Feeds
71151 items (0 unread) in 24 feeds
- A Socialite's Life
- Buzz Foto
- CELEBRITY SMACK!
- Celebrity-Gossip.net
- Celebslam.com
- Cele|bitchy
- cityrag
- Damnimcute.com
- Derek Hail
- Dlisted
- ecorazzi.com
- Egotastic!
- Gawker
- Glitterati
- Hollywood Backwash
- Hot Momma Gossip
- PerezHilton.com
- Popoholic
- Seriously? OMG! WTF?
- The Bastardly
- The Blemish
- The Evil Beet
- TMZ.com
- X17 Online
29 items tagged "construction"
Related tags: buildings [+], and [+], NY [+]
cityrag
-
New Architecture in New York City
Posted: May 12th, 2008, 12:31pm CDT by cityrag
Tags: NY construction
New Architecture in New York City NewYorkology profiles nine recently constructed buildings in NYC, including Gehry's fantastical ICA Building, and Meier's twin glass apartments that have been home to Nicole Kidman, Vincent Gallo and Martha Stewart - NYC's Newest Important...
ecorazzi.com
-
New York City Will Have Green Balls This New Year’s Eve
Posted: December 31st, 2007, 12:09pm CST by parrish
Tags: buildings and construction
Come on, you have to admit that is a brilliant title! Tonight, my current stomping ground, New York City, is celebrating one of it’s most famous Times Square traditions-the New Year’s Eve ball drop. This year however, NYC will also be starting a new tradition. The famous ball is officially going green, baby!!The 1,415-pound ball will be covered in more than 9,500 energy-efficient light-emitting diodes that will illuminate the ball’s over 600 crystals and set the sky a blazin’. Officials (whatever that means) say that the LEDs are estimated to use the same amount of electricity as about 10 toasters, which is like the craziest, most super cool thing I’ve ever heard.
As always, my precious little city will rock New Years eve celebrity style with musical performances by Hannah Montana, The Jonas Brothers, Kid Rock, Lenny Kravitz, Lifehouse, The Bravery, and alums from Fox TV’s American Idol, Carrie Underwood, Jordin Sparks and Blake Lewis.
So take that N train downtown and come celebrate the end of 2007 with the lot of us. Did I mention Hannah Montana will be there?
Copyright © 2008 ecorazzi.com :: the latest in green gossip. This Feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this material in your news aggregator, the site you are looking at is guilty of copyright infringement. Please contact legal@ecorazzi.com so we can take legal action immediately.
Plugin by Taragana -
HGTV Announces The Location And Details Of YOUR New Green Home
Posted: December 30th, 2007, 2:33pm CST by parrish
Tags: buildings and construction
As Ecorazzi reported earlier, HGTV is teaming up with a slew of bubbly corporations to build a totally “green” home for one lucky viewer to win! The location and specifics of this eco-palace had been kept super secret…until now. Just this week, HGTV announced that your new green home (I’m being optimistic here) will be located in lovely….drum roll, please…Traditional Hilton Head, South Carolina!!!
(Cue Price Is Right music)
Traditional Hilton Head is a 5,300-acre planned community that sits snuggled between Savannah, Georgia and Hilton Head Island, and from the pictures looks like the most beautiful place ever! The house itself is a 2,000-square-foot, 3-bedroom/2.5-bath home and will be pimped out with a graywater system, tankless water heaters, low-E glazing, sprayed-in foam insulation, fiber cement siding, SIPs, and ICFs. On top of all of that really neato stuff, this house will be registered with USGBC and will pursue a LEED certification.
Just how can YOU own this green beauty? All you have to do is visit the HGTV website From March 21 through May 9, 2008 and enter to win this prize package worth over $850,000.
Go watch homebuilder, Jack Thomasson, talk more about the specifics of this project and what makes it so darn great! And if you do win, please don’t forget to invite your extremely attractive, yet adorably humble, Ecorazzi team over for dinner so we may also bask in your luxurious greenness. FYI-I make a mean Barbecue Tofu!
Copyright © 2008 ecorazzi.com :: the latest in green gossip. This Feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this material in your news aggregator, the site you are looking at is guilty of copyright infringement. Please contact legal@ecorazzi.com so we can take legal action immediately.
Plugin by Taragana -
Brad Pitt Updates Media On Make It Right Donations
Posted: December 22nd, 2007, 9:50am CST by michael
Tags: buildings and construction
I caught Brad Pitt chatting with Larry King on CNN last night and was encouraged to a.) see him continuing to plug his “Make It Right” campaign for the rebuilding of New Orleans’ devastated Ninth Ward and b.) moved by the donations received since the project was announced a few weeks back.
These families are certainly going to have much to celebrate in the New Year.
According to Pitt, over 12,000 people across America have donated various amounts to the campaign. They even received an anonymous $1 million donation this past Thursday. Actors like Will Ferrell, David Spade, and Lawrence Fishburne have all contributed; with Ferrell sponsoring an entire home. “Our initial goal was 150 houses,” said Pitt. “And we’ve got 52 houses that have been adopted, which means 52 families.” From an interview yesterday on the TODAY show,
“It’s working. It’s really working,” Pitt said. “It’s that thing we talked about of people coming together and people helping people, and that’s where America’s great.”
