Lower Cape Fear Stewardship Development Awards

Congratulations to Jennifer and Tony Butler, who won a Stewardship Award this year for their new home and landscape!  We enjoyed working with Jenn and Tony, who came to us for our ‘design coaching’ , which we do if the client budget doesn’t support full custom design services.   They had already made some great decisions in terms of lot selection (uncleared, fronting a greenbelt) and were looking for ways to maximize the advantages of good siting, and the selection of a home plan that could be easily adapted to be more site-specific.  We spent lots of time on the site together, assessing vegetation, topography, and quality of light. We encouraged them to read one of our favorite books, Building Within Nature, by Andy and Sally Wasowski.  One of the best and earliest decisions was to install tree protection fencing and signage to protect the amazing plant community.  After determining rough locations for living spaces based on solar orientation and trees, the team went to work reviewing possibly hundreds of available designs, arriving at one that we all felt could be most easily altered to make the most of the interesting site.

After purchasing CAD rights to a Don Gardner floor plan- B & O altered roughly half of the design (mostly interior- main volume stayed the same), as well as modifying the envelope to be ‘green’ with energy saving features & products.  Knowing that this would be a long-term investment, they installed a solar thermal system and utilized many systems (sealed crawl space, icynene insulation, high-performance materials, etc.) that will save them energy costs over the life of the home.  Qualitatively, we considered volume, light & orientation- opening up the house to the views & nature with a sun room, screened porch, full rear deck & added a complementary out-building (garage/surf-storage shed!).

Once the construction was complete, the planting commenced, although there was very little to be done!  Site soil conditions were wonderful, due to the careful construction staging and all that tree protection fence.  Native plants were selected which either were already found on site, or are known to grow in association with species on site.  A  small amount of sod was installed – mostly to accommodate the pups, and the final touch was a raised bed at the very front of the yard, which produced a prodigious first crop!

We were thrilled to be part of this project, and hope that Jenn and Tony continue to love their ‘forever’ house! More pictures soon!

An ‘ideal’ retrofit….

Well, one more week for comments on the DAQ Titan Draft Air Permit (or as we like to call it- Corporate Rubber-stamped Air Permit, or C.R.A.P.).  After 10/20- we’ve had a good month publicizing our ‘counterproposal’  for what a truly positive program and progressive, appropriate re-use of the proposed cement plant property could become.

We’ve been working with Cape Fear River Watch over the summer,  and presented this initial booklet/study to its members annual meeting @ CityStage.  The base assumption is that 160 jobs on an over 1800 acre parcel is a ridiculous economic model- and a different program would work on the economic, cultural & environmental front much better.

The study looks at a few key variables including jobs & population with a graphic analysis of areas & land owners/employers in New Hanover County.  We also threw out 4 basic ‘program’ platforms to replace ‘cement manufacturing’ as the sole job generator.  They were conceived of as follows;  ‘Green Inclubator’, ‘Art Park’, ‘Eco-Resort’, and an ‘Energy Farm.  As a totality, this Cape Fear ‘Eco-energy-commerce-art-park’- would be a driver for all of northeastern New Hanover County to embrace.

We look forward to developing the proposal more and taking it to new levels and new groups, as the lack of environmental review on the CCC project now catches up with and slows/stops, what is a hugely flawed project.  This alternative ‘green’ vision for the Ideal site would be a fabulous ‘gateway off I-40 as well as a draw along Holly Shelter road as Castle Hayne links across I-40 to Hampstead/US17 & the Atlantic.   More later!!!

Dark times call for bright ideas…

Letter to Editor or Community Voices @ Star-News

October 22, 2009

Dear Editor and Readers,

The public forums held by NC Division of Air Quality concerning the draft air permit received by Titan Cement are over.  Our community had its last opportunity to communicate our concerns regarding the pending arrival of Wilmington’s new bragging rights, the “4^th Largest Cement Plant in the US!”  How can ANYONE who thinks about the future of our region find this to be something worth celebrating?  During the forum, we heard from both sides.  We heard nostalgic, heart-warming stories from former Ideal Cement plant workers, and we also heard scary statistics from scientists and doctors, who clearly understand the consequences of this rush to spend $4 million of our tax dollars for 160 (“mostly, but maybe not all local”) jobs, which will not be in place until 2014 by the way.  Please, those of you who are thinking only of the jobs, please think about the exchange we are making.  Don’t you think that we could find a better use for both $4 million in incentives, AND the giant site that Titan is posed to destroy?  If you are embarrassed to be a ‘NIMBY,’ here are a few things to consider.

