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The past few weeks have been evenly divided between time spent in the lovely moss studio and time spent on the lovely moss patio. As the weather has warmed, I’ve found the latter more difficult to resist.

Outdoor offices are kind of an oxymoron, right? Computers, buzzing phones and suits don’t belong on a grassy plain. At least, not yet.

As this Fast Co article explores, why aren’t we taking our work outside? Our increasingly digital lives supposedly enable us to work from anywhere; why must that place necessarily have windows and four walls? Though there are tasks that need to be done from inside, there are those sunny, gorgeous days that it feels criminal not to enjoy. Until offices like the one below are commonplace, here are our tips for unplugging and working outdoors.

Sitting right

I have long ago accepted that unaided laptops were not intended for prolonged use, and have the chiropractor to prove it. And as great for our health as working outdoors is, hunching over one’s lap in a deck chair is not.

Try and find a table that’s high enough to encourage good posture. If you can swing it, bring a laptop stand, though a couple of books, or even a cardboard box from some summer shopping will help. Get yourself a seperate mouse and even an external keyboard if you can find a reasonably portable one. A trackpad is also nice to have if you’re dragging your mouse over a super textured or slippery surface, but in a pinch, a post-it or piece of paper will do. The diagram below depicts the ideal work laptop set-up, but it’s probably a platonic ideal if you’re outdoors. Regardless of the number of accessories you’ve got, make sure to break frequently, breath in the fresh air, and appreciate that you’re not in a freezing office (also stretch out your neck and shoulders.)

Visibility

Unless your work is on physical paper, you’ll notice a dramatic difference when you’re in the shade vs. the sun. You’ll also drain your battery faster cranking up the brightness to combat glare, which is another drawback, especially since the great outdoors still doesn’t contain power sockets (though my inner cynic says it’s only a matter of time). If you can find a café or table with an umbrella, set up shop under there (hello The Grind and The Bourgeois Pig). On that note, check out this fantastic solar powered parasol/charger design by Ombrellone Solare. I hope some arrive in Millenium Park asap.

Gigaom has some great tips for using laptops outdoors, including getting a sunshade for your laptop. The low-tech solution below was found in the comments section.

Janky, but functional. Shades for your eyes work as well. And if you still can’t see, there’s always Sternlab’s Compubody sock.

Alternatively, you can just pack an umbrella or parasol with you (shame on her posture though):

Battery Life

There are tricks for saving battery life, like turning off wi-fi, bluetooth and background tasks, but a couple good extension cords can easily get you into the backyard if your battery is on the verge of death every 20 minutes.

Regardless of the state of your battery, keeping external USB devices to a minimum will extend its life while you’re chargerless. I usually just work with a small USB mouse. For some more meticulous tips, read Fried Beef’s article here. 

Laptop Safety

If you’re on a patio under a nice shady tree on a perfect day, your laptop is probably fine. But this is not always the case. Things can get too hot, humid, or rainy to safely operate your sensitive machine outdoors. The best way to prepare against this is to follow Apartment Therapy’s advice and know the safe ranges. Anything above 80% humidity or 95 degrees F is a risk to your hardware: expanding parts and condensation can compromise your laptop and data. There are cheap programs that can monitor your computer’s temperature in the top menu bar, but admittedly I just use the touch test: when it feels too hot, I move.

Of course we all know that water and computers don’t mix, but if caught in an unexpected drizzle (or plunking down on a table where something might be spilled) it’s a great idea to have protection in place. Covers of varying materials and ruggedness can be snapped onto your laptop to give it an extra shield.

Air circulation is important to prevent overheating, especially if working on surfaces that tend to get scorchingly hot. This is another reason why a laptop stand is good, but if you don’t have one, propping up the back end with any old object will help encourage airflow and keep things cool.

Security

Of course, protecting your computer does you no good if it gets stolen. Working outdoors somewhere that’s not your own patio is a little safer with a buddy who can watch your stuff while you take a bathroom break. And just in case any of the above goes wrong, back up your data first.

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.

As for the desk, the powder coated 1.5″ x 3″ tube steel legs are loosely based on the Theme Building and were assembled by Art Metal Design Studio in Pilsen. The desk top is made of 3/4″ thick reclaimed Elm barnwood, has two touch latch drawers and was assembled by Demeter Millwork in the West Loop. No fish were harmed in the making of this piece.

It is available for purchase on Etsy.