The fundraising campaign will end next month. “We got two more weeks to go,” Pitt said. “I need people out there to come in and adopt the other 100 homes. And hopefully by that time we’ll see this whole neighborhood symbolically put back together.”
Pitt also revealed that his family will be spending Christmas in New Orleans; though he was reluctant to confirm that for one reason. “I really hope the paparazzi don’t show up,” he joked.
If you would like to contribute an amount this holiday season to the families of the 9th Ward, please hit the Make It Right NOLA site here. Even $5 will make a difference.
Copyright © 2007 ecorazzi.com :: the latest in green gossip. This Feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this material in your news aggregator, the site you are looking at is guilty of copyright infringement. Please contact legal@ecorazzi.com so we can take legal action immediately.
Plugin by Taragana -
Adrian Grenier Closes Deal On New Show For Planet Green
Posted: December 14th, 2007, 4:17am CST by michael
Tags: buildings and construction
Word on the street is that Entourage star Adrian Grenier has closed negotiations on a 13-episode series for a new eco-show on Discovery Channel’s upcoming network Planet Green. We’ve mentioned in earlier posts that Grenier was working with the media giant to develop a program focused on remodeling people’s homes with cool, green features — and now it appears that he will join DiCaprio in bringing some much needed star power to the fledgling new network.Tentatively titled The Green Life, the show will have green experts from different fields go out and help single home families, small businesses, college dorms, and film/tv sets green their “living” spaces. In addition to visiting these locales, Grenier will also be closing on a new home in LA next week that he will personally give a green makeover to as part of the series focus. This ambition should come as no surprise to regular readers — Grenier’s own home in Brooklyn features recycled blue-jean insulation, a solar roof, reclaimed oak floors, and many other eco-features.
According to sources, Adrian will both produce and star in the series. Planet Green is expected to kick off sometime in June of 2008. Stay tuned to more details as we grab ‘em.
Copyright © 2007 ecorazzi.com :: the latest in green gossip. This Feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this material in your news aggregator, the site you are looking at is guilty of copyright infringement. Please contact legal@ecorazzi.com so we can take legal action immediately.
Plugin by Taragana -
Who Shocked J.R.?
Posted: December 11th, 2007, 4:43pm CST by michael
Tags: buildings and construction
Larry Hagman, who rocketed to fame as J.R. Ewing in the hit television show Dallas, briefly visited the Hollywood Goes Green conference today and spoke a bit about his passions for renewable energy. While the 76-year-old actor played an oil tycoon on TV, his personal home doesn’t use a drop of it. In fact, it produces enough energy to power a dozen or more average households. Unbelievably, Larry Hagman has the largest residential solar-power system in the United States — a 102.7KW array that produces 150,000 kilowatt-hours per year!“Anyone that uses electricity in the next ten years will pay a tremendous amount of money for it,” said Hagman — whose annual electric bill for his 46-acre farm plummeted from $37,000 to $13 after his first solar array went online. “I won’t be paying anything!”
Hagman has been heavily involved in Edward Norton and BP’s Solar Neighbor’s Program, having provided six Los Angeles families with 3KW systems at absolutely no cost. He’s also slated to travel to South Africa in 2008 with the Solar Electric Light Fund (SELF) — a nonprofit org dedicated to providing solar electrification and energy self-sufficiency in developing countries.
“I’m dickering with biodiesel, ethanol, hydrogen, electric cars, anything to spur investment in renewable resources,” he says. “We’ve got to do something before we get into an apocalyptic situation. People just don’t understand that when the end of affordable energy comes, it’s going to be chaos. What do we do to prevent that?”
When asked about the thrills of generating his own electricity, Hagman quipped, “It’s not better than sex, but it’s better than a bowl of oatmeal!” Better than Raisins and Spice? I need to get myself a solar array!
Photo: Larry Hagman with his wife Maj at Hollywood Goes Green 2007 | Photo credit: Melissa Rosenberg
Copyright © 2007 ecorazzi.com :: the latest in green gossip. This Feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this material in your news aggregator, the site you are looking at is guilty of copyright infringement. Please contact legal@ecorazzi.com so we can take legal action immediately.
Plugin by Taragana -
Cate Blanchett’s Green Home Makeover Gets Underway
Posted: December 7th, 2007, 1:17pm CST by michael
Tags: buildings and construction
Cate Blanchett and her playwright husband Andrew Upton, are throwing down some serious cash in an effort to turn their $10 million dollar Sydney mansion into something a bit greener. The actress and her family have moved out of their abode and into some temporary housing while the Palm Beach-based Lesiuk Architects, who specialise in environmental jobs, get down to business.
The nearly $1.5 million in renovations will include grey water recycling, a 20,000-litre water tank, solar paneling and energy-saving lights.
Cate’s home isn’t the only thing in her life getting a green makeover. She and her husband also recently announced plans to take the Sydney Theatre Company green in 2008. From the article,
“‘We intend to initiate discussions with companies with the aim of making the building self-sufficient, to green the building. We are talking solar panels, rainwater, the works,’ Upton told a press conference. ‘This would ideally generate enough power to do a whole season off the grid. This would be the first theatre company in the world to do that.’
