Greenprints 2003 a resounding success!

Above: Diane Dillon-Ridgley of the Women's Environment and Development Organization (WEDO) presents global and social perspectives on sustainable communities at the Greenprints Opening Plenary.

Talk to anyone whose livelihood depends upon the convention industry, and they'll tell you recent months have been some of the most challenging for their business. Yet in November, 2002, the U.S. Green Building Council launched a record breaking International Expo, and on the heels of this monumental event, Greenprints, celebrating its sixth year, broke records as well. So while many budgets may be tighter, room remains for the critical topics surrounding sustainable communities by design. Atlanta's Green Week 2003 began with an Energy Modeling Workshop at Southface. Next, Southface and the USGBC offered another sold-out LEED workshop, and finally, Steven Strong provided an all-day, in-depth course on solar design. For the fifth year, the official Greenprints experience was launched with the Visionary Dinner, Southface's primary fundraising event. Once again, the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce joined Southface in an effort to bring the business and environmental communities together for an evening devoted to envisioning an economic and environmentally sustainable future. For the first time, however, Southface and dinner sponsors emphasized bioregional, organic food and wine in addition to a powerful message. Brown-Forman Beverages Worldwide and Fetzer Vineyards again provided environmentally harvested and organic wines. Fetzer's Culinary Director, John Ash, took things a step further, however, and orchestrated an organic feast with local chefs, Larry Ammons, Mark Ching and Mary Moore. The result was a five-course extravaganza, featuring food from local farms that left no guest hungry. A Special thanks to all of our sponsors and guests for supporting this special event for Southface.

Taking a break from autographing books, Lester Brown speaks with Leon Eplan, Southface board member, during the Visionary Dinner's VIP Reception.

Following the meal, Worldwatch Institute and Earth Policy Institute founder Lester Brown delivered provocative comments on an Eco-Economy for the future. Particular to our region, he focused on water as an indicator of economic viability. Thanks to Ray Anderson and the Interface Foundation, each Visionary Dinner guest received a copy of Lester Brown's latest book, Eco-Economy: Building an Economy for the Earth.

Thursday's Greenprints conference began with great momentum, promising another inspiring educational event. A show of hands at the opening plenary indicated about one-third of the audience consisted of first-time attendees - proof positive that the conversation surrounding sustainable design continues to grow! A green tradeshow, with sold out booth space, was busy all day-especially during the popular nail apron luncheon sponsored by The Home Depot.

Friday saw two unique opportunities to take Greenprints learning to a new level in 2003. Many people participated in the hands-on workshop "30,000 acres saved," a session that received great acclaim in conference evaluations. One participant remarked that, after attending the conference for several years, this session was a culminating experience-she took all she had learned at past Greenprints and put it into practice in one exercise.

Shannon Kettering of ECOS facilitates a land-use exercise during a double Greenprints session that worked much like a charrette.

Cornelia Cho and Sam Landes discuss one of the 18 sustainable projects at the AIA-Atlanta Committee on the Environment design showcase. Pictures of the projects and what makes them green" will be highlighted in future journals.

Jim Hackler, EarthCraft House director, explains the important role of building green affordable housing at a Greenprints roundtable session.

The Green Tradeshow provided ample opportunities for attendees to get hands-on with the latest and greatest environmental and energy-saving technologies and services.

Another group of Greenprints participants played a vital role in shaping the future of Southface. Our second annual Greenprints design charrette addressed the real life program and challenges of a future Southface office building. The three architecture teams- Pimsler Hoss, Lord, Aeck & Sargent and Gerding Architects -all performed charrette exercises, creating tremendous results with the highest levels of professionalism. A fourth team, comprised of conference attendees, also adding creative ideas that may end up in the final design of Southface's office buiding.

Guests joining us for the Conference closing reception at Southface got to relax and participate in a unique Alternative Fuel Vehicle (AFV) show. Southface friends zipped around the block on Segways or in Ford AFV trucks, which were later donated to the EarthCraft House program. Inside, guests pondered the future Southface commercial building during charrette presentations. All the while everyone enjoyed delicacies from caterer Culinary Traditions, made possible through the reception sponsorship of Winter.

While times are challenging, efficient design moves more to the forefront as a valuable way to address economic and environmental challenges. Thanks to all who attended, sponsored, exhibited or presented at Greenprints 2003. Together, we are moving toward a sustainable future.

Dan Burden invigorates the audience with his presentation on walkable communities. A member of the Gerding Architect team focuses on a Greenprints Charrette assignment, one of many that helped brainstorm ideas for the new Southface Commercial Building. Above and right: The closing reception at Southface gave conference attendees a look at the latest Alternative Fuel Vehicles and a recap of the findings from the design charrette.

Here's to an extraordinary evening: Chefs Larry Ammons of Bang Bistro, John Ash of Fetzer Vineyards, Mark Ching of Hyatt Regency Atlanta and Mary Moore of Cook's Warehouse toast Visionary Dinner sponsors and guests. The Eco-Atlanta tour took in several sites under construction including the DuPree College of Management block at Georgia Tech.