
Today in Chicago, Ill. at the Mid-America (Mid-Am) Horticultural Trade Show, Illinois Brick Company and VAST Enterprises, LLC announced that Illinois Brick now supplies VAST composite masonry products to builders and contractors in the Chicago area. The expanding line of VAST composite masonry products — manufactured in VAST’s patented blend of recycled car tires and plastic containers — includes Composite Landscape Pavers, Composite Permeable...

Denihan Hospitality Group (DHG) announced the summer 2010 opening of The James New York. A newly built hotel anchoring the southwest corner of SoHo at Grand and Thompson Streets, The James New York features 114 guestrooms and suites bathed in natural light and unobstructed views of Manhattan. DHG was awarded the management contract for The James New York by owner and developer Brack Capital Real Estate (BCRE). DHG will bring the same attributes found...

Children in Trumbull (CT) have one more reason to go outside, play and get dirty – a sustainable playground – thanks to Wilton-based Sun Products Corporation, makers of fabric care products including all®, Wisk® and Snuggle®. Sun Products’ FULL CIRCLE playground initiative utilizes “plastic for playgrounds” representing the equivalent of 50,000 Sun Products plastic (HDPE#2) laundry containers recycled and saved from landfills....

The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) has named John Portman, Founder and Chairman of John Portman & Associates (PORTMAN), the 2009 Lynn S. Beedle Award Winner. The award was presented on October 22, 2009 at a special awards dinner hosted as part of the CTBUH’s annual conference held this year in Chicago. The Lynn S. Beedle Award honors an individual who has made extraordinary contributions to the advancement of tall buildings...

Skyline Design’s Greenplay furnishings for children’s environments include tables, seating, shelving, and play spaces. Products are made with environmentally responsible and healthy materials and finishes, including post-consumer recycled plastic, sunflower hulls, and FSC-certified wood. All paints and coatings are zero- or very low-VOC; adhesives are entirely avoided in favor of mechanical attachments, improving end-of-life recyclability. Skyline...

While many retailers are contracting or limiting expansion, 7-Eleven is aggressively growing and expects to add more than 200 new stores this year. Plans call for the company to accelerate store development over the next several years through organic growth, acquisitions and its Business Conversion Program. 7-Eleven has a multi-pronged approach to growth that includes in-line, end-cap space in shopping centers, freestanding stores, urban locations...

Where yesterday there was a vacant lot, dotted with struggling bushes, today the Willows neighborhood boasts a lush garden. Brightly flowering ground cover holds the fragile soil, while palm trees blow in the wind and bold colors peek over a new white picket fence. The most amazing part: the entire transformation took just a single day – thanks to the combined efforts of a determined team. Fiskars with support from The Home Depot Foundation helped...

In an increasingly dense city like Chicago, views from a new tower must be negotiated between existing buildings. Aqua tower considers criteria such as views, solar shading and function to derive a vertical system of contours that gives the structure its sculptural form. Its vertical topography is defined by its outdoor terraces that gradually change in plan over the length of the tower. These terraces offer a strong connection to the outdoors and...

Architect’s rendering of Columbia College Chicago’s Media Production Center (MPC). Designed by Studio Gang Architects, one of Chicago’s hottest firms, the 38,000 square foot MPC features a transparent facade and an innovative design. The $21 million MPC, which includes two sound stages, a motion capture studio, animation lab, classrooms and space for production design and costumes, is the first new construction project for the college....

Chicago has the ugliest house in America. That’s according to thousands of people who voted online at www.theugliesthouse.com in HomeVestors’ Second Annual Ugliest House of the Year contest. The “winner” was announced today at the company’s annual convention at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas. “People know us for our famous ‘We Buy Ugly Houses’® billboards, and this contest is proof that we mean what we say,” said John Hayes, president...