We all know that right now, cement is necessary for concrete, which is a valuable COMMODITY. It is one of the basic components of human shelter and transportation infrastructure.  We also know that as lower Cape Fear residents, we live in a very unique place -  for reasons that are geological, biological, historical, and cultural.  Why do we have such powerful affection for this place?  It’s the amazing live oaks draped with Spanish moss, the vibrant historic downtown, and the sound of water on a boat hull, the remaining stands of longleaf pine, and bragging rights to incredible oysters, and the Venus flytrap.  We love this area for its amazing arts community, and public activism.  People stay for generations for these reasons, and people move here for these reasons. It’s a welcoming place, small enough here that we can all have a voice, we can all participate in our future, if we just pay attention.

Titan will be removing extraordinary quantities of limestone to make cement.  Limestone is a NON-RENEWABLE resource.  That means that once we use it, we do not get it back, unless you consider more paved surfaces and lining the pockets of out-of-the-country investors as a fair return.  What value, what ecosystem service, does limestone provide while it remains in the ground?  It’s our primary source of clean water.  The science is far more complex, but at a very basic level, the limestone that forms the basis for our unique geography is like an aquarium filter, a major component of a very complicated life support system.  For spiritual people, this ecosystem service is something that has intrinsic value because it keeps us all alive, and we cannot ourselves recreate it in its entirety, we can only mimic its function with technology.

Once the limestone is removed, it is ‘processed’ to create cement.  This process involves coal-burning, as well as incineration of other toxic substances (including tires!) that will produce mercury, and a host of other byproducts which offer no benefit to anyone.  The products of this incineration become airborne, entering our lungs, and the lungs and eventually, the gills, and skin of every other living creature within breathing range of the output, which can change with prevailing winds, precipitation, and even our development patterns. (here’s a reminder to think where we choose to put schools.)  Mercury is one of the most potent neurotoxins – that means it KILLS brain cells, and there is simply NO fraction of an amount that could be considered harmless.   Where do these airborne particles go…?

Next, let’s revisit a large part our tax-funded 3^rd grade science curriculum, the Hydrologic (Water) Cycle.  In this more or less continuous process, the sun heats up oceans and water bodies, which evaporate to become vapor.  Plants contribute to this airborne vapor via evapotranspiration. Water stored in the atmosphere eventually condenses, and then precipitates as rain, or snow, bringing along lots of other solid airborne particulates.  Some of that falls in the oceans, and some of it falls on land, where it infiltrates, recharging our aquifers, the excess becoming runoff to water bodies.  Air contains water, and water contains air.  If something is being burned, that smoke does not just ‘go away.’  It comes back –  both the poisonous parts, and the less poisonous parts.  If it does not enter our lungs directly via the air we breathe, it finds us in the water we drink, and the fish we consume.

Now, let’s go back to our local economy, which is struggling to survive.  Titan is offering 160 jobs for ~1868 acres.  Anyone just a little concerned about this math? If we were to look at it differently, the area of the Titan site could contain….58 Screen Gems, or 4 Mayfaires, or 2.5 UNCW campuses, or 2 Wilmington downtowns.  How many jobs do these areas provide?

Hopefully, if you have not really thought about this before, you are starting to notice a trend.  It’s hard to talk about these ideas in isolation. (which is what the draft air permit allows, by the way.)  All of these things are connected.  Titan is attempting to build a facility here that offers incredibly large negatives in exchange for 160 ‘full-time’ jobs, and perhaps 2000 temporary construction jobs.

Nature, what little of it we have left here, keeps residents, and draws visitors. Even when left alone, the undisturbed portion of the Titan site has VALUE.  It keeps us alive, it provides habitat, it provides recreational opportunities.  The site is MORE than the horizontal surface land boundaries – the area that Titan will consume is also vertical.  It includes the air that is far above ground, and the water and limestone that are far below ground.

