Our solar panels were folded up before IKE blew 80 mph winds through the 'hood After the storm we emerged from our bunkers... PV panels and even the SIGNS intact and ready to be unfolded.

Pics by our design concept partners at Ttweak We're posted in Swamplot... read on

The Mirabeau B. Sales Center, designed by Metalab, was to open Tuesday Sept. 2, offering a model for the sustainability of the condos. “The thinking involved is how we want people to see Mirabeau B.,” Romano said. Constructed out of repurposed shipping containers, the sales center demonstrates the concept of “upcycling, having things that improve as their life goes on rather than get reduced as they get moved on,” Romano said. Solar panels on the roof can fold shut at night or during bad weather, said Andrew Vrana from Metalab. “We would like to further develop this as a solution,” he said. “People could have one of these made and put in their backyard and supplement their energy with solar power.”

The main components for the Sales Center are installed. We'll be generating approximately 180 kwH per month to run the office during business hours. [gallery]

"Inspired by nature, University of Houston Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture fifth-year students re-imagined Frederick Kiesler’s Grotto for Meditation, originally commissioned in 1963 by Jane Blaffer Owen as a quiet and relaxing environment in the arts community of New Harmony, Ind." Read the article

A rendering and short history of the New Harmony Grotto were featured in the July/August 2008 issue of Texas Architect.  Link to article

The prefab components of the Mirabeau B Sales Center are delivered and installed. Heave Ho Crane Service did most of the heavy lifting.

"This far into Houston's latest building boom, you'd expect big, world-beating projects to dominate the local American Institute of Architects 2008 awards. But you'd be wrong. To be sure, many of the entries were big. AIA Houston's booklet showcases all 117 of this year's entries, the most ambitious things recently built in the area or designed by Houston-based architects. Among them, high-rise medical clinics, enormous and expensive churches and upscale residential high-rises. None of those won. Instead, in the top category, "Architecture," the year's best were: A teeny-tiny press box for a high school lacrosse field. An out-of-the-way warehouse for computers. And a horse pen."

READ THE FULL ARTICLE