LEED Project Showcase with USGBC – Part II

The USGBC MA Chapter’s 2014 LEED Project Showcase was a great success. More than 150 people representing all aspects of the green building industry including designers, engineers, contractors, owners, and policy makers came out for the event in celebration of the past year’s achievements in green building. It was an amazing night to share our collective talents and wisdom as we continue to make Massachusetts the #1 most energy efficient state in the country.

/

LEED Project Showcase with USGBC

Over the last few months I have been planning the USGBC Massachusetts chapter’s annual LEED Project Showcase. The showcase highlights buildings throughout the state that have achieved LEED certification in the last year. Massachusetts is the #1 most energy efficient state in the country, and these projects have helped to achieve that distinction…

/

Banker & Tradesman Awards Luncheon

On July 17th, Banker & Tradesmen held their annual Women In Finance, Insurance, and Real Estate Award Luncheon, and Amy Korte was among the honorees. The award recognizes Massachusetts women who demonstrate talent, ambition, innovation, and philanthropy. B&T, along with a distinguished panel of judges, selected inspirational women who have achieved excellence and are making a difference. Learn more about Amy’s merit in our last blog post and view photos from the event here.

/

Photography Contest Winners

Over the past few months, Arrowstreet has been holding an in-house photography contest, and our finale party was last Friday night. Initiated by Principal Sean Selby, the contest was another way to encourage everyone to explore our new neighborhood, allow the entire staff an outlet for their creativity, and throw in a little friendly competition for some prizes.

/

Daylight Hour

Arrowstreet participated in Daylight Hour today by joining thousands of other organizations in turning off the lights in their day-lit office spaces for one hour from noon-1:00. With the beautiful sunny weather in Boston today we went even further and kept the lights off all day in most of the office. Arrowstreet has a highly energy efficient LED lighting system that uses 42% less power than typical offices. But when there is ample daylight in our open studio we want to take advantage of turning of the electric lighting system and saving even more energy.

/

Arrowstreet Mini-Golf

This past Wednesday night saw the return of mini-golf to Arrowstreet, with friends and family joining us to play a round of 9-holes around our new office space while enjoying drinks and Chinese food. Our staff volunteers signed-up solo or as teams to design one of the eight possible “holes” designated on our office map, with the 9th hole being played on a Wii in our Voodoo Lounge. Each team had a $15 construction budget, and as in their day-to-day work, creative, green design was encouraged. Competition was fierce as each team was eager to take the bragging rights that go along with the coveted title of Best Hole.

/

ULI Boston TAP in Westborough

On June 17th I will be chairing ULI’s Technical Assistance Panel (TAP) for the Town of Westborough to explore development opportunities for the site of the old Westborough State Hospital and advise the town on potential future uses. The day will include a site tour, stakeholder interviews, a planning charrette, and a public presentation of our findings at 6:30 pm.

/

Boston Public Library New Wayfinding: Unveiled

Please join us on Monday, June 16 at 5:30 to learn about the new wayfinding program we’ve been working on for the BPL. I will be speaking with Bob Lowe and Nathan Hall of APCO Signs. The event is being hosted by SEGD Boston and will include a tour of the new wayfinding program, as well as the amazing art & architecture at the Boston Public Library’s Central Library in historic Copley Square. This event is free and open to the public.

/

Welcome to The Dark Side of the Moon

When reading a recent article on DesignBoom, I was reminded of an in-house competition held at the new Arrowstreet studio to name our conference rooms. The article covers how the Spanish graphic design studio, Tata&Friends, created a series of posters called Rock Band Icons, which graphically represent famous rock bands with black line symbols on a bright yellow background. Viewers are invited to see if they can name the band based on cleverly grouped pictograms…

/

Community Strategies for Sustainable Development

As a participant on the BSA’s Committee for the Advancement of Sustainability, I wanted to share some information about a free forum on June 19th. The committee promotes a sustainable agenda beyond the immediate focus of architectural practice, and engages other organizations in a dialogue that promotes sustainable principles. This year our task has been to organize a forum which will focus on empowering municipalities across Massachusetts to develop sustainable strategies for buildings, infrastructure, and planning…

/