Cate joins Julia Roberts, Brad Pitt, and Ben Harper as celebs with plans (or already completed ones) to further green their existing homes. A standing ovation for all!
photo credit: sydney morning herald
Copyright © 2007 ecorazzi.com :: the latest in green gossip. This Feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this material in your news aggregator, the site you are looking at is guilty of copyright infringement. Please contact legal@ecorazzi.com so we can take legal action immediately.
Plugin by Taragana -
The Green Quote: Brad Pitt On Using The Media For Charity
Posted: December 6th, 2007, 9:18am CST by michael
Tags: buildings and construction
Copyright © 2007 ecorazzi.com :: the latest in green gossip. This Feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this material in your news aggregator, the site you are looking at is guilty of copyright infringement. Please contact legal@ecorazzi.com so we can take legal action immediately.
“I duck and jive (from the press). Keep moving. Keep my head down. That’s been my modus operandus. But for something like this, I feel very fortunate to have it and I can direct it this way. It’s just not part of my makeup (to manipulate the media). I’m not good at it. There’s other people who are. But for something like this, I feel very fortunate to be able to do it. It (the media) uses me and I use it”
–Brad Pitt speaking on Larry King Live about his Make It Right NOLA Project
Plugin by Taragana -
The Green Video: Brad Pitt On Larry King Live
Posted: December 5th, 2007, 1:41pm CST by michael
Tags: buildings and construction
Check out the great video below of Brad Pitt speaking with Larry King about family, Angelina, the new pink homes in New Orleans, and his own sustainable actions at home.
Copyright © 2007 ecorazzi.com :: the latest in green gossip. This Feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this material in your news aggregator, the site you are looking at is guilty of copyright infringement. Please contact legal@ecorazzi.com so we can take legal action immediately.
Plugin by Taragana -
Pitt Gets More Specific On Green Building In New Orleans
Posted: December 3rd, 2007, 2:53pm CST by michael
Tags: buildings and construction
As promised, Brad Pitt revealed more details on his NOLA Make It Right green building project and we’ve got several new developments to dish.
First off, the Make It Right site has gone pink and now features a very large Pitt (which apparently was filmed yesterday) making a video appeal for people to donate to the campaign. We also have some new designs from several of the 13 architecture firms commissioned — with some featuring homes that float, integrated vines that help cool, and raised platforms to allow water to pass underneath. Pitt decided to use pink after becoming inspired by its use on movie sets. From the site, “The scenes within the assembly create emotive storyboards containing perspectives rich with history and memories. Like a tangram puzzle, the components of each house lay haphazard at the installation’s commencement. It is only through monetary donations that these pink placeholders will become reassembled, registering the effects of a collective consciousness, ultimately enabling the construction of 150 real homes.”
Today Show reporter Ann Curry and Pitt once again teamed up and took a tour of the area (the two were on the scene last August) with Brad explaining his vision. “‘You’re going to see life coming in,’ the 43-year-old actor told NBC’s “Today” show. ‘We’ll have people in homes by the end of next summer.’ Pitt said he welcomes more donations. ‘This is really an adopt-a-house campaign,’ he told NBC. ‘I’m asking for foundations, for high-network individuals, for church groups, for corporations to come in and adopt a house. Basically $150,000 will get a family back into their home.’
Pitt said 13 architects have helped in the project. He said design requirements for the homes were ‘affordability, sustainability, safety — and that they be beautiful,’ according to The Associated Press.”
It’s always exciting to hear updates on this project — and I think the pink mock homes idea is brilliant. It’s kind of intriguing to see how a neighborhood will look before the real homes hit. Let’s hope that pink gets replaced by some green, sustainable structures soon. The wait these people have had to endure is simply unacceptable.
Copyright © 2007 ecorazzi.com :: the latest in green gossip. This Feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this material in your news aggregator, the site you are looking at is guilty of copyright infringement. Please contact legal@ecorazzi.com so we can take legal action immediately.
Plugin by Taragana -
U2 Not Feeling The Love From Irish Envrionmentalists
Posted: December 3rd, 2007, 12:59pm CST by michael
Tags: buildings and construction
Even though U2 may be the darling of the humanitarian scene, they’re still not immune to criticism from other groups. Currently, the legendary band is under fire for submitting plans to create the largest skyscraper in Ireland without first conducting an environmental review of the development’s impact. U2 intends to partly demolish and redevelop a hotel they own by the River Liffey in Dublin. The new hot spot will be 32 stories high; which has some worried that it will “blight the Georgian cityscape.” From the article,“‘Our biggest concern is that the U2 Tower will stick out of the skyline from parts of Georgian Dublin like Merrion Square. It could potentially be an incongruous blot on the skyline on the southside of the city,’ said Ian Lumley, An Taisce’s national heritage officer.
‘From the limited information we have seen about the proposed tower, there is no consideration being taken into the impact of rising sea levels,’ he said. ‘This tower is at the mouth of Dublin Bay and yet no provision has been made as to the effect of rising sea levels on an entire area earmarked for more residential living as well as businesses. For all these reasons there has to be an independent public inquiry before this project is allowed to go ahead.’
