Archive for Julie Gabrielli

The musician owners of a 1960s-era house are planning extensive renovations to the living spaces on the first floor. They are committed to using low-impact, non-toxic, sustainable materials. They also desire to wean themselves off fossil fuels, so energy efficiency is a high priority.

As part of a long-range master plan by Gabrielli Design Studio , the first phase was a small addition to the kitchen. Built on the existing foundation of a dilapidated screened porch, the structure is post-and-beam with infill strawbale walls and fiberglass-clad windows . The green (planted) roof drains to a chain drain and a rain barrel.

The new room brings daylight deep into the kitchen, while sweeping views upwards along a steep hillside to the sky. The straw walls are clad in lime plaster, the floor is the existing concrete, finished with a natural, plant-based stain and beeswax.

The next phase was going to be a kitchen renovation. But the new room has changed the character of the existing kitchen so dramatically, the owners may not need to renovate it for a long time.

Working with this family has been an inspiration. During the year we worked together on this project, they also chipped away at wasteful practices all around the house. Using tips from friends and from green websites such as Lime , they reduced their electricity use by 64%! What a difference a little curiosity and a lot of motivation can make in a household’s budget, as well as the health of our planet.

More wisdom from "Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Life," by Wayne Dyer. The 21st verse of the Tao is a poetic musing on the mystery of the all-knowing, all-providing energy that surrounds us always. The last two lines read:

How do I know the ways of all things at the beginning?
I look inside myself and see what is within me.

The Tao comes from the truth that is inside of us at all times. Another version of this, from the Sufi poet Hafiz:

If you think that the truth can be known from words
If you think that the sun and the ocean can pass through
That tiny opening called "the mouth". . . .
Oh! Someone should start laughing!
Someone should start wildly laughing –
Now!

One of the categories of GOforChange is "Inspiration." I’ve always been fascinated by the etymology of words that we tend to throw around unconsciously. "Inspiration" comes from the Latin, inspiratus , or inspirare : "inspire, inflame, blow into," from in -"in" + spirare "to breathe." Breathing is such a part of life that we often are completely unaware of it. When we take a bit of time to notice our breath, we become more open and expansive. This stillness helps us navigate the challenges of life.

I’ve been listening to Wayne Dyer’s "Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Life," which is his exploration of the wisdom of the Tao Te Ching , as applied to our modern world. Each day, I listen to a verse of the Tao, along with his musings on what it means to us today and how to apply it in simple, practical terms. For example:

11th Verse of the Tao Te Ching

Thirty spokes converge upon a single hub.
It is on the hole in the center that the use of the cart hinges.

Shape clay into a vessel.
It is the space within that makes it useful.

Carve fine doors and windows,
but the room is useful in its emptiness.

The usefulness of what is
depends on what is not.

As an architect, I have always been attracted to this verse, with its embrace of the void, of the spaces between. Continued

Wind Power at the Inner Harbor from Planit on Vimeo .

Planit Agency , an advertising company that works with Baltimore City on sustainability marketing campaigns, has begun a fun initiative to raise the media and citizens’ public awareness. Planit’s motto is "ideas transform," and we couldn’t agree more! Their choice of using Baltimore’s iconic Power Plant for this clever, visual way of asking, "Why Not?": priceless.

Baltimore Medical System (BMS) is building a Healthy Living Center in Highlandtown on a City-owned parking lot. From the lifeless asphalt will soon rise a LEED Certified building, housing a LEED Platinum community health center. On Friday, June 13, we went to their groundbreaking ceremony, which was both heartwarming and well-attended.

Twenty-three years ago, BMS began providing quality primary health care to the citizens of Highlandtown, many of whom were elderly and wished to age gracefully in their own homes. Today, BMS provides care to 14,000 people, including traditional east Baltimore residents, as well as new refugee and immigrant patients from around the world.

This new center will continue to provide the full range of health services for all people, whether insured or uninsured. The new space will allow BMS to increase their patient base to 21,000 and to provide educational programming such as smoking cessation, prenatal classes, and healthy eating in a new community room. As it increases its staff, it will continue to be the largest employer in Highlandtown. Continued

Even
after all this time,
the sun never says
to the earth
“You owe me.”

Look what happens,

with a love like that –

it lights
the whole
sky.

- Hafiz, “The Gift”

“In a viable neighborhood, neighbors ask themselves what they can do or provide for one another, and they find answers that they and their place can afford. This, and nothing else, is the practice of neighborhood.” -Wendell Berry, “The Idea of a Local Economy,” Orion magazine, 2002.

In recent years, Baltimoreans have enjoyed a steady growth of earth-friendly businesses. Among the many pleasures and benefits of buying locally: merchants and restaurateurs become your friends and your money stays in the community. A study in Maine by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance found that local businesses have a much greater positive impact on their economy than the big box chains. For every $100 spent in a big box store, only $14 stays in the local economy. By contrast, $100 spent in a local business results in $45 staying locally.

Continued