Posts by Author : Kristine Stewart

Some of America’s most historic buildings are being retrofitted to become the most energy efficient and sustainable buildings in the country. New York’s iconic Empire State Building recently insulated 6,514 windows by adding a layer of energy management film between re-conditioned window panes. A California based company, Serious Materials, was able to transform 90% of the building’s existing windows just through retrofitting.

Window films can be the ideal choice for retrofitting older commercial buildings by helping to balance energy savings

How do we expose a generation brought up on video games and sophisticated special effects to a home of the future that is optimistic, eco-friendly and viable? We can look to the past to see how well our parents predicted homes of the future.

A syndicated news article released in 1954 extolled the  virtues of the “house of the future,” featuring such oddities as nickel size gas burners, refrigerators that preserved food through gamma radiation instead of cold temperature, wireless electric

Cartoonist Gary Larson once drew a picture of a dinosaur standing in a classroom setting with other dinosaurs in attendance. The standing dinosaur had a pointer and he was motioning to a chart which stated, in essence, the problem:  the ice age was coming, the forests were dying, food was scarce and their population had the brain the size of a walnut. I think of this cartoon quite often in regards to the demand for faster, sleeker technology and

Organically grown vegetables or exotics like orchids can be produced year round by gardeners willing to make a minimal investment in a backyard greenhouse.  Innovative do-it-yourselfers can use salvaged materials combined with cutting edge solar films to produce tomatoes, squash, herbs and greens, even during the winter months. It is remarkable how a small space can reap big benefits.

Some of the most aesthetically pleasing greenhouses can be built by acquiring discarded French doors and windows from salvage yards. 

Have you ever wished that you could keep your car looking as pristine as the day it was purchased?  Driving a new car away from the dealer’s lot begins the erosion process of pitting and chipping of the new paint. Many car dealers and shops are now offering an innovative way to protect your investment with a product that keeps vehicles looking “car lot new.

“Paint protection film,” or a clear bra, keeps exposed surfaces of a vehicle protected from

Glass is everywhere. It’s an indispensable part of the modern world; integrated and infused into our lives and technologies. In modern society, glass is mostly functional. We come in contact with it every day; take a drink of water, dial your cell phone, tap your iPad, or simply look out the window.

Modern glass was born in the Roman glassmaking center at Trier in Gaul (modern Germany). Glass was so highly prized by the Romans that when one unlucky slave broke

“Assailants fired over sixty rounds of 7.39 ammunition from AK 47’s. Not a single bullet penetrated the ballistic glass windows of the BMW. CEO Meyers, his wife, children, and driver escaped unharmed.” Such headlines are sadly becoming more common place, but have you ever wondered just how glass can stop a speeding bullet?

Whether carjacking, kidnapping, or terrorist attack, for many the world is becoming a more dangerous place. Unprovoked and unexpected assault can happen anywhere. Potential targets are business and

“So what is the problem with carbon dioxide? We exhale it all the time?” You have probably heard these phrases over and over again. It’s certainly true that humans and animals exhale CO2 into the atmosphere constantly and plants use carbon dioxide in the photosynthesis process. The problem occurs when other environmental conflicts combine to raise CO2 to dangerously high levels. Carbon dioxide does not dissipate quickly enough to offset its’ rise in our atmosphere. Excessive amounts of CO2 is

Early blooming bulbs and the resilient chirping Robin are the early harbingers of spring- welcome reminders that the cold winter won’t last forever. The New Year begins with most consumers relieved to place holiday excesses behind them while they focus on higher utility bills, looming income tax payments and daily doses of chilly weather. There are those wonderfully organized individuals who use this limbo period to assess the needs of their residences and address ways to make their homes run

It is the architecture of universities which often defines their presence within a community, reflecting leadership in thought and progressive ideology. Many universities are leading the way to showcase buildings which promote energy efficiency and conservation of resources while still providing stunning architectural detail. The days of  staid and stuffy campus structures covered in ivy are falling away to updated versions which more closely reflect our times.

The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) was developed by the U.S.