Sparkflight Studios

Image Credit: NASA. Taken from Emergence Magazine : Ten Love Letters to the Earth by Thich Nhất Hanh. In honor of Earth Day this week, we would like to share with you our passion for creating healthy, equitable, and community-centered design. In our practice areas (Multifamily, Commercial, Interiors, and Public Art) we approach every project with this care and sensitivity. This stems from one of our core beliefs that a healthy, sustainable world is possible. As design professionals, it is our job to ensure that the spaces we live, work, and play support our health. Organizations like the  Healthy Building Network  are raising their voice and partnering with communities to advocate for a built environment in which all people are free of chemicals that harm us. To make spaces where we breathe easy, think clearly, and feel more creative requires research and community buy-in. According to the HBN, of roughly 85,000 chemicals available in the market, few are adequately tested fo...

Farmhouse in Warwickshire, UK (2017). Photo ©  Architecture 00 . According to the United Nations Secretary General, António Guterres, carbon neutrality by 2050 is the world’s most urgent mission . Buildings generate nearly 40% of annual global CO2 emissions. In response, WikiHouse has developed a mission to “put the knowledge & tools to build beautiful, zero-carbon buildings into the hands of every citizen, community and business.” How it Works Designer Alastair Parvin presents a simple but provocative idea: what if, instead of architects creating buildings for those who can afford to commission them, regular citizens could design and build their own houses? The concept is at the heart of WikiHouse, an open source construction kit that means just about anyone can build a house, anywhere. Watch Alastair Parvin’s TED Talk, here . The big idea behind WikiHouse is the power of 'many small'. WikiHouse isn't made by just one company in one large, centralized factory, but b...

A country’s overshoot day is the date on which Earth Overshoot Day would fall if all of humanity consumed like the people in this country.  Humans use as much ecological resources as if we lived on 1.6 Earths. The Ecological Footprint is the only metric that compares the resource demand of individuals, governments, and businesses against Earth's capacity for biological regeneration. Earth Overshoot Day marks the date when humanity’s demand for ecological resources and services in a given year exceeds what Earth can regenerate in that year. In 2020, Earth Overshoot Day lands on August 22. We maintain this deficit by liquidating stocks of ecological resources and accumulating waste, primarily carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Earth Overshoot Day is hosted and calculated by Global Footprint Network, an international research organization that provides decision-makers with a menu of tools to help the human economy operate within Earth’s ecological limits. More information may be found...

Often to mark Earth Day, we list some local events that contribute to the "greening" of our valley and list sustainable actions that we can all take.  Scroll down for that content... This year the post is direr. Or, more hopeful depending on your disposition.  Small actions are wonderful, but not enough.  Mega steps are required if we want our next generations to be able to harvest food from the oceans,  live in our coastal cities, and enjoy the diversity of fauna and flora that we do now.  There is no Planet B. Today we see increasing extreme weather events and overwhelming scientific evidence of an anthropogenic-accelerated climate change. As designers and occupants of this amazing planet, we must take responsibility for our role in the acceleration.  Other than designing for " resilience ," what can be done to reverse global warming and related impacts?  Get informed.  Take action. Here is the evidence that it is happening: Glob...

Being a native of the Southwest, and living in Las Vegas for a decade, I've eagerly awaited building codes that support graywater use in our region.  Our water is a precious resource, right?  Recently, our residential clients are beginning to inquire about graywater use as well. What is Graywater? According to the California Graywater Code, "Graywater" means untreated wastewater that has not been contaminated by any toilet discharge...and does not present a threat from contamination by unhealthful...wastes.  "Graywater" includes but is not limited to wastewater from bathtubs, showers, bathroom washbasins, clothes washing machines, and laundry tubs, but does not include wastewater from kitchen sinks or dishwashers. How is Graywater used?  Graywater is acceptable for use in landscape irrigation, however the landscape system must be designed to prevent ponding or spray of graywater.  If spray irrigation is part of the landscape design, for example at a tur...

Our contribution for the 2013 Earth Day - Face of Climate Change mosaic.  See more images at the Earth Day Network website. This spring is the 43rd anniversary of Earth Day.  We're excited to participate in many ways.  For an astonishing glimpse of how our whole world is spreading the word about Earth Day, explore Earth Day Network's The Face of Climate Change campaign. You can also add your own image to the mosaic.   Our pledge every day is to cost-efficiently integrate green into our work for you, and review sustainable practices in our own office.   Quick Links: Earth Day Network EPA Pick5 Pick 5 is the U.S. government's official web portal to add up environmental action taken by individuals worldwide. The photo above is the outcome of a quick office brainstorming session.  We discussed the impact that we see in our local world from climate change and what actions we're taking. Impacts: more heat-longer summers, shorter wi...

Recently a few intriguing books have come to our attention, and we're more than happy to share! Conundrum ( YouTube link ) David Owen, a writer for the New Yorker , has released a thoughtful book with a lengthy title-- The Conundrum: How Scientific Innovation, Increased Efficiency, and Good Intentions Can Make Our Energy and Climate Problems Worse .  Bloomberg Businessweek's review sums it up as " [Owen's] catalogs the parodoxes of living green, including why driving a Prius may just make things worse." The more efficient an activity gets, the more people do it, canceling out environmental benefits. Illustration by Alex Nabaum  Climate Change and Cities Explore the link between city organization and greenhouse gas emissions with the newly published Climate Change and Cities: First Assessment Report (ARC3) .  Edited by top names in the field the report speaks to city leaders as "first responders" to climate change.  Their position is that ...

1 hour without lights at 8:30PM. It's that simple. All around the world. Global site: http://m.earthhour.org/ Some fun facts about Earth Hour: Http://ow.ly/1rmYd

Al Gore is staying busy with climate change action. The latest effort from The Alliance for Climate Protection is their WE campaign. It offers a one-stop location for current news, action alerts and solutions. On-the-go activists can even sign up for text alerts. We've signed up. Check it out!! WE campaign