For the first garden update of the Spring, I’ll be posting just a few pictures of what’s happening in my backyard. Our next update will feature the plant life in our office/home garden here at moss, with lots of native species goodness.
Kitchens are not just holding pens for packaged food-like stuffs, but should be places for us to enjoy the company of family and friends and engage with the act of preparing and eating real food. In a New York Times Op-Ed, KidsHealth.org founder Neil Izenberg worries about the merging of his newly remodeled kitchen with his living room, playing to an increasing trend among American homes to have kitchens that blur the line between eating and entertainment. Izenberg’s main concern is the constant access he and his family will have to food day and night, potentially putting their health at risk.
When kitchens are viewed solely as food storage areas, it’s likely that one’s views on eating are a bit skewed. However, we do agree with Izenberg that ”modern home design plays an important and underappreciated role,” in the nation’s obesity epidemic, but in our opinion, the more welcoming and bright the kitchen, the better. Opening our living spaces to each other is part of the solution, not a direct route towards unending girth. More time spent in the kitchen equals more time cooking and becoming acquainted with ingredients, a cornerstone in a nutritious and satisfying diet.
image source: http://www.adashofcinnamon.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/heirloom-tomatoesS.jpg
April 22-28 is Veg Week, where people are invited to take a vegetarian challenge and eschew meat for seven days. We wanted to take this opportunity to talk about some great places to get vegetarian and vegan meals in the city, as well as share some recipes.
As a former vegetarian, I also wanted to talk a little bit about cooking in a way that doesn’t feel deprived, and doesn’t only rely on cheese for protein, because that can feel heavy, no matter how awesome cheese is. I have heard a lot of people comment on not wanting to eat/cook vegetarian or vegan meals because it feels like something is missing. The short answer to this is more lentils! The long answer is, well, keep reading for a few thoughts on satisfying meatless meals.
Along with master fabricators Ted Harris and Anna Wolfson, our spread in CS Interiors fresh Spring issue. Check out the article inside, project recap here , full CS issue here.
Judy from The Hungry Learner, a blog seeking personal stories in Chicago about food and knowledge, sat down with Matt last week to talk about moss design. The piece, entitled Building a Greener Chicago, discussed what it means to live and build sustainably, all over some excellent fare at Bar Pastoral. Thanks Judy for a wonderful piece!
After the threat of winter frosts are well and truly behind us (anyday now), it is time to begin Spring planting, then eagerly anticipating blooms and produce throughout the summer. Participating in the local food movement via an edible garden of your own is a great way to enjoy organic, non-GMO crops, have fun experiencing the rainbow of varieties that exist outside of mainstream grocery stores, eat more wholesome foods, and experience all the benefits of shopping at a farmers market within a variety of budgets. Plus, zero food miles to acquire. Hopefully some of the links below will provide a good jumping off point for those looking to start edible gardens in the Chicago area.
moss HQ has a burgeoning native edible garden and planter box, but the backyard portion is unfortunately the recipient of limited sunlight, due to a tall house in the adjacent lot. Still, these are all things we have grown successfully, so maybe it’ll provide some inspiration!
We’re in Growing Zone 6, as we discussed in our post on fruit trees in Chicago. Here’s a quick rundown of what to start doing to your garden in April, as per our specific zone.
Here’s a guide to starting a garden in Chicago.
Some helpful tricks and tips about what to plant where in an edible garden. For example, raspberries and blueberries need several varieties to cross-pollinate, and cucumbers are best planted on a trellis. And this excellent post from Apartment Therapy on how to approach first time vegetable gardening is a good read.
Bring a friend and create a planter box at the ReBuilding Exchange this weekend, to use some of your newfound knowledge.
Here’s an excellent article on Zach Pickens of Rooftop Ready on the journey of saving seeds and watching species adapt, sticking it to Monsanto and why monocultures are a perilous idea.
Ten tips on window gardening from Tessa of Sprout Home, via Design Sponge.
The 2013 Farmers Almanac lists Chicago-specific planting dates for certain edible crops.
We’ll be documenting two gardens all Spring and Summer: the one here at moss and the one in my backyard in Logan Square. We’ll be posting here, and on our twitter and instagram.
What an absolutely gorgeous Chicago Spring day, the perfect kick-off to the weekend. Here’s where we’ve been on the web this week:
Though we want to be outdoors, spending time inside with some of this season’s incredible produce is an equally magnetic option. In the spirit of taking a break from the computer screen, we are loving these old school, beautiful recipe card boxes from Rifle Paper Co, made of locally salvaged hardwood (well, local to the producer) adorned with a floral design. Via Design Sponge.
On that note, Mark Bittman’s guide to Spring vegetables is an exciting primer on how to welcome Rhubarb, Asparagus and Leeks etc. into the kitchen.
Sustainble Packaging (or lack thereof) has been a big topic at moss this week, and this Gapers Block article on the waste created by parking stickers plays into the frustrating “short use, way-too-long shelf life” concept. The parking stickers, only useful for a handful of hours, are estimated to create 45 tons of unrecyclable waste per year. Yet another reason to wish we still had quarter-fed meters, when parking was cheap and leaving an anonymous gift was easy.
This is an interesting take on what urban buildings might look like in 2050. Perhaps not the sleekest, but an intriguing vision that strays from specialized commercial spaces in a big way. Via Fast.Co.
