Another historic gem from the Modernist era is threatened with demolition.

The Lassiter House, built by A.G. Odell in 1952, is the oldest known Modernist residence in Charlotte, North Carolina. The original owners, who worked with the architect on the design, put the house on the market last year but it hasn’t sold.

On February 24, 2011, a National Alert was issued on the house by North Carolina’s non-profit organization for modernist residential architecture, Triangle Modernist Houses (TMH). If it doesn’t sell by June, this house is history.

A rare example of modernist design in the South, where a more traditional aesthetic in housing design has prevailed, the Lassiter House was featured in the September 1956 issue of Better Homes & Gardens. Its open floor plan, single story, steel beams, flat roof, slab foundation, wood siding, extensive use of glass walls and doors are what give this house its modernist mystique.

I could tell you that the land it sits on happens to be worth more than the house itself, but unfortunately this makes most people’s mouths water. It’s exactly what they want to hear as they bring in bulldozers and envision building their brand new McMansion.

Replacing the old and classic with something new is not only not conscious or sustainable, but in the case of historic architecture it’s simply sacrilege. Despite this, or possibly because of it, it will take a special buyer to save this special house. Preserving and restoring a classic piece of mid-century modern design requires a significant commitment – of money, resources and values. I sincerely hope someone steps up before June.

For more information, the Lassiter House is listed with Modern Charlotte Realty for $785,000.

The post The Historic Lassiter House Awaits Its Fate appeared first on EcoSalon.

Bring together a landscape architect, an architecture firm, New York City train rails that are unused and on the brink of demolition, and a bunch of passionate activists – what do you get? Creative, green brilliance, of course. Otherwise known as the High-Line Project.

The High-Line, located on Manhattan’s West Side, is 13 miles of elevated train rails that run from Gansevoort Street (in the Meatpacking District) to 34th Street, between 10th & 11th Avenues. Originally built in the 1930s as a way to avoid the accidents occurring between freight trains (carrying food and other goods) and street-level traffic, the High-Line became obsolete with the rise of interstate trucking in the 1950s. In 1980 the last train ran on the High-Line. End of story.

Not so fast. A debate ensued about what to do with all that real estate – demolish the entire structure or preserve and turn it into an open public space? The rest is preservation history and a public park dream come true for New York City.

Construction, which began in 2006 after the design team was selected, has been long, detailed and arduous. It was a multi-step process that entailed removing every part of the structure before any landscaping could take place. Each piece of the train rail was removed, labeled and put into storage. Many of the pieces have been built back into the landscaping in creative ways.

The website describes the High-Line as “…an integrated landscape combining meandering concrete pathways with naturalistic plantings. Fixed and movable seating, lighting, and special features are also included in the park. Access points from street level will be located every two to three blocks. Many of these access points will include elevators, and all will include stairs.”

No bikes, skateboards or scooters are allowed. Picking flowers, drinking alcohol and feeding the birds and squirrels is prohibited. The rules are in place for good reason, mostly to protect the newly planted landscape. But the High-Line offers an ongoing calendar of free public programs, with events like “Wandering Band” and live dance and theater performances.

I’m so intrigued by this project, and inspired. What better way to preserve the past than create a beautiful, green outdoor space? A simple place where people can interact, be alone, read, walk or observe. Did I already say brilliant?

The first completed section, which runs from Gansevoort Street to 20th Street, opened to the public in June 2009 and section 2 is scheduled to open some time next year. Their blog will keep you updated on the latest construction details as well as performances and Friends of High-Line activities.

My hope is that New York City residents appreciate this gift and return the favor by respecting and protecting it. From what I’ve seen so far, it appears they are doing just that. If only Los Angeles could be so lucky.

Images: My High Line, 2009 in Pictures, Friends of the High Line, J Marx.

The post From Rusty Rail-Line to Landscaped High-Line appeared first on EcoSalon.

