Eco Design Gallery

resorts

Jo — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 21:40:45 +0000

When presented with the best that nature has to offer, the responsibility to respond with as much sustainability as possible becomes self-evident. From some of the first eco and adventure tourism resorts in the Pacific Northwest, to the Bahamas and Baja Mexico our team has been fortunate to work in some of the most pristine environments still to be found.

Water resource management, energy savings, and social sustainability are key. The ideal involves bringing only exactly the materials necessary to build the resort on the site.

Building the entire Cape Santa Maria Resort in the Bahamas taught us materials management in an all-new rulebook, nothing could be overlooked. Loreto Bay in the Baja is very similar, although trucking is available; the closest supply cities are days away. We have learned to plan, and as a bonus, we get to play in some of the nicest places on earth.

Housing

Jo — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 13:08:30 +0000

Let’s go to your bedroom together. Close your eyes and imagine breathing for all your sleep filled hours. Is the air that you are taking in each night healthy or harmful? Where you sleep is key to the remediation of your home through healthy design choices. Clean air taken in during sleep promotes rejuvenation and creates better health. Choosing to live in a clean air environment is a wise choice.

Healthy and sustainable bedroom flooring options include natural stone and ceramic tile. Hard surface flooring in bedrooms reduces dust and bacteria build-up. Other healthy bedroom floor choices include forestry certified hardwood and bamboo floors with an ‘eco’ finish.

‘Marmoleum’ is a sustainable, resilient alternative made from ground cork, mineral pigments and natural linseed oil. For people who like the warmth of carpet, wool, sisal or woven seagrass are healthy choices. Carpet in bedrooms should be combined with filtered ventilation and regular cleaning.

furnishings

Jo — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 13:10:48 +0000

We offer our clients a complete range of Green furnishings. From FSC wood frames to coverings and stuffing from natural fibres, from VOC free foam to local fabricators for LEED credits and responsible purchasing, our extensive research and contacts created through working in the sustainable field has put us at the enviable position of being able to offer a wide range of sustainable furnishings to those people who care about the health of their families and to those who take responsibility for their part in the natural environment.

design

Jo — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 13:12:23 +0000

Designers show people new ways to live. We answer questions with ideas. How do we go green? Why should we make choices for environmental responsibility? What materials are healthiest most sustainable and offer the best life cycle cost benefits? When will we be able to buy green sustainable products that do no lasting harm to our planet? It is the responsibility of designers today to show people that there is a new way to live that does not involve personal sacrifice but which can offer eco-luxury.

consulting

Jo — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 13:13:31 +0000

Experience is a valued commodity in the emerging realm of sustainable design and construction. Thirty years of environmental awareness applied to the building and design world has produced a library of books and journals, a network of associates, an unequalled sample library for our region and primarily a working knowledge of sustainable design principles and best practices that work. JC Scott and bGreen team regularly consult on projects ranging from back-yard LEED inspired additions to cutting edge eco-resorts. We are pleased to offer consulting services to sustainable projects.

presentations

Jo — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 13:14:55 +0000

Founding Partner, JC Scott is and accomplished and experienced public speaker. His Why Go Green Now? inspirational PowerPoint Presentation has sold out at Design NorthWest and filled rooms with designers, purchasing agents, project managers and people who are ready to embrace Green.

With decades of design experience across international boundaries and on projects from back yard writer’s studios to large eco-resorts, this presentation not only offers inspiration and positive direction, it can be followed with technical or anecdotal Q&A sessions which sometimes become the core of the take-away message. Contact the office for rates and schedule availability.

Intentions

Jo — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 01:26:07 +0000

I was asked this am what our intentions are for the new business so I thought I should share the answer as I see it with those of you responsible for our messaging, thanks for all your help, this planet needs us now more than ever. Fishing this weekend in the middle of the Juan de Fuca I realized there is almost no snow on the Olympic Mountains, there is very low spring flow in all the rivers across Canada. Imagine what drought must really be like, we need to get the environmental movement into high gear as soon as possible or we will be living in science fiction movies soon.

