The Re:Construct competition has officially launched. Submit your ideas for the city block of the future; entries are due September 15th, 2008. As you can see, I am one of the advisors for the competition (and have been from the beginning).

From the site:

What are you made of? Do you have what it takes to make a difference? Are you willing and able to rebuild a sustainable foundation for the future? It’s time for a change in the way we see things, in the way we do things. It’s time for what we build to reflect who we are and what we’re made of. It’s time to Re:Construct the ideas and realities of sustainable building.

While you’re at their site, check out the winners of the past competitions:
RE:VOLT
RE:ROUTE
RE:STORE
RE:CONNECT

I spoke at the PSFK Conference last month. The theme was on trends, inspiration and creativity and I was enjoying myself so much at the event I was already looking forward to the next conference.

Some incredible speakers and brands were represented: Starbucks, Good Magazine, Current TV, fuseproject, NASA – and that’s just a handful of them…

Ken Fisher conducted interviews during the event, and the first compilation video is now available. I am in the video speaking about the need for innovation.

Watch the video here.

The San Francisco Examiner did a profile on various women in the heart of the green movement.

One of those profiled was Jackie Barbe, one of my incredible project managers here at organicARCHITECT. The print version had a wonderful photo of her too, but you can read the online version here.

MSNBC has this video showing Michelle Kaufman’s latest prefab masterpiece at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago.

The best part of the video occurs in the middle with a time lapse shot showing the prefabricated modules being assembled. The entire house was installed in a week.

More on Michelle’s Blog
Even more on Treehugger
Press Release
Museum of Science and Industry

I am honored to be named one of the environmental leaders in San Francisco by 7×7 Magazine for their April (Earth Day) issue.

The article begins:

You already know the elders of the green tribe–Gore, Waters, McDonough. Now, meet SF’s next wave.

It is also great to see my friend, Matt Golden, from Sustainable Spaces as one of the honorees. San Francisco is a wonderful place filled with so many great people doing amazing things, and Matt is a perfect example of that.

Full Profile via 7×7 Magazine
All of the profiles for the issue

I participated in a round table discussion with some of the leaders in green building for an article in Metropolitan Home with:
Fellow Architect Rob Harrison
Planner Steven Lenard
Interior Designer Denise Shaw
Executive Director of Build It Green, Brian Gitt

My favorite part:

Freed: Some of my work is helping other architects “green up” their projects. But it’s ridiculous when someone unveils a 14,000-square-foot house and asks me, “What can we do to make it greener?” My usual answer is, “Why don’t we take off the second floor?”

via Metropolitan Home

I wrote an article for Anne Fougeron. Fougeron is a wonderful modernist and her loft in the San Francisco South of Market (SoMa) district is an exploration of green adaptive reuse. The three main elements: folded steel stair, interior courtyard and penthouse addition, are a clever and unique approach to converting an old factory into a home.

Read the full story: