week 7

The marshmallow challenge... really? I know I'm biased because, as I said in class, it's the third time I've had to do it in the past year, but I feel like the marshmallow challenge is old news. Aside from that, the Cobego presentation was pretty interesting. I always like to see how people in design fields operate in the real world. The projects they showed us were all pretty cool and I've looked at coroflot a few times since and seen some nice projects on there too. The Eames videos were also pretty interesting. It never ceases to amaze me how productive those two were.

cradle to cradle III

After this week, I can certainly say that this is one of the most interesting and informative books I have read in quite a while. There were a few parts of this reading that were of particular interest to me. The idea of biological and technical material flows bought up a good point. I used to think that if every product could be made out of biodegradable materials, it would solve the problems associated with many products. The idea of technical nutrients, however, points out that it's not really about what products are made of, but rather how many times they can be reused that determines their environmental impact. As a side note, I recently found out some interesting eco facts while doing research for another class, which relate to the idea of technical nutrients. First, I found out that asphalt is actually a pretty great material ecologically, as it can be recycled countless times without using value, and it can be recycled on site or off of site. I also found out that Ohio is actually one of the best states when it comes to recycling asphalt; 90% of our new roads and road repairs are made of recycled asphalt. The concept of products of service was also very interesting to me. I think it might be difficult to implement, however, as it would force a lot of people to change their ideas about what products fundamentally are. I was surprised that LEED certification was not mentioned in chapter 5. I know that a lot of forward thinking architects and landscape architects take issue with LEED. I, for one, am not a big fan of the LEED program, as it has historically been exploited by construction managers as a way to earn tax breaks. The results may or may not actually be more eco-friendly and, more often than not, have little or nothing to do with aesthetic sensibilities. I was also pleased to learn in chapter 6 that Nike is pursuing more eco-minded production methods, as I just bought my first pair of Nike's ever a few months ago. Chapter 6 also brought up the issue of genetically modified produce. I just saw a documentary called The Future of Food which brought up similarly disturbing information about GM plants (i.e. the fact that they are probably not 100% safe for human consumption, but they are very good at competing with non-GM plants). Overall, I really liked this book and found it both inspiring, and a little bit scary.

outdoor/indoor

(5) outdoor products
backcountry 
slumberjack 
coleman 
REI 
campmor 

(3) outdoor tradeshows

http://www.deseretnews.com/photos/midres/5044307.jpg

Columbia trade show

http://www.chums.com/images/chums/homepage/Slide_OR.jpg

(5) indoor products

hpii 

rubbermaid 

robinson 

homegoods 

realgoods 

(3) indoor tradeshows

http://pgsgrow.com/2009-trade-show/images/tradeshow19.jpg

http://www.trendedit.com/resources/images/blog/dsc01187.jpg

http://english.chosun.com/site/data/img_dir/2010/09/09/2010090901070_0.jpg

(3) specific indoor products

Air Purifier: http://www.inhabitat.com/wp-content/uploads/airpodinnursery.jpg

Blender: http://www.2blowhards.com/archives/kitchen_aid_blender.jpg

Alarm Clock: http://contemporaryclocks.org/wp-content/uploads/modern-alarm-clock.jpg

so what exactly is a home good?

I was unable to find an exact definition of the term, so I'll keep it simple: a home good is any product designed to make life easier, specifically intended for use inside of the home.