We talk about it a lot here at EcoSalon. Conscious choices. Mindful decisions. The easiest way to make a difference and effect change in the world is to live consciously and mindfully. To try to be aware of what we buy, how (or if) we drive, where we shop, what we eat.

If we’re present in the moment we usually choose better. It’s that simple.

Why am I taking you around and through this rigmarole of spiritual stuff when I should be talking about design? Just stay with me.

I believe people have stopped paying attention. It’s far easier to answer the cell phone or check the GPS or update the Facebook status or plan what to eat for dinner. Living in the now requires discipline.

Living in the now forces us to look around, to respect the past and honor the future. And yes, this definitely is relevant to design.

If you have, in fact, been paying attention, you will know that endless rows of tract homes and giant McMansions have been popping up all over the country over the past decade or two. In order to make room for more of them, many valuable and historically and architecturally significant homes are being demolished.

Tragic, and tragically unsustainable.

People want bigger and newer, at the expense of beautiful and perfectly livable. It’s too much to fathom.

With each historic home that is torn down and replaced by a new McMansion, neighborhoods lose more of their character as well as their affordability. The National Trust for Historic Preservation has found that “more than 500 communities in 40 states are experiencing significant numbers of teardowns, and that number is climbing fast.”

Richard Moe, former president of the National Trust, said:

“From 19th-century Victorian to 1920s bungalows, the architecture of America’s historic neighborhoods reflects the character of our communities. Teardowns radically change the fabric of a community. Without proper safeguards, historic neighborhoods will lose the identities that drew residents to put down roots in the first place.”

But neighborhoods are fighting back in an attempt to increase public awareness.

The town of New Canaan, Connecticut began its quest back in 2007 when a home designed by Modernist architect Paul Rudolph (image above) was destroyed after a judge decided “he could find nothing to support the contention that the house had special significance.”

Huh? This conclusion concerned a group of local conservationists so much that they launched the Modern Homes Survey “to provide a more complete study of Modern residences in New Canaan and serve as a national model for surveys of other mid-century houses in the United States.”

The survey found that this conservative New England town happens to be home to 91 Modernist homes built between 1946 and 1979, including of course, the Philip Johnson Glass House (image above) which is already a National Trust Historic Site.

Recently 18 of the New Canaan Modernist residences were added to the State and/or National Register of Historic Places, the nationally recognized list of places in the United States worthy of preservation. Considered a serious success, the hope is that other states will follow suit and research the history of their own buildings.

Alicia Leuba, Director of Programs for the Northeast Office of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, says of the accomplishment:

“With its unique and substantial collection of Modern homes now nationally recognized as historically significant, Connecticut is blazing a path for other states to follow.”

Although knowledge of the value and beauty of Modernist architecture is spreading, the demolitions continue. The only other antidote to this type of tragedy is public awareness.

Are you paying attention?

Images: Don Hankins, Mod Remod

The post Tearing Down the Past Leads to Nowhere Fast appeared first on EcoSalon.

It’s my annual winter visit home in L.A. and we’re braving the dreaded dead heads, again. Yes,  several of my family’s favorite restaurants are decorated – and disgraced – with massive, wild animal trophies on their walls. Trophies, indeed.

Now don’t get me wrong. My people aren’t hunters, just valley folks who like meat. My father’s side came from the meat packing industry in Nebraska. My sister-in-law’s kin founded Hoffy, the packagers of those hot dogs sold at the iconic Pink’s and plugged by singer Pat Boone. My relatives don’t mind seeing deer heads and bear skins tacked on a wall while enjoying a good rare steak. But my daughter does.

“It’s barbaric,” exclaimed 10-year-old, Lauren, with tears in her eyes, when confronted with the stuffed buffaloes, gophers and bucks mounted at Clearman’s Northwoods Inn in Covina.

