If you’ve ever planted a garden, or even one pumpkin seed, you know the excitement of seeing those first sprouts emerge. So imagine thousands of plants and flowers surfacing, expertly orchestrated to grow and bloom spring through fall to bring function and beauty to the Green & Main site. The Green & Main Pilot Project landscaping was installed this past October, so you can count on a burst of fresh greenery and flowers to greet spring.
Winterizing Green & Main: A Survey of What’s Been Happening on Site
October 24, 2011 by Leave a Comment
The construction crew at the Green & Main site enjoyed an extended summer, with temperatures in early October ranging into the 80’s with clear skies. This was an unexpected and much appreciated delay to our typical Iowa autumn. Soon it will be time to batten down the hatches and get ready for sub-zero temperatures when the crew will focus on the interior of the building.
Here’s what they’ve been up to…
Stormwater Management: Green & Main Designs to Lead the Way
September 23, 2011 by 1 Comment
One of the most prevalent topics during the construction of the Green & Main Pilot Project has been our plans for stormwater management. What will be most effective in dealing with rain water and snowmelt (sometimes simultaneously) at the site? How will we design the vegetative roof, the landscaping and paving materials in order to manage the amount of stormwater run-off?
Profiles in Green: Cohousing from an Author’s Newbie Perspective
August 15, 2011 by Leave a Comment
For those of us who remember growing up in the Midwest decades ago, the concept of cohousing isn’t far off from what we experienced in our typical neighborhoods. As for me, I grew up in the 60’s and the 70’s with hundreds (it seemed) of other kids running amok around a two-block square, and we needed “special permission” to cross streets into “other” neighborhoods. All the parents knew us and knew our parents and it wasn’t uncommon to be corrected by just about any adult who happened to be around to witness what we were up to.
Iowa’s First Cohousing Development: Putting the Wheels into Motion
August 15, 2011 by Leave a Comment
This article is a follow-up to “Iowans and Cohousing: A Look into the Growing U.S. Interest in Cohousing and How Iowans are Responding” published in the July 2011 e-newsletter and on the Green & Main website. In Part II, read about a presentation given in Des Moines by architect, author and cohousing leader Charles Durrett and learn more about Turtle Farm Cohousing Community and those who support this initiative.
Iowans and Cohousing: A Look into the Growing U.S. Interest in Cohousing and How Iowans are Responding
July 8, 2011 by Leave a Comment
“Traditional forms of housing no longer address the needs of many people. Dramatic demographic and economic changes are taking place in our society and most of us feel the effects of these trends in our own lives. Things that people once took for granted – family, community, a sense of belonging – must now be actively sought out. Many people are mis-housed, ill-housed or unhoused because of the lack of appropriate options.”
Green & Main Shows Off ‘New’ Maple Flooring… and Gives Salvaged Gym Floor a New Home
May 31, 2011 by 10 Comments
The old school in Cambria, Iowa was in need of a new gym floor at the same time Green & Main was looking for salvaged maple flooring. It was a match. Repurposing the old flooring for the Green & Main first floor was a perfect fit for not only aesthetic needs but for our sustainability goals as well.
Unexpected Historic Discovery: Trolley Line is Unearthed during Sewer Project
May 19, 2011 by 5 Comments
Not long ago the construction crew of Green & Main started their day with the objective of laying pipe from the Pilot Project building to the existing sewer line on 19th Street. However, renovation of the building’s basement made this project more than a simple connection into an existing sewer main.