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 use the companion planting method in the garden box. Companion planting benefits certain plants by giving them pest control, naturally without the use of herbicides. It is based around the idea that certain plants can benefit others when planted next to or near one another. An example of companion planting is basil planted next to tomatoes with a marigold nearby. The marigold not only attracts beneficial pollinators like honeybees, it is also a pest attractor. The white fly, for example, will dine on the marigold rather than seeking out and devouring the tomato plant. The basil will ward off whiteflies, aphids and spider mites. This is referred to as trap cropping.

In the planter box: brussel sprouts, heirloom tomatoes, herbs (basil, sage, thyme, oregano), cilantro, peppers. Strawberries (pictured below)

showy goldenrod

Sorrel

Our Andersonville parklet project is featured in Treehugger. Check out the full article here.

Read more about the parklet on our original post, and view renderings here.

“Packaging” is a sort of ho-hum word to describe the shell for treasured goods being shipped across the country, or halfway around the world. It’s also a poor descriptor for the seductive sheath that researchers pour gallons of time into and designers stay up nights agonizing over. We’ve definitely made consumer choices based on packaging alone, simply because said item looks better on our dresser.

But nearly always, the shelf life of the packaging is a lot shorter than the time it took to dream up. That’s a lot of Styrofoam/plastic/etc. in a lot of garbage cans.

This week’s edition is about genius alternatives to vessels that far outlast their cargo.

A bag that biodegrades in 60 days (pictured above).

Austin, Texas was the latest city to join in the banning of the dreaded plastic bag. It’s not that plastic bags don’t work; it’s that they work far too well, taking many years to decompose, and for a journey from the grocery store to the apartment, that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. Enter 60bags, made of a “flax-viscose non-woven fabric” produced from industrial waste (so no “new” resources are involved), the Polish-made carrier bags biodegrade in just 60 days.

Mushroom everything.

Styrofoam (or polystyrene) has also been skewered as an environmentally unsavory offender, and for good reason. The buoyant white foam is notoriously difficult to recycle or repurpose, and isn’t especially friendly to wildlife. Eben Bayer and Gavin McIntyre, the founders of Ecovative, might have invented the perfect alternative to Styrofoam, a material that they grow themselves in their New York facility with few inputs. By upcycling inedible agricultural detritus and binding it with mushroom roots (mycelium), the duo has created an organic, sustainable building block for a variety of purposes, from standard product protection, to use as replacement for petroleum-based car parts. 

Vegetable tags for posterity.

Our favorite as far as aesthetics go, these beautifully designed vegetable tags are not only low-impact, they are embedded with plant seeds for the next crop of produce. Ben Huttly, the UK student who designed the tags, wanted to bridge the gap between environmentalism and gardening, and we think he’s done a magnificent job. The type is laser-cut, so no inks or dyes enter the ecosystem when these 100% biodegradable tags are tossed away into a fertile patch of soil. The cotton twine could always be reused as a nice hair-tie, but if that fails, it too is biodegradable (much more so than those twisty green things, we imagine).

Paper Tube Packages

A company after our own heart, Chicago Paper Tube is based right here in the second city. They produce several kinds of paper tubes that can be transformed into custom packaging to suit a company’s needs. While no one wants a biodegradable guitar case, we find that things like eyeshadows, coffees, teas and other small goods really don’t need to be bulletproof.

Know of any other cool, eco-friendly packaging? Leave it in the comments! We’re also pinning more of our favorites on our pinterest.

Filed under: building materials, cars, design, moss projects, parking, parks, urban planning Tagged: Andersonville, Chicago Green Festival, Chicago parks, Community Green Grant, parklet, Studio Murmur, urban park, urban planning ]]> http://strawville.wordpress.com/2012/05/04/vote-for-our-parklet-to-win-fords-community-green-grant/feed/ 0 emily Andersonville Parklet Rendering 1 aville rendering 2 http://strawville.wordpress.com/2012/04/13/friday-favorites-minimalism-blogs-great-posts/ http://strawville.wordpress.com/2012/04/13/friday-favorites-minimalism-blogs-great-posts/#comments Fri, 13 Apr 2012 19:03:16 +0000 emily http://strawville.wordpress.com/?p=2436 ]]>

Less can be more. Or it can be less. There are extremes: hoarders; or the guy who owns 15 things. But there is also balance. Regardless, while a walk-in closet is some people’s idea of delightful, for me it dredges up memories of my forever unkempt floor, (although to be honest, I would still love a walk-in closet.) That’s where these bloggers inspire, people who’ve lavished the filters of utility, essentialism and true love onto their lives and emerged with less. Or at least deeper reasons for keeping what they own.

