We wrote about the Mercy Corps Action Center to End World Hunger earlier this year; the $5.4 million, 4000-square-foot interactive education facility is set to open this Thursday, October 16 (which is World Food Day) within community space at the Sheldrake Organization’s Riverhouse condominiums. Designed by Edwin Schlossberg’s ESI Design, the Center is seeking a LEED Platinum rating from USGBC. The Center’s mission is to both educate and inspire visitors to take action against poverty and hunger. Four “training towers” provide case studies from different countries- conflict in Afghanistan, government in Indonesia, global warming in Niger, and land use in Guatemala. Benches made from wood reclaimed from houses destroyed during Hurricane Katrina lace the Center’s interiors, while a Tina Fey-hosted video provides an overview of the Center’s offerings.
October 13th, 2008 | Stephen Del Percio | 0 comments | ContinuedAll Posts Tagged With: "social responsibility"
Sustainable Home(less) on the Upper West Side
Green materials and energy-efficient appliances are par for the course when the client is paying over $1,000 per square foot. Fortunately, thanks to socially-concerned and eco-conscious designers and suppliers, sustainably-built habitats need not be exclusive. The basement of the Broadway Presbyterian Church in Morningside Heights serves as a homeless outreach hub shared by several organizations. One of them, Care of the Homeless (”CFH”), a non-profit providing free medical services to the homeless, received a small federal grant to renovate its 500-square-foot medical facility in the basement, where “medical staff was performing medical exams in a rather crowded closet.” The New York affiliate of Architecture for Humanities (AFHny), the non-profit network of designers behind dozens of rebuilding efforts from Sri Lanka to New Orleans, came on board, as did several eco-conscious suppliers that chipped in free or discounted materials.
April 10th, 2008 | Alex Padalka | 0 comments | Continued