i'd suggest improving the resolution of your images. no matter how good your text might get to be, your blog won't fly if it ain't pretty.

Thanks for the suggestion Steven Ward. Sometimes the only available images for certain products or pieces of architectural work are not exactly high resolution.

maybe make them smaller so they're not pixelated. on my screen ALL of the images were blurry.

good intent, but there are already several website dedicated to this subject from inhabitat to transmaterials. from the products that you've selected, it seems that you're just regurgitating marketing materials and providing free advertisements for the companies. be independent. be critical of the corporate spin and dig deeper into the entire manufacturing process - are they really cradle-to-cradle, iso 90000 compliant, and recycling everything down to the left over food in the cafeteria? Also show more personality in the writing, or designers will just use 4specs to get the facts.

also most of the products have already gotten lots of publicity - do some digging. if you can get a scoop or be the first to discuss a breakthrough, then people will visit the site. Otherwise your efforts will be for naught. More then good intents are needed - originality and unique content are tops.

good luck - maybe I'll see you at greenbuild.

Appriciate the critique...but this is not an architecture school studio project were you try to find anything negative and pick it apart. How about some kind of positive criticism. ArchGaea.com is a brand new site and it still in the design phase. There are going to be many improvements in the future. I will definitely take all of your suggestions into account.

my encouragement is to find/make new content that isn't anywhere else on the web or don't quit the day job. there is lots of clutter out there on similar sites that aren't worth emulating. keep on trying, it's a worthy subject that has been done badly elsewhere.

To expand on what barry said, this is a topic that is being overwrought at this particular moment. "Sustainability through architecture" is what many of us write about every day, on this site, on our own blogs, in papers and at conferences. No offense but if you are going to come out of nowhere, post a new thread and give yourself free advertising, we are going to criticize. We do this every day, and besides, we are architects, and that's what we do.

To put it bluntly, and to quote my favorite comedian, Brian Regan, "You're breaking some new ground there, Copernicus".

sustainability is over-rated

its a blog and anyone can have a blog and having the blog gives you credibility. you don't have to be an architect, a an architect student or a leed certified professional to blog about sustainable architecture. in fact im starting a blog called "Save The World, Kill Yourself Today!"

The first entry will be about the amount of energy wasted on driving/flying to sustainability conferences.

vado is over-rated

u got that right caveman.

this caveman is sustainable

thats because you are completely biodegradable.


barry says it all re the blog.

on no , not another one...why does everyone start their green "cause" with a website now.

sorry to be so "negative", ArchGaia.

Have you ever been to "BigLOTS"...its a store where you can buy thinsg such as a scented candle, fishing lures, a wedding dress , and motor oil all in the same trip.

thanks cuz i need to change the oil b4 the hunney moon.

Wow...That was interesting! I am an architecture student and an intern architect. Not that it matters though apparently. What does big lots have to do with anything? Maybe because you can save gas by getting everything you need there? Yes there are a lot of sustainability blogs but most of those like treehugger.com and inhabitat.com do not focus on just sustainable architecture. I wanted to start a site that does. I am sure there are some out there but I have not seen any good ones.

WonderK, thanks for letting me know what an architect is. According to you an architect is someone who just finds any negative thing and then complains about it. I thought architect meant "master builder" not "master bitcher" I am sure you are going to see that I actually did just write that and then start complaining again. LoL...

sustainability, green, and all of this eco-babble coming out of the mouths of architects is just foolish. as a profession, we should be much less concerned with saving the earth than re-creating a new planet...perhaps something along the lines of the deathstar from that silly movie star wars.

the sooner that we can achieve qualitative improvements in our artificial environments then the sooner we can discard quantitative improvements of the natural environment as a goal (which is already a prepostrously unattainable achievement anyhow).

the earth is nothing more than a material and it's our opportunity to craft it into something better. besides, what is more natural tha change?

archgaea- how does inhabitat not focus on architecture? just cause they also have fashion and interiors doesn't lessen the well crafted message of sustainable design (and lifestyle) that they are delivering. inhabitat has set the bar quite high - if you want to be taken seriously, then you have to reach higher. it is that simple.

a blog doesn't make you an expert nor does education alone. but show us what qualifies you to be listened too (we were/are all arch students or interns) with a unique perspective missing from the few entries on your blog and maybe we'll start feeding you stuff. archinect is a meritocracy based on what you know and share - so share a little and we'll adjust our tune

I love it! Bitching about constructive criticism. How very ironic, or dare I say meta :o)

It seems to me the whole 'ecotecture' thing only works with enthusiasm if you're the kind of person who enjoys crowds and likes to board band wagons. Sure, one can have respect for the wider world of which we're a part and be a bit of an 'agin' the government' loner at the same time, but that sort tends to quietly get on with doing the best they can without shouting or making a public issue of it. I appreciate that the notion of environmental fragility is a message that many people feel strongly about, or are fearful of and they feel, with not inconsiderable justification, that the only way to achieve widespread dissemination and concomitant change-for-the-better is to apply some positive discrimination. I'm not arguing against that but feel compelled to point out that, to be on the receiving end of such stuff is, for me, tedious, patronising and distracting from the depth of quality necessary to real thought.
That said, I understand the correspondent's initiative is conceived as a resource. Again, I have no argument with the provision of resources; they deserve appreciation rather than damnation. However, in terms of the wider issue, I feel increasingly browbeaten and hence I'm more inclined to fight this than embrace it uncritically...

Apologies for the rant...

My Archinect use is pretty varied. I go months without visiting then weeks reading everything posted here (and sometimes regretting chipping in to discussions that fill my inbox for the next 6 months).

It is however, always amusing to notice the appearance of new users who post something and then react badly to the often cutting, sometimes puerile but mostly constructive responses to their posts.

ArchGaea, listen to some of the comments you're getting here. As WonderK says, these people do this every day (most likely to the detriment of their profitability in the workplace). Archinect has a tough crowd of regulars but they mean well and you should not take offence too quickly....

on that note, yeah, maybe I was harsh too...
BigLots inventory is just so random, a bit like your site ,...sorry!

..thats all I meant.

but don;t mind me , I am just cynical because I just got back from Solar Decathlon, and we were bombarded with tons of new Eco-mediums and green-messaging and sustainability based advertising and the accompanying optimistic neophytes that were anxious to tell the world about their recent adoption of greener ethics...which is good,..

I question the mediums, or the amount of mediums. I for one think Treehugger and inhabitat are really all I need if I want to surf trendy green...they do just fine.

There is streak of devotionalism and abstract idealism in this whole green movement that can only get you so far with these new endeavors...but ultimately you who know what will emerge as the more "sustainable" website ...anyone ever seen the movie "The Big Kahuna"

anyway,..Good luck ..I'll look closer at it before i pass judgment next time.