Sustain.Ability

To sustain; as defined by Merriam Webster, to bear up under; to give support or relief to; to supply with sustenance; to support the weight of. The Americans with Disabilities Act was created in 1990, in order to ensure disabled persons equal access to buildings. Providing accessible facilities is an important part of design and stands alone as sustainable.

Early in my career, a former boss and mentor, Architect Robert Kendall, asked me to help him in his efforts to form an organization that offered free design and planning to victims of spinal cord injuries. The formation of this organization was important to Robert because of his association with a close friend that was in a wheelchair, as well as his own brief disabling experience, due to a soccer injury. Robert's dream became a reality with the formation of a non-profit charitable organization named Homescapes. As a volunteer for Homescapes during its formation and operations, the needs of the disabled became important to me.

As family members age and no longer are to get around the same, we realize the need to make their homes safe for their movement. In addition, we become more aware of the need for public spaces to be accommodating to people with a disability.

I could not consider myself a true green or sustainable designer if I did not include the needs of the disabled in my work. I make sure that my commercial projects always include consultation about the needs of the disabled. Not only is it the law, it's thoughtful and for the business owner that serve the public, it makes good business sense.

Urban Aesthetics is proud to say that we find the needs of the disabled important and they will continue to be at the forefront of our projects. We provide a accessibility permit drawings as a service to very important clients and if an ADA retrofit is what you need, do not hesitate to call:
800-868-1921.

Painting the Town Green

Painting the Town Green

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Eco-Deck and Gardens

"...I love spring anywhere, but if I could choose I would always greet it in a garden..."  
Ruth Stout


Spring is almost here and it is the time of year that we start upgrading the exterior of our houses in anticipation of great holidays like Memorial Day, Independence Day and Labor Day. Many other special days are around the corner, including Family Reunions or those special gatherings that you have outdoors. 


"...You can bury a lot of troubles digging in the dirt..." 
Author Unknown


How about having your gathering on your new or upgraded deck leading to an elegant garden? Planting a garden is an eco-friendly move, adding oxygen to the air and helping to decrease the amount of storm water runoff. Your garden can be an ongoing spring and summer project, decreasing your time spent indoors, eventually saving you energy and money. 
Sustainable choices for your garden:

• Plant herbs to use as spices for your favorite dishes.
• Plant vegetables and save money on food.
• Use eco-friendly choices for fertilizers 

"...Plants cry their gratitude for the sun in green joy..."  
Astrid Alauda


Make another green choice for your garden and deck by using environmentally friendly materials. Your best option can be to reuse wood from construction debris, preferably from a previous deck. Additional options include using FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified wood and deck tiles, ensuring that the use of the wood is not leading to deforestation. An alternative to using wood for decks is composite decking. Composite decking eliminates the need to use natural resources because it includes alternative materials to wood. The decking also decreases the amount of maintenance needed.

• FSC Deck Tiles: http://www.decktiles.org/
• Composite Deck Materials: http://www.trex.com/

"...I think the true gardener is a lover of his flowers, not a critic of them.  I think the true gardener is the reverent servant of Nature, not her truculent, wife-beating master..."  
Reginald Farrer, In a Yorkshire Garden, 1909

Urban Aesthetics will design a deck to your specifications and we will do it the right way. Many decks in the area have been built done wrong, with us do your deck will be done right.

Call: 215-776-8795
Email: info@urbanaestheticsdesigns.com

"Every April communities, organizations, and individuals nationwide celebrate gardening during National Garden Month." National Gardening Association

All Decked-Out in Green

Deck: A flat-floored, roofless area adjoining a house.


Are you looking to save energy this summer? Would you like to increase the value of your home? Thinking of adding a deck? Does your house have an existing deck that needs upgrading? If your answer is "yes" to any of these questions, you are in luck.
Would you like your future deck to be built to code? Would you like it to be safe? Is your existing deck safe?
Is it green? Would you like it to be green?


"Decked Out": "Adjective: Someone or something that is really extravagant and awesome looking..."
Urban Dictionary
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=decked%20out


"Paint my house or deck green, NO Way!!!" I agree, depending on the shade or unless you are going with an AMAZING theme. But you can "deck your house out in green..." An adjective describes or modifies a person, place or thing. Adding a deck modifies or enhances your home. You can make your home "awesome looking" with a new deck. And the deck can be green. Not necessarily the COLOR green but a green and choice.


The benefits of adding a deck on your home or property:

• Adding a deck can be a "green" choice - Making the choice to entertain or relax outside during the spring and summer months can save energy, while saving you money. Many people eat dinner, entertain and relax on their decks. You can turn off the appliances, the air and the lights and enjoy the weather on your deck.
• Adding a deck can save you money - Watch your energy bills diminish as you use less electric and air.
• Building a deck onto your home can make you money - A deck can add value to your home. You can add a room without spending the full price of building an addition.

