Sustainable Rotterdam

A milestone towards a more sustainable future was accomplished yesterday evening in Rotterdam when Club Watt opened its doors to the public.

From idea...
It took three years to turn an innovative concept to reality. In 2005, Enviu -Innovators in Sustainability and architect studio Döll Lab partnered to answer the question; how would a sustainable dance club look like? Back then, this was merely an exercice to explore the potential to green the clubbing scene, in which I was invited to be part of.

By October 2006, the concept was mature enough to be publicly presented at Rotterdam club Off_Corso under the title The Critical Mass (video). Reaction from media, club owners, and the general public was extraordinary and brought it to next stage when it appeared very clear to everyone that a market for a dance club that turns environmental efficiency into part of the clubbig experience existed. The final concept is a comprehensive one combining technical solutions and managerial practices that when applied could largely improve the environmental performance of a club while adding value to the overall experience.
As result, the concept turned into a company named Sustainable Dance Club (SDC) which offers solutions to club owners that lead to a reduction in relation to comparable clubs of:

...to realisation
Yesterday, Club Watt was the first one to take the collection of solutions and managerial approach on board and show to everyone that sustainability in Rotterdam means planet, people, & party.

In a world premiere ;-) I broadcasted live the unveiling of this new venue. You can follow the tour given to the press, and have a first-hand experience of the well-known Sustainable Dance Floor (video) by Studio Roosegaarde at the following videos (love my N95 running Qik!). Next week will upload a video covering the opening.

More about the Sustainable Dance Club

• Previous posts on the Sustainable Dance Club are available here, here, here and here
• SDC on YouTube
• Hard data about club Watt sustainability performance is available on pdf format here and here
• Amongst others, the Sustainable Dance Club is possible thanks to the brains and hands of Enviu, Döll Lab, SDC, Studio Roosegaarde, & Watt

Thanks to Jeanette & Lotte from Club Watt, and Vera from SDC for the support provided during the opening.

Disclaimer: since January 2008 I am a part-time business developer for Enviu - Innovators in Sustainability

Walking around the city of Rotterdam (NL) is an exciting adventure. I enjoy wondering around and doing some "treasure hunting"; discovering new architectural developments, interventions in urban art, and some times...art made with horse feces!

As a pedestrian, it is not rare to encounter with such artistic interventions in the city environment, performed by the so-called "Rotterdam Mounted Police Crew". If the original The London Police crew bombs cities with their bubbly and enjoyable characters, the Rotterdam Mounted Police bombs the city with aleatory and biodegradable pieces made out of fresh -and sometimes steamy- horse feces.

This form of urban art is specially interesting for the casual urban-treasure-hunter due to its intrinsic characteristics, including unique composition, and evolving nature of each piece;

I decided to document such artistic expression with the aim to better understand what its has been popularly named "Mounted Police technique" and the, until now, barely known artistic movement supporting it.

Did you also find Mounted Police technique in your city? Add your pics to the Flickr group for all urban treasure hunters to enjoy and discuss similar discoveries.

For more urban art (graffiti, stencils, stickers, 3D), check the Flickr set "Hunting for Urban Art"

photo I - photo II - photo III

Demolition works has started at the Hoogstraat in preparation for the construction of an indoor food market with MVRDV signature.

You can read more about Rotterdam Markthal at a previous post from this blog.

Just recently, Ricky Burdett and Deyan Sudjic published the massive piece of work entitled The Endless City; An authoritative and visually rich survey of the contemporary city.

"The Endless City is an unparalleled study of the growth of six of the World’s international cities (New York, Shanghai, London, Mexico City, Johannesburg and Berlin), exploring key structural, economic and social factors"

Complementary to the book launching, the authors publish an article at Business Week, and an interview to co-author Deyan Sudjic is available in the form of audiopodcast.

Quick overview of PICNIC 07, where this year Green Challenge was hosted; a 500.000 award for good business ideas. Qurrent -an energy generating & saving system- received the prize from Sir Richard Branson.

Check the live update of the event
Read the post from Bruno Guissani's Lunch over IP
More videos at oriol.tv

PICNIC, the cross-media event, is here and this year comes with a nice surprise for all sustainability lovers: PICNIC Green Challenge. A contest supporting sustainable business ideas, awarding the best one with 500.000 euros (not bad, eh?). And guess what, the Sustainable Dance Club is amongst the finalists.

