This evening, AIA Utah members will gather at Publik Coffee in Downtown Salt Lake City, to celebrate Utah Architects and their best work. Arch|Nexus Director of Design, Robb Harrop, will be presented with the Honor Award, for the design of the Arch|Nexus Sac office. “It’s really about the team… to accomplish something like this, it’s all about the team.” Harrop also expresses his gratitude to the awards committee “for recognizing that highly sustainable projects are good design.”

Salt Lake County is currently hosting its tenth annual Watershed Symposium. The two day conference engages the public and stakeholders in issues related to watershed health. Architectural Nexus President, Kenner Kingston, presented at this year’s event: Using Living Buildings to Achieve a Sustainable Water Future. Kingston, along with Nick Schou, of the Utah Rivers Council and Kevin Emerson, of Utah Clean Energy, made a compelling case for the value of Living Buildings in Utah.

Our Sacramento Office building, Arch | Nexus SAC has been honored by ENR California as the best Green Project for 2017! Features considered by the awards committee include net positive energy, water re-use, building re-use, healthy materials and revitalization of the neighborhood. To read more about the project and this regional award, head over to ENR.com.

Arch|Nexus SAC made it on the map of Sacramento Area Sustainable Business by winning a BERC Award. The Business Environmental Resource Center recognized Arch|Nexus SAC with the Green Building Award of 2017. The BERC program helps businesses to develop a positive relationship with its staff, who provide regulatory, pollution prevention and resource conservation expertise. The Business Environmental Resource Center also encourages the public to choose Certified Sustainable businesses. Learn more about the program here.

Nearly half of all the energy consumed in America is through buildings. There is something that you can do about this. In honer of National Energy Efficiency Day, take a home inventory of discretionary electric devices to find areas of potential waste and opportunities for conservation.

Take 5 minutes to identify where you use electricity in your home and which items you have discretionary control of.

Take an inventory of:

• Number of televisions and/or computer monitors
• Number of computers
• Number of DVD players, DVR recorders, stereo systems, game consoles, etc.
• Number of light switches
• other sources of electricity consumption

Also identify if you have a programmable or smart thermostat and if it is programmed to raise air conditioning temperature settings or lower heat settings during times when no one is home.

Remember, knowledge is power.  Taking the time to identify sources of electricity consumption in your home and discussing simple behavioral changes that can help you eliminate waste will put you on the path to saving money and setting an example for your friends and family about the importance of reducing electricity waste.

The 2017 North American Passive House Network Conference will be held in Oakland, California this week. Arch Nexus president Kenner Kingston will be a panelist for two of the sessions. On Saturday, October 7^th, Kingston will participate in conjunction with Brad Liljequist, of the International Living Future Institute. They will delve deep into the water petal of the of the Living Building Challenge and discuss details of the Arch|Nexus SAC location.  Kingston will then again be on a panel in the second Saturday session, discussing how the ILFI materials reduces toxicity in projects, specifically the Arch|Nexus Sac location. For more information click here.

The International Living Future Institute is hosting a free webinar presented by Arch Nexus President, Kenner Kingston and Arch Nexus Principal, Jeff Davis. Kingston and Davis were both critical to the development and design of Arch | Nexus SAC, the Sacramento office location for Arch Nexus which is on track to become California’s first Living Building. They will share the framework for how the project team is meeting the demanding water requirements necessary for Living Building Certification in the dry central valley of California.

The team found and customized a Water Permitting Map as a visual tool to identify code barriers and generate solutions. They have created Water Permitting Maps for the states of Utah and California, and will describe the process of adapting the map for your own region.

Both LFA and AIA credits are available through this course. Participants will be able to type questions into the Q&A panel at any time during the webinar. The presentation will also be recorded and available to view afterwards. For more information or to register click here.

On Friday, September 15^th, PARK(ing) Day 2017 took place on Broadway Street in Salt Lake City. The annual event is meant to bring sustainable changes to urban planning and promote alternative modes of transportation. Arch Nexus participated with the creation of an interactive installation.

Onlookers were approached by Nexus employees to discuss their transportation habits. Yellow traffic markers were displayed to represent vehicles on the road. Participants were encouraged to select a yellow traffic marker and write down a pledge of how they will use alternative transportation.

The event proved to be an excellent networking opportunity, volunteers enjoyed visiting with local artists and design professionals. Arch Nexus would like to thank sponsors Biograss, Progressive Plants and the Tuft Family.

On Thursday, artists from Arch Nexus won first place in a graffiti art competition hosted by Interior Solutions. The event theme was “in-SPRAY-tion Creation”. Teams were asked to create a canvas depicting where their firms turn for inspiration. Team consisted of Elaine Stowell, Scott Buckner, Eric Bradbury and Jo Bradbury.

Buckner explained that they wanted to use opposing forces in their piece, because different personalities and ideas working together, yield excellent end results. “Like fire and ice” said Eric.

Tomorrow, in cities around the globe, artists, activists and citizens will temporarily transform metered parking spaces into public parks and other social spaces, as part of an annual event called “PARK(ing) Day.”

PARK(ing) Day began in 2005, when San Francisco-based art and design studio, Rebar,  challenged people to rethink the way streets are used and to recognize the need for broad-based changes to urban infrastructure. “In urban centers around the world, inexpensive curbside parking results in increased traffic, wasted fuel and more pollution,” says Rebar’s Matthew Passmore. “The planning strategies that generated these conditions are not sustainable, nor do they promote a healthy, vibrant human habitat. PARK(ing) Day is about re-imagining the possibilities of the urban landscape.”

PARK(ing) Day takes place annually on the second Friday every September. Locally, Arch Nexus will host an interactive installation for PARK(ing) Day on Broadway Street in Salt Lake City. Stroll the city street from 8:00 AM to 4:00 pm to see all the creative designs. Find Arch Nexus at 30 Broadway (in front of Doc u Mart).