"...building a deck can be a smart way for property owners to maintain or even improve their home's  value..."                                                                                                                     

Luke Mullins, U.S. News and World Report

If you are planning on adding or upgrading your deck, and you want to do it right, call Urban Aesthetics, LLC: 215-776-8795. We can help you:

• Get a Licensed Contractor.
• Get a Permit.
• Choose sustainable materials and practices.

Urban Aesthetics has completed several decks throughout the Philadelphia area.

Graduating Green

Graduate: to pass from one stage of experience, proficiency, or prestige to a usually higher one...


You have learned that the Passport to Sustainability is Educating Green, planning, building and operating Green. So now, I ask the question: have you taken a Recess and made the decision to Green your educational facility? Now is the time for you to graduate.

"...The only person who is educated is the one who has learned how to learn and change..."

Carl Rogers

It's time to change. The best place to spark that change is in the classroom. Sustainability is a choice, a way of life. As we learn, we implement the teaching into our lifestyle or the education is futile. As you Graduate Green, you will realize that this is only the beginning. Progress is being made daily to help individuals become greener and live a more socially responsible lifestyle. We have an opportunity to continue to learn, we have a chance to embrace new options.

"...I believe that education is the fundamental method of social progress and reform. All reforms which rest simply upon the law, or the threatening of certain penalties, or upon changes in mechanical or outward arrangements, are transitory and futile.... But through education society can formulate its own purposes, can organize its own means and resources, and thus shape itself with definiteness and economy in the direction in which it wishes to move.... Education thus conceived marks the most perfect and intimate union of science and art conceivable in human experience..."

John Dewey, My Pedagogic Creed, 1897

As you graduate, I offer additional Greenie Tips for your Educational Facility, Daycare Center or Classroom:
1. Incorporate "upcycling" art projects.
Encourage students to bring in items ready for the waste stream to be used in art prjects. Example: egg     cartons, styrafoam peanuts, boxes, cans, etc.
2. Set up a class website.
Explain the importance of saving paper and allow students and parents the option to download information via the website.
3. Send out grades online.
Continue to save paper by emailing transcripts for students and parents willing to go paperless.
4. Use both sides of paper.
5. Organize outside cleanup days in order to promote recycling and neighborhood cleanup.
Contact Rafyah Lumb of NaturallyNeat Cleaning to have her organize a cleanup project for your students.
Phone: 215-667-7446.


Source: X-ray technician Schools. (2008). 30 Go Green Tips For Teachers in the Classroom. 
http://www.x-raytechnician
schools.org/30-go-green-tips-for-teachers-to-introduce-to-the-classroom/


Now fellow students, alumni, teachers and faculty, I encourage you to reflect on this educational journey and seek progress in your building planning. In your existing facility, I encourage you to implement changes, the option benefits you and everyone utilizing your facility. For additional information on Green Operations, Building and Incentives, contact Felicia Middleton at:
P: 215-776-8795
Email: uagreenie@urbanaestheticsdesigns.com

Green Recess

Are you planning the building of an educational facility such as a daycare center, school or classroom? Do you have an existing educational facility? Is it Green? Do you teach sustainable practices to the students? Do you represent these practices through your operations, providing a good example for the students?


If you are planning to open or remodel an educational facility, STOP! Take a break and rethink your plans. 
If your plans are not green, STOP! Change the color of your facility. 


Recess: "...A temporary cessation of the customary activities of an engagement, occupation, or pursuit."


Think Green.
A healthy learning environment is the best for a student. Greening your facility can provide a healthier atmosphere for your students. 

• Ensure that the facility has a properly run Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning system. Good indoor air quality is essential for a healthy learning environment and can cut back on diseases and allergies.
• Clean your facility using environmentally friendly products and services. A Green cleaning service that uses eco-friendly products can also help indoor air quality and reduce allergies. The added benefit will be that you will be helping the environment.
• Design or renovate your facility incorporating natural light. "...natural light for its demonstrated positive effects on student productivity and wellness..." (Sunlight Direct Inc.)

"Education costs money, but then so does ignorance."
Sir Claus Moser


Rethinking the design and planning of your school, classroom or daycare center will be an added benefit for your facility, the staff and your students. Greening your educational facility is a "Win-Win", everybody benefits. For additional information on the design, planning AND greening of your facility, contact Urban Aesthetics, LLC.


Phone Number: 215.776.8795
Email: info@urbanaestheticsdesigns.com


Additional Information:


We have additional information that will be of help. The Keystone Stars Child Care Quality Initiative is a quality improvement program for child care providers. Child care providers can be designated as Star One, Star Two, Star Three or Star Four based on achieving performance standards in Staff Education, the Learning Environment, and Administration. Additional information, preparation and help will be provided in our upcoming monthly workshops. Please feel free to email us or contact us for additional information.


http://www.fpg.unc.edu/~ECERS/uses/Government/pennsylvania.html
http://www.pakeys.org/pages/get.aspx?page=Programs_STARS
http://www.dpw.state.pa.us/PartnersProviders/ChildCareEarlyEd/KeyStoneStarChildCare/
http://www.sunlight-direct.com/education.php

Educating Green

"...I've never let my school interfere with my education..." 

