So…as I suggested some weeks ago, we have been working hard to get the website www.ConstruçãoSustentável.pt up and running…we did actually have it on line for the original book launch on the 8th November last year. However, I had to decide on a different strategy for now…and now, at the beginning of the year, the first videocasts and podcasts are online…as you can see below…

The way I have posted the podcasts is not the final. However, as we only have three podcasts, there is no point opting for any other option.

And I know from the first three podcasts (and I mainly mean video recordings) I know that there is loads of room for improvement. This will come gradually.

The next filming session will be on the 23rd January which will be published in February….so see you soon…

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We have been talking about renewable energy issues for quite some time….so it is gratifying when major companies finally jump on the wagon….. Google’s Goal: Renewable Energy Cheaper than Coal

Times they are a changing…

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Writing a book is no mean feat. In the first place is a mega amount of work and you just have to believe me on that. But it makes a big difference working with good people. I will tell this story another time.

My partner Livia Tirone has just finished the teaser (a pre-launch version) and all attention is now focused on the pre-launch sales campaign. Tomorrow (Thursday) (having just looked at the clock, I mean later today) I, together with with Francis Doody, who has his own Internet project JoomlaLisbon can start working on getting this teaser set up on various websites, so that the pre-sales process can really begin.

We are working with Sónia Pinto (who is the graphic designer of the book) and she has been a real find. Not often you get someone who is very talented and who works to a programme (at least not here in Portugal). Deadlines to her is all important and her work is really top quality.

As is the work of Fernando & Sergio Guerra on the photographs for the book. Fernando is the best in Portugal and he is a real pleasure to work with. The quality of their work is really exceptional. Take a look at their site.

It’s now all down to making sure we get sales right. You will be able to buy pre-launched copies of the book soon. I will post the link as soon as it’s complete.

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The company I have been involved with since 1989 Tirone Nunes, which is supposed to be a property development company (I say supposed to be, as we have been waiting the last 6 years for project approval here in Lisbon, Portugal) decided earlier this year to write a book about the theme Sustainable Construction. We are leaders in this sector (by default) as it hasn’t really caught on yet. The fact that buildings consume more that 40% of the worlds energy, I guess there is no real reason for anyone to have noticed this in the last 20 years.

Anyway, my partner Livia Tirone, who is one of THE expert in this field, decided it was time to write a book, which will be called “Construção Sustentável” (Sustainable Construction) and which will be launched on teh 8th November 2007.

The story of publishing a book is an interesting one I will share with you another time.

This will be accompanied by a website (more Portal) that will aim to develop the contents of the book from an in-depth platform looking to develop further the principles being examined. It is intended that once the Book and Portal are launched in Portuguese, it will then be translated into Spanish then English, and the theme will be developed on a European platform through www.SustainableConstruction.eu.

The pre-launch of the book will be soon and I will keep you updated with this.

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LESS IS THE NEW MORE - OLD IS THE NEW NEW - OLD IS THE NEW YOUNG

Do you ever get the feeling that sometimes you read something that is so complex yet it actually says everything and so obvious…..like Nike “Just Do It” or “Easy Jet”, or…..well I got this from the KLM (which, by the way, must be Dutch for “Total Fuckup Airline”) Onboard Magazine…. LESS IS THE NEW MORE. (This has actually stimulated by the German/American Architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe motto “Less is more” .)

The KLM Herald Magazine do this trend spotting thing with global trend guru’s (which some may interrupt as “Total Waste of Good Blue SkyTime”) and they came with the suggestion that LESS IS THE NEW MORE. With the bombardment we have had over the last years with all things environmental, this must be the ultimate statement: we have to be doing things better. i.e. we have to be doing things more efficiently and ultimately think about the environment.

Now, being the eternal Property Developer (which, by the way, is definitely “What A Waste of A Good Life”, especially if you apply this “skill” (sic) in Portugal), I immediately started to think what this must mean in the construction industry, and of course I came up with the idea tag line “OLD IS THE NEW NEW”. It’s so obvious.

Throughout Europe we have been saying (for too long) that the housing sector needs to make refurbishment of the existing housing stock the priority. Municipalities have been saying that the renovation of the urban areas is of vital importance in order to maintain the cities urban structure. And environmentalists have argued that we cannot just keep destroying our buildings after 20 or 50 years: It’s just not sustainable. However, I believe that we ought to be defining what this “renovation” actually means, as it’s not just a question of taking out the old and putting in new. Yes it’s the easy option, however, we should be looking at the building extremely carefully and reusing every single piece of material where possible. And the bits that we cannot use, we should be looking to recycle.

Which probably means that we may well be looking at other areas that we can be adapting this trend.

Take middle age. I mean, my Mum and Dad were old at 50….and here I am at 55 and I am absolutely convinced that there has been a mistake on my birth certificate, cause I don’t feel a day over…..ahhhh….. 33….. So, could it be that OLD IS THE NEW YOUNG…..I mean, oldies are bringing an added value of experience, know-how, vision, certainly understanding of life that is well beyond our years. Or should I just be put out to “grass”…..now there’s a nice thought…..

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