On saturday 27th, the award ceremony will take place at the Westergasfabriek (a former gas factory transformed in cultural platform). The winner of the contest will be announced by Sir Richard Branson (Virgin) and we're going to be there to capture the moment.

In case you cannot make it to Amsterdam, you can still follow the event live. I'm planning to send regular updates on saturday prior, during and after the event. To keep updated, simply go to my Twitter page and get automatic updates, including pictures sent from inside the event.

Will the SDC win the contest? Would I be able to talk with Sir Richard Branson? Keep tunned for the video report to be uploaded after the event.



When 29/09/07
Time 12:00-13:00
Where Westergasfabriek, Amsterdam

After the success of Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth, a new documentary about environmental crisis arrives this summer to the cinemas. This time, is Leonardo DiCaprio who takes the chance to spread the word and make people aware of the current environmental degradation. Welcome to the The 11th Hour.

For what we've read and seen, it seems that DiCaprio goes a step further than Gore. If the previous environmentally centered movie was about rising awareness and did not offer any solution or agenda for action, The 11th Hour presents such solutions.

For this film, Leo interviews some of the most relevant thinkers in the area of environmental sciences. I personally find this a good trigger to spend some euros at the theater since the list includes, amongst others; Paul Hawken, Bruce Mau, Stephen Hawking, and William Mcdonough.

Meanwhile we wait for the film to be released in Europe, you may check the oficial site, or the "action" site where you can leave your suggestions and send your own movies, and finally, the YouTube site.

Enviu & Döll are doing it again! Check the press release:

22.00 – 05.00 uur


Related Posts: danceclub, Rotterdam, architecture, sustainability

Powered by ScribeFire.

Ranging from ideas about food, heating, music, literature, fashion, architecture...anything you like in any form you wish.

The 10 best design proposals will be published on our website; the public will be invited to choose one favourite and vote for an overall winner.

What are you waiting for? The deadline for participation is June 30, 2007.


Related Posts: design, sustainability, events

Related posts: sustainability, mapping

via: Rotterdam 2007 City of Architecture



Related Posts: rotterdam, events, architecture

This 2007, Rotterdam is a celebration of architecture. The agenda is full of activities and it all started last Thursday night at Stationplein.

In this second episode of the Sustainable Rotterdam Video Series, Prof. Brezet reviews current activities at DfS, its connection with Rotterdam, and his view on the future of sustainable product design.

Professor Han Brezet pioneered the field of sustainable product design with the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) "Promise" Ecodesign Manual. Since 1992, "Prof. B." has been the head of the Design for Sustainability program at Delf University of Technology (NL), where sustainable product design is holistically researched.

Prepare for the night; dress your best outfit, call your friends, and meet them at the Sustainable Dance Club. We know, it's not there yet, but things are moving fast at Döll Lab and Enviu and the latest news announce the launching of the official website. What are you waiting for? All you wanted to know about the Sustainable Dance Club and never dare to ask, is served here.

While visiting the space, I met Daan Roosegaarde; an interactive artist interested in the relationship between body and the surrounding. Roosegaarde recently set up an interactive landscape in Amsterdam named Dune 4.0 of which an adapted version will be displayed at the Hub. In this short interview, he is also talking about the latest developments regarding the energy generating dancefloor.

Watch the interview at
Veoh
Google Video (iPod download)
YouTube

Going green has gotten a lot more enticing to consumers in communities served by Philadelphia-based RecycleBank. Households can earn RecycleBank Dollars, redeemable for discount coupons at select retailers, just for putting their recyclables out to be collected. But the incentives don't stop there. It's also great promotion and community recognition for participating businesses. Sound too good to be true? Well, you may be surprised to learn that it's even more cost-effective than most traditional recycling programs. Read more

"Calling all writers, street artists, prankster, bikers, protesters, citizens and untouchables! The Graffiti Research Lab will be in Rotterdam from February 7th through the 10th" That's how it reads the announcement made by this innovative graffiti crew.

The event is taking place within the Art Rotterdam festival, which it is defined as a show in the area of topical, contemporary art and is being held for the eighth time in the Cruise Terminal, in the ‘Kop van Zuid’ quarter of Rotterdam.

Graffiti Research Lab is taking control of the Renzo Piano KPN Telecom Building and turning the Kop Van Zuid into the People’s Revolutionary Green Laser Light District.

