TreeHouse: The TreeHouse hardware store is located in south Austin and offers a unique blend of education, design, and supplies - with an organic coffee shop thrown in. Built in a repurposed Border's, the store lives what it professes offering not only sustainable options to homeowners, but demonstrating them in their own design. The company is very mission driven and intentional and we were fortunate enough to have a tour led by Jason Ballard, co-founder of the TreeHouse and current VP of Sustainability an Education. The company has a firm commitment to education and understanding and truly being different. They offer educational displays that show the benefits and limitations of given products - each of which has been individually selected to match the company's goals. Jason talked about the products, the ordering process and the constant evolution of their idea. They have no interest in being a "green HomeDepot" choosing instead to meet their clients with a unique product base, free in-house design, and contractors ready to help the "do-it-for-me" customers that make up the majority of their clientele. Jason spoke at length about the concept of curating their products- like a museum - knowing the providers in a way that allows them to truly be sure their products are in line with their mission or roots. Another thing Jason spoke about was the importance of beauty combined with functionality, using a unique round-handled shovel as illustration. Not only did it look like art, he promised us it was ergonomically designed as well.
Downtown Austin Alliance: The
Downtown Austin Alliance offices in downtown Austin and is funded by a
PID tax of downtown businesses. We met with Molly Alexander, DAA Associate Director to talk about the challenges of creating a "unified voice" for the
CBD of Austin. For a city whose unofficial slogan is
Keep Austin Weird, the job of helping balance and initiate decisions that impact the downtown area can be stressful. The organization's goal is to help balance the needs of the city with its unique character to the benefit of all the businesses that call downtown Austin home. The diversity ranging from the owners of a huge bank building to mom-and-pop tenants makes it difficult to find consensus. She also talked at length about the importance of making a downtown socially sustainable, addressing the presence of homeless and ex-con residents. The organization has tried to incorporate job opportunities and
wet housing as a way to give people with limited an options opportunities to get off the streets. The win-win of this, Molly shared, is that it makes other residents feel more safe and will help the overall reputation of the city. Molly also discussed the importance of small details such as clean windows and operational trash cans as playing a significant collective role in people's perception of the city.
EcoWise Hardware Store: eco-wise is small hardware plus store founded 20+ years ago, "before green was cool". Located just south of downtown, the store offers a wide variety of products ranging from children's toys to eco-friendly paint, to the original linoleum now called
marmoleum because didn't they trademark the name. The store has clearly adapted to meet the needs and requests of it s customers and showcases a diversity of products that makes it a fascinating stop for anyone interested in green and sustainable living. They had creative furniture and even a satchel with a solar panel to recharge technological devices on the go. One interesting observation was the large inventory of children's products such as toys, basic clothing, and even ecologically topical books illustrating a growing demand for this type of merchandise.
Mueller Development: The
Mueller development occupies what used to be the old Austin Airport and is an example of a
brownfield development. The 700 acre area has been completely remade into a mixed-use urban development in the heart of Austin. The development offers single and multi-family housing, retail and office space, a children's hospital and extensive green space. Developed by
Catellus, the project is working in phases from a master plan that incorporates many of the initiatives important to the typical Austin resident such as diversity, sustainability, and responsibility from both an environmental and fiscal perspective. The development has also attracted the
Austin Children's Museum and Austin Film Studios. While the development may not have finished out as quickly as initially hoped, it will undoubtedly be a model for sustainable multi-use urban development as well as a great place to live, work, and play.
Ronald McDonald House: The
Ronald McDonald House
in Austin is located in the Mueller development, across the parking lot from the Dell Children's Hospital. The building received USGBC LEED Platinum rating and is very inviting and kid friendly. Kent Burress, CEO, took us on a tour of the building and shared not only the sustainable and green features, but also stories about the design and use of the building. One thing that stood out was the prevalence of natural lighting. Kent said that 93% of the occupied space benefits from strategically placed windows. He also spoke about the close loop ventilation system that allows guests to have fresh air circulating through their living space, especially important because they often have children who are able to stay at RMDH as out patients while undergoing treatment because of their high air quality. He also spoke to the benefit of motion sensor on lighting not only as an energy saver, but also because parents and families are coming and going at all hours of the day and night and it allows them to feel welcome when they arrive at the house. Curved hallways, elevators that open facing the hospital so families can orient themselves to where their children are, beautiful rooftop gardens, and play and gathering space all make this a very special project.
SolAustin Neighborhood Development: solaustin is solar powered community with homes capable of being net-zero. With a large green space in the center that houses the underground water retention tank, the developments aim is to being like minded residents together in a common purpose. The developer is a majority investor in the financing of the project and actually purchased several homes that are now leased.
The Austonian:
The Austonian condominiums are housed in the tallest building in Austin introducing a new concept of downtown living to the city. Built on 3/4 of an acre, the building was built and is owned by a Spanish company. There are 54 floors of residential space with the top two floors housing beautiful community space. The sales representative spoke to the challenges of pricing units based on view - city or lake - and the level of the unit. The lower floors continue to be in highest demand with their primary residents being Austin residents downsizing from suburban homes and choosing to experience urban living. The luxury living offered by the Austonian certainly meets their byline - "A Higher Level of Living".