There are so many benefits to having less stuff: cleaner spaces, less stuff to move if you move, and more importantly, just doing other activities besides preventing those things from cluttering your home, and searching in their murky depths for keys, bills, partnerless shoes etc. It goes without saying that enjoying what you have and investing in more quality items over disposable ones is generally better for the planet as well.

Miss Minimalist: Twenty Questions to Clear Your Clutter
This post provides a great list of things to ask of your “maybe” items, like: when did I last use you? and, would I rather have the space you take up? Especially useful: Do you belong to my fantasy self? In my case, that means you, running shoes that are practically brand new after four years; it’s time to move on to other feet.

Small Notebook It Is So Much Easier to Simplify Than to Organize
Author Rachel Meeks writes about simplifying everything from organization to finances to closets. I could spend quite a few days here and come away better for it.

Spartan Wanderer The Art of The List, Working to Live
As much a blog of self-discovery as it is a utilitarian’s guidebook, this is an awesome blog about living minimalist and exploring Sweden.

One Dress Protest What I Didn’t Anticipate
ODP is Kristy Powell, wearing one dress, every single day, for a whole year. The above post talks about her change in awareness as she gave up the undeniable high of shopping, experienced the fuzz and low of uncertainty, and ultimately revamped how she spent her free time. Powell has already completed her challenge successfully, and in the process explored themes of identity, appearance, consumerism, advertising, environmentalism…While we may not all embark on such a quest, ODP is a very interesting blog to read about all of the above and then some.

And a few great places to give unwanted items a new life:

Everything: Freecycle

Electronics: Ecosquid

Clothing: (local swap events) Clothing Swap; (web swapping) Rehash Clothes 

Toys (new): Children’s Memorial Hospital Donations (Chicago)

Books: Open Books

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.

If you scroll down a little (or click here) you’ll remember that a few weeks ago, we posted about Chicago’s coldest day in recorded history. And then, for fun, we sought out the world’s coldest recorded temperature (-129 F!). Not that Antarctica has any permanent residents or anything (it doesn’t) but wondering how people kept alive in the cold before Central Heating laid the foundation for the first of a series of posts we’re doing on ancient architectural techniques, and how some of them can inform a more sustainable future.

At moss we try to draw from passive design principles to make our projects more sustainable, cost-effective, and energy-efficient. The regionally-based architecture of yore kept homes comfortable and dry passively, by working with landscape, orientation and and local materials. Today’s post is about how communities protected themselves from the bitter cold in the arctic with  one of nature’s great insulators: snow.

Igloo

Everyone’s favorite ancient house has got to be the igloo. Mostly used by the native Inuits in the Canadian Arctic and the Thule region of Greenland, Igloos were usually not permanent residences, but temporary shelters that were built on hunting trips. The purpose of an Igloo is to cut ferociously cold arctic winds and keep body heat from escaping via snow’s excellent insulation properties. They are constructed by cutting thick bricks from packed snow; the interior then melts with human occupation, strengthening the Igloo as a layer of ice re-hardens. This yields a structure that can withstand winds and curious animals, and that is also considerably warmer and cozier inside than outside. With an outdoor temperature of -49 F, an igloo’s interior temperature can range from 19–61 F, quite comfortable, especially when clothed in caribou hides. Igloos need holes for ventiliation, as CO2 can actually build up to dangerous levels inside because packed snow is so air tight. People are advised to create raised platforms to sleep on for this reason (CO2 is heavy and sinks), as well as to stay warmer.

Quinzhee

A Quinzhee is far less sturdy than an Igloo, and doesn’t require the same type of hard-packed snow. Also unlike an Igloo, the Quinzhee is still built frequently today for camping trips in snowy areas (hey, it’s cheaper than an RV.) Originally used by the Athabascan Indians of Alaska, it is basically a hollowed out pile of snow. Like the Igloo, the interior of a Quinzhee can insulate well against frigid temperatures.

Contemporary uses

This dazzlingly gorgeous “igloo village” (above) in Finland is a modern display of igloos in all their glory. Guests can spend the night in an Igloo hotel (down sleeping bags, socks, and a hood are provided) or in a special thermal glass igloo, or even get married in a beautiful snow chapel.

This portable structure, dubbed the “unavailability shelter,” by its creators, Norwegian architecture firm Garterfuglen, uses frozen lake water as its walls. Upon them melting (or the frame being dismantled), it can be easily transported to the next location. Ideal for ice fishing, or a bit of solitude in a gleaming arctic wonderland, the hut looks like a giant lantern when a few candles are lit inside. We’d like to see one of these near Lake Michigan. Via Dezeen.

That segues nicely into our next post on ancient architecture, which will be on Yurts and other pack up n’ go homes. Watch this space!