I wish I lived someplace cool. Rotterdam has this building (pictured at left), Seattle as EMP. Shoot, even Chicago is getting this. Just not comparable.

This incredible reclaimed pavilion defies the old “everything but” cliché – it is entirely made of kitchen sinks. Built by 2012 Architechten in cooperation with Jeanne van Heeswijks of Jeanneworks, the structure has risen up as a stainless steel castle tower amidst the traditional architecture of Utrecht, Vlaardingen and Amsterdam. An inventive example of reclaimed construction, the Sustainable Sky Box serves as a multi-purpose space for cultural activities.

This is a retweet of sorts, something on my Twitter feed this morning from nakedbinder who RT @whiskmanagement ” Very cool! RT @agallihar A building made entirely out of recycled kitchen sinks: http://is.gd/wGvG “

Sierra Club Insider tips us off to some tasty sustainable wines.

Please your palate (and the planet) with these sustainable wines
It’s the season to toast moms, dads, and grads–but who really needs an excuse to savor wine? In that spirit, we corralled five wine experts to blind-sample and score 20 whites and 20 reds from around the world, each with a legitimate claim to environmental responsibility.

Read Red or White? Go With Green. Thank you Sierra Club Insider email newsletter for this heads up. I need to make sure my personal wine buyer reads this…(my husband).

According to SeattlePI.com,

The number of home sale deals in April was the highest since August 2007, as buyers apparently decided prices had come down enough, combined with low interest rates and a federal tax credit, according to a new report.

Non-scientifically I can attest to this since I am staffing the front office of my real estate company at the moment and I have seen a big uptick in calls and emails and almost every listing we have received an offer in the last three weeks.

Read Area home sales sprang up in April Prices continued to fall from a year earlier

On Sunday, May 10, there will be a free festival at Magnuson Park, 7400 Sand Point Way, where you can learn something about trees and be entertained.

Arthur Lee Jacobson, Ciscoe Morris and other famous garden authors will give talks indoors. There will be free classes on fruit tree culture, habitat for wildlife, native trees and plants and lots of kid-stuff too. Take an on-site tour of the pea-patch, of the native plant garden, or the children’s garden. See the parade, ride the bucket, watch the Haute Trash Fashion Show. Website

On Monday, May 11th, the Festival will continue with an Urban Forest Symposium at the Center for Urban Horticulture, 3501 NE 41st Street. The Symposium will focus on urban forest management issues and solutions. Topics include communicating the value of trees, trees and climate change, protecting trees during construction projects, and tree risk assessment.
This event is for management-level professionals, on-the-ground technical staff, and community organizations. To register, contact Jean Robins at jrobins@u.washington.edu or 206-685-2590. The Symposium is scheduled from 9 AM to 4 PM; Cost is $55-$65 registration fee for professionals, non-profits and individuals. Limit 200 participants. Complete registration information provided by the Center for Horticulture.

The sexy Ferrari-red hip mod couch I purchased for my home office when moving in 2007 is on sale again at Scan Design.

Called “Wing Sleeper Sofa” it is surprisingly affordable, comfortable, and in a pinch my mother-in-law can use it when in town on yoga retreats since the Aerobed is being used to stage a bedroom in a home I have listed for sale (pending inspection, tho – yea!)

It also is surprisingly easily punctured by kitty claws, so purchase a vinyl repair kit. Our leather furniture holds up better but I have learned to live with the damage. It just means everything in our home is loved. It takes us from too mod to shabby chic if you look close!

A true vegan furniture choice.

Not that I am trying to beat the WSB at their own game – since I know they are here somewhere anyway – but being a "live blogger" for events has gotten me into some cool stuff for free. In this case, I paid to be here and talked a couple of my colleagues into splitting the cost with me. We’ll be here until 3 o’clock. It is sunny and dry and a perfect Spring morning. Stop by and say hi!!

I along with a couple of my colleagues am setting up the GreenWorks info booth at Sunday’s 2nd annual sustinability festival in West Seattle. Visit the web site or view the official program for the event.

You’ll find us in “Area 13″ outside of the main entry to the Wells Fargo Bank. The entire event is located in the parking lot behind Next to Nature and Coffee to a Tea with Sugar.

There are so many scientific complexities, so many confusing personal choices, so many ways to rationalize doing nothing. Yet doing nothing isn’t really an option anymore.

Read What does living ‘green’ look like?

By Fran Smith, Redbook via PImail.com newsletter who “Reprinted with Permission of Hearst Communications, Inc. Originally Published: What Does Living Green Look Like?“

I’m a country girl by upbringing and up until two years ago I was hell bent on building a chicken tractor and moving it around my 1/4 acre lot in West Seattle and having fresh eggs every morning. Then my husband strongly vetoed it (as in, absolutely no) and I punished him by moving us to a condo.

Not really how it went, but be that as it may, I *do* now live in a wonderful Built Green townhome and don’t have a yard. I am content to buy my eggs at the farmers market when I need them and they are almost as fresh as if I grew them myself.

But if YOU are dying to be an urban farmer, raising your allotted three chickens per 5,000 square foot lot (so if you have a larger lot you can hedge and have more chickens), here is a great little house for them. And a nice article from Natural Home Magazine. Just remember – NO ROOSTERS or someone is going to end up in the soup pot because of neighbor complaints.

Urban gardeners are flocking to chickens to keep bugs away and provide eggs and compost. Keeping backyard birds is easier than you might think.

Read Raising Chickens in the City