Is poisoning our air and water, and removing our life support system good for this region?  Have 5 county commissioners been fair and wise in their closed-door choice of the future of Wilmington, and the lower Cape Fear region?  Come on everyone, we have SO many creative people here.   Can’t we think of something better for $4 million in tax incentives, and for those +1800 WATERFRONT acres? Something that provides far more than 160 jobs?

Please don’t allow Titan to determine our future. Everyone should agree that a smokestack does not make a good welcome sign.

Let’s be VISIONARY. Let’s think of something better!

Lara Berkley

Bald Head Island Conservancy

BHI Conservancy was searching for a way to generate excitement (and funds) for construction of the Barrier Island Study Center, and hired B + O to help with a ‘temporary’ exhibit that would describe the role and function of the new building and landscape.  In what had to be a new world record for an exhibit design/build process, the whole team (BHIC Conservancy staff, B + O, Jay DeChesere, AIA, and Truelove Fabrications) went from sketch to finished exhibit in a few short weeks.  We started from scratch, with a predetermined deadline, WITHOUT the desired exhibit outline, and somehow managed to ‘git-r-done.’  Well, it was really the awesome skills and accommodating personalities of Truelove Fabrications that got it done, and we thank them profusely!  Best of luck to BHIC for generating funds for the (already designed!) Barrier Island Study Center!  (Jay DeChesere is the architect, and  B + O: design studio is the landscape architect.)  For more about this, please see http://www.bhic.org/project2020.shtml, or better yet, go visit!  The Conservancy is a stunning place, with an amazing staff!

CFGBA Sustainable Community Design Panel

Last week, we were honored to participate in CFGBA’s ‘Sustainable Community Design Panel,’   which included Buddy Milliken, developer of Woodsong, Phil Prete, City of Wilmington’s Environmental Planner, and Burrows Smith, developer of River Bluffs.  The discussion was moderated by Christopher Yermal, of Old School Rebuilders, and included questions like “How would you define sustainable site design?’ and “What hurdles do you face in the design and development of sustainable communities?’  The composition of the ‘ideal’ design team was explored, as well as the issue of density.  The panel had about an hour to cover these broad topics, and although the discussion was lively and informative, we (B+O!) feel that we’d like to continue the discussion here, where we can be as long-winded as we like!

Sustainable community planning.  After differentiating between the terms ‘site’ and ‘community,’ which were used interchangeably (?!) in the questions asked of the panelists, and defining the word ‘sustainable,’ as it pertains to design, we wanted to provide our definition of the phrase….

For B + O, sustainable community planning is the design of shared space that attempts to reconcile ecology, building, and human geography.  These spaces should be diverse, dense, walkable… and they should incorporate and celebrate nature.

One of our favorite ‘small neighborhood scale’ projects, Tonbo Meadow, was referenced obliquely (and favorably) during the discussion…it was the one with 7 requested (and granted!) variances. For anyone who wanted to ask, and didn’t…all permits are in hand, and infrastructure should start soon.  One of the questions regarding ‘hurdles’ to sustainable community development prompted a ‘for-instance…’ thought that was not voiced.  Our short answer to this question was ‘existing lifestyle choices, (we live too big…) and history of local development practices. (we’re too nice to cars…)  

We had a couple of big conundrums with Tonbo.  Since we were simultaneously working on site and home design, we spent a lot of time debating whether or not smaller homes (1500 sf) with single car garages could be marketable.  Design it and they will come?  We weren’t so sure as we were completing the site construction documents. A trusted appraiser told the developer that nothing under 2100 sf or so would sell at Tonbo’s location.  Consequently, we designed for both, with optimism that by the time the economy recovers,  folks will want those smaller, high-efficiency homes.  At the same time, the website and marketing were  beginning to draw inquiries.  We knew that the ideal Tonbo-ers would probably prefer to use some form of alternative transportation, and yet we also knew that there is nary a bus stop along Greenville Loop road, which itself is a hazard to cyclists and pedestrian.  So many complexities.  (…and so we’ll just have to increase our lobbying for bus stops and bike lanes and sidewalks!)

