Looking at Sustainable Design That Doesn’t Suck
- Posted by: Ben Jervey , Jen Dessinger
- on September 24, 2007 at 5:09 pm
In the Fort Greene section of Brooklyn, New York, a space that was a parking lot just five years ago has recently been transformed into one of the borough’s best scenes. Habana Outpost, a restaurant-cum-cultural center, features open-air market, outdoor movies, great food and drink, and a social hub for the creative and diverse local community. Underlying it all is an ethic of sustainability: The eatery, powered by renewable energy, boasts dozens of green building features—none of which takes away from the enjoyable experience. We took a look at some of the Outpost’s most inventive innovations.
Features: 1 (main photo). The outdoor courtyard and market space were formerly a parking lot.
2. Outdoor picnic tables and benches are made of “Trex”—recycled wood and plastic bottles.
3. A state-of-the-art solar awning providing most of the restaurant’s power.
4. The world’s first “sunlit chandelier” transmits real sunlight collected on the roof through fiber-optic cables to a fixture inside the restaurant.
5. Organic waste is composted in a worm bin.
6. An old postal truck has been revamped as a kitchen.
7. Recycled sailboat sails cover indoor booths.
8. You get a dollar off your smoothie if you mix it yourself with the human-powered bicycle blender. Organic food specials change with the season. Corn “plastic” cups, potato starch cutlery, and sugarcane plates are all 100% biodegradable. You can re-charge your phone at the solar-power hookup. Rainwater is collected to water plants and fill toilets.
DISCUSSION: 7 Comments
I am in search of the Sunlit Chandelier. I made a comment with the buildings people at my work about it and they said, “how much?, let’s fill the buildings”. It would be wonderful to fund the building of more of these if they are a feasible design.
Productivity is meant to go up as a result of using natural sunlight in an office, by anyones definition office light sucksMemorial Gifts
I too, was/ am interested in the sunlit chandelier!
It is made by Parans, a Swedish (?) company.
Fiberoptic cable is really expensive.
The design of the sunlight collector by Parans is probably prohibitively expensive and complicated…. as it has to be to work well.
With a business budget though, get in contact with Parans through their website and have at it.
Peace and silence
in the soul of
the present ; a bird,
leaving the country,
arrives near the
care now reflecting
your feeling and then,
in the meantime,
that beautiful flow
seems a light
in the heart of the
wisdom.
Francesco Sinibaldi
This place is super cool, but only open in the summer. Bummer.
so it’s cool that they use corn-plastic cups for the beers, but wouldn’t it make more sense to just use glasses?
After I read the (original) article, I contacted the cafe. After a few attempts, I got through and spoke to an employee who knew nothing about the chandelier (incomprehensible to me, but taken in-stride). They indicated that they would have someone who knew get back to me. Never happened. I just read about Parans and have contacted them. I am trying to get this implemented at Patagonia, but would like specifics before I run it up the flagpole; “expensive” is not too useful.