In a day and age where more attention is being made to how buildings are put together and their environmental impact, it’s rather odd that U2 has failed to follow suit. Obviously, so much of what we’re hearing is currently in the planning stages — but Bono and Co. would do well to silence critics with any green plans they have up their sleeves.
Copyright © 2007 ecorazzi.com :: the latest in green gossip. This Feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this material in your news aggregator, the site you are looking at is guilty of copyright infringement. Please contact legal@ecorazzi.com so we can take legal action immediately.
Plugin by Taragana -
Brad Pitt’s Green New Orleans Project Moves Forward
Posted: December 3rd, 2007, 8:29am CST by michael
Tags: buildings and construction
Today at 11am EST, Brad Pitt will hold a press conference to announce more details of his “Make It Right” project. Over 100 green homes will be built in New Orleans over the coming months throughout areas devastated by 2005’s Hurricane Katrina. Back on November 9th at the Clinton Global Initiative, Pitt pledged $5 million to the project and asked others to join him in making a difference for New Orleans. (Producer and environmental philanthropist Steve Bing contributed $5 million as well.) This weekend, organizers setup big, pink houses as stand-ins for the future homes. From the article,
“The empty lots had been a neighborhood until they were scoured by surging floodwaters after the levees broke during Hurricane Katrina, then were scoured again months later by bulldozers after the houses that had stood there were deemed unsalvageable. Now big pink blocks stood everywhere.
Jolie caught up with Pitt a half-block closer to the river as he was bicycling around the surrealistic site in a gray sweatshirt and cap. He posed for a photograph with an admirer and watched the children splash their feet in a puddle. Then he peddled off.”
Brad will also appear on Larry King Live this coming Wednesday, December 5th @ 8pm to discuss the project. We’ll have more details on his press conference later on this morning!
via NOLA blog
photo credit: Doug Maccash
Copyright © 2007 ecorazzi.com :: the latest in green gossip. This Feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this material in your news aggregator, the site you are looking at is guilty of copyright infringement. Please contact legal@ecorazzi.com so we can take legal action immediately.
Plugin by Taragana -
Prince Charles’s Eco Village Starts Moving Earth
Posted: November 30th, 2007, 12:40pm CST by michael
Tags: buildings and construction
A 4,000 home eco village, designed in part by Prince Charles, has started development with the clearing of land on the site of a former BP oil refinery in the UK. According to new info, the site will be based on the Prince of Wales’s model village Poundbury in Dorset and will emphasize priority for pedestrians, local shopping and as many trees, shrubs and other greenery as possible. The project is a working partnership between The Prince’s Foundation, BP, Neath Port Talbot Council and the National Assembly. It is expected to take almost 20 years to complete and will be named the Coed Darcy village.Okay, a couple things. First, 4,000 homes? Wow. I’ve never heard of an “eco village” on this scale before. Also, it worries me when an article describes the project but makes no mention of renewable energy sources being employed. Will there be a mix of projects — similar to the green energy in place on Smøla island in Norway? Obviously, the scale of the development has many worried. “They are calling Coed Darcy an urban village. But I call it a housing estate,” said one resident. Let’s hope size does not limit the green.
via icWales
Copyright © 2007 ecorazzi.com :: the latest in green gossip. This Feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this material in your news aggregator, the site you are looking at is guilty of copyright infringement. Please contact legal@ecorazzi.com so we can take legal action immediately.
Plugin by Taragana -
Jay Leno’s Green Garage Makeover Cost Almost $500K
Posted: November 9th, 2007, 5:26pm CST by michael
Tags: buildings and construction
For a guy pulling in $25 million a year, $500K for a sweet, green setup certainly isn’t going to hurt. But damn! Comedian Jay Leno certainly has been throwing some green at making his personal garage as eco-friendly as possible.$450K alone went for the 54-kilowatt solar-power system he installed atop his garage last month. Just to diversify (Because Jay says two-thirds of the day, there’s not enough sunlight to generate electricity), he also spent $19,000 on a 10KW vertical-axis turbine from PacWind.
What’s next on his list? His home. From the article,
“I guess I’m a rich guy,” said Leno, who makes an estimated $25 million annually as host of “The Tonight Show.” “I can afford to do it, so why don’t I be the one that experiments with it and tries it out? And if it works, if enough people like me try it, then it passes down and becomes more affordable.”
So far, Leno has installed solar panels and a wind turbine only at his garage because he uses a lot more electricity there than at his house. But his Beverly Hills home is the “next step,” said the comedian, who’s been frustrated by frequent power outages.
“Our power was out for 18 hours about a month ago, for no reason,” he said. “It was a beautiful day. Bink. What happened? It’s like you’re in a Third World country now in California.”
That’s part of why Leno believes “if you want to keep living the way you’re living, then, hey, you better make your own electricity.”
Good advice. Let’s hope such purchases like this one enable us “regular” folk to afford such an option in the future.
via LA Times
Copyright © 2007 ecorazzi.com :: the latest in green gossip. This Feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this material in your news aggregator, the site you are looking at is guilty of copyright infringement. Please contact legal@ecorazzi.com so we can take legal action immediately.
