designer in exile: Recycling

Showing posts with label Recycling. Show all posts

Monday, March 14, 2011

The Good Lands of Liberty

Childrens garden at Liberty Lands Park

It’s hard to tell that the two acre parcel that is now Liberty Lands Park was once an industrial brownfield. And it's hard to believe that the surrounding Northern Liberties community used to be one of the only neighborhoods in Philadelphia without a public green space. Liberty Lands is now a vibrant, essential part of that community, and a symbol of what resourceful neighbors can do with a few shovels, some environmental know-how, and a commitment to making their community a better place.

What is now a park, community garden, playground and state-of-the-art model for water management was once the Burk Brothers Tannery. This former brownfield or contaminated land was made safe and usable after the hazardous materials were removed by the Environmental Protection Agency in 1987.

Image via Wikipedia

After the pollution from the tannery was cleaned up and the contaminated materials were subtracted, biosolids, or nutrient-rich organic materials that are a bi-product from treatment of sewage at water treatment facilities, were used to improve the quality of the land. Biosolids act as a natural fertilizer, enabling the soil to retain more water and nutrients and made it possible for the growth of a community garden, an herb garden, and the more than 180 trees that the park now features.

In 1995, a development company planned to convert the land into loft apartments. When the deal fell through, the land was donated to Northern Liberties Neighborhood Association (NLNA). Since the community didn’t have a green space, neighbors envisioned and created designs for a park. In 1996, the NLNA and the project received funding from the Philadelphia Urban Resources Project.

A world of fun for kids and adults at Liberty Lands.

Our dog Betsy explores the park on a winter day.

By the spring of 1997, with the help of other generous donations and volunteer labor, Liberty Lands was born. The park now has partnerships with Philadelphia Urban Resources Project, the Philadelphia Horticulture Society (PHS), Philadelphia Water Department, PA-DEP, TreeVitalize, and the Philadelphia Mural Arts Program.

More recently, the park was selected for a storm water management project. The PHS designed the project and was funded by Philadelphia Water Department/PA-DEP with the aim of easing loads on local waste water systems. Additional community support has funded the instillation of a cistern that will allow for water efficiency and conservation as water will be diverted towards irrigation.

The storm water management system establishes methods that could be utilized across the city and once again demonstrates how Liberty Lands is a model of a sustainable green space and an excellent example of grassroots community building.--A.C. Johnson.

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A Few Words with Liberty Lands Park Coordinator Liz Reed

Many people have pitched in to turn the Northern Liberties lots into a green space. Among them is park coordinator Liz Long Reed. She and her husband William Reed, co-owner of the popular restaurant, pub, and entertainment venues The Standard Tap and Johnny Brenda's, have a great history putting together fun events at the park. Designer In Exile recently chatted with Liz about her related experiences:

What do you think is the single most significant function of Liberty Lands?

I think the thing that makes Liberty Lands special is that it is versatile. It's lots of things to lots of people. Even with the addition of the stage and rain garden, we purposely thought about how it would be used when there wasn't a major music or rain event going on. We want people to explore and hang out in that area.

What, if anything, has been the biggest hindrance in making Liberty Lands what it is today?

I suppose that would be lack of funds. Regardless, I think we make the most of our time and our volunteers to keep the park safe and looking its best.

What is your favorite part of the park?

That would have to be where I get to sit back and just enjoy it with my neighbors. A close second is that we own it. If we find the ways and the means to make stuff happen, we can do what we want. Like today, my husband/dedicated park volunteer went out with three extension cords and a giant drill to fix a planter that some enthusiastic bunch tipped over and broke last year. Our neighbor will meet him later in the week with his bobcat to pick the heavy top up and place it so it can be re-cemented in place. It's our park, so we can be as creative with our time and energies as we see fit. It's like a big common back yard.

Does the Northern Liberties Neighborhood Association have any new plans in store for the park or any other other green spaces in the area?

Yes to both. We hope to build a "potty shed." A neighbor designed it to house a port-a-potty on one side and a tool shed on the other. The idea is that people then can pay an annual fee to get the combo to use the toilet, and the fees cover the maintenance contract. If, for whatever reason, it doesn't work out, then we end up with one big shed.

