Archive for the Sustainability Category

Teenagers Forcing Big Business To Remove Harmful Materials Via Facebook.

Teenagers and social media can be a powerful combination. Businesses around the world are learning this teenagers are amplifying their messages through social media and website like Change.org. One recent example is when Sarah Kavanagh employed Facebook and Twitter to remove a controversial additive (brominated vegetable oil) from Gatorade’s sports beverage. Kavanagh is continuing her [...]

- 17 Jun 2013

The Science of Persistence – Climate Science Pioneers

Within the past month, two significant global environmental events occurred, the death of Joseph Farman, discoverer of the Ozone Hole, and the first recording of atmospheric CO2 levels above 400 ppm on the Keeling Curve. What connects these events? Reading Joseph Farman’s recent obituary in the New York Times, I was reminded of his Ozone Hole [...]

- 14 Jun 2013

“Is Environmentalism Annoying?”

A recent article deals with the topic of “Is Environmentalism Annoying?” and I thought it really picks up on the discussions we’ve been having about how sustainability comes across to our clients and how we will go about getting to our 2030 targets. As our firm shifts its focus to being even more client-focused – [...]

- 12 Jun 2013

Cannon Design’s Chicago Office Relocation Receives “Fluid” Coverage in Major UK Publication

Cannon Design’s Chicago Office relocation program receives feature coverage in the June issue of onoffice magazine—the premier UK publication showcasing the best in workplace design and architecture around the world.  I encourage you to click on the link below to view/read the article, “Fluid Thinking.” In preparing for the relocation design of the Chicago Office, [...]

- 12 Jun 2013

The Environmental Impact of a Tree.

“I think that I shall never see a building lovely as a tree, but hopefully one that performs like one isn’t far off.” Interesting read about the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) and how it is currently trying to build the Brock Center as  ”…a cutting-edge ‘green’ facility so in concert with its natural surrounding it has [...]

- 10 Jun 2013

Why Aren’t We Using Beer Bottles To Build?

To be direct – we should be demanding more from product packaging. The thought came to me after reading Fast Company’s piece on how in the 1960s, Heineken tried to redesign and re-cycle discarded beer bottles as bricks, fashioning a new  building material for developing nations. The idea came from then-CEO “Freddy” Heineken’s visit to [...]

- 05 Jun 2013

“How” Is Your Message? Not What…

“The Art of Sustainability: Imagination, not spreadsheets, will create change” A rational, data-driven approach won’t be sufficient to drive a sustainable future; we need more emotional engagement. Speaking of communication (we were, weren’t we?), The Guardian shares thoughts on another avenue of engaging people in the discussion of sustainability. E.O. Wilson calls it ‘Biophilia’, the Biomimicry folks call it ‘(re)Connect’ ing; [...]

- 04 Jun 2013

Mapping The 31 Million People Displaced By Climate Change

Last week, Fast Company’s Co.Exist site highlighted a report by the Norwegian Refugees Council Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre regarding the number of people displaced by dramatic climate-related events in 2012. The report indicates the climate change will make such events more frequent and likely more volatile.  The author of the Fast Company article also makes a point that, although [...]

- 04 Jun 2013

Cannon Design and Virginia Tech’s Chicago Studio Team On Center for Innovative Waste Processing.

Uptown Chicago residents could soon have a new home for their organic waste. Cannon Design and Virginia Tech’s Chicago Studio architecture program are seeking a place to open the Center for Innovative Waste Processing by the end of 2013. The center would use a biodigester and other sustainable strategies to convert organic waste into natural [...]

- 30 May 2013

Hot In My Backyard.

I wanted to share the latest installment of This American Life, which presents three stories about the difficulty of changing the public’s ethos when it comes to climate change. The common denominator between the three stories: Communication.   I highly recommend listening to all three Acts, but think that the Second is most revealing. You [...]

- 28 May 2013

St. Louis Celebrates Bike To Work Day.

Several Cannon Design offices celebrated National Bike to Work Day last Friday including St. Louis which took the opportunity to turn the day into a week-long celebration of eco-friendly commuting. The office witnessed incredible participation showcased by the numerous bikes lined up in the office gallery (image below) throughout the week. Ridership was four times [...]

- 20 May 2013

Climate Milestone: Earth’s CO2 Level Passes 400

The news is everywhere across the media – the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has exceeded 400 parts per million (ppm) for the first time in 55 years of measurement – and probably more than 3 million years of Earth history. According to the National Geographic story, “the last time the concentration of [...]

- 14 May 2013

Power to the People!

Since its opening in 2008, the Power House—home to Cannon Design’s St. Louis offices—has continued to draw attention and praise from both the profession and the media, earning numerous national design awards and lavish coverage in major professional journals. In “Cannon Design’s  St. Louis Office Makes Old Meet New,”  Modern Midwest talks with project designer, [...]

- 14 May 2013

Changing Landscapes – Google Releases Incredible Timelapse Imagery

Google has compiled a series of stunning satellite images that begin to capture humanity’s impact on our planet. This announcement came today from Google’s blog: “Working with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), NASA and TIME, we’re releasing more than a quarter-century of images of Earth taken from space, compiled for the first time into an [...]

- 13 May 2013

LEED Gold for Student Recreation Center at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo

Thanks to several innovative sustainability measures that infuse the Student Recreation Center at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, the project has been awarded LEED Gold certification by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC). The 100,000 sf expansion and 40,000 sf renovation effort is conditioned by an indirect-direct evaporative-cooling air-handling system, which operates [...]

- 13 May 2013

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