Plugin by Taragana -
Hollywood History Gets Reborn In New Line of Eco-Friendly Furniture
Posted: October 26th, 2007, 9:21am CDT by michael
Tags: buildings and construction
Recycling wood from old structures and giving it new life as beautiful furniture is a growing industry these days. Not only is it a waste diversion from landfills, but it also allows companies to source quality materials (and old-growth hardwoods) for a fraction of the cost of traditional sources.Urban Woods, creators of furniture from old buildings in Los Angeles, is placing a Hollywood spin on their latest collection by sourcing vintage reclaimed wood from the historic old sound stages of MGM Studios. From the article,
“When searching out the best possible, old growth timber for the new line of Urban Woods furniture, Trevor Webb, President of Urban Woods, a company at the forefront of eco-contemporary design in furniture, had to look no further than the demolition of several old sound stages on the MGM Studios lot in Culver City, California. This grand studio was once the crown jewel of Hollywood and is now Sony Pictures.
Instead of ending up useless and forgotten in a landfill, the same wood that heard Orson Welles whisper his famous, “Rosebud,” and Judy Garland’s ruby slippers click-clack down the Yellow Brick Road, will be in peoples’ homes and offices, in the form of beautiful, contemporary and ecologically-conscientious furniture, getting the recognition it deserves, and telling its amazing stories for years to come.”
Cozy and warm, isn’t it? A great find for Urban Wood nevertheless. Nothing like adding a little nostalgia to a green product to give it that extra element of history.
The company doesn’t just recycle for the green label; they also use water-based finishes and organic fabrics in all of their furniture. You can find out more here.
Copyright © 2007 ecorazzi.com :: the latest in green gossip. This Feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this material in your news aggregator, the site you are looking at is guilty of copyright infringement. Please contact legal@ecorazzi.com so we can take legal action immediately.
Plugin by Taragana -
Ben Harper Going Solar At Home, Living The Eco-Renaissance
Posted: October 24th, 2007, 4:16pm CDT by michael
Tags: buildings and construction
Sprig has a great video interview with singer/musician Ben Harper that covers everything from his latest eco-friendly album to green tours to organic food. Of particular interest is his announcement that him and his wife (Actress Laura Dern) will be adding solar panels to their home next year; something I’m always happy to hear celebrities moving forward with. You can see the video here. Below are some great quotes from the interview:
On what Green means to him:
“I think we’re in the middle of an environmental renaissance, whether we know it or not. You can really intelliglbly gauage a renaissance until 10 years after it has happened. But in the meantime, there’s a lot to do — and there are a lot of people doing some real exiciting stuff around the planet.”On being an eco-celebrity:
“When you talk too much about environmentalism, you can become that guy very quickly. But at the same time, you only get one shot to control your reality, and if in controlling your reality, you can make a better reality for the future of the planet, why not?”
On his eco-sins:
“My feet have been the death of more cattle than McDonalds with my shoe collection.”
via Sprig
Copyright © 2007 ecorazzi.com :: the latest in green gossip. This Feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this material in your news aggregator, the site you are looking at is guilty of copyright infringement. Please contact legal@ecorazzi.com so we can take legal action immediately.
Plugin by Taragana -
Val Kilmer’s Treehouse Is Pretty Damn Cool
Posted: October 20th, 2007, 5:26pm CDT by michael
Tags: buildings and construction
We mentioned Val Kilmer’s treehouse back in July — but I’d just like to comment on a few additional eco-elements of this cool pad. First off, Kilmer commissioned treehouse artisan (they truly exist) Roderick Romero to do the job. This guy is known for his attention to the health of the trees involved — as well as eco-sourcing of the building materials.
Val’s creation is built into the side of a mountain on his ranch and supported by five oak trees. The structure was built with wood from an old barn, as well as limbs and fallen trees from the property. Metal was taken local salvage yards. Kilmer specifically wanted the structure to blend in with the surroundings — staying true to his eco values. This treehouse is located on the same 6,000 acres of land that the actor wishes to build a massive eco-village on. From the article,
“Kilmer eventually will ‘build a new house here by the river, have some organic gardens to farm what I need and just get back to the land. In a way, this treehouse is my first step in that direction. Look at this tree. It’s so solid and yet so fragile that it moves with the wind,” he says, grasping one of the oaks. “There’s a sense of freedom and wonderment up here.”
A fast-moving afternoon storm starts to lay siege. Within minutes, rain drops are pounding the treehouse’s tin roof while lightning zigzags ominously nearby. And Kilmer is going exactly nowhere. ‘In places like this,’ he says, ‘I can figure out what I’m all about.’
Sounds pretty cool to us. Hit this link to check out additional pics of Val’s hideaway.
Copyright © 2007 ecorazzi.com :: the latest in green gossip. This Feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this material in your news aggregator, the site you are looking at is guilty of copyright infringement. Please contact legal@ecorazzi.com so we can take legal action immediately.
