David Langton Announces LEED Doesn't Cost More. Or?

Before stating "There is no significant difference in average cost for green buildings as compared to non-green buildings", David Langton analyzed 220+ buildings, one third of which had attempted LEED standards. If you want a one-image gist, see the bar graph on page 5 of the study (above).

Seems to us you can read these things one of two ways, and David is reading optimistically. First, you can look at the above and note that some projects are building smarter -- gaining gold certification $50/SF cheaper than some silver-certified projects. Or, you can simply use the above as confirmation that it's possible to build really expensive non-LEED-certified buildings.

The study goes on to examine libraries and laboratories and more, and we found ourselves thinking a nice little map of project locations would explain everything...

Pieter VanTuyl

Oh, ye bench that costs as much as my first car--times 16... you are not only gorgeous, but are carved from sustainably-harvested walnut, too.

Pieter VanTuyl, of Grand Rapids Michigan, truly gets it. We love how he not only incorporates organic shapes, design eras past, and sustainability into his limited and precise collection, but that he also practices handcrafting on the majority of his pieces.

Shown above: the table bench. "Ornamented walnut backrest features carving filled by hand with molten, pigmented beeswax. Available in various sustainable species depending on supply.
55"w 21"d 16"h (seat) 30"h (back) List price $8,800"

p.s. Pieter, you have a cool name.
p.p.s. Make sure you check out the $430 individually-braided Shaker broom.

You Modern Chicken.

Now that the New York Times, two coworkers, an Oakland hipster acquaintance, and the server at last night's fine dining establishment have all come out as urban chicken keepers, we are here to extol its virtues. Here is where all of our universes collide. You can be an organic-egg-in-milkshake-eating vegetarian (seriously, would you eat any more than the eggs of your pet?), compliant with (most) city ordinances, who treats his/her poultry brood to the best in modern coop living (above). At about 18 months in age, your chicken friend will provide you with about one egg a day. And in defiance of the myth, chicken owners say your chicken will be pretty quiet about it all, too.

The sites are everywhere. Scratch the surface:
My Pet Chicken
The City Chicken
Ethicurean

Green Not a Panacea in a Down Market

And really, what is (besides a 4.5% 30-year fixed)? It's cool; it came to SF burdened with great expectations, and it was never able to live up to that original listing price. Still, if green doesn't carry a PRICE premium in a down market, could it carry at least a foot traffic premium? We'd like to (and truthfully, we do) think so.

First, the bad news: SF's first green home hit the resale market this month, with some unfortunate news.

ChoiceDeck

This cost comparison chart for ChoiceDeck is kind of the best reason NOT to put a cost comparison chart on your website. We have a hard enough time convincing folks to shell out a few extra George Washingtons for eco-friendly products, and then ChoiceDeck lists its product's cost at $1,387 while treated wood comes in at $488. (Yes, you're supposed to get that it's 3 times more expensive... at first.)

But now the good news. You never have to stain it again (-$300), and they reckon that over five years that pays for the ChoiceDeck itself! But do you really stain your deck every year (I know you're supposed to, but some of us are busy paying our taxes.)? ChoiceDeck's cost comparer multiplies your yearly stain savings times 5 years to add $1,500 to wood's cost and prove that ChoiceDeck is cheaper than treated wood.

Appreciate where they're going, but that's not gonna cut it with the Thinkers out there.

We know green is good, green is almost right-priced, and green is (getting-to-be) everywhere. So how can we highlight the most salient reasons to go green without accidentally sending someone to the darkside?

Iannone

We've mentioned this Philly-based design group before, but they're getting great reviews in the NYT's coverage of the International Contemporary Furniture Fair and are worthy of another mention. If it's not reclaimed or recycled, it's been ecologically harvested, and though the lines are heavy on the credenza and four-legged dining table varieties, they're memorable, and a fine launching pad for a 29 year-old designer heading out on his own:

"IANNONE DESIGN LTD. is a Philadelphia based design/build firm dedicated to the creation of eco-friendly modern furniture."

Fair Trade SF

We know. It's so damn trendy. An iMac or two has been stolen. (Or more?) You don't approve of your artists sitting so proximate to programmers. And you like standing in line for 20 minutes at Blue Bottle better. But when we were recently asked by a corporate office manager where she could order fair trade coffee for delivery to downtown movers and shakers we kept coming back to the best coffee we've had in SF: Ritual Roasters. (They now deliver.)

The short list of fair trade notables
Ritual Coffee: 1026 Valencia, 1634 Jerrold (Yes, the Bayview). All coffee is fair trade, some is organic.

Tartine Bakery: 600 Guerrero. All coffee is fair trade, all organic. (i.e., You can get your long line, and also get your fair trade.)
Coffee to the People: 1206 Masonic. All fair trade, all organic. (Happily lose an hour at their site... )
Rockin' Java 1821 Haight. All fair trade, all organic.
People's Cafe: 1419 Haight. Any house blend is fair trade and organic (though we must note that you won't write home about it.)

And two organic notables we can't forget (The full list would be exhaustive.)
Blue Bottle Coffee Company: 315 Linden. All organic, some fair trade (ahem.)
Cafe Organica: 562 Central. All organic, almost all fair trade.
The list goes on and on and on re: organic in SF. We'll add to it as we have a spare second.

Photo credit: Ritual Roasters by Tingting H.