It's diamond-polished on the soles of your shoes...

As we all know, I like my concrete. OK, so maybe not in a like-like sort of way, but a simple like.

Raw? It really does nothing for me raw. But inherent simplicity of the material, when spiced up a bit, can have a dramatic effect on a room (throw in a heating element and I'm sold!). Given its widespread use as a base in both residential and industrial design, I've yet to figure out why it is so underutilized as a final application.

So as we began tearing up 800 sf of carpet and began the process of prepping the concrete for an impending acid stain, I couldn't help but wonder what else was on the market to just treat treat/finish the floor as is; the term acid stain don't necessarily scream "chemical free" now, does it? One company that repeatedly surfaced in the blogosphere is the Utah-based Retro Plate Concrete Polishing System. They take an old floor, polish it up, and make it super shiny. Easy, eh?

Well, as it turns out, treating a raw concrete floor has other advantages I didn't know about:

From BuildingGreen.com:

Covering concrete with cosmetic layers can increase environmental and financial costs significantly over the lifespan of a structure as compared with using concrete in a structure-as-finish capacity. Polished and densified concrete floors (old or new) combine diamond stone-polishing technology with silicate chemical treatment to provide a significantly better alternative to film and wax coatings—highly durable, nearly maintenance-free, noncombustible… and the improved reflectivity can also reduce lighting requirements.

Who knew?

Neato.

More on Retro Plate and their sustainable polishing system:

Concrete in its “natural” state is a porous product that is susceptible to efflorescence, spalling and dusting; and it does not provide an aesthetic finish, nor is it easily cleaned.

That's why Advanced Floor Products has created a science and art that revolves around the conversion of concrete from being a plain, boring, and porous industrial floor, to being one of strength, longevity and beauty.

Rather than continually having to cover up the floor and trying to hide the inherent problems, only to create new ones, our skilled Certified Applicators create a floor that meets your long-term needs.

Through the use of our patented process of diamond grinding and polishing, in conjunction with the specially formulated RetroPlate, we eliminate your need for all topical sealers. We eliminate moisture vapor problems.

Bottom line: Look at the true costs of the product that you choose…and RetroPlate will generally be your cost effective choice. Short term or long term: we deliver the best!

-Retro Plate Concrete Polishing System

Anyway, now that the carpet is gone (but not forgotten) it amazes me to think how much acoustic insulation we will need. Even for a room that small, there is a tremendous echo. Such an echo would be minimized in residential applications (given the softer furnishings), but how do you make up for such a void in industrial applications? Where does the trade-off begin to level out of sound vs. durability?

Cause Jack Johnson told me to...

My wife and I live in a wonderful little split double in the middle of Hippiedippieville. It's definitely adequate in size and we live comfortably, but our kitchen seems to be shrinking in on us. With 95% of our trash is being recycled, the little bottles and cans (and more bottles) tend to pile up veeeerrrrrrry quickly, causing loud landslides that no doubt surprise the other tenant next door (for some reason, gravity seems to pull harder between the hours of 1:00am and 5:00am....he must think his neighbors are raccoons).

For a while I looked and looked and looked for a sleek and slim trash can that could sit flush with the counter top; something simple like a 8" x 24" x 32". Much to my surprise, it's not easy to find something compact, unless you're willing to use a blah-blue monster intended for commercial/restaurant applications.

BMW Designworks has taken my request, flipped it five different ways, and added a touch of Star Trek. It's the Ecopod home recycling center.

Put in bottle, press foot pedal, listen to compaction, bottle falls into storage bin, smile with sanctimoniously green grin.

From their website:

ecopod and BMW Designworks are determined to “Change the Way the World Recycles.” Together, over the past 20 months, Designworks & ecopod have met with leading Public and Private groups to research opportunities to determine the best ways to raise eco-awareness and reduce the amount of recyclable materials sent to landfills.

The first ecopod e1 was built to test it’s effectiveness in compacting and storing a wide variety of beverage containers, ranging from small Starbucks shot cans to large Monster Energy drinks along with tall Propel Water bottles and smaller kid size Arrowhead water. The ecopod e1 compacted and stored all of these containers with ease. A new revolution in home and office appliances was born.


The home recycling center with compaction and collection. Designed by BMW Designworks, the ecopod will clean up the way you recycle with its eco-chic design and functionality. After dropping an aluminum can or plastic bottle in the top opening, press the ecostep to hear the sweet sound of compaction. As the ecostep releases, the redeemable container automatically falls into the enclosed collection bin. Open the door and remove the bin for collection or redemption. Glass, paper and other recyclable items can be stored in the removeable bins inside the top lid. Dimensions: 31" tall x 16" wide x 21" deep Weight: Approx. 50 lbs.

Is it basically an expensive ($328.00!) trash can? Sure, but the fact that it compacts all your waste throughout a certain span of time, thus eliminating any and all travalanches (trash avalanches) and neighbor calls to the ASPCA about stray raccoons, makes me smile. Have you ever been in a rope snare before? It's not fun.

Check out their Newsweek article here.

Did I mention it's also affiliated with Jack Johnson's Kokua Hawai'i Foundation?


In case you don't know the words, you can sing along here.

Ample samples...one man's treasure...

With the amount of samples flowing in and out of our office, we're often inundated with (almost) more than we can handle. Fortunately for the firm, we found a wonderful organization in which to donate our carpet, tile, steel, plastics and wood samples, in which they're reborn as student and teacher work's of art.

The Waste Not Center is a program of Keep Franklin County Beautiful (KFCB, receiving donations from businesses and local donors with extra goodies (some of you might remember Re:Art). The program benefits local area teachers, artists, and others for various types of projects, ranging from schools to galleries.

Why?

The center estimates that members receive about $4,000 of materials PER WEEK compared to what these items and supplies would cost if they were purchased at a traditional store. It never hurts to help those helping our kids.

So for about two years now, NBBJ has donated all of our excess (used, but not abused) pens, pencils, card stock, binders and material samples.

So, what do you do if you don't have a program like this available in your area?

Ample Sample!

You know that design firms receive some pretty amazing samples that would be otherwise discarded (hopefully into your company's comprehensive waste recycling programs!). A little while back, Ample Sample sponsored an "upcycling" design contest in collaboration with Tricycle, Inc. Needless to say that some of the finalist's entries were downright amazing!

Check them out on the finalist page (Flash saturated website, so no direct linkage).

Although the contest is over, it doesn't hurt to pre-plan for next year's event!