Visit the site to learn how to submit your work and display it on a 37 x 72 meter screen for everyone to see.

The largest sustainable product design fair is held annually at Tokyo's Big Sight. In a country like Japan with high density of population, limited natural resources and land; sustainability is a strategic need rather than collection of add-on policies. Japanese society is aware of that fact and this is visible in everyday live; from street campaigns to human powered electronics.

Ecoproducts is a good manifestation of Japanese response to sustainable solutions, showcasing the latest developments from large companies, SME's, NGO's, and intergovernmental organizations. Since I had the opportunity to attend the EcoDesign 2006 Asia Pacific Symposium organized by the Union of Ecodesigners, I decided to check the "eco-style fair".

What an experience! More than five hundred organizations developing sustainable products and services under the same roof showcasing electric and fuel cell vehicles, bamboo applications, energy efficient electronics, clothing, and housing amongst others. In addition to product demonstrations the fair is a good platform for educational proposes; school kids are eager to take quiz, answer questionnaires, and attend educational presentations in exchange for freebies.

Since an image it is worth than thousand words, check the 97 images at the Flickr Set

Are you aware of similar Ecoproducts fairs? Let us know by leaving a comment.

For updates check the Ecoproducts 2007 Blog

Program
14:00- Welcome by the Chairman - Dr.ir. S.Silvester (DDI)
14:05- Integration of PV technology in products - Prof. dr. ir. H. Brezet (DfS)
14:30- The future of PV technology - Prof. dr. W.C. Sinke (ECN - Utrecht University)
14:55- Advanced policies for the acceleration of renewable energy implementation - Prof. dr. Th.B. Johansson (IIIEE - Lund University, Sweden)
15:20- Tea Break
15:45- Discussion (Lead by Dr.ir. S.Silvester)
16:45- Drinks


The future of photovoltaic (PV) Powered Products
from 14:00-17:00 in Hall B (AULA)
Delft university of Technology
Mekelweg 5, Delft

For more info, contact DfS

Talking about bikes, in Vienna we saw the free bike system Citybike combining sustainable transport solutions and product branding. Users can register directly at the terminal or at the site. "For hiring a bike you need a credit card, either from Master Card or Visa". Alternatively, Tourist Card holders may use Citybike without a credit card.

I also found free bike systems in cities like Trondheim (NO) and Copenhagen (DK). This systems differ with Citibike in the hiring aspect; those use a coin-return system similar to the one of supermarket carts, making it accessible to a larger scope of citizens.

Up to what extent it's necessary to request private data to use a free bike system?

Caspar van Roosmalen is an student of Industrial Design at DUT currently working on his master's graduation project. The challenge is to make electric bikes attractive for the youth in a context (NL) where such artefacts are generally used by handicapped and elderly.

The electric bicycle is available for several years now and in the Netherlands best known as a solution for elderly people to be able to cycle longer. If the current problems of the electric bicycle are solved it could well be a valuable new means of transportation for commuters.

The average Dutch commuter travels 17 km from home to work each day, a trip that takes about 30 minutes. For distances under 5 km 24% of the Rotterdam commuters use their car and a large number walk or use their bicycle. For distances above 5 km 65% use their car.
An electric bicycle could be a useful alternative to the car and has advantages in urban traffic for various reasons. Cycling can be a relaxing way to go to work. An electric bicycle takes little space and therefore is fast in dense traffic. It decreases parking problems. There is no air and noise pollution. And not the least the support mechanism enables you to cycle a longer distance (5-17km) easier.

There is also a counter side to this story. The Netherlands has great cycling facilities. Its flat geography makes it easy to ride a bicycle and the country has a long bicycle tradition. These factors make it more difficult to introduce an electric bicycle for young people since it is associated with elderly and disabled people - after all why use peddle assistance if you are fit?

A new design of an electric bicycle could only be successful for commuters if its image is improved and the price is low.

How could the image of the electric bicycle be improved to make it attractive to young, healthy commuters?

Leave your thoughts here or send an e-mail to Caspar,
casparspost [at] hotmail [dot] com

Little is known about Future of Cities World Congress to be held in Copenhagen (Sept'07; 23-26) but it seems the organizers decided to set up the scene by showing us a timeline where the transition from urban and rural rates is dynamically illustrated. We'll keep an eye to the newsletter to get the program and updates.

