Sustainable Materials

Public Art – Green, Functional and Beautiful

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This post comes to you from Green Public Art

On October 8th Rebecca Ansert, Founder of Green Public Art Consultancy, was invited to speak at the City of Austin’s Art in Public Places (AIPP) Symposium , OFF THE GRID: Recharging Public Art + Design. AIPP staff, Carrie Brown and Susan Lambe planned an informative and thoughtful program. The day was filled with interactive building workshops lead by Alex Gilliam of Public Workshop, a panel discussion about the future of Austin’s Seaholm District including several public art opportunities, a conversation lead by Rebecca Ansert about sustainable materials in public art, and a panel of enthusiastic community gardeners (Randy Jewart, Austin Green Art; Jake Stewart, Sustainable Urban Agriculture, City of Austin; and Jessie Temple, Festival Beach Community Garden) who are making huge positive impacts in neglected areas of Austin. The following was my contribution to the conversation of sustainable materials in public art and connecting those materials to LEED points.

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Rebecca Ansert, founder of Green Public Art, is an art consultant who specializes in artist solicitation, artist selection, and public art project management for both private and public agencies. She is a graduate of the master’s degree program in Public Art Studies at the University of Southern California and has a unique interest in how art can demonstrate green processes or utilize green design theories and techniques in LEED certified buildings.

Green Public Art is a Los Angeles-based consultancy that was founded in 2009 in an effort to advance the conversation of public art’s role in green building. The consultancy specializes in public art project development and management, artist solicitation and selection, creative community involvement and knowledge of LEED building requirements. Green Public Art also works with emerging and mid-career studio artists to demystify the public art process. The consultancy acts as a resource for artists to receive one-on-one consultation before, during, and after applying for a public art project.
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OFF THE GRID: Recharging Public Art + Design

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This post comes to you from Green Public Art

OFF THE GRID: Recharging Public Art + Design, a full-day symposium hosted by the City of Austin’s Art in Public Places Program, will feature an intimate look at existing and future public art and design in the Seaholm District, a former industrial section of southwest downtown Austin that is undergoing a transformation into a vibrant urban neighborhood. A uniquely Austin adaptive reuse project, the Seaholm District serves as a model for sustainable urban revitalization nationwide. Panel speakers include Jana McCann, McCann Adams Studio; Greg Kiloh, Economic Growth and Redevelopment Services Office, City of Austin; and John Rosato, Southwest Strategies Group.

In addition to the Seaholm District presentation, the symposium will feature:

  • Interactive building game and presentation by Alex Gilliam of Public Workshop
  • Exploration of sustainable materials in public art with Rebecca Ansert of Green Public Art
  • Panel discussion about the integration of art in urban agriculture with Randy Jewart, Austin Green Art; Jake Stewart, Sustainable Urban Agriculture, City of Austin; and Jessie Temple, Festival Beach Community Garden
  • Networking opportunities with breakfast and lunch provided by Ecstatic Cuisine
  • Resource materials from event presenters and information on upcoming AIPP opportunities

The symposium will take place from 9:00 am – 3:30 pm on Saturday, October 8, 2011 at the decommissioned Seaholm Power Plant located at the terminus of West Street at 3rd Street. Check-in and breakfast begin at 8:30 am. REGISTER BY OCTOBER 5 at www.cvent.com/d/fcqjff. SPACE IS LIMITED! Admission is $20 (includes breakfast and lunch). Parking is available in the surrounding neighborhood. Be sure to wear comfortable clothes and shoes.

The Art in Public Places Program is partnering with the Solid Waste Services Department and the Austin Convention Center to make this a zero waste event. Participants are encouraged to bring reusable water bottles, coffee mugs, silverware and dishware to aid in reducing waste. Please note that there will not be facilities to clean reusable items on site.

AFTERWARDS: The symposium will be followed by an interactive workshop sponsored by the Downtown Austin Alliance and conducted by Alex Gilliam of Public Workshop and Austin AIA members. The Old Bakery Block Idea-a-Thon will be held in and around the Old Bakery Building on the west side of Congress Avenue, between 10th and 11th streets from 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm. Symposium attendees are encouraged to participate. For more information, visit: www.aiaaustin.org/event/old-bakery-block-idea-thon.

NOTE: Both the symposium and the Idea-a-Thon are held in conjunction with Austin x Design, a month-long community celebration of design in Austin. To find more events, visit: www.austinbydesign.org or www.facebook.com/AustinbyDesign.

Questions? Contact Carrie Brown, Art in Public Places Coordinator, at 512-974-9310 or carrie.brown@austintexas.gov. Visit AIPP at www.austintexas.gov/aipp.