Plugin by Taragana -
Owen Wilson Buys Solar Panels Through Ed Norton’s Solar Neighbors Program
Posted: October 17th, 2007, 2:47pm CDT by rebecca
Tags: buildings and construction
Imagine what a gift free electricity would be. Then imagine the impact that it makes on families with lower-income. Plus, it’s good for the environment. That’s exactly what Edward Norton’s BP Solar Neighbors is all about. By teaming celebrities up with families in need, there is plenty of sunshine to go around.
We recently called out the Solar Neighbors program, as we often here it talked about, but hadn’t seen new information coming in for some time. But it seems the issue is with the website, not the organization.
On Monday, Enterprise announced that Jacob’s Place, a sustainable multi-family (63 units to be exactly) affordable housing development in the South Bronx was complete. The building is equipped with a solar electric system, courtesy of the BP Solar Neighbors program. It is an 11 kilowatt, 64-panel electric power system that will power common area lighting, ventilation and elevators.
Of course, the BP Solar Neighbors program works like this: When a celebrity purchases solar panels for their home, BP donates a similar system to a low-income family. So who purchased panels to allow for this system for Jacob’s Place to be installed? None other than Ecorazzi favorite Owen Wilson.
Edward Norton noted, “Many people perceive environmentally friendly practices as costly and available only to wealthy people, but Jacob’s Place is a great example of the many ways sustainability is being achieved on low-income homes in places like the Bronx. The solar panels we provided through the Solar Neighbors program are only one element of the solutions that dynamic groups like Fordham Bedford are bringing into the equation.”
Another nice thing about Jacob’s Place? It includes 6 classrooms for early childhood development and 7 units reserved for formerly homeless tenants.
We’d like to send our congrats to all parties involved. Sounds like a job well done.
Copyright © 2007 ecorazzi.com :: the latest in green gossip. This Feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this material in your news aggregator, the site you are looking at is guilty of copyright infringement. Please contact legal@ecorazzi.com so we can take legal action immediately.
Plugin by Taragana -
Leonardo DiCaprio Ready To Start Building Green On Private Island
Posted: October 13th, 2007, 10:28am CDT by michael
Tags: buildings and construction
After picking up a 104 acre island called Blackadore Cay off the coast of Belize a few years ago, Leonardo DiCaprio is finally ready to start doing something with it. While hopes were thin the guy would simply leave the location in a natural state, if anything was going to happen with it we’re happy the actor/environmentalist will be the guy running the show.Apparently, DiCaprio has agreed to partner with with the owners of the Four Seasons Resorts chain to create a ‘green hotel’. Beyond an expected start date of 2008, very little additional details have been leaked. We can only assume that these hotels will have a neutral impact on the planet — sourcing energy either from the surrounding ocean, sun, wind, or other methods. We would also love to see the resort incorporate as much of its natural surroundings as possible; rather than tower above the sand and surf. No doubt, he’ll be sitting down with Francis Ford Coppola and tearing some pages out of his own successful eco-resort empire.
All we can predict is, if you’re interested in staying the night at Leo’s, start saving.
Copyright © 2007 ecorazzi.com :: the latest in green gossip. This Feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this material in your news aggregator, the site you are looking at is guilty of copyright infringement. Please contact legal@ecorazzi.com so we can take legal action immediately.
Plugin by Taragana -
Get Up Close & Personal with Green Housing @ Project7Ten
Posted: October 10th, 2007, 1:59pm CDT by rebecca
Tags: buildings and construction
A year and a half ago Ian McKellen appeared on Real Time with Bill Maher and said, “I just put solar panels on my house in London. You wouldn’t think there was enough sunshine would you? But there is enough sunshine to provide my house with electricity. I sell electricity back to the national grid that I get for free from my roof. Now shouldn’t everybody be doing that?” This statement, combined with seeing An Inconvenient Truth, inspired Tom Schley to create Project7Ten. He teamed up with environmentalist Kelly Meyer to make an eco-statement.Located at 710 Millwood Avenue in Venice, California, Project7Ten is an uber-environmentally friendly home that will be open to the public beginning this week, October 11, 2007 for an entrance fee of $20. Rarely do we get to enter these green homes and be able to be inspired by touching and experiencing the features first hand.
You’ll need to be quick, though. The tour dates run Thursday through Sunday for the next 3 weekends. Then, the house will be put up for sale. Some proceeds of the sale will go to Healthy Child Healthy World, NRDC, Permacity Foundation, and Inside Out.Last night, Project7Ten held the Private Opening Party, and don’t think that Green Hollywood didn’t show up! Famous faces included Tobey Maguire, Kevin Connolly, David Duchovny, Esai Morales, Laura Dern, and Josie Maran.
Be sure to check out Project7Ten while you still can! And if you want to see the clip of Ian McKellen that started it all, here it is…about 2 minutes in. Quite interesting, actually.
Copyright © 2007 ecorazzi.com :: the latest in green gossip. This Feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this material in your news aggregator, the site you are looking at is guilty of copyright infringement. Please contact legal@ecorazzi.com so we can take legal action immediately.
Plugin by Taragana -
Brad Pitt Announces 150-Home Green Development For New Orleans
Posted: September 26th, 2007, 1:51pm CDT by michael
Tags: buildings and construction
Brad Pitt took advantage of a meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative today to announce a new 150-Home Sustainable Community in New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward. Pitt will partner with real-estate developer and philanthropist Steve Bing as part of his “Make It Right” project. From the release,“Pitt pledged to match $5 million in contributions to the project. Bing has pledged to match $5 million in contributions as well, for a total of $10 million in matching funds.”
