Making a Mountain Out of a Mole Hill

The California Academy of Sciences, has decided to redesign their museum after the quakes in 1999. They choose Renzo Piano to be the architect to carry out the new project that is being constructed in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. Piano along with the California Academy of Sciences, had big goals for the new museum with two tasks in mind, keeping the historic (restoring old facades, pillars, and vaulted ceilings) while also being innovative and technological. The new museum houses some crazy, new elements including a brand new digital planetarium, a living penguin display in the African Hall, and even a mock rainforest. Unlike most museums, The new California Academy of Sciences uses glass to open up the spaces providing ambient lighting and even open courtyards.The new museum also is a leader in green technologies including photovoltaic systems that alone provide 5% of the building’s energy, Many of the building components coming from recycled materials (90% of all demolition materials were recycled, 50% of lumber was harvested from sustainable yield forests, 68% of insulation comes from recycled blue jeans), and finally the most important element is one of the largest living roofs. The roof covers over 2.5 acres, which houses 1.7 million native pant. The living roof provides insulation along
with absorbing over 3.6 million gallons of rainwater, which would typically just end up in storm drains. The roof within its self is an engineering phenomenon (322 engineers where on duty) due to its complex roof structure of suspended glass ceilings, and “hill” structures that house the planetarium and mock rainforest. The 488 million dollar museum opens its doors on september 22nd 2008, and it seems to be anything but extraordinary. The California Academy of Sciences took their once typical museum, and have really created an innovative establishment on the cutting edge of sustainable and green technologies.

Exotic 4-Door Sedans

What is one thing Aston Martin and Porsche have in common? This is easy, their desire for speed, beauty, and exhilaration, which is displayed in their pulse pounding sports cars. The two companies compete in the exotic tier of sports cars with price tags as high as some mortgages, but I do have to say they both make one hell of a sports car. Aston Martin and Porsche have decided to mix up the exotic tier by making their 2 door rocket cars grow, literally. Both companies are planning to launch 4 door super sedans that share the same blood lines as their coupes. Aston Martin is launching their new concept named the Rapide, that has been in the works for the last couple of years. The main idea is to make a practical, beautiful, and superlative performer. The sedan's architecture is derived from Aston Martin's flagship DB9. The Rapide resembles a longer DB9, and is powered by a similar V12 engine boasting 480 brake horsepower.These new sedans are demonstrating a new era in sports car with the main objective being "practicality". These two new concepts will be battling it out with other luxury sedans, but in the end hoping to have the edge being backed by legendary sports car's names.

Greening Chicago's Magnificent Mile

The city of Chicago is a city that cares about its appearance and providing spaces for residents and the public to escape towards. Ever since the Burnham Plan (if you would like to know more check out (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WsR6dQUh_qs) Chicago has built numerous parks and green spaces to keep a clean image. Now the green movement is spreading to the Magnificent Mile in bits and pieces. I had the opportunity to capture some Green gadgets and inspiration that are slowly taking over the city. The first most noticeable pieces where the Illinois Institute of Art has on display several dress designs with green being the overall theme. The Dresses are funky and pretty out there, but like the saying goes, its the idea that counts. With names such as Recycled Rococo and Rain Catcher the dresses demonstrate how clothing can be made out of any sustainable or recyclable material. Another very interesting gadget I found was a hand dryer in the restrooms of Water Tower Place. The hand dryer named the Air Blade designed by Dyson is another interesting way to reduce our paper towel consumption. The Air Blade is revolutionary for its use of two jets that dry your palms and the top of your hands at the same time to decrease the time it takes for one to dry their hands. Not only does it look weird it feels weird too. I overheard a women saying how she kept playing with machine, which is why it took her so long to come out of the bathroom. My final discovery was a garbage can, but this was no ordinary garbage can. It was a solar powered trash compactor, which uses solar energy to run the compressor. All of these little ideas are great steps forward in the effort to green our planet. So the next time you happen to be on the Magnificent Mile be sure to check out all of these gadgets.