If visiting Barcelona, you shouldn't miss Offjectes; concepts and designs for a change of century, featuring the work of Azuamoline, Curro Claret, Marti Guixe, Nani Marquina, El Ultimo Grito, Vaho, and many more Spanish designers.

Offjectes
15-11-2006 - 15-04-2006
Museu de les Arts Decoratives
Barcelona

How does the city contribute to make citizens' life meaningful? How does it serve as a tool to develop their activities? Shoot-&-run doesn't work here. Branding requires long term commitment to the story and values of a product or service.

It is what you have to offer that counts, and a bit of communication:

1. Identify core values of your city. What does it stand for? It is about accepting reality and extracting those values that unify every single citizen.
2. Define your personality. Every city has its own characteristics that make it unique; some are classic, contemporary, or eclectic. Can you clearly define yours? Act consistently.
3. Develop a consistent imagery. If branding is about telling a story that adds value to the product, it helps when there are recognizable visual elements attached to it. Design a logo, font type, colors, and style. Stick to it and apply to any media support. Additionally, exploit local imagery.
4. Preach by giving example. Translate values into actions when practicing city management and policy making. (I.e. don't spend money publicizing the economic penalization of littering and at the same time allow it in public events)
5. Be open to ideas and contributions. Let the community build into city values. Provide communication channels; make it easy to speak out and always provide coherent feedback.

Note: Landmarks definitely contribute to build city brand, as long as it adds to the story and it is appropriate for the context.

I bet that if for your city, you're able to tick each element of the list with the mark done & in place, then we are talking about a world-class branded city. Citizens become fans when high level of engagement with the story is achieved.

Proposal: For your city or town, name two examples for each element of the list. How many can you get on a scale of ten? Use the result as yardstick and act accordingly.

As seen at The Economist by Marga (thanks!)

Science City is a ETH university campus near the center of Zurich which serves as a model for sustainability. Science City, is much more than a conventional university campus; it represents a culture of thinking and dialogue.

The International Sustainability Competition is a global competition for interdisciplinary teams to provide ideas for how Science City can realize its vision of a new model for the sustainable integration of science and society. Teams from academic institutions are particularly encouraged to participate.

Entrants will be asked to combine competencies from different fields, for example spatial planning, urban development, mobility, sociology, arts and culture, economics and management, and must demonstrate sound knowledge and experience in sustainability-related topics.

This post is about the Idea Lounge organized by Enviu that I attended yesterday. But first, I'd like to share with you some thoughts I've got about a Do-it-yourself Guide to the Organization of Social Networking Events.

DIY Guide to the Organization of Social Networking Events

1. Gather some peers. Use your network to gather like-minded people and engage them in the conversation. Meet at the bar, occupy a classroom, or ask at your neighbor association for space.

2. Set up and an agenda. In advance, define what issues are to be addressed and order in which will be presented. If the space you occupy has limited usage time, you may need to define a timeline accompanying the agenda and attacht to it.

3. Define goals for output. What do you aim to achieve with it? The pure act of opening the mind and exchange ideas is rewarding enough to justify the event. Still, you may want to be able to describe tangible and clear goals that may contribute to your own interests. This aplies for orgnizers and attendants. As in #2, plan in advance.

4. Reward contribution. Social networking is all about open contributions by all participants. Contribution is encouraged when acknowledged by peers.

5. Enjoy it. Have fun with it and speak out your thoughts! That's the best reward you can get.


After a complete day at the DDW 06, Saturday could not be less intense and exciting. My good friend Stef van Dongen organized together with the Enviu team a social networking event entitled Idea Lounge. Some forty issue-driven professionals from a variety of backgrounds discussed ideas and presented proposals, while having a drink.

The participative session started with an introduction to issue-driven entrepreneurship by Stef, followed by a presentation of the Escama case by myself. Attendants expressed their views on specific issues of their interest, of which three were selected as working material. In groups, isses were discussed individually and later on proposals aiming to increase sustainability and business value were presented on an elevator speech format.

• How to ensure long term business sustainability for a product and a business model like Escama?
• How to maximize efficiency in the current system of second hand cars sold to emerging economies?
• How to maximize efficiency in office space use

Entrepreneurial minds can provide powerful insight, and this exactly what happened at De Loft. Snacks and drinks provided the perfect ground to interact with many interesting people; at the end of the day it's all about getting engaged in the conversation regarding sustainable solutions.