Mark Twain

That's right, the school should not interfere with an education. The building, the hallways, the classroom, all should enhance the educational experience and not affect it. In the past, materials such as asbestos, lead and poor HVAC systems had a negative effect on the student's health. Today we know how to build in a manner that respects both the earth and the health of individuals.

"...Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of true education..."

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Does your educational facility reflect character and integrity? Social responsibility? Green educational facilities promote education and reflect a positive character. Green classrooms are healthy learning environments where the interior physical location wont affect the child's overall education. In fact, they can be used to enhance their education. Children can learn early practices of waste reduction and recycling. In addition, they can develop a lifestyle of eco-friendlly habits.  

Operate Green:
-Choose eco-friendly printing: 
MTB Imaging Corp. 
1-866-345-1MTB
tmccleary@mtb.com
www.mtbimaging.com
-"Upcycle" Sharpie Markers and other items: Send them to TerraCycle to be reused.
www.TerraCycle.net

TerraCycle finds another use for items normally considered trash before they enter the waste stream.

Greenie Building Tips for your Educational Facility:

-Use zero or low VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds) paints: http://www.epa.gov/iaq/voc.html

-Use eco-friendly Acoustical Ceiling Tiles - Green Depot:: http://www.greendepot.com/greendepot/dept.asp?dept_id=5300&page=2&s_id=0

-Use eco-friendly flooring.
-Contact Urban Aesthetics LLC for sustainable design solutions, LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Certification and Green Planning.


Phone: 215-776-8795
Email: info@urbanaestheticsdesigns.com


Completed Designs of Educational Facilities:
Urban Aesthetics:
-Classrooms in Church Facilities
-Designs for Daycare Centers 
Felicia Middleton of Urban Aesthetics has completed:
-School Cafeterias
-School "Cafetoriums"
-School Commissary Kitchens

Additional Information:

Lead Poisoning in Educational Facilities:
http://www.cababstractsplus.org/abstracts/Abstract.aspx?AcNo=20043159779

http://www.civilrights.com/LeadPaintLitigation.php

Education is the Passport to a Sustainable Future

     "...Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today..."
El Hajj Malik El Shabazz
     As I walked through the hallowed halls of my former high school, I could remember the school the way it was many years before while appreciating the changes that had recently been made. The new addition  to the former-elementary-school-turned-high school changed the look completely from the way it was when I attended. For years, there was talk of building a new school but the outcome was an addition to the existing building. The final choice was a green option, renovation - one that is a favorite of mine.
     The International Building Code defines an Educational Facility as "one with six or more occupants for educational purposes through the twelfth grade." Day Care centers that provide educational supervision or personal care services for five or more children over 2 1/2 years of age are included in this definition.

     Opening an Educational Facility? If so, why not make it green? Own an existing facility or accessory educational space in a facility (classroom in a church)? Change its color to green. Over the past year, I have discussed with current and potential clients educational projects that have include classrooms in churches, daycare centers as well as institutions of higher learning. I was pleased to see the interest in not only green, but LEED Certified facilities.

     "...Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance..." 

Will Durant
     In the past, many of these facilities were built without the environment in mind. Now that we understand the negative affects, and we know how to reverse them, let's seek to change past practices. Philadelphia is rich with educational facilities - daycare centers, public and private schools. These facilities should be built using sustainable practices and the students should learn about the environment and green living. 
     Educating Green is a passport to a sustainable future.

Greenie Tips for Schools:
-Recycling - "Every building in Philadelphia is required by law to recycle...". Some are not participating in this practice - I have seen it with my own eyes.
http://www.keepphiladelphiabeautiful.org/schoolrecycling.html
-Education - All schools should make it a common practice to teach children about the practices of recycling and waste reduction. Urban Aesthetics is partnering with Naturally Neat in a volunteer effort to teach children about recycling. and green practices. 

-Build and Renovate Green - Implement sustainable design practices in the planning of your facility. Contact Urban Aesthetics for LEED Certification, design and planning. 


Phone: 215-776-8795
Email: info@urbanaestheticsdesigns.com

Light of The World

"...And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and He separated the light from the darkness..." 

God created light, NATURAL LIGHT. We all love light. However, most of our love affair is with unnatural light. But just as God separated the light from darkness, sometimes we should do the same thing. We need to separate ourselves from unnatural lighting. What am I referring to? Conservation. Energy. Turn the lights off, people, conserve energy. Use energy efficient bulbs, save energy. Save energy = save money. Save Energy = help the planet. It's just that simple.

