The first comprehensive exhibition of Finnish-American architect Eero Saarinen is entering the American leg of its tour. Patronized by Finland’s President Tarja Halonen, the traveling installation celebrates Saarinen’s brief yet influential 15-year career.

Yale educated Saarinen followed in the footsteps of his father, renowned Scandinavian architect Eliel Saarinen, in designing some of the 20th century’s most recognizable and defining structures. His preference for clean, expansive shapes is embodied in all of his work, from the Memorial Gateway Arch in St. Louis to the iconic “Tulip” chair he designed in conjunction with Florence Knoll (pictured above). With the likes of Mies van der Rohe and Philip Johnson, Saarinen emerged as a pioneering influence in modern architecture and an integral figure in American postwar aesthetics.

The exhibit is currently on display at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, and will be making its way to Los Angeles, St. Louis, New York, Washington, D.C., and New Haven in the coming months. If you have the chance, it’s a definite must-see.

A few days ago,Continuum, in collaboration with I/ACT, the Italy-America Chamber of Commerce and Technology and the Lombardy Region of Italy hosted a unique event at our West Newton studio.. The “Partners in Innovation” event celebrated the start of a closer collaboration between the Lombardy Region of Italy and the State of Massachusetts to create leading edge enterprises and to develop innovative products and services in the process.

Bringing together the best resources of two dynamic regions for mutual benefit is indicative of the new economic reality and the great opportunities of a borderless world.  It is appropriate to note that Boston’s Mayor, Tom Menino was recently in Cernobbio, on lake Como to attend the “Mini-Davos” Ambrosetti Forum.

Immediately following the event at Continuum, we showcased several Italian companies that are innovating in diverse industries–normally not associated with Italy–at the Angel Investor Conference hosted by the UMass Boston College of Management.  These pioneering companies ranging from Achtoons, a cartoon animation studio that creates magical multimedia programming for children; Crowd Engineering and SmartRM, two ground-breaking software companies, and i-m3d, a medical diagnostic innovator leading the way in non-invasive colon and breast cancer detection.

We at Continuum believe strongly in the power of interdisciplinary, cross-cultural and international collaboration to design a better future. We welcome the opportunity to contribute our innovation expertise to identify untapped areas for synergies between the regions and to make this collaboration successful across industries.

I recently went to the Buckminster Fuller exhibition at the Whitney Museum and finally saw his Dymaxion House sketches for the first time. They were initially prototyped in the 1930s, but the idea of prefab homes has a long history. Aladdin Company and Sears Roebuck and Co. were selling “house kits” back in the early 1900s.

You have to admit, some of these modular homes feel a bit cold and uniform.  However, I am warming up to them, as I understand the concept behind them. Buckminster Fuller developed the Dymaxion House with the idea of social responsibility in mind. He wanted to address the shortcomings of homebuilding techniques of his time and was also looking for new ways to use resources more efficiently. The home design he created was meant to be easily shipped and assembled.  Fast forward to today. There are plenty of prefab homes to choose from, but one designer’s work stands out in my mind. Michelle Kauffmann has set out to develop the ultimate green prefab homes. Her prefabs designs incorporate energy efficient, eco-friendly systems and materials. The homes feature green roofs, LED lights, solar, wind generation and geo-thermal power. The placement of the doors and windows is carefully thought out to maximize cross-ventilation and natural lighting. She also uses non-toxic, low VOC paints and chooses formaldehyde-free materials for the cabinetry. For plumbing, she installs water-saving fixtures and on-demand water heaters and the list for sustainable design goes on.

After seeing one of Michelle’s models at the Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry,  I couldn’t help but to want to move into one. Until I learned of the costs! At $250-$275 per square foot for predesigned home, and $400+ per square foot for custom designed homes, they come with a hefty price tag.  So, the next thing we need to work on is to make sustainable design more affordable.

Last weekend, my mom spontaneously announced: “I have a treat for you,” as she handed me a new pair of Lululemon reverse groove yoga pants.

“And the best part is,” she gushed, “The bag. It’s reusable! And super-cute, right?”

“Absolutely,” I told her, though I didn’t have the heart to inform her I already had four of the same red bags, covered in inspiring messages, sitting in a pile at home.

***

The next day, my sister approached my mother, sister-in-law and me with an ear-to-ear grin and an I-have-a-secret-behind-my-back posture. She quickly revealed four reusable bags–one for each of us–and of course, one for her.

The bags featured black and white fashion shots and a sign-off of Ovations for the Cure of Ovarian Cancer, a foundation close to our hearts, as a dear friend of ours had passed away after a nine-year battle just days before.

***

Last night, I dined with a friend who had just returned from Disney World. She carried a real-live plastic bag (gasp – are we still using these?), which revealed an adorable Mickey Mouse reusable tote. Complete with artfully frayed edges and those signature mouse ears, the tote gave the look of reused materials, perfect for the shabby chic tree hugger.

***

After dinner, I tossed my oh-so-adorable bag behind the passenger seat in my car and watched it float to the top of an already brimming pile of super-convenient, ultra-green reusable bags. I couldn’t help but wonder: could there be such a thing as too many reusable bags? (This coming from a girl who can’t say “no” to anything in the handbag genre).

Now that even Mickey is getting in on the action, will each American home acquire an overabundance of the very thing that was meant to minimize paper and plastic bag consumption?

Have we out-greened ourselves and flopped back over to the standard American tenet of “more is more”, wasting energy and material (which surely is not all recycled), and landing exactly where we didn’t want to end up?

***

For now, I’ll switch off my bags daily, tote their messages with pride, and pray for less generous friends and family. Just doing my part.

Hilton housekeeping says, “Hello.”

None of the coolio hotels we like for our New York getaways could accommodate four guests in one room, but the Hilton on 53rd St fit our family and our budget.  Leaving our room on the first morning, we got a nice big “Hello” from every member of the housekeeping staff whom we passed in the hallway.  These employees were busy doing their work, but not too busy to look up, share a smile and wish us a good day.  By the end of our stay, we got to be fairly chatty together.  I don’t know if Hilton trains all of its employees to stop their work and greet the guests or if these folks were just personally inclined to put something extra into their job.  I do know that it made a difference for me.  Rule #3 of great service: Say, “Hello.”

Our good friend and colleague Lewis Gordon Pugh, an explorer and environmentalist, has launched yet another awe inspiring expedition to the North Pole. You may recall that Lewis was the first human to swim the North Pole, completing a 1km (0.62 mile) swim, in minus 1.7°C water. As he continues to raise awareness about the environmental and political threats in North Pole, his newest expedition, kayaking from Spitsbergen, Norway to as far North as possible, will certainly be just as impressive.

The purpose of Lewis’s journey is to document the loss of sea ice due to global warming and to remind the world of the crucial role that Arctic regions play in our ecosystem. As the ice depletes, new shipping routes are being created, further opening up this fragile region for oil exploration. Political tensions are also escalating, as many nations are staking claim to the newly exposed territory. To keep up with Lewis’s expedition, please check out the Polar Defense Project.

Lewis also spoke at our last Green Design Event here in Boston. Check out the video of his presentation here.

By now most of us are somewhat familiar with the Obama campaign “sun-rising-over-the-field-of-flag” logo.

But did you know that the Obama campaign has tweaked their logo specifically for different populations. You know, Arab Americans, environmentalists, kids, women, etc.

Here are a some of my favorites…

Can you figure out which one is which?

See them all at:
http://www.barackobama.com/people/

Good politics is good branding. Is this good branding?