 

Rebecca Ansert, founder of Green Public Art, is an art consultant who specializes in artist solicitation, artist selection, and public art project management for both private and public agencies. She is a graduate of the master’s degree program in Public Art Studies at the University of Southern California and has a unique interest in how art can demonstrate green processes or utilize green design theories and techniques in LEED certified buildings.

Green Public Art is a Los Angeles-based consultancy that was founded in 2009 in an effort to advance the conversation of public art’s role in green building. The consultancy specializes in public art project development and management, artist solicitation and selection, creative community involvement and knowledge of LEED building requirements. Green Public Art also works with emerging and mid-career studio artists to demystify the public art process. The consultancy acts as a resource for artists to receive one-on-one consultation before, during, and after applying for a public art project.
Go to Green Public Art

Childsplay Theater’s Sustainability Survey Notes & an invitation

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Thank you to the 40 theatres that participated in Childsplay’s sustainable materials survey. Here are the results:

  • The majority of respondents (20 theatres) purchase 100-500 sheets of luan plywood per year…that’s roughly 75,000 linear feet of wood that is sourced primarily from tropical rain forests.  If only 20 theatres are using 75,000 linear feet, imagine how much our entire industry consumes on an annual basis!
  • 58% of participants throw away most or all of their scenic material at strike.  At our summit, most shops estimated filling at least one large container per strike…added together, that’s quite a landfill.
  • Not surprisingly, the most common reasons for not saving materials are lack of storage space and the labor costs associated with dismantling/moving materials.
  • Of those theatres that send materials to external recyclers, steel and aluminum are far and away the most common choices.  Steel and wood are the materials most frequently saved for re-use.
  • 30% of participants are already researching or implementing “green” material alternatives: using MDF in place of luan wherever possible, looking for less toxic materials, etc.
  • 66% of participants report re-using at least some stock pieces.
  • 50% of participants would be willing to budget 5-10% more to purchase sustainable materials.
  • 55% of participants would partner with other theatres for bulk purchasing of sustainable materials; another 42% would consider it for specific projects.
  • Less than 20% of participants recycle wood during a strike.  There is a common mis-perception that the wood and steel from flats or other structures cannot be recycled unless they are dismantled and stripped of hardware.  We learned from a regional recycler that not only could we recycle our flats without completely dismantling them. Paint and fasteners were also not an issue for recycling. These are new developments (at least in AZ) that have occurred within the last three years. Many recyclers will actually send a container to your site, reducing both labor and transportation costs.

Since sending you the survey, we have made a contact at a bamboo product manufacturer who is willing to take a look at our needs for the luan replacement.

On February 26th, we held our first sustainability summit. You can read about our first meeting at the TCG blog:http://aha.tcg.org/2010/03/welcome-to-first-sustainable-stagecraft.html
Childsplay will be recycling or keeping the majority (if not all) of the scenery from our final show of the season. I’ll report back to you all about how stage-to-recycling goes at the end of May.
And finally, we have two more days of sustainability meetings coming up in May. We will explore the production process from the initial idea stage through opening night. The focus will be on opportunities for open and synergistic communication between production staff and designers.
anthony runfola
production manager | childsplay
480.921.5721 (o) | 480.921.5777 (f)
Sybil B. Harrington Campus for Imagination and Wonder at Mitchell Park
900 S. Mitchell Dr., Tempe, Arizona 85281

Arcola Theatre Relocates and Renews

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Reprinted from Building Design: “UK’s first carbon-neutral theatre planned for Hackney” by Elizabeth Hopkirk, September 9, 2009

The Arcola Theatre in Hackney aims to relocate to a 2,000sq m site next to Dalston Junction station and create a 350-seat theatre built of sustainable materials including straw bales and doors salvaged from skips.

Engineer Arup has given 18 months worth of pro bono work for the proposal while the London Development Agency has awarded a £60,000 for a feasibility study subject to Hackney Council approving the site.

The overall concept, which can be scaled up or down according to how much money is raised, includes an expanded main theatre with two smaller studios, an eco café, gym, learning centre and park.

A key element is an enterprise centre with offices and laboratories for entrepreneurs and technology and product design firms.

Arcola chief executive Ben Todd said the feasibility study could be completed by December, with work on the new theatre starting in 2010 and completing in 2012.

Todd, who trained as an engineer, said: “The theatre will literally be built from straw bales, rendered to pass fire regs and be weather-proof.

“Doors from old schools and hospitals that don’t match are a nice example of the reuse, recycle attitude and are important to the texture. If we end up using steel and if most of the project comes after 2012, it would be a nice idea to recycle some of the Olympic stadia.”

Hackney Council is due to discuss the plans next week.

Go to the Green Theater Initiative