I'd like to thank everyone who participated at the Idea Lounge and made possible a creative Saturday afternoon. Stef, as soon as I finish Small is the new Big, I'll grab Cradle to Cradle, thanks for the book!

Last Minute Update. Stef reports that "All together we generated more than 200 ideas that were rapped up in three short presentations of each group. Another great day! If you would like to join us next time just check the Enviu website"

It was exactly a year ago when the Onsustain crew landed at the Dutch Design Week 2005 with an exhibition-shop about sustainable product design. So, the link with that event is sort of special and brings memories of creativity and enthusiasm. Last Friday, after a day of meetings and work we decided to relax and enjoy the current edition held at the city of light; Eindhoven.

The DDW is the best demonstration of current trends in industrial, textile and human design developed in the Netherlands. Recognizable design figures mix their work with novel designer who are ready to finish their master's at the Design Academy. This year we could appreciate an increase of projects presented, however we rapidly spotted what was going to be our favorite project; a set of urban furniture that doubles functionality as playground elements. Unfortunately I cannot recall the name of the designer, and I cannot find it at the catalogue. We also liked the work of Daniel Schipper and his urban greenhouse project.

Just across the street, Flick_Off repeated location at the Admiral presenting the work of a variety of designers and as usual, a selection of products from Buro Vormkrijgers, including the delightful Pong Clock. We were happy to encounter with designer Emily Hermans who we met last year at TAC. Her new collection of viscose clothing is just great, introducing traditional Palestinian patterns to create outstanding pieces.
Tof Design presented a collection of artifacts (suitcases, stereos, fans) made out a composite of wood residues.

Next stop was the Temporary Art Centre (TAC) which this year transformed into Go Tac; a drive in cinema holding performances, restaurant, and rooms. Debbie Does held another interesting installation with video and interaction. But what best after some cultural and creative immersion that enjoy a meal in a unique setting?

La Boller fulfills the definition of unique setting for a restaurant; a former brothel which keeps all its original design and characteristic elements as pole, mirrored walls and ceiling, exotic bath tubs, sauna, and the flexible space fitting up to 18 people. If the setting is unique and spectacular, the service and food are top quality. A group of young enthusiasts transformed this squatted house (we're there last year the very first time a party was held) into a top memorable experience. At the kitchen, chef Malotaux masters the art of cooking even when he does it as hobbie.

The evening ended up at The Little League party held by Vice magazine we were delighted with the electro beat of Matik, an excellent and revolutionary discovery for me. These guys made us jump like crazy just as the great bands can do. You should definitely check out their music; pump your computer speakers up and jump, jump, jump!

For some days now I can see from my apartment that the Pathe cinema at Schouwburgplein has been covered with an immense printed advertisement of Nike picturing Spanish tennis player Rafa Nadal. Finally, today I decided to check it out and take a closer look - even when that's not really necessary since it can be spotted from the distance. The values in which we foresee a sustainable Rotterdam clash with this kind of practices, the ad is simply an outrageous piece of urban spam as annoying as receiving 120 unsolicited e-mails on a day, with the difference that this one will be there for several days.

There's nothing wrong about branding the public space as there's nothing wrong in using e-mail to extend the message of a brand. Actually, I believe that clever branding can be as meaningful in public space as urban art is. But tha's exactly what marketers, agencies, and local authorities should ask themselves when deciding to cover an entire building with a printed ad: how meaningful and appropriate is this for the context - the city - and citizen-market?

Yelling doesn't make your message and experience better or outstanding. For a printed ad in public space to be relevant it is about meaningful content using the appropriate format for your target group or niche.

1. Content
Functionality of printed ads is purely informational and unidirectional; there's none - or limited - room for interaction limiting engagement with citizen-market. Basically what I have observed are three versions of content:

• Priced sales and special deals
• Presentation of a new product, collection or service
• Announcement of events; concerts, parties, local festivals

How relevant are these informational messages within the context of a city and how the citizen perceives them? Personally, I may find practical to encounter announcement of events because those are relevant pieces of information for me when taking the pulse of the city and writing this blog. Yet, other channels are available to get the same information, extended, and right up to date delivered to you which results more efficient and meaningful - i.e. e-mail newsletters, Google Calendar. The same applies to priced sales and presentations of new products/services; it rarely happens that those are shown when looking for them and being prepared to experience the unidirectional message.

