Ecohaven Project: Education

Showing posts with label Education. Show all posts

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Site Specific - Detroit, MI

Site Specific - Detroit, MI by Ecohaven Project | Make Your Own Book

Ecohaven Project is pleased to announce that the Site Specific - Detroit, MI art book collaboration between Jennifer Hoffman + Geoff Hoffman is now available for purchase through Blurb. We chose Blurb to self-publish our book after seeing their collaboration with Dwell magazine in their recent photo competition. This was our first book + we learned a lot in the process. It's not cheap to self-publish a book, but this truly is a labor of love + an important viewpoint that Ecohaven Project wants to explore. We feel that as designers, architects + artists we need to really look at how + where we live. To us, this is part of the holistic + multidisciplinary approach that design is gravitating towards. This way of working ultimately supports sustainability of communities + celebrates where we live.

As the book world becomes more digital - art books are becoming more than just books. We look at Site Specific as being an art object for display (with lots of beauty + joy inside). It's an investment that is beautiful + means something. The book has a hardcover with a dust jacket + is a square 7" x 7" format - the images themselves are 6" x 6". This size supports the book being an intimate experience + really shares what our intention was: to make beautiful images that capture the unique character + inspiration that we experienced in Detroit during the short 24 hours we had there. The book is a visual story that works in unison with our corresponding website posts. Please read the Hearts Detroit + Heidelberg Project Visit posts for more information on what we learned.

Our books will only be available for purchase through Blurb.

Thank you + Enjoy!

Jennifer

Friday, April 15, 2011

ECONNECT (Lotus Flower) - New Delhi, India

Location: New Delhi, India

Competition: KHOJ International Artists' Association: In Context: public.art.ecology Part II

Project Submission: Econnect by Ecohaven Project with Love Motel for Insects by Brandon Ballengée

Status: Completed exhibition - April 2011

Econnect – (lotus flower concept, design + structure) Jennifer Hoffman + Geoff Hoffman

Collaboration: Love Motel for Insects - Brandon Ballengée

Ecohaven Project’s design process began with research of New Delhi and India. We wanted to create a structure + space that related to + celebrated the culture in a beautiful + inspiring way. Inspiration for the design of the Econnect structure is based on the lotus flower. The lotus flower is the national flower of India + symbolizes divinity, fertility, wealth, knowledge + enlightenment. Econnect provides connection to the local environment including graphic design concepts that support the educational components of the interior spaces while fostering the opportunity to reflect + be with nature in an otherwise fast-paced city life.

The Econnect lotus flower structure, in collaboration with the Love Motel for Insects concept, supports a 24-hour habitat: By day, the plants provide a habitat + food source for butterflies. By night, the exterior of the Econnectstructure supports the Love Motel for Insects concept by incorporating the use of ultraviolet light to provide a nocturnal habitat for moths. The collaboration support’s the main project concepts of Connection, Education + Sustainability.

Econnect’s sustainable design strategies include:

Designing in a way that minimizes the overall use of materials.
Constructing with local materials + specifying environmentally preferable products to reduce the negative impact on the planet.
Use of indigenous vegetation reduces water usage, maintenance costs + water run-off. Utilizing white surfaces with a high solar reflectance reduces heat islands.

DUAL HABITAT - Torino, Italy

Location: Torino, Italy

Competition: The PAV Biosphere: Inner and Outer Osmotic Boundaries
Project Submission: Dual Habitat by Ecohaven Project with Love Motel for Insects by Brandon Ballengée

Outcome: Project received Special Mention
Status: PAV Exhibition July 2011

Dual Habitat – Jennifer Hoffman + Geoff Hoffman

Collaboration: Love Motel for Insects - Brandon Ballengée

Dual Habitat’s Basis of Design:

The main shipping container structure design includes a space for learning + connection. By day, Dual Habitat’s structure incorporates a vegetative roof with surrounding indigenous plants that provide a habitat + food source for insects + animals. By night, the Love Motel for Insects installation/collaboration with Ecohaven Project incorporates the use of ultraviolet light to provide a nocturnal habitat for insects. The collaboration supports the main project concepts of Connection, Education + Sustainability.

Dual Habitat’s sustainable design strategies include:

Designing in a way that minimizes the overall use of materials.
Constructing with local materials, specifying environmentally preferable, salvaged, recycled + re-purposed products to reduce the negative impact on the planet.
Use of indigenous vegetation reduces water usage, maintenance costs + water run-off.
Utilizing white surfaces with a high solar reflectance reduces heat islands.
Incorporating a vegetative roof also decreases heat islands, keeps the structure cooler in the summer/warmer in the winter, decreases water run-off + provides additional acoustics to the educational space.
Exploration of solar energy to reduce carbon emissions with an ultimate goal of zero energy.

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Econnect + Love Motel for Insects KHOJ Exhibition

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Ecohaven Project is based in Chicago, IL (USA). The Econnect lotus flower concept, design + structure was created by Ecohaven Project in collaboration with Brandon Ballengée’s Love Motel for Insects concept for KHOJ International Artists' Association located in New Delhi, India. Click for full project details.