In addition, the NLNA got a grant to green the area from 2nd Street to Delaware Avenue along Spring Garden Street. This includes planting 50 trees on April 17th. And the Philadelphia Water Department and Philadelphia Horticulture Society have started revamping the Dough-boy pocket park at 2nd and Spring Garden as we speak. It will include new storm-water amenities.

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The Community Gardens of Fishtown
A guerrilla photo essay of guerrilla gardens.

Last summer I took a little stroll with my camera in search of community gardens in our Fishtown neighborhood of Philadelphia. Fishtown is one of the city's oldest areas, and is located only blocks away from the Northern Liberties community mentioned in the articles above. Residents here help beautify their surroundings by taking part in various community diy or guerrilla gardening efforts. Below are pictures of cool stuff I found.--D.A. DeMers.


Neighbors turned this vacant lot into something special.


A local church group put a handy green thumb to this space.

Artisans and gardeners worked together to make this spot extraordinary.

And where there are no green spaces available, we create murals of them!

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Dwelling On Sprucing Your Dwelling? Thrifty Tips.

Decorating on a budget.

The conventional wisdom that apartments should be minimal, temporary-looking spaces is in no way an absolute - they can easily be made to have the feel of a well lived-in home. Apartment living is a great way to save money and allow for freedom of mobility. Sprucing up your abode cheaply will brighten your mood when you have guests, or simply let you enjoy it better on your own. Here are some ideas and resources to help decorate your apartment nicely on a budget, while also reducing your negative impact on the environment.

Sales and collecting: Yard, garage, and discount stores are the best place to find home furnishings for cheap. Furniture, wall art, and storage items don’t need to be bought brand new. You can find beds and couches and revive them with mattress covers and slip covers. Décor doesn’t even have to be purchased. Do you collect classic vinyl records, movie posters or have a collection of vintage bottles? Why not use them as décor in your apartment? Put them on display walls, in shadow boxes, or on a shelf to bring instant personalized home furnishings to your apartment. You will be surprised how collections can be an innovative focal point for a room.

A friend of my wife was on the Today Show this morning because she represents ranks of people called "hoarders." A lot of Americans seem to be holding on to sentimental things more today than ever, and not necessarily as the result of some newly declared nationwide neurosis. I use more sensitive sounding terms like "enthusiast," or "preservationist," or "collector" to describe them, especially since I'm married to one.

Websites and classifieds: Websites like Craigslist, Backpages, and other free online classifieds are a great resource for finding home furnishings. Not everybody can hold on to belongings these days. People are often moving out of their homes and need to get rid of items fast and cheaply. Here in Philly, one can find online "swap" groups like Philly Freecycle, which is part of a nationwide Freecycle Network started in Tucson in 2003 to promote waste reduction in Tucson's downtown and help save desert landscape from being taken over by landfills.

Other resources such as Estate sales are published in online classifieds as well. Estate sales often sell items from someone who has passed away, but they can also be from those who can no longer financially afford their belongings. Take advantage of these because you may discover one of a kind bargains.

The diy planet: It's quite likely that you and some friends may be able to assemble anything you put your mind to. Do it yourself tables, chairs, and entertainment centers can save you money. Ikea, for example, has décor and storage ideas for every budget, and every assembly skill level. They also claim to be eco-friendly because they use a certain amount of recycled materials and less toxic binding agents.

But if you're truly interested in saving the planet's dwindling resources, keep in mind that it requires energy to recycle, so the idea that a cheap, toss-away, recycling culture will get us all off the hook from further degradation of our environment is somewhat misleading. Recycling is good, but Re-use, re-appropriation, and swap is my recommendation, whenever possible. I often shop for antiques, vintage pieces or go to thrift stores, I bring my own re-usable cup to the coffee shop, and use an aluminum water bottle over recyclable/disposable plastic ones... Perhaps, someday, we'll see the return of the milkman and his refilled glass bottles at our doorstep, just like on Leave It To Beaver.

Nicely balanced palette of blues, browns, and neutrals.