TAKE AWAY OF THE DAY: Shelter is a basic need, but meeting that can be anything but basic. Whether you are able to purchase a million dollar high-rise condominium or just need a place to stay while your sick child receives treatment, attention to detail makes the building more like a home. Providing material options that are eco-friendly and sustainable helps make not only your home more user friendly, it benefits our home planet as well.
TreeHouse: The TreeHouse hardware store is located in south Austin and offers a unique blend of education, design, and supplies - with an organic coffee shop thrown in. Built in a repurposed Border's, the store lives what it professes offering not only sustainable options to homeowners, but demonstrating them in their own design. The company is very mission driven and intentional and we were fortunate enough to have a tour led by Jason Ballard, co-founder of the TreeHouse and current VP of Sustainability an Education. The company has a firm commitment to education and understanding and truly being different. They offer educational displays that show the benefits and limitations of given products - each of which has been individually selected to match the company's goals. Jason talked about the products, the ordering process and the constant evolution of their idea. They have no interest in being a "green HomeDepot" choosing instead to meet their clients with a unique product base, free in-house design, and contractors ready to help the "do-it-for-me" customers that make up the majority of their clientele. Jason spoke at length about the concept of curating their products- like a museum - knowing the providers in a way that allows them to truly be sure their products are in line with their mission or roots. Another thing Jason spoke about was the importance of beauty combined with functionality, using a unique round-handled shovel as illustration. Not only did it look like art, he promised us it was ergonomically designed as well.
Downtown Austin Alliance: The Downtown Austin Alliance offices in downtown Austin and is funded by a PID tax of downtown businesses. We met with Molly Alexander, DAA Associate Director to talk about the challenges of creating a "unified voice" for the CBD of Austin. For a city whose unofficial slogan is Keep Austin Weird, the job of helping balance and initiate decisions that impact the downtown area can be stressful. The organization's goal is to help balance the needs of the city with its unique character to the benefit of all the businesses that call downtown Austin home. The diversity ranging from the owners of a huge bank building to mom-and-pop tenants makes it difficult to find consensus. She also talked at length about the importance of making a downtown socially sustainable, addressing the presence of homeless and ex-con residents. The organization has tried to incorporate job opportunities and wet housing as a way to give people with limited an options opportunities to get off the streets. The win-win of this, Molly shared, is that it makes other residents feel more safe and will help the overall reputation of the city. Molly also discussed the importance of small details such as clean windows and operational trash cans as playing a significant collective role in people's perception of the city.
EcoWise Hardware Store: eco-wise is small hardware plus store founded 20+ years ago, "before green was cool". Located just south of downtown, the store offers a wide variety of products ranging from children's toys to eco-friendly paint, to the original linoleum now called marmoleum because didn't they trademark the name. The store has clearly adapted to meet the needs and requests of it s customers and showcases a diversity of products that makes it a fascinating stop for anyone interested in green and sustainable living. They had creative furniture and even a satchel with a solar panel to recharge technological devices on the go. One interesting observation was the large inventory of children's products such as toys, basic clothing, and even ecologically topical books illustrating a growing demand for this type of merchandise. 
Mueller Development: The Mueller development occupies what used to be the old Austin Airport and is an example of a brownfield development. The 700 acre area has been completely remade into a mixed-use urban development in the heart of Austin. The development offers single and multi-family housing, retail and office space, a children's hospital and extensive green space. Developed by Catellus, the project is working in phases from a master plan that incorporates many of the initiatives important to the typical Austin resident such as diversity, sustainability, and responsibility from both an environmental and fiscal perspective. The development has also attracted the Austin Children's Museum and Austin Film Studios. While the development may not have finished out as quickly as initially hoped, it will undoubtedly be a model for sustainable multi-use urban development as well as a great place to live, work, and play.
Ronald McDonald House: The Ronald McDonald House
in Austin is located in the Mueller development, across the parking lot from the Dell Children's Hospital. The building received USGBC LEED Platinum rating and is very inviting and kid friendly. Kent Burress, CEO, took us on a tour of the building and shared not only the sustainable and green features, but also stories about the design and use of the building. One thing that stood out was the prevalence of natural lighting. Kent said that 93% of the occupied space benefits from strategically placed windows. He also spoke about the close loop ventilation system that allows guests to have fresh air circulating through their living space, especially important because they often have children who are able to stay at RMDH as out patients while undergoing treatment because of their high air quality. He also spoke to the benefit of motion sensor on lighting not only as an energy saver, but also because parents and families are coming and going at all hours of the day and night and it allows them to feel welcome when they arrive at the house. Curved hallways, elevators that open facing the hospital so families can orient themselves to where their children are, beautiful rooftop gardens, and play and gathering space all make this a very special project.
The Austonian: The Austonian condominiums are housed in the tallest building in Austin introducing a new concept of downtown living to the city. Built on 3/4 of an acre, the building was built and is owned by a Spanish company. There are 54 floors of residential space with the top two floors housing beautiful community space. The sales representative spoke to the challenges of pricing units based on view - city or lake - and the level of the unit. The lower floors continue to be in highest demand with their primary residents being Austin residents downsizing from suburban homes and choosing to experience urban living. The luxury living offered by the Austonian certainly meets their byline - "A Higher Level of Living".
No comments:
Post a Comment