Office

Jo — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 04:05:18 +0000

Today’s office is a model of exploration, development and research. As proponents of healthy working environments we follow this field with great interest because no other realm has more at stake in materials, worker health and resulting productivity. Info-metrics lead the way to real change. We may think that a new type of lighting is better for our health, however when studies show decreased absenteeism resulting from a workstation lighting change, the people who write the pay-cheques take notice. With a longstanding eco Design focus we visit trade shows, attend and present seminars and take factory field trips to manufacturing centers, all to stay abreast with this ever evolving field. Canadian office furniture manufacturers like Global Group, founded with one good chair idea by Saul Feldberg from Toronto, T.O.R.’s David Mendell from Vancouver and industry pioneers like Mogen Smed, founder of both DIRTT and SMED in Calgary, have led important changes in materials and how people work. Ask us about trends toward quality, sustainable, ergonomic healthy work stations of the future that move with you, available today.

Buildings consume 47 % of all the energy used in North America

Model Project

VIKING AIR Calgary & Victoria, Completed Fall 2009, Project Value (Interior Design Scope) $7.5 million

Sustainable Mandate: Healthy & Sustainable Office & Factory Working Environment, Low VOC Finishes, Sustainable and Ergonomic Office Workstations, Recycled Wood & Timber throughout from former aircraft hanger (at the Victoria Airport site)

Healthcare

Jo — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 04:06:56 +0000

Helping people to get well & to stay well is our healthcare design imperative and focus. We call ourselves ‘wellness designers’. The best designs today lead to measurably improved wellness. Research and knowledge in green materials and technologies is combined with healthcare best practices and applied to specifications, to colour psychology and even to energy created by architectural geometry in our projects. With cutting edge work from institutional health service delivery for VIHA at Aberdeen Hospital to our private design work for spas and medical clinics, we value what good design can do for health. Because a healthier environment for the earth can also be healthier for a hospital or a clinic’s occupants, domino effects like higher staff retention and quicker recovery times for patients can lead to lower costs for hospitals and increased market share for clinics. We understand the need we all have to improve our environment, to breathe clean air, to reduce stress and to create pockets of relaxation and healing in an overstressed and polluted world. At the eco Design Studio we have shown that good design can improve the quality of the lives of our clients. Tangible and immediate benefits of environmental design result from lower utility costs through water and energy conserving methods from low and variable flow sink fixtures, natural light, operating windows, sun-shading devices and natural convection ventilation systems. Few accomplishments mean more to us than knowing that we can help people to heal themselves and that they can lead healthier lives through applied wellness design.

Restaurant

Jo — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 04:11:06 +0000

Greens mean much more than salads at restaurants today. Forward thinkers throughout the hospitality business are making ever more local, sustainable and environmental choices to give themselves a new competitive advantage through the old strategies of ‘reduce, reuse, and recycle’ including recycling spent cooking oils to be used as biodiesel fuel in the bus that takes hikers to the West Coast Trail. Commonplace waste, through reduction implementation can flow straight to the bottom line. Another trend is to manage resources for more adaptive reuse of materials and equipment. For example stainless steel counters can be reconfigured, re-polished and reused at significant cost savings, providing work surfaces as good as new at a fraction of the replacement cost with lower environmental impact. New materials selected should be non-toxic and all new equipment should be energy and water efficient. Restaurant operators and customers should be cautious today about ‘greenwashing’ which is when companies sell a product or service called ‘green’ when it is not. This is why we are careful at the eco Design Gallery to select only from trustworthy suppliers. Standard best practices involve the increased use of natural light, sourcing local product supply, utilizing local artists and craftspeople, building and operating with non-toxic local materials, energy efficiency, using experienced and recognized sustainable design consultants Sustainability is the capacity to endure and being able to maintain continuous operation through evolving trends and market shifts is the hallmark quality of successful restaurants.

Model Project:

RADARS ROOST, bamboo table tops, parallam counters, energy efficient lighting & appliances