• Who thinks that by purely sticking a picture and a text line on my nose, that I didn't choose or aimed to get, I am going to get a positive attitude about the brand?

2. Format
Printed advertisement in public spaces takes a variety of formats, mainly differentiated by size, materials and supporting elements. Ranging from few square cm in flyers to several hundred square meters in building coverings, the general perception of printed advertisement in public space - at least here in Rotterdam - is lack of consistency in formats.
I would like to catalogue and capture visually the variety of formats that can be encountered around Rotterdam and create a Flick set. Send us your pictures and I will add them to the set, alternatively you can use the tag 'sustainablerotterdam'.

Regarding format, the questions that should be asked are:

• How does the format of the advertisement add value to the experience of perceiving the content and the public space?
• Does large mean better or more appropriate?
• How do these formats and supporting elements cope with the original design of the urban space?

3. Target group
When an informative message is literally placed at the middle of the street, we may say that it lacks focus and takes an arbitrary strategy; by definition a limited rate of citizen-market may feel that the message is meaningful and appropriate for their own interests and needs. Additionally, it can be observed the doubling of roles in the target group;

• How can the individuals that experience the urban context be defined; citizens, 24/7 foreseeable consumers, both?
• On what basis is the trade off citizen-market managed?
• How do local authorities balance the always welcome cash-flow of revenues of commercially exploiting the public space and its appropriateness?

The combination of the above described elements may lead to either appropriate or inappropriate use of the public space, the latest it's what I call urban spam; the ultimate plague of the dense urban space. Would you like to contribute to the discussion and answer any of the above questions? Leave us a text comment or voice message at Odeo.

As follower of Seth Godin work, I'm currently reading the compilation of columns and blog posts at his latest book Small is the New Big. So today, during lunch time, I was reading the post titled Enthusiast (the original blog post is entitled "Are you an enthusiast?") and I have to say that I saw myself reflected there. I felt that at last someone understood me!

The following paragraph reflects the essence of Seth's message:

Enthusiasts are ENTHUSIASTIC! This means we want to spread the word. It means we want other people to "get it" as well. We want the organizations we buy from to be one of us, to care as much as we do about the experience and the products and the process. We want our friends and fans not just to buy us a stick-shift warmer for the Ferrari, but to research it first, to compare the different warmers, to understand the trade-offs and make the same (obvious) choice that we would.

I don't know if I can be entitled as enthusiast, but one thing is for sure; I'm eager to let others know and get excited as I get with any new discovery. That's why sustainablerotterdam.com exists; to let everyone know about it.

So, are you also an enthusiast? If so, what does it take for you to be enthusiast?

If you follow regularly this blog (is anyone out there?) you may know that last night Rotterdam held The Critical Mass. We have been continuously reporting about this open source concept in previous post, and Saturday it all materialized in a unique experience mixing live performances, fashion, food & drinks, and sustainable glam. The base of the program focused to show the audience what the "eco chain of clubbing" can entail.

The evening started with a presentation of the sustainable dance club concept by Alijd van Doorn (Doll lab) and Stef van Dongen (Enviu) accompanied by comments videoprojected of actors in Rotterdam's innovation and clubbing scenes.

The expectation created paid off with an overwhelming assistance of public; 1200 people crossed the door of Off_Corso to dance and enjoy a sustainable evening. From the great line-up we personally enjoyed the acoustic sounds of Dutch songwriter Charlie Dee, and Belgium electro duo The Subs (make me jump again!). Urbi et Orbi created amazing visuals that where projected all over the place.

Since January 2006, Doll & Enviu managed to gather a large group of enthusiastic professionals from a variety of backgrounds. Those came with a series of proposals to design a sustainable dance club from an architectural and experience perspective, and as Alijd & Stef claimed "the question now is not where is it going to be, but who is going to be first?". By Saturday, the first were people like Kuyichi and its re-made fashion corner, Oke and The Garden of Delight, or the LED Philips wall and its energy efficient animations, and the delicious recycled food restaurant that contributed -amongst others- to make it a success.

The sustainable beat was up till sunrise, many things happened and many details to cover them on a Sunday evening post. Let me tell you a secret; we could sneak in a video camera and soon you will be able to check it all by yourself. Keep tuned and be the first to know (sorry CNN!)

For a full list of acts, performances and sponsors, check the official announcement, or read what The Washington Post is saying about all this at the article Going Going Green