moved permanently - visit: WWW.ROZKODESIGN.COM/WKD/

I want to thank all the viewers of EcoDesignFreak.

It has been a pleasure learning and sharing information together. That goal has not been diminished in time, quite the opposite actually. This page has developed into something more substantial and can now be found at the link below:


ROZKODESIGN.COM


"Rozko Design is dedicated to architectural conversations based on theories and practice. In addition, it’s a response to the saturation of design and lack of inherent quality consuming our markets. Along with a more positive affirmation of, arguably, brilliant design.

The industry of architecture and design is a destructive process at it’s most fundamental stages, where it should be a model to other industries.

RD+A is forward thinking and multidisciplinary by nature. This includes looking at design history, current conditions and the future path[s] being developed.

Design has always been a human creation that battles between the thin line of art and function. Unlike most industries there is no perfect formula or sum for that in which we create. There are however conditions that [us] designers use in constructing ideas. It is these tools and education[s] that the public relies on.

WE KILL DESIGN asks critical questions about the accepting of such “things” as architecture and design."

Labels: Alex Rozko, Architecture, Blog, Blogging, Design, Eco Design Freak, Education, Green, Interior, Learning, Philanthropy, RD+A, Sustainable, Vendors, We Kill Design, WKD

Eco-Valcucine Blog
Valcucine Website

Valcucine has gained a reputation for over 27 years as a leader in ECO-FRIENDLY KITCHEN DESIGN. From experience I can attest that designers and consumers alike are constantly impressed with Valcucine's equipment. The hardware and mechanisms are like no other. The designs are infinite. The minimalist workspaces and storage solutions are without a doubt some of the most elegant on the market.

This is a company with values as well. You'll instantly be greeted by reliable customer service, portfolio of award winning kitchen designs, higher standard of installation and thoughtfulness to the environment.

Labels: Blogging, Contemporary, Custom, Design, Environmental, Kitchen, Minimalist, Modern

Labels: Addition, Architecture, Design, Millenium Park, Museum, Renzo Piano, The Art Institute of Chicago, Tour

Alchemy Goods Website

Ag has created a product line from rubber bike tubes. Their products are 70%(+) post consumer material.

The Intelligent Consumer:
Necessity of the product, functionality / purpose, material implications, lifetime expectancy / after-use intents, construction / production processes, ergonomics [when it applies], customer relations, warranty / guarantee's. I would suggest these as a simple and beginning guide to leading a life as an Intelligent Consumer.

Ag gets a 5 star in their customer relations. From personal experience and review/research I can tell you that they are out to make a lifetime customer. They personally picked out a bag for me and took a picture of it for my approval.

Others, after using their bags for 3 years sent them to the manufacture for minor stitching issues and have raved about their attention. At no cost to the customer they've shipped it and performed a through evaluation of the products.

And lets face it.... this bag KICKS ASS!

Labels: 17" Laptop Bag, Ag, Alchemy Goods, Environmental, Green, Messanger Bag, Product, Recycled, Sustainable

PLASTIC HOUSE IMAGE ABOVE IS FROM THE FOLLOWING LINK & NOT EXCLUSIVE OF ECO.DESIGN.FREAK .



From GRADUATE DEGREE BLOG:

100 Amazing Flickr Collections for Architecture Buffs

"Flickr is a great resource for finding photos and learning about what’s in our world. Users from around the world share their images-and lots of them are great for architectural research and inspiration. Now you don’t need to travel across the world to experience some of the world’s greatest architectural treasures because here you’ll find 100 excellent collections of buildings, details, and more."

"These collections celebrate architecture in general."

Labels: Architecture, Art, Blogging, Design, Flickr, Photography, Reference, Resources

Find out more from TREEHUGGER.COM

Labels: Architecture, Concrete, Design, Minimalist, Modern, Prefab, Residential, Treehugger

The New York Times recently posted "THIS ARTICLE" about societies (specifically Western) misuse of consumer materials.

If you don't follow the link this is the basic concept:

The above picture is a "salad shooter". The Chinese plastic manufacturer was astonished that this order was placed in the first place and appalled that the next shipment was 3 times the initial order quantity.

We design consumer products abundantly, we use a MASSIVE amount of resources creating them / shipping /disposing them.

Is it too late? Have we passed the point of no return? Are we reliant on these cheap (CHEAP-in price, not in conditional cost) disposable goods? What will it take to understand the implications of our decisions?

