Since the company's launch in 1991, the people at Poon Design have made it their goal to offer a complete and integrated design vision for their clients, frequently responsible for every facet of the creative process from building to business cards.

Encouraged by the vibrant and sustainable products life inspires, Poon Design Inc, a multidisciplinary practice headquartered in Beverly Hills, CA, offers full professional services in architecture and interiors, planning and programming, landscape architecture, furniture design, graphics, music, and many other creative endeavors.[1]

Anthony Poon, a principal of Poon Design Inc. along with John Kim, answered some questions for the Green Guide Network about some of their most recent projects and their use of sustainable products.

GGN: What makes Poon Design unique in comparison to its competitors?

AP: All aspects of our process and products are sustainable, from the journey of paperless development-which is a challenge in the world of architects and blueprints-to recycled blue jeans made into building insulation.  Our artistic expression we entitle loosely as Eclectic Modernism, as witnessed in the façade of Memphis Café which is grass and glass. We like to utilize a combination of influences: from high culture and pop culture, to the serious socio-cultural agendas of modernism, to adding a touch of whimsy and wit.

GGN: How have you have incorporated green building concepts into your recent designs such as the Memphis Café and the Weaver Mixed-Use Project?

AP: At the W-V Mixed Use Project (we intentionally omit the developer's name), we are the first and only creators in the South Bay to manifest a true living roof: an engineered roof that has structure and irrigation for 18 inches of soil that can sustain a full above ground plaza of yard, garden, shrubs, berms, and even small trees.  As one of the few mixed-use-commercial and residential-projects in the area, recycled materials, local labor and materials, as well as noise control were all givens.

For Memphis Café, it was not just about being green.  We wanted to create a façade that served as a billboard of a literal green agenda: hence the entire façade of bright green waterless turf.  Sustainability also played into this reuse of an existing restaurant which was the historic post office which also served as a local bakery.  The existing structures on the interior was removed carefully and offered to the regional community.  Green materials include energy efficient LED lighting, rapidly renewable blue cork, eco-polyester resin with recycled aluminum shavings for the bar counter, wheat board for the booths, and other such exciting features to name a few.

GGN: Do you find it increasingly challenging to apply green building principles to your projects, or has it become easier because of the higher demand for energy-efficient design?

AP: We have found that sustainable architecture has become both easier and mandatory for many projects.  Clients throughout the country come to us with sophisticated agendas and background, whether a small house, a restaurant, a preschool, or university building.  At times the project requirements represent sincere advocacy for the future of our planet, or a strategic need for stronger positioning in the market place and fundraising.  The budgetary challenges of sustainability are more acceptable these days, as clients understand that the higher initial cost of green features like a smart home monitoring system with Internet interface, yields great benefits in the long run of life cycle costs.  For our research, we must also be strategic designers and edit through the flood of so-called green washed products vs. truly sustainable and proven features.

GGN: What are some of the ways that you personally try to live a more sustainable, eco-friendly lifestyle.

AP: Our team of designers lives a green existence by example.  We have intentionally placed our office smack center between all our homes, so as to minimize commutes.  Some members of our office commute by mass transit, some by bicycle, and some by carpool.  Personal agendas have included research and presenting green programs to all our networks, as well as being constant stewards of our environments-whether by having a three-year old daughter actually sort for recycling at home, or understanding composting at preschool.

GGN: Do you have any particular favorites among your projects?

AP: Having a favorite project is akin to selecting a favorite child.  Each project boasts wonderful and enjoyable results.  We have the Chaya Downtown restaurant, which this year was awarded the International Design Award for Best Restaurant by The American Institute of Architects.  We are proud of a recently planned high school with sustainable learning and all grass roofs for additional social areas and outdoor teaching.  We are pleased with our Greenman Elementary School in Illinois; with its creative learning environments, this project was awarded the National Grand Prize for the best design education project by NSBA, AIA and Learning by Design.  Memphis Café, though at this time short of our usual national honors, speaks a clever and common language about the green debate.  Last on this short list is a retreat home for a Buddhist Foundation in Virginia.  The modest and creative footprint impacts the beautiful land like a feather softly landing in a grove of trees.

For more information about Poon Design Inc, visit their website at: www.poondesign.com

Jennifer Maclellan jennifer@greenguidenetwork.com is the Senior Writer for the Green Guide Network.

Interview conducted by Danielli Marfori, Creative Intern for the Green Guide Network.

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