Elementalbuilding

Last week, the USGBC held its annual Greenbuild convention and conference at Chicago’s McCormick Place convention center.  Colin Powell delivered the key-note address and attendance was estimated at 25,000 people.

Elemental building was part of a sold-out tour featuring urban residential projects and included attendees from Canada, Israel, Singapore, Brazil, the Hague as well as cities across the US.  The tour was so popular a second tour was added to accommodate members of the Chinese Consulate and the Chinese USGBC. 

In classic realty show fashion- the 50 person tour bus pulled up front as the general contractor was loading up the last of the left over materials on a truck out the back, and the cleaning crew was putting last-minute touches on the basement.

Elemental Building was featured in an article in Chicago Magazine last week:

article

This is Maurie (along with me Tom, the developer).

Maurie is 92, soon to be 93 and he’s lived in the neighborhood since 1919.  In fact his grandfather bought the two houses across from 1610 in 1917.  He grew up playing stick ball in vacant lots and his uncles ran a shipping service out of their 4 car garage.  He’s a union brick layer, or at least was for many years.  He still knows how to feather a joint as he displayed last summer when he borrowed some mortar and bricks to fix his brick garage.  A year and a half ago he gave me 5 doors that his brother had pulled out of a hotel downtown during the 30’s or 40’s.  He wasn’t sure what kind of wood but thought mahogany.  Now they are in the elemental building.