To acquire pre-owned furniture, vintage shops like Vintage Modern here in Philadelphia offer a great assortment of quality home furnishings that haven't hit the often pricey 100-year antique mark.

If you prefer something new and can afford more than the Ikea variety, consider investing in furniture that will last for generations - I still utilize my father's beautifully crafted, hand-me-down Eames era desk from the 1950's. Places like Pompanoosuc Mills with its local showroom in Manayunk are great examples of new, built-to-last furniture - and their prices are not off the charts. They make good solid wood pieces, custom made from Vermont Forest Stewardship Council wood sources. They've been at it since 1973, and green before the term was ever conceived as a marketing ploy.

Add and coordinate color: A fresh, nicely thought out color scheme is likely to give to the most prominent indication that you've done a makeover. Adding color to your apartment with bed and bath accessories can change the atmosphere immediately. Coordinating bed linens, curtains, and an area rug can pull together a dull space with minimal effort and expense. Matching towels, bath rugs, and shower curtains will help you feel and look good in your bathroom.

Ikea space saver.

Efficient use of space: If you're downsizing from a larger space, or taking on guests - a reality of these tough economic times - there are several ways to help make the best use of those spaces. Loft beds are a cheap way to accommodate several people in a small space. Loft beds are reminiscent of bunk beds, which take advantage of vertical space. The items can be bought at furniture stores, garage sales, or check college dorm and apartment bulletin boards for quick sales. Even if you don’t have a lot of people in your apartment, the beds can be utilized to straddle a desk area beneath to save valuable space in your bedroom.

Under-bed storage and multi-purpose furniture, such as sofa-beds, or coffee tables that expand and convert into office desks, with filing chambers and more, are great for small space situations. And many of these can be found at affordable stores such as Ikea. A nice series of convertible coffee table/desks is sold through local American Signature Furniture stores.

Likewise, while visiting my mother recently in Chicago at her quaint, efficient condo, she demonstrated how her sunlit kitchen table could easily become an improvised office desk, when needed. This I found especially beneficial because it allows natural light onto the workspace, and brings the office into a generally uplifting environment - the hearth. It also solves the problem of her traditional office desk, as beautiful a piece of Chippendale style furniture you could imagine, from facing a blank wall. She prefers the kitchen table instead because it allows for a variety of seating focal points from which to choose.

There was a time when designers often drew distinct boundaries between eating, sleeping, and work environments. To some degree, events of the last few years have made us rethink those psychological aspects of space planning and proxemics - at least I have.

With the use of the right resources for quality items one can decorate an apartment without having to peel off a lot of Ben Franklins. There is always someone moving in and out of apartments and homes, perhaps more so than ever. These tough times have created many money saving opportunities and resources, as ironic as that might sound. You might as well make use of them to help your wallet and help the environment at the same time.--D.A. DeMers

Coming soon to designer in exile - the magnificent landscape design of Chicago's Botanic Gardens. Would Daniel Burnham be proud?

And be sure to visit my new site, Home Science, for professional energy saving advice on your digs.

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Image credits: Top dining room, share alike license, owner does not necessarily share opinions on this page. Classifieds, share alike license. Craft room, share alike license, owner does not necessarily share opinions on this page. Contemporary room, share alike license. Loft bed, share alike license. Ikea, share alike license. Eco-smart dining table, share alike license.

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

America's Greenest Ballpark

Image: Wikipedia

I've often wondered which major league baseball team has the most environmentally friendly ballpark. When it comes to being green, a stadium like the Cub's Wrigley Field seems like the most vividly environmental-looking, with its vast wall of green vines.

I grew up in Chicago, but was a fan of the White Sox, a team, incidentally, that tied the Yankees for having the best post season record in history during their amazing 2005 World Series run. The vines of Wrigley mean little more to me than an overly manicured quaint North Side hedge.

Real ecologically minded stadium design, of course, runs much deeper. It involves lighting, recycling, water usage and eco-smart building materials, as well as good access to mass transit.

So which team gets the vote for having America's greenest ballpark? The winner is, to my surprise, the White Sox's division arch rivals the Minnesota Twins. According to an article in the Star Tribune and the green-building blog Suite 101, Target Field, the Minnesota Twins' new baseball stadium, received a LEED silver rating, certifying it as the greenest ballpark in America.

