WELL Building Standard

Post-Pandemic Office Life Can Be Exactly What You Needed

| May 20, 2020 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Biophilic Design, Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Nature and Wellbeing, Plantscaping
We might feel like we're living in a bubble, but we have a golden opportunity to improve our indoor environments. Photo: Beate Bachmann/Pixabay
You may know the saying claiming the Chinese characters for the words “crisis” and “opportunity” are the same. Well, not exactly. If you do a little digging and read what modern Chinese speakers say, this isn’t correct. There IS a popular saying in modern Chinese communities 危機就是轉機 which translates as “A crisis is also a turning point.” It’s possible over time these two ideas have merged. People are said to use this phrase to comfort or console someone who is in a very bad situation, whether it’s their fault or not. If ever we needed consoling in a bad situation in modern times it’s now during the coronavirus pandemic.… Read More

What’s On Your Mind?

| December 27, 2017 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Biophilia, Biophilic Design, Good Earth Plant Company, Nature and Wellbeing
The holiday break always seems too short, doesn’t it! We’re too busy to complain about it though. The year is winding up with a green bang at Good Earth Plant Company. Maybe it’s our mild winter weather inspiring people, or maybe it’s awareness of our surroundings after seeing all of the recent wildfires. Whatever the reason, it’s been all hands on deck installing new projects testing our creativity: living walls, moss walls, colorful planters and succulents, holiday décor and even our first residential green roof all year, which we’ve been sharing with you on our Facebook page. (Hint: Follow us here!)… Read More

Ten Secrets to Successful Workplace Design in 2018

| December 14, 2017 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Biophilic Design, Case Studies, Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Plantscaping
We get to see a lot of workplaces all year long, and we get to work with a lot of smart architects and interior designers creating the modern workplace. We also talk a lot about what the ideal workplace of the future SHOULD look like when I get together with my fellow interior plantscapers and WELL Building Standard advocates across the country. There are plenty of studies where people have told us what they like, and also telling us what makes people more productive, more creative, and more content at work. With 2018 nearly on top of us (how did THIS happen?),… Read More

Adding Plants Isn’t Rocket Science, But It Should Be

| October 12, 2017 | Categories: Case Studies, Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Indoor Plants, Nature and Wellbeing, Plantscaping
Have you ever felt that post-lunchtime slump at work, around 2 p.m.? You probably blamed it on the California burrito you ate, or a morning coffee crash. The more likely culprit turns out to be carbon dioxide. A research study conducted earlier this year by Harvard, Syracuse, and SUNY Upstate Medical Universities studied office environments and determined the level of carbon dioxide in the average office environment reaches its daily peak around 2 p.m. The CO2 level of 1,000 parts per million is 2.5 times the level of carbon dioxide in the outside atmosphere. Read more about this study in the Harvard Business Journal.… Read More

Why Aren’t There More Green Roofs in San Diego?

| September 6, 2017 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Environment, Good Earth Plant Company, Green Roofs
In many cities, green roofs are a growing part of the urban landscape.  The benefits are undeniable and substantial. Green roofs solve so many problems in the urban environment: preventing stormwater runoff, reducing the urban heat island effect, reducing heating and cooling costs, soundproofing, adding habitat for pollinators and birds, and cleaning the air to name a few. The city of Toronto, Canada was the first to mandate green roofs on industrial and residential buildings in 2009. Effective earlier this year, France became the first nation to require at least partial coverage with either green roofs or solar energy technology (or a combination of both) on all new construction.… Read More

Bringing the Green Road Show To You

| August 31, 2017 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Case Studies, Good Earth Plant Company, Indoor Plants, Plantscaping
In the annual Chapman University Study on American Fears, the fear at the top never changes. In 2016, when people were asked about 79 different fears, giving a presentation is number one among personal fears, followed by heights and crawly things. Lowest: clowns. As my family, friends, and colleagues know all too well, this isn’t a problem for me now. It wasn’t always this way, but now I love to talk to groups of people. One of my favorite things is to give presentations on integrating nature into our every day lives. It’s a passion, not a phobia! (I don’t have a problem with heights creepy crawly bugs or snakes either).… Read More

In Business, Green is Good

| August 17, 2017 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Biophilic Design, Case Studies, Environment, Indoor Plants, Nature and Wellbeing, Plantscaping
  When did you last spend time outdoors? You might think everyone is outside enjoying summer weather and school vacations.  In San Diego, there’s hardly a day all year when you can’t be outside in short sleeves (or less). Buried in a report by the Environmental Protection Agency from 1989 is this shocking statistic: people in industrialized countries include the U.S. and Europe  spend more than 90 percent of their time indoors. Specifically, people spend 93 percent of their time indoors, with anther five percent in transit in a car or public transportation, and just two percent outside. I’d like to think this number is lower in San Diego, but even if it’s 80 percent, it’s still a sobering reality.… Read More

This Is The Next Innovation In Building Design

| July 27, 2017 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Biophilic Design, Nature and Wellbeing
Sometimes it’s difficult to get people to embrace change. One happy exception is the adoption of the LEED building standard. Developed by the U.S. Green Building Council in just the past 13 years, it’s now the standard for energy-saving, cost-efficient building the United States. It provides rating systems for everything from design to maintenance to materials and operation. It applies to everything from luxury homes to the new stadiums in San Francisco and Minneapolis. The design firm Gensler is at the forefront of both LEED and WELL Building Standard certification. Gensler’s Los Angeles office includes our new living wall bridge.Thanks to LEED, most people have a basic idea of the ways green building practices should be applied as the norm: energy efficiency, improve air, access to daylight and outside views.… Read More

What Did You Want To Know from Good Earth Plants in 2016?

| January 5, 2017 | Categories: Gardening, Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Living Walls, Sustainable Living
Good Earth Plant Company has so many innovative ways to add plants to your interior design today, including spectacular moss walls.
The confetti and streamers are finally cleaned up, the holiday decorations (mostly) put away for another year. It’s time to begin 2017 with a clean slate. Doesn’t that feel good? It’s also a good time to look back, take stock, make some observations and learn some lessons. Applied to this blog, we try to provide useful, informative, and sometimes just plain enjoyable information. How do we know if we’re doing a good job? Thanks to technology, we know when people are clicking on our website and reading blog posts, not just the most recent post but every single blog post we’ve ever published.… Read More

Good Earth Plant Company’s Top Ten Workplace Design Trends to Watch for 2017

| December 29, 2016 | Categories: Architecture and Design, Biophilic Design, Case Studies, Good Earth Plant Company Tips, Green Roofs, Living Walls, Nature and Wellbeing, Plantscaping
With just a few days left of 2016, Good Earth Plants has its attention focused on what’s to come for 2017. Here are our top ten predictions on workplace design trends for the next 12 months. Moss Wall Art: Preserved moss walls took our industry by storm in 2016, and there is no sign of it letting up. Look for even more creativity and innovation in these projects. We are incorporating new and different types of mosses and integrating additional materials including elements like driftwood, pods, shells and glass. There is no limit to the possibilities. We are even exploring living moss walls into very limited projects.… Read More