Dining at the Inn has long been a post-Disneyland stop, starting with my parents when we four kids were little ranch hands. Cherie and Aaron really went in for the burgers, bowls of red cabbage and the mugs of beer, not to mention the buckets of peanuts and ever so folksy tradition of discarding the shells onto the redwood floor. Yes sir, kids, good clean American fun, except for those sad eyes on the stuffed heads with antlers.

The prized kill passes for nostalgic western memorabilia. And it is shocking for a sensitized child to encounter the animal trophies of yore, which emerge as the anti-green in their eyes. It’s especially jarring for Lauren after spending the day at the “happiest place on Earth“, a theme park peopled with woodland critters personified as our pals.

Try to explain to a child why trophies remain on our walls at a time when we shun fur coats and animal testing, a time when global campaigns are waged to protect our defenseless forest friends.

“This restaurant is very old, like from the 60s, and they hung the trophies because it didn’t upset people back then,” I assure my girl,  hoping she will settle down and agree to eat dinner with us. When she was younger I lied to her, telling her the animal heads at the Inn were fake, just like the taxidermy dioramas at the old San Francisco’s Academy of Science, just replicas of real animals. But now, I have to be honest and apologetic and coax her to remain inside the joint and enjoy her meal amid the walls of death. It’s getting more challenging.

I have to admit, I forget about the taxidermy at the Inn until I’m there and Lauren falls apart. I don’t think we will return next year. Really, the salad swimming in mayo and peanut shells on the floor aren’t worth the battle.

And yet, there are more miles to go on this annual trek before I rest.

My brother has made a dinner reservation at the Saddle Peak Lodge to celebrate my mother’s 82nd birthday. The upscale grill in Malibu Canyon is a favorite of the tony celebrities who live in my brother’s exclusive gated community of Hidden Hills, a ranch-filled paradise where multi-million dollar spreads are interspersed with horse trails and dog runs for its animal loving residents. I hear J-Lo just bought a large property there for just herself and the twins. Don’t tell the tabloids!

The problem is the Lodge they all love showcases numerous animal trophies on its walls, as well as exotic game on its overpriced menu. Holy antlers!

This time, I’m protesting. I have put up a stink about returning to the Lodge for yet another celebration; you’d be surprised how much convincing it has taken. Still, it looks like Lauren has won out this time. We will not be back in the Saddle Peak again, bypassing it for a new hip Hollywood spot, BLT Steak on the Sunset Strip with $40 entrees and $10 side dishes of mac and cheese, lobster mashed potatoes and poached green beans. The modern and stark eatery has no dead heads – just large prints and paintings of  various cows and bulls, a sort of homage to the fare you will be enjoying.

Ironic, isn’t it? Those who wouldn’t think of wearing a fox coat to dinner agree to linger over $52 New Zealand Elk Tenderloin amid the corpses. The roaring fire, the delicious wine, the tender elk, all can make you forget. Make you forget, that is, unless you happen to be a 10-year-old child of the eco age.

This is the latest installment in Luanne’s column, Life in the Green Lane.

Main Image: Fury Scaly

Northwoods Inn, Saddle Peak Lodge

The post Trophies Still Roam the Restaurant Range, But I’m Not Game appeared first on EcoSalon.

Who says the pantry has to be a catch-all black hole for prolonging that shelf life? That’s what high school lockers are for!

It’s time to take stock in our most commonly used household storage nook, and make it as inviting as a vintage general store (with a modern green twist, of course).

Open pantries offer easy access for the organic gardener and cook, but also should look tidy since they are exposed to your visitors. Mine is en route to the powder room. Yep, that’s country life.

I find it’s easy to arrange a cool display of dry goods, serving dishes and other odds and ends containing them in boxes, baskets and jars. Not an organizer? Just read Catherine Pond’s The Pantry, chronicling the history of keeping every can and tin in its place.

I have staged many pantries of  homes, finding prospective buyers are sold on nicely organized utility spaces, especially when they also reflect some style with a pop of color, especially red. Yes, panache even extends to the shelves of rice and cereal.

