SUSTAINABLE SPACES

Creating green living and working spaces

By Kathy Dean

Interior design is about more than looks, more than functionality, more than comfort, it’s about reflecting the aesthetics and the values of the people who inhabit the space. While that sounds simple enough, designers may be challenged to come up with suitable ideas for the work and living spaces of people who have a strong commitment to the environment.

It turns out that it’s easier than you’d think to add substance to style. Caryn Grossman, Associate ASID and owner of cg creative interiors, said that when she attended a trade show about 15 years ago, she was introduced to an amazing set of materials – all eco-friendly and all truly beautiful.

“I started to research further and found the materials palate expanded exponentially when you looked outside the norm. There are so many materials that are sustainable, everything from river-harvested logs to 100 percent recycled countertops offered by a company that uses solar power to produce them (and they do it with zero waste!). It’s fascinating, and my curiosity is what always drives me.”

She warned not to let a ‘green’ veneer fool you; an eco-friendly label can be slapped onto many products and projects that don’t necessarily merit it. For a building or design project to be truly sustainable, it should use renewable materials that are available locally and rely on natural energy for climate control and lighting to limit its footprint. It also should be built to last and adapt over many years, since the greatest environmental impact occurs during the construction phase.

“I think it’s really important to know that to truly design sustainably you need to evaluate products and materials from a lifecycle standpoint,” Grossman added. “To do it right, you should think about the impact of the manufacturing process, the transportation required to get the material to the job site, the sustainability of the source.”

Brand Fever, a premier ad agency formerly known as The Jones Group, contracted cg creative interiors to create a custom, eco-sensitive design of their new corporate headquarters, located in two early 1900s warehouses in the historic Pioneer Mills area.

The warehouses were carefully combined, using low-impact fabrication and construction. Features like exposed brick, timber beams, concrete and hardwood floors were incorporated – even the peeling plaster walls became a design which is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Gardens for Connoisseurs Tour

The 31st annual garden tour is May 9 – 10. Benefiting the Atlanta Botanical Garden, the tour spotlights 12 private gardens in metro Atlanta. Featuring a range of styles and sizes – from tranquil woodland settings to intimate urban oases, the professionally designed to “gardener’s gardens” – the event will delight both green thumbs and the “garden curious” alike. At one tour site, Atlanta architect Norman Askins will be signing copies of his newest book, Inspired by Tradition, which includes the tour garden. Tickets for the self-guided tour, held each day from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., will go on sale April 1 online, at the Garden, and at select area retailers. They are $25 in advance (Garden members $20) and $30 on days of the tour, and are valid both days.

element. Individually dimmable light fixtures made from recyclable steel were brought in to provide energy efficient lighting.

“If you start with the imperative that the design be ‘green’, I do think it opens you up to a myriad of possibilities,” Grossman said. “Again, it’s about the palate of materials, which can be far-ranging and cost-effective – and it’s great to step outside what’s expected.”

Atlanta Daily World building reborn

The historic Atlanta Daily World buildng on Auburn Avenue has been turned into a boutique mixed-used development with two apartments upstairs and a new location of Condesa Coffee and Arden’s Gardens on the groundfloor. The circa-1912 building was the former home to the oldest African-American newspaper in the country. Pictured above is developer Gene Kansas and at far right is Condesa co-owner Octavian Stan.

Holocaust Remembrance Day

Hundreds of Atlantans will join Holocaust survivors, descendants, and friends on April 19, 11 a.m. (rain or shine) to mark the 50th anniversary of Atlanta’s Holocaust Remembrance at the Memorial to the Six Million at Greenwood Cemetery, featuring keynote speaker and native son, Ambassador Stuart E. Eizenstat. For more information, contact The Breman Museum, (678) 222-3700 or visit TheBreman.org.

The Atlanta Hunger Walk was held on March 15 to raise funds for the Atlanta Community Food Bank. From left: Gordon Singer (Hunger Walk chair), Marni Bronstein, Jewish Federation, Bill Boling, CEO of Atlanta Community Food Bank and Rebecca “BeBe” Kaplan (Hunger Walk Chair).

Shade Pavilion Opens

The new shade pavilion at Historic Fourth Ward Park was officially opened on March 20 with a ribboncutting ceremony. The pavilion has recently been constructed as a contribution from the Historic Fourth Ward Park Conservancy to the park. The open-air structure features a canopy of black locust wood louvers and galvanized steel tube purlins supported on galvanized steel girders and columns. “Park Pride awarded the conservancy a $16,000 grant for the installation of a shade structure in the playground area of the park. Pictured above at the ribbon cutting is Dist. 6 Fulton County Commissioner Joan P. Garner.