We’re having fun browsing the website at Urban Remains Chicago, a giant warehouse filled to the brim with reclaimed architectural artifacts and other salvaged curiosities from the mid-19th century to the late 1960′s.
And if the warm weather keeps up, here is a handy guide to great Chicago walks starting from different EL stops (though the Lakefront, Old Town and The Loop are always great bets). Via TOC.
Have a wonderful Easter, Passover and/or weekend!
It’s tax season again, and we could all use a break. Luckily there are some financial breaks related to energy saving components of your house or building that you might not have been aware of, recently brought to light by the IRS. Under 179D deductions, you can claim deductions on any project or addition that meets certain green improvement criteria, applicable to projects constructed all the way back to 2006.
Real Estate firm Globest recently published a very informative article about how 179Ds work, and what green features qualify for such a savings.
Our latest restaurant venture is a refresh of Blue Bayou, a Cajun and New Orleans themed eatery with live music and a menu based on regional favorites in Lakeview.
While the current Blue Bayou serves gumbo and hosts jazz, we wanted to up the ante in terms of ambiance, food and design by drawing and unifying the aesthetic themes around the rich and complex history of the Louisiana Bayou. To explore design themes, we researched The Bayou and its inhabitants.
The recent grounding of Boeing’s Dreamliner 787 has gotten us thinking: this Dreamliner has a few marked improvements, but nothing mind-blowing. Honestly, flight isn’t exactly where we (or various sci-fi movies) thought it would be in 2013. We’ve got conflicting agendas: people are wanting to travel more than ever as instant communication brings us together from all corners of the earth, while at the same time trying to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in order to deal with high-stakes risk from climate change. And Concorde still hasn’t been revived—nay even approached by current, commercial flight.
Not to mention that we have a truly pathetic national rail system. It’s fly or take the bus here in America.
Concorde crossed the Atlantic in two hours and fifty-four minutes in a record flight from New York to London. But the legendary plane failed from a series of circumstantial misfortunes: a crash in 2000 killed 113 passengers, then September 11 happened and people’s faith in the luxury air industry was too slow too recover. Citing flatlining profits, Air France and British Airways announced that the supersonic planes would be grounded for good in November 2003. Especially with an average seat costing $12,000; for all but the very rich, it seems like you might as well add on the time difference and be able to actually eat when you arrive at your destination. One journalist’s account of their Concorde flight here. Then there was the matter of the sonic boom. It was disruptive, to say the least, and would pretty much quash an Aerotropolis like future.
Our new project, Wild Blossom, will be Chicago’s first meadery. Believed to be the world’s oldest alcoholic beverage, mead is a drink made by fermenting honey with yeast. Read more about mead at Wild Blossom’s website and then engage with this great interactive display on how mead travels from bee to bottle at Maine Mead Works.
Below are a few pictures of our inspiration wall, where we collect images and hang sketches to develop design elements before moving onto our next phase. Watch our blog for a more in-depth introduction to Wild Blossom in a few weeks!
The photo above is a picture I took in Paris, purportedly the city of love. Although romantic gestures often involve elements native to the countryside (beautiful flowers, for instance), there is something romantic about cities. Even in the grayest and coldest weather, they never cease to dazzle with lights and winding streets to undiscovered places. Though Valentine’s Day can be…polarizing to say the least, I can’t help but be extra appreciative of creative celebrations of the holiday, like the ones below.
Photo by Tim Skylarov http://timsklyarov.com/new-york-city-aerial/ contact: me@timsklyarov.com
This Chicago Detours post, which highlights some of the most romantic architectural places in Chicago to bring a valentine, with starkly beautiful photos.
Maria Popova’s Timeless Valentine to the Cosmos celebrates St. V Day without leaving anyone out.
Apartment Therapy rounds up the best TV episodes (all on Netflix!) to watch should you choose to be at home this evening.
And it’s an old standby, but a hot chocolate and a stroll through the neighborhood never loses its charm during the winter months. Chicago Now reports on Chicago’s top ten hot chocolates.
Oh and a victory for love and equality everywhere: Illinois Senate passed the same sex marriage bill!
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Thank you to Janel Laban of Apartment Therapy for sharing our newest residential project with the community! We are big fans of AT. Check out their awesome crowd sourced post on how to keep indoor herbs healthy.
See more pictures (including before & afters) on our original blog post here.
This week as the snow falls and news is released about Chicago’s BRT system, we’ve had the future of transportation on our minds (well, no surprises there.) In a less literal sense of the word, we’re also enjoying being transported to a twittering forest in Australia to hear beautiful recordings from the world’s largest natural sound library.
Brian Bonanno, sustainable programs manager at the Andersonville Development Corporation has this to say on the city’s lack of official bike parking “If you’re encouraging more people to bike but not providing adequate space, it becomes a problem.” Rahm is laying down almost 800 miles of new bike lanes by 2020, so we hope to see more places for people to park their bikes.
In other transportation news, our parklet is part of a pedestrian revolution! ADC is considering closing off part of Clark, on a seasonal basis, possibly leading to a permanent closure. Bonanno cites Lincoln Square’s popular Kempf Plaza as inspiration.
Our first finished project from our two Indiana reclaimed bowling lanes is a bench/console, perfect for sitting, reading, and displaying a TV, record player, or anything you don’t want on the floor.
We built it out of part of one of the lanes, acquired from Architectural Anarchy. It’s part of a series of furniture we’re making over the next few months, highlighting the lanes’ lovely maple wood, charming arrow detail and smooth, straight lines.
