Friday Bake Sale

We had a bake/coffee sale in Crown Hall for about 3 hours today and made over $300 for our project! I don't think any of us expected that kind of response. Our client, Michael Howard also stopped by to check it out.

There's a pretty good chance we'll be trying to repeat this next Friday -- if you're around IIT swing by.

Model Update

What's this you ask? Why, it's a charcoal starter, but Flury is notoriously cheap and more importantly German; he likes his sausages. Being in the wood shop there's a lot of scrap wood to be had that would otherwise be landfill, so Flury salvages poplar, oak, and basswood and uses it to cook his daily sausages (which he sometimes even shares with us). Lots of people talk about being "green", but this is a fairly direct way of actually doing something.

Notice the "custom" 2x4 platter and unmarked bread packaging.

The model breaks apart to show a section of the built construction. We've tried to model all the actual materials as they'll be built.

Then Joe built the walls as they would actually be built -- modeling every 2x4... The black is the vapor barrier and the underground stuff is our concrete foundation and insulation.

This is the cedar (modeled with mahogany) rain screen. It's not attached yet, but you can also see the gravel perimeter and posts for the columns that support our overhang.

Ready for Permit

Our permit drawings are completed, stamped, and ready to submit to the city. Now we just have to:

1. Obtain a housing number from CDOT (Chicago Department of Transportation)
2. Zoning Review
3. Permit Intake
4. Receive building permit
5. Start building!

Model In the Making

We've started building a model of our final design. It's scale is 1/2" = 1', so instead of being roughly 40'x20' it'll be 20"x10".

And yes, that's leftover mahogany that Joe is using. How did he get it so small? With a table saw and a lot of patience.

This is the M&M (Materials and Metals Building, 1939) on IIT's campus. It was the first building that Mies van der Rohe built in America. It was used to train navel architects during WWII. Now we use it as our model/wood shop. There's a whole other side plus some upstairs rooms with laser cutters and other fun oddities in them.

New Video

Our last video was a bit unclear, so for the past few weeks we've been slowly piecing this one together. Enjoy! And don't forget to share it with your friends and family.

Here's a link to it on our Kickstarter page.

Funding Update

This last week has been busy but exciting. Since launching our Kickstarter we have raised close to half our goal! In the next 19 days we need to raise another $5,700 to reach our goal so help us out and spread the link to anyone and everyone who supports charitable work, sustainable architecture, environmental education, urban green spaces, and Chicago.

We have a Kickstarter goal set at $10,000, which is a mark we believe we can obtain, but there's nothing stopping us from raising more. Below is a breakdown of the estimated costs for Nature Studio, this also shows where we stand right now.

Visit our Become a Sponsor page to see the impact your support has; we will be updating the cost diagram as we continue to gain funding. We will also be recognizing all of our supporters on our website, so look for that to go up shortly. In related news Ozinga, a major concrete manufacturer for the Chicagoland area, has offered their generous support for our project.

Ozinga has a whole division of green technologies and we will be working with them to create a sustainable solution for Nature Studio. They have recommended a concrete mix with 50% recycled aggregate such as ash, slag, porcelain and glass. They have a great green building website which you can check out HERE

Kickstarter Has Launched!

We just launched our kickstarter page! Check it out HERE and pledge to support our project. When you pledge you can show your support with fun Nature Studio gear. First up is the Nature Studio Frisbee

 Now to design our Nature Studio T Shirts!