Buddy made a wonderful comment (one of many…) when the discussion turned to ‘economic outcomes.’  In addition to offering several amazingly pertinent, decades-old quotes, he said that sustainable design looks to create and maintain value in every decision, every object, every space.  (paraphrasing poorly.)  Do the most with the least.  The design of the ‘human habitat,’ as he described it, should consider far more than simple financial outcomes…it should promote and encourage human civility.  Lara came across an interesting phrase during her preparation for the panel…one could also call this  ‘basic interspecies courtesy!’  (if anyone knows the source, please let us know!)

So, for us, what does it all really boil down to?  Simplicity in design, a recognition of the value of history and our changing habits, and an abiding respect for nature, for those ‘ecosystem services,’ – climate regulation, provision of water, air, plants, animals – that we’re a part of, not APART from.

For anyone who is interested in this, please Google the words ‘natural capital.’

New Hibachi Bistro

B + O congratulates Hibachi Bistro on the opening of their latest location, in Monkey Junction!  B + O assisted the owners with the upfit of the 3400 SF space in the Myrtle Grove Shopping Center.

The design features a variety of textures & unique finishes including stained concrete floors, silestone counters, stainless steel & resin panels (3-form).  Unlike their other locations- we also designed a sushi bar area w/ beer & wine!  If you’re down that way- check it out, they’re great folks!

OSFA postcard!!

What’s OSFA?  Well, it’s on our new postcard, so we thought we’d illuminate the acronym & our intentions a little more…..

Office of Student Financial Aid?   Oklahoma State Firefighter’s Association?   Operation Save Furry Animals?   I know, it’s the name of some IKEA utensil?

No- it’s one size fits all (OSFA)!

One frustrating question we get as architects & landscape architects is what do you do;  residential or commercial?   Like it’s a flow path diagram & there’s only one route or assumed answer with the question.  What about both?  What about more?  Institutional, industrial; medical, homeopathic; comical, serious;  open, closed;  paper, plastic?  It’s a pretty ludicrous simplification of a practice that shouldn’t be perceived as so specialized, or reduced to one basic categorization.

With our new website, we thought let’s not structure the portfolio section by type;  lets use size!!  Therefore- small, medium, large, and OSFA.  Why not XL, you ask?  Well, being sustainably minded- we don’t actually espouse an extra large, or for that matter gargantuan, enormous, stupendous, or any other word used to describe the magnitude of a thing.  Simply put- the most sustainable thing you can do is to work, live, play using less stuff, but build & DESIGN better!!   That’s our default position- no XL!!

Size doesn’t have to be a BIG issue- pun intended, but it can be.  Our homes keep getting bigger (though that is starting to level off), and offices (read; cubicles for many) keep getting smaller.  But area or volume is just one element of design, both interior & exterior.   Quality & adaptability of whatever we create is a task we take seriously.  Ideally, whether it’s a structure, built ‘space’ or an exterior places (natural or otherwise) made amenable and meaningful for your purposes, experiences, or needs- we like to think that we can do more with less and actually have it better!

From a remodel, garden, upfit or simple path through a wooded property, we welcome the challenge of creating meaningful, functional, spaces/places for you that work best with your site or context.

What would the house, park, store, office, yard, display, garden or restaurant of your dreams look like?   (hint: probably not like everyone or anyone else’s!)   We all have specific needs, so let us meet yours!   At B + O design studio, OSFA is the grouping of projects in which we place work that cannot be easily categorized, or work that we have determined for some rationale does not belong in the other three.  Maybe it encapsulates all sizes, or maybe it’s anti-sized.  Because in the long run, it isn’t the category that matters anyway, it’s the work.

Denim collection drive for HFH…

B & O design studio is working as a downtown drop location for a May denim collection drive for Habitat for Humanity green homes.  Sapona Green Building Center & Elaine Jack are heading efforts in the area- and will be having a collection party on June 3 @ their store.   If you’ve got some old jeans that could go to a good cause,  drop them here- or at other locations around town including Sapona Green on 17th or Tidal Creek Co-op on Oleander.

Flyer for event.

Our window display downtown-205 Princess St.

Hearts weren’t left there- but it sure was fun!!

We are all back from trips to San Francisco recently and feeling very carbon-heavy in our auto-centric, less than dense hometown of ILM after the visit.  Amy went for a long weekend, and Scott & Lara (& Calvin, of course) went for a week of recreation & for Scott to attend the annual AIA Convention at the Moscone Center (4/29-5/2).   It was a very energizing trip for us all- and quite motivating and inspirational.

