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Post from Earth Owl's Thoughts:
Looking for Green Designers
By Earth Owl - Apr 7, 2008 12:31:12 AM ET
Also listed in: Algorism | The Burque Green
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I am a student of interior design and plan to marry my future career with environmental activism. I'd like to specialize in green design and would like to begin a dialogue with other designers who are either interested or who are currently working on this field. I have plenty of questions and would love to start forging contacts with others of like minds and passions.

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names to start with
By Billy, Apr 19, 2008 at 10:20:28 PM ET
Hey, I just finished watching the 11th Hour and was reminded of this post. In the show, people talk about things and they have their names and titles/positions on the screen and Bruce Mau and John Todd were designers in the thread that you were looking for. You may be able to find them on the net and back track to people closer to home or to schools etc that they work with. Just a thought. Good luck!
  
website info
By Billy, Apr 19, 2008 at 10:40:32 PM ET
ok, I was just cruising the 11thhouraction.com website and it has links to all the people and their sites that were in the show.

Link
Re: website info
By Earth Owl, Apr 23, 2008 at 1:20:41 AM ET
Wow! Thanks so much. It was awesome of you to go to the trouble to get me this information. I really appreciate it.
  
Magazines
By Billy, Apr 25, 2008 at 8:29:20 AM ET
If I had gathered my thoughts more quickly I would have included to excellent sources of information - SEED magazine and HOMEPOWER magazine. There are many articles in Seed that flow with the current interest in environmentally sound design and Home Power has articles every issue that discuss DIY projects and provide information on how others are including RE into their lifestyles. Both can be found at the larger bookstores you would have in Albuquerque and online at seed.com and homepower.com respectively. Homepower has even recently included an article about a designer that built her house around your part of the state. When I find that issue, I will let you know what her name is and if there is any contact info.

Billy
Re: Magazines
By Earth Owl, Apr 27, 2008 at 9:51:20 PM ET
Once again, thank you for the input! You are turning out to be a valuable source of information.
  
Sustainable Design
By LORKAINEN, Apr 25, 2008 at 8:12:40 PM ET
I am an "unofficial" student of sustainable design, having learned much through personal research. I feel it is important to 'Think Green' in home building especially and I have a lot of ideas about comprehensive integrated designs ranging from alternative construction methods, to renewable energy, to home-scale permaculture.

I think it would be great to share ideas, especially as they relate to our environment.
Re: Sustainable Design
By Earth Owl, Apr 27, 2008 at 9:50:22 PM ET
I am a sophomore, but I would like to begin to educate myself on green design. What sources have you used and what would you say are some of the most profound discoveries you've made?
Re: Sustainable Design
By LORKAINEN, Apr 28, 2008 at 7:53:26 PM ET
I have an extensive library of sustainability books, and quite a few on green design. I recommend all of the books by Daniel Chiras and Rob Roy as good starters. They aren't terribly detailed where interior design comes into play, but they cover all of the essentials for building green.

The biggest discovery I have made is how toxic the indoors environment of the contemporary family home can be. There are more allergens and chemical particulates in the average home than in many industrial environments! Building 'organically' can cut these pollutants significantly, but to have real impact, you need to 'maintain' your home organically! This means cutting out a lot of commercially available chemicals used for cleaning, sanitizing and controlling house-hold odors.

Another focus I have zeroed in on is the interconnectivity of design and function as it applies to green living. In my view, an ideal green home is built from materials found in the local area, using manual labor to the greatest extent possible, and designed to accomodate the needs of those who will occupy the home--thinking small and efficient instead of large and wasteful. Such a home would rely on renewable energy for power and heat (including for hot water) and would contain facilities to safely process household waste for re-use elsewhere. No such home would be complete without a quality garden/greenhouse.

Please feel free to ask more detailed questions, and also elaborate on any ideas that I bring up. I will do the same!
Re: Sustainable Design
By Billy, May 19, 2008 at 11:31:57 AM ET
I see that you mentioned Rob Roy as a source of information! Oddly, I just purchased an interesting book on building underground houses - The Complete Book of Underground Houses - and find dozens of things that I will be integrating into my future house. The concept of maintaining visual amenity with the forest that I plan to build in really interests me on several levels. I will have to work with the local leadership on allowing this type of construction and look forward to the discussion. I love your comment on the garden - I grew up with this and have started to include this as part of my house planning - i.e. routing gray/rain water to a storage tank and using that for watering.

In construction, do you like the solar water heater vs the tankless heater for any specific reasons? I will be using the solar tank for resource reasons - rural, no current gas line, solar.
  
The Not So Big House
By Paul, Jun 23, 2008 at 10:53:40 PM ET
I just listened to a podcast last night on design. I forget the authors name, but I think her book was titled "The Not So Big House". I was thinking of getting the book, have you read it?

I'm am in Real Estate so the topic of design does interest me a lot.
Re: The Not So Big House
By Billy, Jul 29, 2008 at 12:11:35 PM ET
I have seen the book at B&N before. At the wesite, there are many resouces and links to other stuff.

Link