site to how I want it to be, but … it will have to do. I think in the future, It would be awesome to hire someone to re-organize it for me. First I need money though! So perhaps before Thursday I will set up my Paypal donation button and get some donations that way. Just to help the site grow. I just need to be 110% clear that it is NOT tax deductable and goes into a personal closed loop bank account I have to help the site/organization.

Think it will get too messy? I think it may…