Offsetter Clare, USA | Discovering 5 Ways To Get Sustainability in Education Buildings ...

Our Offsetter Clare, lives in Washington, USA and keeps us updated with snippets of her exciting stories and findings while she's there.  She recently attended a Master Class, held by Ed Mazria, which focused on the design of a fictional middle school, in effort to get architects thinking more sustainably ...

Ed Mazria
©(2010)MetropolisMag

It was really exciting to hear Ed Mazria would be holding a design class.  Known to American architects for his 2030 Challenge to clean up the environment through sustainable practices, I discovered he was going to join a select members of the DLR Group, an architect design firm, in Washington to help them design six fictional middle schools.

Introducing : Our Ethical Database's Latest Addition ... interiors made from old wine barrels!

As you know, the Ethical Database we've been developing will feature all sorts of resources and information you need to create ethical interiors and fashion. We're very pleased to preview our latest addition ... a manufacturer who has just introduced a range of flooring, countertops and furniture made from old wine barrels.

As the end-products have a higher-value with a longer, more useful life than the original, the development could be regarded as upcycling. Oak is desirable for both flooring as a beautiful and durable material, and wine producers, or vintners, due to the benefits it imparts to the wine. However, vintners don’t like to reuse the oak barrels, and therefore, after they are used once, they are often discarded.