LEED (Leaders in Energy and Environmental Design) is a certification system developed by the U.S. Green Building Council. The rating levels include certified, silver, gold, and platinum. The certification is based on many facets of sustainability, including energy saving, carbon dioxide emission reduction, water saving, and indoor air quality.

Pre-traded J. Werth, Citizens Bank Park.

Specifically, the designers of Target Field endeavored to create water saving features in the park. Target Field's grass is irrigated with recycled rainwater. An underground system collects and treats rainwater and prepares it for use on the field. This system potentially saves two million gallons of water annually. Likewise, all urinals and toilets in the stadium are low flow, and restroom fixtures at the park use 30 percent less water than traditional ones.

Target Field saves energy by utilizing waste energy from the Hennepin Energy Resource Center to heat most of its indoor spaces and the field. The park uses energy-efficient lighting to illuminate the field and has a power purchase agreement to to make for 70 percent of its energy consumption over a two-year period. The stadium also provides a number of convenient recycling bins.

Not only is the finished product green, but so were the construction methods used to build the stadium. Contaminated soil on the construction site was treated and returned to the ground. Issues with waterway contamination, soil erosion, and dust were mitigated and controlled during the construction process.

Most construction waste was diverted or recycled, and many materials used in construction were made from recycled content. Many of the resources used came from local or nearby sources, including the Mankato, Minnesota limestone which makes up most of the stadium's exterior.

The Twins organization also teamed up with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources so that each time a Twins pitcher breaks an opponent's bat, 100 trees are planted in Minnesota parks. Minnesota's baseball team has built a new model for baseball stadiums across the country by showing dedication and concern for the environment.

These achievements all indicate a tremendous leap forward for the green-building movement. But the Twins aren't the only team that's seeing the benefits of sustainable stadium design.

Since I moved to Philadelphia in 2007, it was only a matter of time before I'd be swept by Phillies fever as the team slugged away like Rocky through the miraculous 2008 championship season and beyond. Thus, I've grown increasingly curious - how green is my newly adopted team? As it turns out, the Phillies are near the top of the list.

Home run?

Recycling pick-ups between innings.

The Phillies are the first Major League Baseball team to join the Environmental Protection Agency's Green Power Partnership Program which motivates organizations across the world to purchase green power in order to minimize environmental impact. They announced on April 30, 2008 that their home field, Citizens Bank Park, would be powered with 20 million kilowatt hours of green energy purchased in Green-e Energy Certified Renewable Certificates.

The EPA stated that this purchase holds the record in professional sports for the largest purchase of 100% renewable energy. Likewise, the Phils are among the top three purchasers of green power in Philadelphia.

Aramark Corporation is the Phillies food and beverage provider at Citizens Bank Park and they are taking major actions in improving the environmental impact of the Phillies stadium. Glass, cardboard, and plastics used during game day are recycled; frying oil is being recycled to produce bio-diesel fuel, and biodegradable, recyclable, and compostable products, serviceware, and plastics have been introduced.


My dog Betsy is a Phillies superfan.

So if you ask me, my vote goes to the Phils for scoring big on every measure. Not only do they have one one of the nation's most environmentally friendly ballparks, it's architecturally pleasant and comfortable (voted 4th best by MLB in 2007), and very accessible for suburban and city folks alike.

They also have a great team.--D.A. DeMers.

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Image credits: Target Field, cc license 2.0, owner does not necessarily share opinions expressed on this page. All others by D.A. DeMers, and free to use under cc license 2.0. Read more at Suite101: Target Field: Greenest Baseball Field in America.

Sunday, December 13, 2009

He Who Taketh Shall Giveth Back

Last year the Philadelphia Inquirer ran a story on how the high market price for metals was triggering another era of metal "harvesting" in the city. One incident described a situation at a Port Richmond scrap metal recycling center where the manager turned away a customer who wanted to sell a particular brass object: A funeral urn.

The man said there were more where that came from.

"I said, 'Yeah, but you have to dump the ashes,' " the manager said in an interview. "They're stealing everything they can get their hands on."

