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apartment kitchen

I’ve been busy at the office researching/googling a host of different aspects to green building–in the hopes of gathering research for my sustainable apartment kitchen project.  I have stumbled across a good amount of interesting websites and articles, and thought it would be a good idea to share it with you all.  My first “green building bucket list” goes as follows:

  • GreenPoint Rated: If you think you own a “green” home or are considering building one, try putting that “green”-ness to the test with the systemized rating system from The Green Building Council.  This GreenPoint Rated system certifies that the property you own or plan to build is more comfortable and healthier, while simultaneously lessening your impact on the environment.
  • PG&E sham(?): An interesting article from SFGate exposed a PG&E carbon offset program to be more marketing sham than sustainable function.  This “ClimateSmart program highlights the complex and murky relationships among big business, state regulators and conservation groups working on climate change – a relatively new and untested system in which a huge amount of money is traded without much public scrutiny.”
  • Noise Abatement: If you are looking for some way to muffle your neighbor’s noise next door, Keene Building has a line of products called Quiet Qurl that are made out of 40% recycled content and are designed to absorb sound in apartment or dormitory complexes.  This polymer matrix that you apply between walls or under flooring in conjunction with gypsum concrete can also help if you are looking for LEED certification.
  • Alternative Countertops: On the subject of kitchen countertops, few consider using butcher block.  “Butcher block countertops are natural, beautiful, practical, renewable, economical, and, contrary to popular belief, one of the safest, most sanitary kitchen work surfaces available.” Helmut has also noted other cool alternative countertops to the traditional laminate or granite.

That is all I got for now. More soon.

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Hello! My name is Kyle Graycar.  I just finished my first year at UCLA, and am just finishing up my first day with Sustainable Schmidt.  I have gotten used to “coach” Schmidt these past four or so years from high school cross-country, and am still adjusting to addressing Helmut on a first name basis.  Before I get in to the logistics of what I have been tasked to for the summer, I’d like to wish John, the boss’s second in command, a very happy birthday.

Generally speaking, I have been tasked to compile information on the various components of a sustainable apartment kitchen.  This template should contain  comprehensive lists of different kinds of “green” products for the kitchen.  It will be exciting work, especially when you consider the how essential the kitchen is to home life.  This central hub, where meals are conducted and created, serves as the nexus for interactions at the home – it’s really an obvious decision to make this place devoid of environmental hazards and deteriorative products.  The challenge here lies in finding the middle ground or compromise between environmental-friendliness and cost.

Today I’ve been trying to find a general way to focus my research.  I came across an interesting page on the EPA website that gives a nice, general definition of what Green Building is.  The EPA calls Green Building “the practice of creating structures and using processes that are environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a building’s life-cycle from siting to design, construction, operation, maintenance, renovation and deconstruction.”  I too hope to find the best products for my compilation that take all these different aspects of its life-cycle into consideration.

Well, looking ahead, I’m excited to be here this summer.  I’m especially excited to see the tangible outcome of my work: Helmut hopes to apply my research into the remodel of a kitchen in a unit on one of his properties.  More posts to come!

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