Cooper Green Design | The Blog

The Western Mass AIA is hosting this year’s AIA New England Conference with the theme “Livable Communities in the American Landscape.” Save the dates for October 14-16 in downtown Northampton, “Where the coffee is strong, and so are the women”. Join us for a fun weekend of workshops, events, and tours. In addition the AIA [...]

The Western Massachusetts Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (WMAIA) presents a film series each year, usually with some off-beat and quirky selections. The 2011 series looks pretty juicy:
2/7/2011 Trouble the Water (2008, Carl Deal, Tia Lessin) + The River (1938, Pare Lorentz)
3/7/2011 The River (1951, Jean Renoir)
3/28/2011 Apocalypse Now (1971, Francis Ford Coppola)
4/25/2011 Burden of Dreams (1982, [...]

I frequently read The Lorax by Dr Seuss to my son. In the story, The Once-ler develops a new business; chopping down Truffala trees to make Thneads (which everyone needs). As more and more trees are used, the Bar-ba-loots, who depend on the Truffala trees’ fruit, no longer have enough to eat. The Lorax pleads [...]

Looking for a local USGBC presence? Stronger networking and education opportunities in sustainable design and green building?  I’ve been participating in the Lake Hitchcock organizing group, which is planning to become an official committee, then branch of the MA USGBC Chapter in the coming months.
Our membership base is the area of the Glacial Lake Hitchcock [...]

I spend an inordinate amount of time talking about toilet rooms at work. I’ve had meetings and dedicated to waterless urinals, pressure assisted toilets, and a variety of toilet room smells. The latest round of conference calls has focused on high efficiency hand dryers in several projects.
First, high efficiency hand dryers are the new-ish models [...]

I’ve read a number of transportation reports in the last few months, and this has me thinking quite a bit about my own means of transportation. Last week I attempted a trip on the local bus route, and it was an utter failure. It seems that I’m out of practice.
The American Public Transportation Association issued  [...]

I live, work, and blog in Northampton, MA. It is a lively little city in the pioneer valley in western Massachusetts. Visitors come here for the music scene and the coffee. The city parking garage even has a sign at the entrance that reads “Welcome to Northampton! Where the coffee is strong, and so are [...]