Urban Reserve and more . . .

 

This was a really great day!  We started at Living Earth (blogged about earlier) and then found our way to Urban Reserve. http://www.urbanreserve.net/  Having lived in Dallas, I felt pretty familiar with most of the centrally located neighborhoods, until I visited this one.  Who would have known this existed inside the loop with a short drive to downtown?  It was new, interesting, inviting, creative, and most of all, sustainable.

 

The neighborhood development is located between Royal and Forest Lane with the DART train nearby and the White Rock lake trail out its back door. The site was originally used as a dumping ground for access rock - some legal, some not.  Houses range in price from $500,000 - $2 million dollars and are more contemporary in style.

Diane Cheatham, invited us into her lovely home to show and tell the sustainable features of the home and of the neighborhood.  What was most interesting was the journey she has taken since beginning the project.  From the beginning, she understood that sustainability starts with the architect and the site plan.  It can't be sustainable just because of the materials.  LEED was used a building guideline. Her two biggest challenges were dealing with the city and having the contractors actually do what was specified.  The streets are narrower to be more neighborhood friendly.  As a result, the curbs had to roll up and over to accomodate the fire department.  The neighborhood has 26 of 50 lots sold with 16 built homes and boasts two ponds for irrigation and aesthetics. 

Diane has a chicken coop to provide eggs. 
The weather has been so hot, they need a fan to stay cool!

 Enviroglas is a boutique business that reclaims glass and porcelain and turns it into countertops, floors, ceiling tiles, landscape mulch, and other decorative surfaces.  Enviroslab, Enviroplank, and Enviroscape are the three divisions of the company.  Tim Whaley, CEO and Esteban, Operations Manager have a tremendous enthusiasm for their products, company culture, and sustainability.  


Glass is recycled then mixed with a binder.  It looks like Terrazzo. Clients are able to choose their colors and patterns to create a custom look.  The surface is practical, strong,  and durable. Artists and furniture designers can mold the mixture into specialized sizes and shapes such as an extra long dining room table.  


The glass comes from rejects that can't be sold.  Much of the glass from the city doesn't conform to standards.  The porcelain comes from reclaimed rejects from companies like Kohler.  Porcelain reclamation keeps about 500 tons out of the land fill!  www.enviroglasproducts.com

Even the ceiling tiles are decorative!