Labels: Cheap, Consumerism, Disposable, New York Times, News, Plastic, Salad Shooter, Toxic, Wasteful

Objectified Website

Labels: Contemporary, Design, Documentary, Film, History, Modern, Trailer

That's right, I said, TAP IT. It's a new idea in the NYC urban vision to save the world.

Information below comes straight from the site: TAP IT [site]

About
TapIt gives you easy access to great tasting New York City tap water. Our partners let you fill your bottle and we help you find them on
the go.

Your smartphone or PC shows you the closest water stations at tapitwater.com or on the iPhone using ManGo (free from the App Store). And at TapIt stations, you don’t pay for expensive containers that are carbon-costly and hard to recycle. If you’ve been buying a quart of water daily, that means TapIt can save you more than $500
a year.

Read our blog, Sign up for news. Become a TapIt partner and let everyone know that sustainable water matters to you.



It may seem basic to outsiders of the NYC area, but finding a location to refill a water bottle and going the restroom are rare commodities. This is one of the most effective concepts to battle the water bottle crisis and I hope all of you will support the cause.

It would be a great day to see the water bottle companies shutting down their production lines and starting a new trend. It would be an opportunity to SAVE LIVES by creating wells / drainage/ sewage and clean water access for struggling communities across the globe.

Labels: Clean Water, Environmental, Green, New York City, Refill, Water Bottles

Terra Furnishings is the, "MA & PA" of furniture. They bring the true nature of furniture, craft and beauty into our spaces. Earth friendly, sustainable and hand crafted wood pieces are as elegant as they are unique. Their customer service is as attentive to the details as their product.

Furniture, like art, should have a purpose-function-general meaning. Some pieces should stand out as a bold statement and others may blend into the surroundings, as not to distract from other elements.

Furniture too often gets overlooked. We try to fill empty spaces and hope that in the end it looks "ok". With so many production pieces and warehouses filled to the brim with options what's a consumer to do? That is of course, if you have to consume at all?

Be a smart consumer...

1. Buy what you need
2. Think of the functionality
3. Question the production process and it's ramifications
4. Use less
5. Consider the life-cycle of the product
6. Appreciate how the product improves the quality of your life
7. Be selective in your quest to decorate
8. And most importantly... ENJOY THE PROCESS!

Labels: Earth Friendly, Furnishings, Furniture, Product, Terra

Located at Lake Mendota, near the UN-Madison memorial Union Terrace shoreline.

You may find Artist/Designer, Hongtao Zhou, creating blissfully pristine furniture pieces out of snow [season depending]. Concerning the direction global warming is melting towards, Mr. Zhou, has created an installation in response.

Mr. Zhou:
"The furniture is in connection with the lake, the land(architecture), the air and the people and complete a sustainable life cycle with minimum environmental impact."

"My hope is that the climate furniture can help raise awareness of sustainable design with less or without negative impact."

"Following the weather changes, the furniture will back into the lake and become a part of the water body again and complete their beautiful green life cycle."

It's this type of creativeness, thoughtfulness and sensory reaction to a growing problem that brings awareness and urgency. It's difficult to truly appreciate how grave this issue is. We throw statistics around, make charts and even try and document the catastrophes, but somehow we lose the human scale/ proportion.

Labels: Art, Design, Furniture, Global Warming, Green, Hongtao Zhou, Sustainability

Not to say this image justifies all the National problems, but it embodies the direction our society has evolved into.

I'm confident our new leadership can be a catalyst for change. As President Obama believes and so do the members of Eco.Design.Freak, the responsibility is upon us.

We need to prove to ourselves, our future generations and the world that America is a Nation devoted to humanity. If we take responsibility for our lifestyles and how we interact with our communities, we can inspire good.

For too long has our society relied on mass consumerism, cheap thrills and instant gratification. For too long have we outsourced what we have been proficient at. For too long have the numbers outweighed human condition.

The moment was yesterday to do something about our problems, the time is now to prove we are ready and tomorrow it will show that we are capable.

Labels: Beliefs, Humanity, Inspiration, Love, Passion, Relations, Societ

Reduce is not enough. Reuse is not enough. Recycle is not enough.

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!

I want to introduce an idea.

