Greenbuild 2008 Highlights

Greenbuild 2008 was phenomenal. It exceeded my expectations. It gave me a new sense of direction in architecture and design. I wish it was in Boston every year! Unfortunately it is highly unlikely I will go to the one in Phoenix in 2009. This post is a little late to be labeled as 'news', but that is because I was busy writing this article after my first Greenbuild impressions, and then Thanksgiving weekend dropped from the sky on me. I was wiped after the expo, writing the article, and working another job on Saturday - being seven months pregnant I deserved some rest.

So on to the exclusive highlights, at least those that sparkled in my eyes. First, everyone has to hear the Van Jones speech, you can do so here. If you want to know what it is about and if it is worth your time, click on the article link I mentioned above, I elaborate on his ideas. There are other speeches and lectures worth listening to of course, like the one by Desmond Tutu that you will soon be able to view.

There were hundreds of products and innovations that impressed me at Greenbuild, I will mention a few. I was in awe of the Solaleya dwelling and completely fell in love with it. It deserves its own blog post. That drove me to further research Eco-friendly affordable prefab housing options - I'll go off on that tangent later. BioBased, a soy based spray-foam insulation, was quite interesting too. Finally insulation that is non-toxic. Equally impressive is Energy Peak building integrated photovoltaics that are installed with standing seam roofing to blend in and provide on or off-grid clean power. I personally really enjoyed the Yolo Colorhouse booth of environmentally responsible paint. Out of all the non-profit organizations, one that is definitely worth supporting and exploring is the Biomimicry Institute. Their mission of educating about design inspired by nature has limitless possibilities. At Greenbuild they launched their new website portal - Ask Nature, a fun tool for architects, designers, and kids to investigate the design genius that nature demonstrates.

Visit Greenbuild 2009 in Phoenix, AZ for more sustainable inspiration, training, and hands on investigation.