What are other ways to conserve energy in planning your church facility?

Greenie Tips: 

Lighting:

• Build your facility letting in natural light, have the natural light designed based on the proper solar orientation and specific to target locations.
• Add a clerestory to allow additional light to enter. A clerestory is a high wall with a band of narrow windows along the very top. The clerestory wall usually rises above adjoining roofs.                                       

• For existing buildings, your light choices may be limited but don't rule out adding sky lights.

• Design rooms with motion sensor lighting.

"...He causes the clouds to rise over the whole earth. He sends the lightning with the rain and releases the wind from his storehouses..." Psalms 135:7

Energy:

The weather affects energy usage. Energy usage affects costs. Energy usage affects the environment. Your facility can be designed to accommodate these conditions and conserve energy. Upcoming legislation will have a drastic affect on energy usage and costs. 

This legislation will impact the operations of your church facility.

Deregulation is coming. Deregulation will allow consumers competition among energy suppliers and customers will be able to choose their own energy suppliers. Competition will provide the opportunity for lower prices and energy choices from socially responsible suppliers.

Energy Saving Tips: 

• The structure should be properly insulated.
• Choose a Green Roof. Green Roofs provide insulation; help reduce the size of the HVAC system and manage stormwater runoff.
• Your designer should specify an HVAC system that is energy efficient.

Contact Urban Aesthetics for energy efficient design choices. Our LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) consultant can help your building get LEED Certified to maximize your benefits.

Phone: 215-776-8795

Email: info@urbanaestheticsdesigns.com

http://architecture.about.com/od/structural/g/clerestory.htm

Discovering Philadelphia's Architecture

http://www.workshopoftheworld.com/center_city/reading.html
Reading Terminal Head House and Shed


The Reading Terminal (head house and train shed) located at 1115-1141 Market Street has connected Philadelphia and its visitors since its inception in 1893. The original builder for this architectural masterpiece was Charles McCaul. The train shed, one of a kind in size and engineering, served as a transportation connection point for daily commuters living in and outside of Philadelphia.

After the renovations in 1995, the original purpose of the building evolved into its new purpose. Today, the building continues to serve as a connection point for citizens of Philadelphia as well as visitors from the surrounding suburbs and beyond. The Head House, preserved externally to maintain its original Italian Renaissance style, now serves as an entrance to the Pennsylvania Convention Center, Market East Train Station and the Gallery shopping Center.
The train shed now serves as part of the Convention Center and is truly elegant. Elements, such as tracks placed within the shed's flooring reveal the shed's original use while serving as a decorative element.
The sculptures by Judy Pfaff decorating the shed's ceiling offers electrical illusions, again reminding one of the feeling of the original purpose of the building along with a distinct indication of the elegance of its new use. Although left abandoned for a brief period prior to renovation, the building has been a place of activity and exploration in Philadelphia for more than 100 years.


The Reading Terminal has been on the National Register for Historic Places since 1972. Historical Preservation and Renovation are Green and Sustainable design choices.

I LOVE Philadelphia, Espescially the Architecture

I love Philadelphia. I love architecture. I love people. I especially love Philadelphia's architecture. I also love to breathe. When you love something, you dedicate yourself and your work to making it better. In college, I combined these loves as I studied sustainable architecture, urban planning and worked and did an internship with the Clean Air Council in an effort to help people and the environment.

As with many first loves, we leave them but if it's true love, we always return. I left Philadelphia for a season. I returned and I will probably never leave again. As the rap artist Mos Def says in his song Brooklyn, "I love my city, sweet & gritty..." That's me!

Another first love is the environment. I have been an environmental advocate for more than 15 years and I have dedicated my studies, work and practices toward design and sustainability. At times I have wavered but the mindset has always been here. I have so much pride in seeing the efforts that are now promoted towards sustainable design.

I continue to have pride in my city. I am happy to see all the positive changes taken place in Philadelphia. I love the Greenworks plan and the city's efforts towards the environment. My company's mission is to help change the aesthetics of blighted urban communities through providing quality and sustainable design solutions, building planning and efficient construction services. My 2010 goals include helping Philadelphia become the greenest city in the nation.

I had even more happiness today when I read about the new LEED Law.http://whyy.org/cms/news/regional-news/2010/01/19/philadelphia-mayor-signs-energy-efficiency-law/28265
I am happy to see that the city has again stepped up its efforts towards being even more green and sustainable. Felicia Middleton and Urban Aesthetics is dedicated to the cause.
We are a W/MBE certified business offering green design and permit services. We have a professional LEED consultant to help you get your building certified. We offer green design and we are a committed green business in practices and services.

Phone: 215-776-8795
info@urbanaestheticsdesigns.com
http://urbanaestheticsdesigns.com/