Here are some ideas for ordering and celebrating your own healthy green pantry:

First, sort by category: If you haven’t done so already, clean and designate shelves for categories, i.e. stack tea and cereal boxes side by side on one shelf, canned goods on another, bulk items like rice, pasta and beans on another. Make sure the opened items remaining in original packages are well sealed to preserve them. I use painter’s tape to reseal cardboard boxes to keep items fresh.

Reuse glass mason jars: Mason jars from pasta sauce, jams and other goods are great to reuse for storing and displaying dry goods from quinoa and baking ingredients to various herbs and spices. I love reusing an array of food jars in my pantry because they look cool and help extend the shelf life of the dry goods.

Reuse plastic take-out containers: If you are stuck with plastic, spare the landfill and clean out some of the small containers to store items. Below, they work well when reused for cake decorating sprinkles and beans.

Store packaged items in boxes: You can recycle your old shoe or gift boxes or locate eco-friendly storage to place on the shelves along with the jars and cans. Boxes, especially those with fun patterns from the Container Store and other organizing outlets, add flair even when the cupboard is bare.

Canisters add flavor: Mix in canisters (an easy second hand store or garage sale find) to hold organic flour, raw sugar, baking soda and other items you use for baking those healthy treats every day after work (yeah, right). I have a collection of canisters given as gifts or found in various towns. I love how they look in an open pantry, especially red ones like these from Amazon. These are also great for animal kibble which you might want to buy in bulk to avoid the large paper bags.

Stackers for shelving help you squeeze more in and add depth: Locate metal stacking shelves, like this one from Oraganizeit, to lift and separate cans and other packages. These work really well in both small and large pantry nooks.

Baskets add charm and warmth: Good natural fiber storage, like these water hyacinth nesting baskets from Cultural Elements, work well for onions, potatoes and other perishables, especially in an enclosed pantry. These fresh foods tend to last best in darkness and under wraps. Baskets are great for all loose food items and add that creature comfort organic appeal.

Design tip: Remember, even if your pantry consists of one cupboard in your apartment kitchen, you can still make it look fun and appealing – you might even hang cups on hooks inside.

For me and many of you, ordering clutter reduces stress. When I don’t have to spend an hour searching for taco mix, I don’t scream as much on taco night. Can a neat pantry save on therapy? Try it and see.

Images: The Book Depository, Container Store, Stevie Rocco, La Fattina, Container Store, la fattina, Organizit

The post Flash in the Pantry: 8 Ways to Make Storing Less Boring! appeared first on EcoSalon.

You spent a month’s pay on a deluxe organic mattress and maintain that it is worth every last cent, even when your pals give you a hard time for such a splurge. But, the proof of the pudding is in the eating. After all, you sleep more soundly each night and awake every morning with an extra burst of energy. And you feel great knowing you’re not breathing in those nasty toxic chemicals. Plus, for a price so steep, it’s bound to last a lifetime, right?

Well, not exactly. And with a big investment like an eco mattress, make sure you practice these tips to extend its shelf life.

The first time you saw the mattress commercial with the wine glass test, you just had to reenact this unlikely scenario. Suffice it to say, a mattress pad is a must. It’s a lot easier to toss it in the wash than spend hours with soap and a scrub brush.

Everybody needs a little fresh air and sunshine, but what you may not know is that your mattress does, too. When it comes time for spring cleaning, take your mattress outside to soak in some rays for an afternoon.

Do you toss your damp towel on the bed after a steaming shower? Over time, this can be a damaging reflex, but it’s nothing some stylish hooks can’t solve.

If your mattress seems to sink in the spot where you snuggle up, then it needs to be flipped and rotated more often. Try working this into your routine whenever you change the sheets.

Jump on your bed for five minutes once every six months. Okay, maybe this won’t help your mattress, but isn’t it fun to revisit your childhood once in awhile?

P.S. If you like the bedding, check it out at VivaTerra.

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