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Maybe it was The Jetsons 1960′s interpretation of futuristic furniture or my time in Southern California that explains my affinity for Googie style architecture. Unfortunately for the popularity of Googie architecture, it sounds strikingly similar to the world’s number one search engine. Nonetheless, the style was a continuation of Space Age modernism of the 1940′s, its name borrowed from a coffee shop in West Hollywood. My favorite of the Googies’, and the only airport I ever enjoyed traveling through, was the spider-like Theme Building at LAX. The spider was never a control tower or any other functional component of the airport. Its only purpose was to mark the intended location of the central traffic hub noted in the original master plan of LAX. It’s now a non-revolving restaurant.
It’s that time again! Lots of lovely spring and summer produce is slowly revealing itself to sunnier days. The moss loft is flanked by a variety of plants native to Illinois.
Why native plants instead of turf? Of the 26 billion gallons of water consumed daily in the United States, approximately 7.8 billion gallons is used for outdoor irrigation. The typical suburban lawn consumes 10,000 gallons of water above and beyond rainwater each year. Replacing turf with native plants can reduce water usage, improve soil structure, reduce soil erosion and restore natural habitats. Many native plants are disease and pest resistant, attract beneficial pollinators, are drought tolerant and do not require fertilizers.
More photos and the benefits of companion planting after the break.
We are excited to announce that our parklet project is a candidate for Ford’s Community Grant. Designed in collaboration with Studio Murmur, the parklet will provide a green oasis complete with seating, planters and an herb garden in the heart of Andersonville. Vote for our parklet this Saturday and Sunday at Chicago’s Green Festival on Navy Pier, which will have free yoga, and homebrew classes, among other sweet-looking activities. With this additional funding, we could fuel seasonal plantings, park seating and the seedlings of future parklets. Check out our official renderings above and below this post. Hope to see you there!
Three years ago, we held Chicago’s first PARK(ing) Day in Lakeview, where we transformed a few parking spaces into a fun, public green space for a summer day. Now, we, along with eco-Andersonville and the Andersonville Development Corporation, are excited to announce a semi-permanent iteration of PARK(ing) Day: a parklet in Andersonville at Clark and Farragut. Parklets, which are popping up all over the world (SF tour, here), are mini urban retreats, complete with plant life and seating areas. They provide more green space in the thick of cities, which often lack communal places to sit and watch the world go by. Watch the video, learn more about the project, and support our kickstarter here. We’re gathering funds for seasonal plantings, park seating and future parklets, three of which are in the works in the coming years.
moss’ newest brewery project, Begyle Brewing (formerly Argyle Brewing Co.) models itself after the increasingly popular CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) and is Chicago’s first “CSB” (Community Supported Brewery). Founders Matt Ritchey, Kevin Cary and Brendan Blume decided to start their subscription based brewery after a few brainstorming sessions. Like CSAs, members will receive a share of craft beer on a weekly, bi-weekly or monthly basis. Begyle is expected to open its craft beer programs starting this summer.
Though it’s new to Chicago’s shores, community-sustained brewing finds its roots deep in German history. In the 13th and 14th centuries, central brewhouses in each town would produce the liquid base of beer, called the wort, which was then collected by individual citizens. These select few would ferment the wort, and then place a special sign on their door (Zoigl, pictured above.) The six-pointed star looks just like a Star of David, but it’s actually a brewer’s star, one point for each beer-making element: hops, yeast, malt, grain, water and brewer. The Zoigl signaled to townsfolk that their neighbor had opened a temporary, communal pub in his home, a.k.a., to come over and have a cold one. After the beer from that house was gone, the next homebrewer would collect his wort and so the good people of the town were never without local beer (one hopes.)
Today marks the one year anniversary of the Lakeview Area Master Plan (LAMP) reveal. During the research phase of LAMP, the number one feature Lakeview residents expressed need for was more public space. One of our suggestions was to create the LowLine, sprucing up the currently dingy path below the Chicago Brown Line’s tracks with native plants and solar lamps to connect and beautify the neighborhood. More inside.
Here’s the progress on the dental office we’re building on the northeast corner of Wallace & 30th. We arrived on the scene in our company front loader. More photos inside.
Our work at Flirty Cupcakes dessert garage featured in Design Sponge.
Check out the article here.
Original project post here.
Our work at 2 Sparrows Restaurant is featured in the 2012 Winter issue of CS Interiors Magazine. Article inside. Read the rest of this entry »