We can all use less in our lifetime and do without much more than we think. This includes the little things such as disposable plastic cutlery, chopsticks and napkins [bring your own silverware, chopsticks and washcloth]. Regarding larger decisions such as the size of our living spaces, we need to ask ourselves a series of questions that determines a much great good.

As an active designer I would be happy to help you design a space that works and functions with your personal needs.

Control Lights with Twitter from Justin Wickett on Vimeo.


I can't tell you in great detail how exactly this works, but here's what I got from the video:

1. Twitter account
2. Cell phone
3. Texting capabilities
4. You need a INSTEON switch
5. Computer
6. Cable leading from computer to wall outlet that communicates to the switch.


Often I feel other ideas come from learning new technologies. So even if this doesn't seem completely necessary I could imagine other uses for something like this. Like if you forgot to turn your lights off, now you can. Or for secuirity reasons you could have turn them on from anywhere.

Pretty neat!

James Powderly is a professional graffiti artist based in NYC. He was recently arrested in Beijing for demonstrating his more recognizable art which reflects political tones by using interactive laser lights. It's a temporary installation that leaves a lasting impression. His company or artistry group is called GRAFFITI RESEARCH LAB

They can detain but they can't silence!


NYC GRAFFITI ARTIST ARRESTED IN BEIJING

FREE TIBET MAIN SITE

How much would you sell your child for?

How much are you worth?

Design comes in all kinds of forms. D E S I G N is a "word"- it's not a square, a prism or a car. This post in dedicated to a different type of design, the design of HUMAN TRAFFICKING.

This isn't a problem for the history books, this is as prevalent now as ever and quite possibly worse. China is a leader in this volatile and epidemic issue. It would be one thing if the government simply wasn't prepared to combat this, but for them to be an integral partner to the problem is heartbreaking.

You have a government controlling population [1 child per couple]. You must also register the child before conception to see if you are allowed. Anyone who is pregnant without proper authorization is subject to a mandated abortion. This means they FORCE YOU TO KILL YOUR UNBORN CHILD!

Even if you are lucky enough to still have your child the government can charge you with a fee so large your entire family will be in jeopardy of their basic human needs. If you can't pay they'll take everything you have. This is ONLY 1 example of how people are forced into a situation to SELL their children simply to make ends meet and kept from being charged with a criminal act. Worse yet, you have couples having children just to make money on the market...

This is how you have a power country filled to the brim with people, getting paid nothing and being treated as slaves so the rest of the world can get a Wal-mart filled with disposable products. Just a friendly reminder to think long and hard about your lifestyle and at what expense(s) your luxuries in life come. [Your...iPOD (...or electronics to be fair), Starbucks, Convenient Stores, Natural Resources, Advertisements, Packaging Materials... virtually anything].

But you have also created a market for HUMAN TRAFFICKING [ONLY 1 out of 20 are trafficked people are rescued]. People barter human life, sell it, steal it, dispose of it and use it to their advantage [often just for their own survival as well]. There is a hierarchy that exist, which you can find in the gender of the children, if they are deemed attractive, their age and genetic quality. But, this is helping to control a population dilemma while supplying [Supply and Demand 101] an industrialized civilization, so why would the government step in to extinguish this? They aren't and they have don't mean to.

I don't think I'm doing justice to the image of this act. Imagine a mother and father has their baby ripped from their lives, literally their arms at times. The government won't help, they can't afford to look themselves or hire help, other people in the community are unresponsive because they are going through the same thing and you are tortured by all the uncertainties of what's happening. This innocent boy or girl is being forced to do unspeakable acts. Cooking, cleaning, robbery, prostitution, murder, being adopted or even simply being beaten and eventually murdered. They tend to be miles or even countries away from their families with little or no chance of ever seeing home again. That's giving them the benefit of being able to remember what home once was.

As if that's not graphic enough. Because payment means so much, you have to live with selling your child to someone rich for LESS or someone poor for MORE. Why? Because wouldn't you want the best life for your child even if you couldn't give that to them, wouldn't you pay to make sure they have a better opportunity or in this case accept less money.

Human conditioning isn't ingrained as some perceive it's social conditioning. You can blame society, parenting, environment, politics, television, video games or any other media if you are that naive. The truth is we are a sponge from birth and what we absorb in life plays a pivotal role on our future, our decisions and means of life.

