With mixed sun, rain, thunder, a tornado, and who knows what else happening outside, those attending the Green West Expo at the Los Angeles Convention Center May 20-22 may have had to think more than once about global warming and the importance of changing our use of energy and resources. That includes building materials, which were among the exhibited products at Green Expo, and which were showcased interestingly at an installment entitled “Sustainable Living Spaces-Inspired by Eric Lloyd Wright.”
The grandson of Frank Lloyd Wright, Eric Lloyd Wright has established himself as a premier architect and founder of Eric Lloyd Wright and Associates Architecture and Planning, and the Wright Way Organic Resource Center in Malibu. With a recent concentration on organic and green building design, Wright and his associates Hannah Wear and Kevin Parkhurst teamed up with several furniture and building materials firms, including Bradco Kitchen and Baths, Eco-Partners, Cisco Brothers Furniture, Sub Zero, Pixcel Organics, Nana Walls, and others, to design and furnish this “green house.”
Wright’s showcase living spaces at first glance resembled the showrooms for a furniture store like Ikea. Here one walked through a glass entrance door by NanaWall. It looked like a typical patio entrance but NanaWall glass wall systems feature wood frames with non-toxic powder coating, and provide natural ventilation.
External walls for Wright’s “house” featured what looked like cinder blocks. They were actually Apex blocks made from expanded polystyrene. Interior walls were PIUR panels, made mostly from recycled re-ground foam. They can be waterproofed and moreover, can withstand as much as 1800 degrees Fahrenheit for up to 90 minutes.
Kitchen and bathroom fixtures were provided mostly by Bradco and included bamboo kitchen cabinets, with double recycling bins to the left and right of the kitchen sink. The sink’s “Mina Twist” faucet was made from stainless steel, the best material for faucets.
This reporter, being a klutz in the kitchen, loved the Wolf electric oven and magnetic cooktop. The burners don’t get hot to the touch even when the power is on. They do, however, respond to metal cookware because of the magnetic charge. So one can warm up the soup and not burn one’s hands.
The bathroom’s components featured a Sloan water-efficient toilet (low-flush water-saving toilets were a major item at Green West). Sloan’s commode gets four flushes to the gallon, whereas California law requires only 1.6 gpf (gallons per flush) and historically, toilets used 3.5 gpf.
Also in the bathroom was a sink with a top that appeared to be marble but was actually recycled glass by Moda Ceramica. Samples on display came in colors ranging from blue to white with colored flecks.
Other areas of the living space included a living room area, a patio area, and a bedroom. The furniture was by Cisco Brothers, who manufacture their furnishing with sustainable and non-toxic materials. The bedroom’s huge bed was soft with pillows and spread from Pixel Organics (yes, visitors stretched out on it), and the bedside tables, by Cisco, were uniquely constructed from a single piece of wood.Wright describes his installation as “an excellent way to display green building concepts for the creative, architectural and building communities in Los Angeles and New York.” His design for the Sustainable Living Space fits in perfectly with the ambience of Southern California: glass walls, patio and all, and should be able to withstand even the freaky late spring weather we’ve been having.