The highlight of the trip was experiencing the new California Academy of Sciences building by Renzo Piano.   A truly, beautiful, amazing facility that takes at least 4-6 hours to see everything.  An aquarium, planetarium, rainforest, theater & exhibits in one building.  Plus, it gained a LEED Platinum rating and has one of the largest green roofs in the world- you can practically see & hear Po & LaLa rolling around the landscaped indigenous hillscape.A must-see if you are in the city.  http://www.calacademy.org/

We also took in many other sites;  numerous museums, the SF zoo (yes, we saw THAT area, the tiger attack zone- it’s very newly re-barriered), Coit tower, Lombard St., the Embarcadero, and numerous cable car rides & neighborhood walks.  Calvin even rode the outer rails on the steeper Hyde-Powell line!!  All of this, in one of America’s most dense cities with phrase ‘Swine Flu pandemic’ screaming out of every radio & TV.

Scott attended many general sessions with the general theme of Diversity in/of the field.  He also took several continuing education seminars; mostly with themes around sustainability, ‘integrated practice/teams’, and the diversification of practice (especially to deal with the economy in its current state ….).   On Wednesday, he attended a tour of Sustainable Infill Housing projects in the SOMA neighborhood- all three LEED.  Overall, SF has such vision- one really wants to get even a fraction of that philosophy & action to occur in the Cape Fear region.  In actuality, if the building/construction community (50% of our environmental/carbon impact globally) doesn’t hit new targets over the next 10-40 years we’re the ones that will lose out if the oceans rise 5-6 feet by 2100.

The mayor, Gavin Newsom, spoke at the first event & he could/may/should become the next Governor of the Golden State after Arnold the Governator steps down next year.  A very energetic, well-spoken leader (SF is only US entity- county/city with a uniform health care plan & sustainability/carbon reduction plan….).  Well, ILM at least has two LEED projects, and maybe a few more to finish in 2009……

masonboro lodge design competition

B+O congratulates Big Sky Design for its winning submission of the Masonboro Lodge’s  spec office space design.  We feel Big Sky had the most comprehensive and thorough approach, and seemed to understand exactly what the judges were looking for.

The challenge: design a sustainable spec office, given an existing shell-of-a-space.

Being a fairly sustainably-minded group of people, the challenge struck us as somewhat of a contradiction in terms.   We feel the greenest method of design involves the client – knowing exactly who you are designing for reduces waste – less wasted time, money, and resources.   How could we design a speculative office space?  Wouldn’t an office for a lawyer be quite different than an office for an architect?  What if the person who leased the existing space was a fashion designer?  An acupuncturist?

If we couldn’t comfortably design a speculative office space, we could certainly contemplate the nature of office design and offer a preferred method and materials for achieving the highest sustainability.  We took the boring precedent – with its many dividing walls, traditional hierarchy of spaces, and poor air quality – and deconstructed it.  Having determined what we didn’t want (i.e. what was not sustainable), we proceeded with ideas for a smarter and more responsible alternative.

b+o submission

We proposed two designs, responding to the different privacy needs an office may have.

the egalitarian – was our favorite – engaging, open, airy, it encourages communication,  collaboration and equality between everyone, with minimal separations, maximum air flow,  only one door (to the bathroom), recycled rubber floors and recycled paper desktops, and moveable file/storage cabinets.

the spiral – is closer to the traditional idea of office, with a fully enclosed/separated conference room, and at least one private office.  We kept the walls to a minimum – as you proceed into the space the walls increase from desk-height to full-height, creating a gradiation of public/private spaces.

Both designs feature ductless mini-split hvac systems, occupancy sensors, passive air cooling, solar shades, recycled materials and furniture, ceiling fans, indoor plants for air quality, and space planning to keep noisy functions in  already noisy areas of the space.

We also encouraged sustainable office principles such as incentives for workers to commute by alternate modes of transportation, recycling centers within the office, water cooler not water bottles, and a sustainability manual and standards for office education of ‘green’ principles.

B+O is always looking for clients who desire spaces that are both environmentally responsible and personally responsive – clients who prefer a custom-tailored fit over the one-size-fits-all alternative.  Please contact us if you are interested in hearing more about how we might be able to help you!