I hope enough people take each and every brothers and sisters hands and stand united against HUMAN TRAFFICKING. It's not a ghost or an entity too large to overcome. This is a man made tragedy that we deal with or close our eyes to. But change comes by opening our eyes and extending a hand to get dirty and to help, how literal or abstract that is I know we are capable.


COMBATING HUMAN TRAFFICKING
FACTS

Labels: Media

We've come a long way since the invention of the cell phone. Some of the innovations, however legendary, haven't been in favor of the environment. Thankfully we have people working to improve and correct those errors in our judgments.

According to the EPA, recycling all of the 100 million cell phones in the U.S. that are approaching the end of their life-span would save enough energy to power more than 194,000 US households with electricity for one year.

One simple solution, which also helps military families stay in touch, is donating phones to Cell Phones for Soldiers, a charity that uses the proceeds from recycling to purchase free prepaid phone cards for military members overseas. Simply drop off a used cell phone for Cell Phones for Soldiers recycling at any of AT&T's 1800 company-owned retail stores, nationwide.

For additional information, including a list of AT&T retail locations that serve as drop-off sites for Cell Phones for Soldiers, please visit http://www.att.com/troopsupport.

Labels: Technology

Labels: Blogging

I can't guarantee a prize, but I will be happy to give you the accreditation you rightfully deserve.

I know, I know, everyone is so obsessed with money! And here is another blog with another Donation Badge asking for mine... Why would you make an investment, small or large, in contributing to the unknown and uncertainty of a blog? This is in some small part my attempt to ease those curiosities.

Please, also understand that donations can come in many forms. I'm not looking for just monetary compensation. If you have other means of donating or in part to my visions, I encourage all facets of giving.

In the future, if you would like more information concerning the donation purpose(s) or would like me to personally contact you with additional details, I will be pleased to satisfy any questions. Here is a small [growing] list of future applications that your donations could / would be contributing towards:

• INVEST in sponsored non-profit organizations
• Start DESIGN COMPETITIONS based on EcoDesignFreak ideologies and philosophies
  
• Sponsor INVENTION SESSIONS to get the community together and ideate about growing opportunities
• COMMUNITY CENTER concept
  
• Don't have enough personal time? Use mine to START YOUR idea

Since I was young I have been an inventor, a leader and an entrepreneur. When I was in grade school I stayed up late to make beaded jewelry and sell them at lunch. I don't wait for opportunity, I make it! For credentials and personal information please visit: Alex Rozko Portfolio

I'm a designer and architect by training and my ideas extend far beyond this small list above, but theses are the concepts that I feel strongly enough to advocate and want to extend an opportunity for others to get involved with.

Please feel free to contact me via:
E-mail: rozko0002@yahoo.com
Comment sections provided on this page
* Please only call with serious inquiries

Labels: Media

You might be like me in some fashion and you hear all about certain "things" and know that you've heard about them before but don't know what it all means? Well hopefully I can shed some light of that "thing" about solar energy.

Photovoltaic
Solar Cells
Passive Solar Energy
Active Solar Energy

I'm not so much a glass is HALF anything kind of a guy, I say drink up and fill it again, absolute OPTIMISM. So there's global warming or there isn't, I'm personally sick of the controversy. The fact is that we have a lot of sunlight hitting our earths surface and there is an effect to all that. Why not drink up the effects and have some more? If there is some truth to this global warming stuff lets harness it, change the growing threat and make a significant fluctuation to it's outlook. I would be pleased in saying that, if our new concern was that we suddenly don't have enough energy being harnessed because of the reversed effect of mending our mother earth, than we have a severely better problem.

Let's innovate, initiate and empower change.

Labels: Resources

I realize it's been awhile since ecodesignfreak has made a post. My hope is that this one will be the spark to ignite an inspiring fire of many more to come.

Wouldn't it be nice if we could have the that romantic relaxing moment by a fire and not feel guilty for what it's doing to our environment? To all my fellow hopeless romantic treehuggers out there, now we can! Thanks to ecosmart-fire not only can we enjoy those much needed serene moments, but you can do it in style.

So put away that organic cotton blanket, make a cup of organic tea and curl up next to that special someone and enjoy the heat.

Labels: Design, Product

Labels: Media

We should all be concerned with the "usable" space required for living. Money is usually the easiest way to talk in a universal vernacular. If you break down square footage into a dollar amount than we begin to tangibly understand the significance of dollar to square footage. People have this horrid way of finding the cheapest ways to achieve maximum square footage by specifying cheap materials.

