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...

Image credit: The annual 4th Avenue Fest in Austin, MN was imagined by city planner Holly Wallace, Cheryl Berglund of MacPhail Austin (pictured percussion experience), and multiple community artists and volunteers. Forecast is a non-profit arts organization founded in 1978 by and for artists working in public space. Based in Saint Paul, MN and working both locally and nationally, Forecast connects artists with cities, institutions and communities to courageously tackle the vital issues of our time. They partner with decision-makers and stakeholders on arts and cultural planning efforts, and support public artists with funding, training and opportunities to create partnerships and advance their public art careers. They also help others find, select, curate, fund and commission public artists. Forecast emphasizes access for artists of color, indigenous artists, and groups that are traditionally excluded. This blog post's headline image captures moments from a Forecast project which ...

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...

As discovered on a recent visit to Phoenix’s Sky Harbor airport, bottle fillers are becoming a more commonplace way to hydrate.  According to the Pacific Institute , global sales of bottled water are growing faster than any other beverage.  If you must buy a bottle, refill it for seconds.  Better yet, get a reusable bottle in BPA-free plastic, steel, aluminum or even glass. Ready for a refill? Elkay EZH20 bottle filling station has a fill rate of 1.1 gallon-per minute (gpm) for a refrigerated unit, which is three times faster than a standard drinking fountain.     The unit is sensor-activated, so users don’t have to touch anything. The bottle can be held or placed on the designed platform to balance the bottle as it is being filled. The intuitive, touchless operation helps keep the station clean and germ free. What makes Elkay EZH20 bottle filling station appealing? It fills bottles with filtered water in seconds and providing sustainable benefits b...

Nindo House - Finland Micro-housing can be defined by size at under 1,000 square feet of living space.   A very talented and resourceful couple in Iowa have managed to build a 572 square foot home, which they put on wheels in case they want to move.   While its small size certainly qualifies for micro, other attributes add to the livability of the design. What makes micro-housing attractive?   Compact and efficient space management immediately come to mind along with the inherent need for a clutter-free, minimalist built environment.   Portability can also be a useful feature for rural settings.   While this home features an eclectic bohemian aesthetic, it’s easy to see how the space-saving attributes could translate into a modern style.   Special features that charm in Tim and Deb’s “Movable House” are the pushed out dining area, which can be detached and loaded inside for transport and the creative catwalk running across the ceiling.   On the ...

It's Earth Day today!  There were many local events to enjoy over the weekend.  Take a moment to catch up on global events at the Earth Day Network website .  Add your own " Act of Green ," or take local action by supporting Green Chips , or cleaning up your own neighborhood.  Project Green is one hands-on local organization that welcomes volunteers to improve our green and waterways.  Green Chips helms a broader effort to "build community through collaborative partnerships for a more sustainable future." See some more Earth Day inspirations from past years here... Celebrate the day!

Hosted by Green Chips , the Green by Southwest Conference is a 3-day event held this week starting Thursday, April 3 and running through Saturday, April 5.  Events include: leadership conferences breakout sessions professional education expo and mixer bicycling and walking tours It's an opportunity to re-connect, learn and be inspired.  Hope to see you there! Learn more at the Green Chips website and register at the USGBC NV website .

Kudos to local architect Rick Van Diepen who is putting his passion for sustainability to work as the new Executive Director of Green Chips , a leading, Southern Nevada, nonprofit organization.   This regional, public-private catalyst and advocacy organization is dedicated to creating a more livable, equitable and sustainable environment for the residents, businesses, and visitors of Southern Nevada.   We are proud to be associated with Green Chips as a member .

To back up a bit, LEED is a third-party certification process for energy efficient and "green" building.  It stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.  LEED AP stands for LEED Accredited Professional, and is someone who has undertaken extensive training and continues to gain experience and knowledge in the field of sustainable building. According to the Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI) website, "The Credential Maintenance Program (CMP) is the process by which LEED APs with specialty and LEED Green Associates renew their LEED credentials every two years through continuing education.  The renewal process allows LEED professionals to continue developing professionally within the field of green building, enhancing their resumes and improving job performance. It continues rewarding hard work while renewing the credential holder’s commitment to green building and sustainability." Our firm principal's specialty is a LEED AP sin...

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 ...

Today I reflect on hope. Will our new President have the ability to guide us to a equitable, stable and sustainable future? Will we be able to take ourselves into that future? My hope is we can, together. Let's set the bar high: stabilized global economies, opportunity to get a good education, adequate healthcare for those in need, stewardship of the environment, and renewable energy and energy-generating buildings as the new standard. Perhaps we can value and grow from the interdependence that we, and our world environment, share. Here's to hope. Here's to action.

A green, or ecological architect, works to more effectively adapt to and integrate with nature's processes. (1) This firm is committed to designing architecture and graphics that inspire you, add to your bottom line, and reduce impact on the environment. Design for results: Energy efficiency Recycled & renewable materials Healthy indoor environment Connection to nature Benefit from rebates & lower operating costs Eco-optimized inks, stocks, and processes As firm principal, and a LEED Accredited Professional , I'm qualified to lead you through the process of achieving measurable success in building sustainably. Discover how design can support living lightly by 'greening' your home or business. (1) see Ecological Design by Sim Van Der Ryn, 1996