Photo of the Week from Infinity Photography

Please enjoy this beautiful photo of the Paris Opera House. Provided to us from Leslie at Infinity Photography. For more information, or to include something like this on one of your upcoming projects visit www.infinitypix.com.

Gobble till you WOBBLE!

Happy Thanksgiving from DCdesignBlog!

Photo's from IIDA's MINI GOLF ARE UP

Check them out here: http://picasaweb.google.com/IIDAMACarchive/2009IIDAWMCCMiniGolfDesignClassicPhotosByLydiaCutter?feat=content_notification#

IIDA PRESENTS.......

Hospitality Forum: Tour - AGAINN Restaurant

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Please join us for a tour of the restaurant, AGAINN; the newest contemporary gastro-pub in downtown DC. AGAINN, pronounced 'aguinn' {a-g-uin}, loosely translates from Gaelic as: "at us" or "with us". AGAINN prides itself in using sustainable seafood, organic meats, and sourcing from select local farms. Designers from CORE will lead the tours of the restaurant.

All proceeds collected for this tour will be donated to the Capital Area Food Bank which distributed 23 million pounds of food, including 6.6 million pounds of fresh produce to area residents suffering from hunger.

Drinks and appetizers will be available at happy hour special prices from 4:00 - 7:00pm.

LOCATION: AGAINN

1099 New York Avenue, NW

TIME: 5:30 - 7:30 pm

5:30-6:30 - networking

6:30-7:00 - tours

7:00-7:30 - networking

COST: tour is free, but a suggested donation of $10 for the Capital Area Food Bank is greatly appreciated. Donations will be collected at the registration area. Thank you for your generosity!

Pre-registration is required for this event as tour slots are limited.

RSVP by Monday, December 7 to Dorlise O' Hara at dorlise.ohara@gmail.com

IIDA PRESENTS.......

Please join the Washington DC Metro area Green Building Community and event sponsors, USGBC-NCR, COTEdc, IIDA and AEE for

The 9th Annual Green Tie Affair “Greeniology” – Connections by Design

At Lafayette Tower 801 17th St., NW 11th Floor Washington, DC 20006

Wednesday, December 9 6:00pm to 9:00pm

Join us for this exciting holiday celebration and networking event for everyone involved in green and sustainable design and construction throughout the national capital region.

We expect a minimum of 400 of the industry’s top green professionals to join us for the largest networking event for our community!

Admission is $15 and proceeds will be donated to SOME (So Others Might Eat) to fight homelessness in the DC Metro Area.

Advanced registration is encouraged. A limited amount of tickets will be available at the door.

NEWH HOLIDAY PARTY COMING UP SOON

PRE-SALE TICKETS AVALIBLE AT THIS LINK:

https://secure.newh.org/rsvp/viewrsvp.asp?rsvpid=103

PRE-SALE PRICING:

Member: 1 ticket @ $40.00

Non-Member: 1 ticket @ $50.00

Member Group Tickets: 1 member + 3 members or non-members @ $150.00 for 4 tickets

AT THE DOOR PRICING:

Members: 1 ticket @ $50.00

Non-Members: 1 ticket @ $65.00

Sponsorships STILL AVAILABLE:

$1000-Ice Sculpture

Center table of Art Gallery, 4' Tall, carved with your company logo, uplit, opportunity to but approved marketing material on table, and ability to put a gift in the goodie bags if desired---- 2 tickets included with this sponsorship

$500- THE DJ

Professional DJ hired for event to be funded by this sponsor, ability to decorate DJ table with decorations approved by programming, 3'x5' banner with company logo to be hung on front of table for the event, frequent shout outs during party with one liner plugs to be submitted to programming prior to November 20th, logo to be submitted in high resolution jpeg format to programming prior to November 2oth and ability to put a gift in the goodie bags if desired- 1 ticket included with this sponsorship

$500- LOUNGE #1

Lounge space funded and furnished by this sponsor. Lounge #1 is directly off of dance floor. Seating arrangement preferred to have 4 lounge chairs, or 1 sofa and 2 lounge chairs, and a coffee table. Ability to decorate the lounge to be preapproved by programming, and put out marketing material on coffee table and ability to put a gift in the goodie bags if desired --- 1 ticket included with this sponsorship

$150 (6)- THE HIGH TOP TABLES

8 1/2"x 11" Mounted Sign w. company logo to be placed on high top tables, ability to put small marketing material in front of sign, not to exceed post card size and ability to put a gift in the goodie bags if desired

Email: elarkin@burtonconstruction.com for sponsorship information.

MORE INFO HERE: http://2009newhholidaypartay.blogspot.com/

From Interior Design Magazine

DMD Green Introduces SocialCycling Program for Difficult-to-Recycle Materials

The program will also provide certification confirming accuracy transparency for corporations and their stakeholders and consumers.