Why is this such a problem?... For starters: because cheap materials imply poor manufacturing, toxic or polluting chemicals, corporate production [which can stem to ecological, social, political and global issues], labor laws, outsourcing [this has huge implication on our importing/ exporting trade], scarcity of resources, little research data and absolutely no consideration for the life-cycle of the product [waste, compost and recirculation].

* Please let me know if you have suggestions on where I can learn more about this next point?

I would like to learn more about the history and psychological significance of Western societies need for ownership and its correlation to success, specifically land. Urban environments are exceptional at doing the most with very little, because each inch comes at a high cost. The trouble lies more in the suburban and rural environments.

What we see in these areas is segregation and lack of communal infrastructures. At this point in history we should NOT have to use an automobile to go 5 miles to our local grocery market, then 2 miles to pick up our dry cleaning, then 3 miles for a cup of coffee.

Our countries major problems are found in this 1 example. What did it take to manufacture the automobile and supply the natural resources to make it function, get the "abundant" number of items to the grocery and from what parts of the world, create the cleaning chemicals used for dry cleaning, grow-crop-ship and make that cup of coffee and contain it in a stryofoam container?

This leads to catastrophic problems such as: waste, production, health and overconsumption.

Demand and Supply
The less demand we each have the less supply we will necessitate to function in society. Can you handle THE RIGID STATISTICS about our "Great Country".

It appears the simple lessons we learned in grade school like: SHARING, RESPECT OTHERS and TREAT THEM AS YOU WOULD WANT TO BE TREATED were all just simple things we told children.

We lead by example and it's no wonder why we have so many problems in this country.

Labels: Community

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Labels: Institutional, Media

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Do you remember what it was like to be a kid?

I remember flying imaginary planes outside into the wind, scraping up my arms from climbing trees like a monkey, building tree houses where I would go and dream of being a king, blowing bubbles and watching the sparkle of the rainbows, the smell of fall leaves on my clothes after piling them up and tumbling into them, sled riding and the soft marshmallow's in my hot chocolate on my lips, building lemonade stands out of cardboard and the smorgasboard of flavors in my grandmas garden.

These are suppose to be simple times filled with warm innocent memories. We were truly free from all the elements of the world, we were restless dreamers and consumers of fantasies. Unfortunately this isn't the same memory that other people all over the world have the luxury of remembering. It's never too late to do something and help. There is no better time then right now.

People across the world are living in partial and complete desolation. I don't know how any of us can rest easily and simply do nothing or at best say words like, "That's sad, I wish I could do something?". I not going to post a pity picture up of a child that needs your help and who is suffering from malnutrition and covered with flies. We've all witnessed the cruelty of the world and of our own kind.

What I want is to inform you of the foundations, organization, services, nonprofit services, charities and donation centers that exist to help the cause.

I understand it can be overwhelming to find a provider that you feel comfortable and confident with. I know a problem with most processes is the fact that you lose connection with your efforts or don't see the results. Also, I know picking the right organization can be cumbersome. And an even greater hesitancy is the difficultly of letting go of something of value and not getting anything more than good karma in return.

We all work diligently and in some perspective "hard" to achieve what we earn, but as humanitarians we should feel an urgency and necessity to take care of planet. Prosperity can come and go, but it's our responses to opportunities that can shape the world. If you think for a second that your small investment isn't worthy of recognition than I will personally do whatever it takes to remedy that.

Above you will find a short list of providers I strongly recommend. They are ones that I'm confident in advertising and wish that I could do more personally for them.

Your contributions large or small are never without reward. Imagine taking a gun out of a child's hands and replacing it with a book. The repercussions of that generosity could have no greater value then the opportunity of life.

Labels: Media

Labels: News

Labels: Resources, Technology

Labels: Resources

Labels: News

Labels: Resources

Labels: News

Labels: Technology

Labels: News, Technology

Labels: News

Labels: Resources

Aung San Suu kyi fought for Burma and was imprisoned unjustly. Her story and the continuation of Burma should be shared.

The following video is a montage Damien Rice and Lisa Hannigan created. There is a short introduction before the song begins that explains some of the history.

Aung San Suu kyi is a liberator and is an example of how one person can change the world. If you want to know more or think you can help visit ACTION BURMA.

Labels: News