Pitt urged members of the coalition to join him in donating and building the new community. The goals are to implement a “cradle-to-cradle” sustainable design and organize a core team of local, national and international architects. A finance plan will also be developed that “ensures that residents who wish to return to the Lower Ninth Ward can do so without further financial hardship.” Much like the home Pitt showed off earlier last month, you can bet that this community will feature solar, recycled water, energy efficient appliances and green building practices. An incredible model for communities yet to come. We wish Bing and Pitt all the luck in making this campaign — and community — a great success.
[UPDATE] As Julie noted below, the official site for Pitt’s campaign is now available. Click here to visit the main site.
Copyright © 2007 ecorazzi.com :: the latest in green gossip. This Feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this material in your news aggregator, the site you are looking at is guilty of copyright infringement. Please contact legal@ecorazzi.com so we can take legal action immediately.
Plugin by Taragana -
Discovery Channel’s Dr. G To Receive New Green Morgue
Posted: August 31st, 2007, 7:02pm CDT by michael
Tags: buildings and construction
Sure, the morgue may be the last place you think of in terms of eco-friendly construction, but no building should be built these days without taking into account some sustainable features. The morgue in Orange County, Florida will take things one step further by building to meet LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification standards; a rigorous and thorough measure of how green a development truly is.Such a project will be the first of its kind in the county and also happens to be the office of Dr. Jan Garavaglia, star of Discovery Health channel’s Dr. G: Medical Examiner show. From the article,
“[Dr. G] said the $16 million complex is needed because parking at the current morgue is bad, families have no grieving space, the roof leaks and renovated bathrooms now store tissue and cremated remains of unidentified bodies.”
Welcome to Orlando.
City planners will take similar eco-friendly and energy-saving building strategies for the $1.1 billion arena, performing-arts center and Florida Citrus Bowl renovations. It’s great to see green planning affecting every area of life — and death. Hit the jump for more!
-
Coppola Visits Amazon To Search For Next Eco-Resort
Posted: August 31st, 2007, 2:56pm CDT by michael
Tags: buildings and construction
While the last the thing the world needs is another resort development, you would find little argument that the environmental stewardship and vision of director Francis Ford Coppola makes such endeavors bearable. The eco-resort mogul, best known for his Godfather movies, has invested in the creation of several green tourist accommodations around the world and now has his sights set on the rainforests of Brazil for his next project. From the article,“With several Californian wineries, resorts in Guatemala and Belize, and an Argentinean hotel boutique already under his belt this investor is now skimming through Brazil as a possible location for his next resort, according to Brazilian land resource officials. What is this next investment? A tourist resort to say the least, according to media reports. Coppola arrived in Florianopolis, a southern Brazilian city, this week to look for land to build a resort, said G1.Globo.com news site. “Coppola is among the pioneers of upscale ecotourism,” according to USA today.”
Judging by the examples in green building set by his resorts in Belize and Guatemala, we can expect this latest development to feature sustainable building materials, renewable energy sources, and organic gardens. That, and a general blending with the surrounding nature. For a look at Coppola’s three current getaways, click here to visit the official site.
-
New York’s High Line On Track For Green Opening In 2008
Posted: August 31st, 2007, 12:08pm CDT by michael
Tags: buildings and construction
Just before leaving in 2001, outgoing Mayor of New York City Rudy Guliani signed papers to demolish a 22-block-long, 30-feet-high green space on top of the former High Line train track. The move was made to appease developers anxious to build upon the former industrial area but came in opposition to environmental groups and residents fighting to keep the space alive and turned into a park. Thankfully, newly-elected Mayor Bloomberg saved the project from the wrecking ball and with a group called Friends of the High Line has been working to create a unique green space for New Yorkers. From the article,“As the campaign snowballed, the High Line picked up celebrity supporters including actors Edward Norton, Kevin Bacon and Harvey Keitel, actress Glenn Close and designer Diane von Furstenberg. Adrian Benepe explains, ‘We realize that this is a neighborhood which is really bereft of park space. There’s really very little open space in the Middle West Side of Manhattan; every little bit of park space you can get is a great idea.’”
With most obstacles overcome, the High Line now looks on track to open in 2008. Once completed, visitors will ascend by stairs or escalators and step out onto “a grassy river of green.” Floating ponds, sundecks and lookout spots over various NY locales will compliment the wooden board paths laid along the path of the old train tracks. A true hanging garden in the sky. For more information, check out CNN’s article or the official site for Friends of the High Line.
-
Performance Theatres Placing Green Additions In The Spotlight
Posted: August 31st, 2007, 11:19am CDT by michael
Tags: buildings and construction
Treehugger has a great post about the green transformation of some performance theaters around the world. Three specific examples in the UK include the Arcola Theatre in London, the Young Vic Theatre, and The Barbican Arts Complex. Solar, fuel cells, grey water, efficient heating and cooling, and several other green additions are just a sampling of the eco-friendly themes being introduced. From the post,“The Arcola Theatre has announced itself as the “world’s first carbon neutral theatre”. A small off-off “Broadway” venue, it is embarking on a new challenge “Arcola Energy“. Plans include a biomass heating system which will burn wood pellets instead of gas, solar panels on the roof, and fuel cells that create electricity without noise or pollution. In addition they will be creating an “energy technology incubator” - a space for scientists and engineers to research initiatives to tackle climate change.”