DMD Green's new SocialCycling program delivers the social goods. The brainchild of DMD Greenmanaging partner Jason Warnock, SocialCycling is a multistep process that takes materials that are normally near-impossible to recycle and facilitates their use in new products. The environmental and green business management consultant's new process would, for example, repurpose difficult-to-recycle vinyl-coated fabrics and deliver them to workrooms in developing countries to be turned into backpacks for local school children.

The process begins with the reception of a post-consumer product or reclaimed material at a SocialCycling site. Once collected, the materials are distributed to converters and/or local artisans who will use the materials to make new products for their community.

DMD Green monitors the chain of custody of the materials to ensure that that they are used in the creation of new products and don't wind up in a landfill. It will then provide certification confirming accuracy and transparency for corporations and their stakeholders and consumers.

"What we try to do through our material audits is to create a business case and connection points between brands and converters, community groups or recyclers that makes sense; environmentally, socially, and fiscally," says Warnock.

Click Here to Register* Now

Sunrise closes sale for $204 million - Washington Business Journal:

Sunrise closes sale for $204 million - Washington Business Journal:

Sunrise Senior Living Inc. has completed its sale of 21 assisted-living communities to BLC Acquisitions Inc. for $204 million.

Sunrise announced the deal in October. Earlier this week Sunrise said the sale, which was expected to be final by Nov. 16, was being delayed because the company was still in the closing process.

McLean-based Sunrise nets $60 million from the sale after paying off mortgages. It will use $25 million to reduce debt and an additional $20 million as collateral for other creditors.

BLC Acquisitions is an affiliate of Brookdale Senior Living Inc. (NYSE: BKD), based in Brentwood, Tenn.

Sunrise (NYSE: SRZ) posted a net loss of $82 million last quarter

Passive Solar Design Saves Homeowners up to 65% on Energy Bills Washington, D.C., residence’s solar chimney wins AIA award for sustainability.

A solar chimney sits on the townhouse’s rooftop pavilion overlooking Washington, D.C.’s Meridian Hill Park.

Credit: Redmond Architectural Photography

From: EcoHomeMagazine.com

Residents of a Washington, D.C., townhouse are enjoying comfortable indoor temperatures, even during the area’s sweltering summers, thanks to an attractive but unusual design feature added during a recent renovation.

Sitting astride a modern rooftop pavilion, a 15-foot-tall solar chimney brings cool, fresh air into the home without conventional air conditioning. In conjunction with other high-performance features, it’s reduced the home’s energy bills by up to 65%, says Rick Harlan Schneider, principal of Washington-based iSTUDIO Architects.

“You can stand in the basement and feel air movement,” he says. “The owners still use AC on the steamiest days, but it’s a lot less than before.”

Using age-old technology, the chimney promotes whole-house airflow by placing an engineered outlet for rising hot air at the top of the stairs. A vented chamber at the top of the chimney is heated up by the sun, causing cooler air to be drawn in through the basement windows. Fresh air moves throughout the four-story townhouse on days when it’s hot but not too humid, and the owners can turn off the air conditioning.

While helping to save money on energy bills, the chimney cost very little to construct--only extra framing materials, a window, and a louver. Because the owner did not have the budget for an active solar system, passive design made the most sense, Schneider says.

Sunlight shining through a clerestory window onto dark interior surfaces provides a super-heated chamber, drawing cool air from shaded window wells in the lower levels of the townhouse. With the help of a solar-powered attic fan, air is expelled through an operable louver. In addition, the pavilion’s roof pitches to one side for rainwater collection.

Credit: iSTUDIO Architects

“The home had an open stair for three stories, plus the proposed rooftop penthouse which immediately suggested harnessing the stack effect,” he says. “When the owner showed me the window wells in the basement and described the stale air down there, it all clicked.”

While skeptical at first, the residents are sold on the energy efficiency of their new passive solar system, says Schneider, who garnered an AIA Presidential Citation for Sustainable Design for the chimney, one of the first of its kind in the city. In addition to the chimney, othe dwelling’s other high-performance features include a high-efficiency air conditioner, rainwater-collecting barrels, cork flooring, and Energy Star-rated appliances and lights.

OFS Brands HOSTS: GREEN SCENE

Check out: http://www.ofsbrands.com/greenscene/greenscene.pdf for more information!

Photo of the Week from Infinity Photography

Please enjoy this wonderful abstract photos provided to us by Infinity PIX! For more information, or to include something like this on one of your upcoming projects visit www.infinitypix.com.

Check out Palindrome Lighting's New Logo as they celebrate their 10th Anniversary!!