Ejewelry - Repurposing ewaste

A whole other project:
Ejewelry - Repurposing ewaste




http://timetocare.victorinox.com/en/vote-win/ejewelry-repurposing-ewaste.html



But my classmate Yahayra and I, are finalists in the TIME TO CARE Sustainable Design competition by Victorinox. Their entry, E-Jewelry, has been selected as a finalist, and it is the only entry selected within the United States. Voting ends on August 31st, 2011. Please support us, you can vote once a day with a chance to win a Victorinox watch! http://timetocare.victorinox.com/en/vote-win/ejewelry-repurposing-ewaste.html

Stylishly Sustainable: Proximity Hotel, NC

The great thing about researching for this project is coming across all these great sustainable properties -- one of the most famous, The Proximity Hotel in Greensboro, North Carolina.
A LEED Platinum certified property, this 147-room luxury hotel is the epitome of luxuriously stylish sustainability. In their own words: "Built to use 40% less energy and 30% less water than a comparable hotel, the AAA Four Diamond, locally-owned Proximity Hotel in Greensboro, North Carolina, offers a glimpse of the future while celebrating the past. Sustainable practices, custom-designed furnishings, commissioned art and innovative design await guests in every corner."

Often heralded as "The Greenest Hotel in America," the property utilizes an impressive array of the best that sustainable design and construction have to offer. The property's restaurant, Print Works Bistro, also shares the glory of its LEED certification and efficient technologies. Boasting over 70+ sustainable practices, the hotel utilizes ultra efficient technologies such as solar, geothermal, a regenerative drive elevator by Otis, a green roof and other initiatives. For more detailed information on the Proximity's green style, click here.

Sustainable Hospitality... utopia or reality?

Just spent my walk to the local grocery store having a refreshing conversation with one of Savannah's local basket weavers on what tourism has done for the area and the pluses and minuses of drunk and not-so-drunk crowds during major holidays. Major plus -- revenue for his beautifully woven pieces (for which he spent all morning climbing trees for). Major minus -- noise, disrespect, and overall ignorance of non-tourist related areas. That topic got me talking about my current project -- the hospitality of sustainability -- and first thing he mentioned was that "all that" is for the rich in order to preach "better ways" to the community that they left behind. So, is sustainability, with all its great movements, technologies, and innovations, really that hospitable? Or can it be seen as a ignorantly planned out movement to make shareholders happy and luxury consumers feel better about eating a 4 pound lobster for lunch at a destination resort? This conversation definitely strengthened my resolve to see how sustainability, instilled through a hospitality brand through to its people and subsequently to its guests and community, can make a truly POSITIVE difference not only for the property and wallstreet but for the communities that surround the Earth's many beautiful destinations.