We should also note that Down Under, actress Cate Blanchett has plans to take the Sydney Theatre Company in a greener direction. She remarked, “We intend to initiate discussions with companies with the aim of making the building self-sufficient, to green the building. We are talking solar panels, rainwater, the works. This would ideally generate enough power to do a whole season off-grid. This would be the first theatre company in the world to do that.”
Better hurry up Cate! Seems other theatres are pursuing a similar M.O.! Hit the Treehugger story for more!
-
Beyond The Prius: Steve Wozniak Looks To Green Building
Posted: August 24th, 2007, 7:45am CDT by michael
Tags: buildings and construction
When he’s not spending $700 for speeding in a Prius, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak is focusing on a new passion: super energy-efficient housing. ECN Magazine recently caught up with “The Woz” and had him explain a little more about what type of home he’s getting ready to build. From the article,“You build a home out of a type of wood that keeps the temperature constant without air conditioning or heaters. The miracle wood in this category is Southern Yellow Pine. As for renewable resources, more Southern Yellow Pine trees are planted each year than are used. I’m told this is the only tree with this benefit. The Southern Yellow Pine has a resin inside that melts and freezes at 71 degrees F., a very comfortable temperature for humans. The chemical actions of melting and freezing work to balance the temperature. If it’s a hot day, some small amount of the resin melts (it takes a huge amount of energy to melt a tiny amount) and the melting process pulls heat from the surroundings, from the home. When it gets colder at night, the resin-wood emits heat as it freezes.”
The type of home that Steve is talking about is actually being built by a company I’ve mentioned before on GroovyGreen called Enertia. The homes are designed in an envelope fashion with 2 layers of wood and a space between them for natural air circulation around the home. Take a look at some of the designs here.
Jump over to the full interview to hear what Wozniak has to say about solar cells, biofuels, and many of the other clean-tech topics making noise today. A truly interesting read.
Thanks to super-cool Shea Gunther for the tip!
-
The Green Picture: Grenier and Hilton Continue Green House Hunt
Posted: August 23rd, 2007, 8:52am CDT by michael
Tags: buildings and construction
Adrian Grenier continues to lend his “friendship” to Paris Hilton in her new quest to find an eco-friendly home. Here’s a shot of them in Malibu yesterday at a potential property probably discussing composting strategies and southern exposure.
-
Whoops! Bette Midler Wrongly Removes 230 Trees From Hawaiian Property
Posted: August 22nd, 2007, 12:27pm CDT by michael
Tags: buildings and construction
A little more digging and this isn’t as horribly bad as it seems. Actress/singer Bette Midler has been fined by the Board of Land and Natural Resources on the island of Kauai in Hawaii for felling 230 trees without a permit. The $6,500 bill also included fines for the construction of a graded road in a conservation area.Midler has paid the fines but strongly denies any wrongdoing, saying the trees that were removed were non-native and invasive. From the article,
“‘The whole idea with cutting the trees down was with the idea of improving the lot with native species” instead of the nonnative, invasive species that had grown there,’ Midler’s attorney said. ‘It’s unfortunate that a mistake was made.’ The National Tropical Botanical Garden, which maintains three gardens on Kauai, will design a replanting plan that consists of appropriate native plants. A botanist hired by Midler after the fact said 120 Java plum trees, 100 octopus trees and 10 to 20 Madagascar olive trees that were cut down were all nonnative species. Some native trees also were removed from the property, the botanist said.”
So, this all seems pretty innocent. Plus, Bette has gone the extra mile in paying the fines and hiring a botanist to plant native species throughout. Seems like a win/win. Hit the jump for more.
-
How Large Are Celebrity Homes? Google Maps Reveals All
Posted: August 15th, 2007, 11:39am CDT by michael
Tags: buildings and construction
Sure, we talk about the homes that celebrities live in — how eco-friendly they are (or not) — and what new additions they’ve made to reduce their footprints. Talking and seeing, however, are two different things; and using the wonders of Google Satellite we can come to our own conclusions.Thanks to a site called Google Earth Hacks, a large array of celebrity homes have been compiled for your perusal. From Oprah Winfrey’s sprawling Santa Barbara Estate to Will Smith’s ginormous home (which appears to have solar panels) in the LA hills. To Orpah’s credit, her property in Santa Barbara seems to have the largest amount of “green space” left in the city — so kudos to nature, bummer for the rest of you denizens.
Moving on, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s new home in New Orleans looks decidedly cozy, while Elton John’s pad is too large to describe, and Michael Dell’s park-like estate at the very least features solar on the long entryway.
When you put it all together, most of these people make Al Gore’s mansion look economy size.
Jerry Seinfeld’s residence, Trumps many abodes, Nicolas Cage’s castle, and many more after the jump.