In these economically troubled times you'd think people would be doing just about anything to get some extra money - and they are. But even decades ago when urban blight and drugs first began to plague American cities, stripping buildings of copper pipes, wires, even rooftops, for cash was widespread throughout these old industrial Philadelphia neighborhoods. The exponential leap in price of scrap metals in recent years has made it especially common.

Fortune Magazine, for all its glory, printed a veritable how-to guide on how to pick and choose the choice items in the publo-sphere with a feature titled The Dark Side of Metal Madness. The article included listings of expected prices one could get for the items from copper wire to beer kegs to manhole covers - most of which it is assumed would be dismantled and hauled away illegally.

According to the magazine, the price of copper, aluminum, lead, tin, and zinc since 2005 has been up 95%, which has prompted a rally in a different market barometer. Call it the petty larceny index. In 2006 more than 24,000 manhole covers were stolen from the streets of Shanghai. And while brass urns started disappearing from grave-sites in Philadelphia, that same year, at a high school football field in Washington, D.C., 750 pounds of aluminum bleachers went missing.

Copper hit a peak of $3.66 a pound on the COMEX exchange about a year and a half ago. Likewise, aluminum, zinc, bronze and stainless steel all have been commanding high prices. These may seem like novel facts until one more novel fact is added; that is, a lot of public infrastructure is made out of these metals. Enterprising folks have been literally ripping off anything that isn't nailed down - bleachers for example. Beer kegs aren't being returned, and some police departments can't get ammunition.

CHICAGO - JULY 17: A sign advertises prices p...

Verizon, the telecom provider, has been bleeding from every pore. Vandals stole over $300,000 in copper from their cell phone towers in 2007, and that was just in California. In Michigan, Anheuser-Busch noticed the disappearance of enough of its stainless-steel kegs to take action: the beer giant persuaded the state liquor commission to triple the required security deposit from $10 to $30, because a lot of kegs appearantly weren't coming back.

For petty thieves the rewards can outweigh the risks. While a manhole might fetch just $20, a single catalytic converter, wrestled from an SUV, is a metals trifecta. It contains platinum, palladium, and rhodium worth $150. For professional thieves the big hauls, like truckloads of copper wire pilfered from construction sites, can bring in hundreds of thousands of dollars.

To some degree this crime boom is cyclical. The silver bubble of the early 1980s led to multimillion-dollar heists from the London Metal Exchange's warehouse and in New York City's Diamond District. But the current crimewave, which began four years ago and has escalated since, has been markedly worse.

The illegal metal plays are not without risk. In New Hampshire recently, two thieves were electrocuted while pilfering copper wire from a transformer.

One key aspect of the recent wave is that the US has been shipping $61 Billion in scrap to China each year. That demand, along with the soaring price is what really made the recipe for the rise in metal theft. However, that may well be starting to subside due the price of shipping as gas prices remain high - a point economist Jeff Rubin makes in his new book Why Your World Is About To Get A Whole Lot Smaller.

Likewise, now it seems people are looking for other materials to re-appropriate, and many of these materials are not so intrinsically tied to global trade. For example, the photos below by architecture/urban researcher Bob Powers document the scavenging bricks from abandoned buildings in St Louis.

And though an unsupervised removal bricks from the foundation of an abandoned building is not advised by this writer - especially for safety reasons - a better, more inclusive process of salvaging such materials could be valuable for historic preservation and ecologic sustainability - for example cities with old, historic structures.

European countries often utilize vintage bricks, called "seconds" (second hand bricks) as part of planning by local councils when constructing new buildings or preserving existing ones. Without this constant reuse of building materials some of the most beautiful buildings would have been long ago ruined with a poor choice of materials.

Pipes and fittings made of stainless steel

While much of the theft aspects of urban materials harvesting grabs the typical crime-obsessed news headlines, many people fail to recognize the virtues and increasing importance of its legal side, such as people who scavenge public alleys for aluminum cans or discarded iron. In Philadelphia, like many cities, the city does not have enough resources to do this on its own - these citizens often function as a resourceful, natural part of the recycling loop, and not just shadowy figures in the night.--D.A. DeMers.