Avant-environmentalists Chef Rico and Helen McHugh of Go-Green Meetings and Events have partnered up to produce a truly unique culinary experience and holiday event at Marrakesh House on December 10th. The theme of the five course haute organic cuisine meal is “Think Globally - Eat Locally“  and taste buds won’t be the only things to benefit from Helen and Rico’s efforts as they have also arranged for a percentage of the event’s proceeds to be donated in support of  several eco-themed non-profits, including 350.org for its mission to implement global solutions that will end the climate crisis.

Marrakesh House is excited to announce that in addition to the splendid food and wine on offer, special guest speakers Chris Paine (Marrakesh House owner and filmmaker Who Killed the Electric Car?), Shellie Collier (LEED AP Project Manager and founder of design/build firm Homage Design), Christy Wilhelmi (organic gardening guru of GardeNerd) and Tim Skogstrom (owner of Agoura Hill’s gem of a winery, Cornell Winery) will offer expert insight and engaging conversation on greener living, organic gardening and wine tasting and selection.

For a more expansive description of the design of the event, head directly to the Fine Culinary Experience website to buy tickets for what will be a very memorable evening for all of your senses!

Marrakesh House offers eco-friendly party space

SHOWPLACE: Marrakesh House owner Chris Paine wanted to foster a sense of community in L.A. and show how green living can be both beautiful and high tech. More Articles: N.Y., L.A. soiree hot spots Venue Update: The other essentials

“The greenest event is no event at all; just everybody stay at home,” says “Who Killed the Electric Car?” director Chris Paine. “But,” he adds, “I’m not a purist like that.”

Paine, in fact, is a regular fixture on Hollywood’s green social scene, often pulling up to premieres and parties in his show-stopping Tesla, but these days he’s just as likely to leave his electric sports car at the charging station while the party comes to him.

In June, the director unveiled his latest work: a state-of-the-art, eco-chic event space in the 1957 post-and-beam house in Culver City that he also calls home. Named Marrakesh House for its riadlike central courtyard and shared latitude with the Moroccan city, the 4,300-square-foot residence is almost completely solar powered, and an organic garden overflows with herbs, heirloom lettuces, squash, watermelon and more.

For the San Francisco native, the main intentions behind Marrakesh House were to foster a sense of community in L.A. and put the concepts of sustainable living and entertaining into practice, from the electric cars shuttling guests to the house to the organic mint in the mojitos (served in glass or compostable cups, of course).

Furthermore, Paine adds with a chuckle, “All the environmental events were happening at Lawrence Bender’s house in Beverly Hills. … I thought we need to have more venues where you can have nice events so it’s not always, ‘Hey, Larry Bender, can you have another event at your house?’ ”

Paine worked with a team to bring his midcentury Moroccan vision to life, joining with sponsors like the local sustainable furniture company Cisco Homes and Toto, which provided low-flow toilets and automatic shut-off faucets. Interior designer Charlotte Jackson created the hand-painted, haremlike “Marrakesh Room,” and artist Shrine crafted the whimsical teahouse that looks over the salt-water pool, using fallen trees from the property, crystals from a chandelier that once hung in the house and bona fide L.A. trash. Slabs of Moroccan marble with embedded fossils comprise the unique kitchen counters.

“I’ve been in a lot of great houses in this town,” says organic chef and restaurateur Akasha Richmond, the house’s catering partner, “but it’s very unlike everything else.”

Richmond picked up her knowledge of global cuisine touring the world as Michael Jackson’s private chef, and the 500-ish guests at the grand-opening party nibbled Middle Eastern treats such as quinoa falafel, figs, artisanal cheeses and fresh olives while they listened to an acoustic set by Ben Lee. Later, belly dancers and fire-eaters performed with Naked Rhythm, a world electronica group led by house musical director Avi Sills, whose career took a quantum leap when he produced a “World Cirque” variety show for Sting’s birthday party.

According to Sills, the acoustics of the courtyard, which is painted a deep French blue, are ideal for live music. Audio and video feeds in every room and movie screens behind the walls also make screenings and presentations a snap. “Chris had the whole house wired beautifully,” he says.

Paine reveals that his fantasy fete is an “I Dream of Jeannie”-themed charity event with honored guests Barbara Eden and Larry Hagman (”He’s a big electric car guy”), rooms done up like genie bottles and a “Mercury space capsule in the pool.”

“This is not about volume, it’s about quality,” Sills says. “We want to make sure they’re the right people for the house, and vice versa. It’s important to set a standard for what the house really is — and that is a different kind of consciousness.”

Chris Paine is best known as the director of Who Killed the Electric Car?, a movie about how the car industry and politics nipped the explosive growth of the electric cars in the bud. But Paine is also a nightlife aficionado who loves the Burner scene and has a new environmentally friendly venue, the Marrakesh House, that he uses as an entertaining space. We gave Chris our usual drill-down.

Where did you grow up, and when did you move to Los Angeles?
I grew up in San Francisco, but I moved here about 20 years ago, so I moved here in the 1990s. … Time goes by too fast. I moved here because some of my friends from theater world in New York, where I had gone to school, were moving to Los Angeles and I wanted to join them here. I always felt more comfortable as an outsider in L.A., as opposed to people in San Fran where there are more environmentalists. I didn’t feel I was in the mainstream here, and I felt like I could really do my work.

When did you become environmentally aware and active?
My parents were big environmentalists. My dad did the Open Space project in the San Francisco Bay Area, where you raise money, buy land, and keep it from being developed. My mother was in a group of environmental volunteers.

What led you to do the Electric Car movie? How frustrating is it for you to live in a city where the car is the main source of transportation?
Where there already was public transportation. It’s frustrating. I wish we had great public transportation—we had great public transportation till the 50s. We had incredible streetcars. The name Who Killed the Electric Car? is an homage to Who Framed Roger Rabbit?. The movie’s real theme is about streetcars being removed. There’s a lot of work to be done in Los Angeles, and it’s a good place to try and improve. I think electric cars would make particularly good sense here as opposed to New York City, where you have an established public transportation system. It’s good to have cars stop burning gasoline. So many children are exposed to exhaust from tailpipes. It’s impossible to argue against electric cars—it moves pollution out of the city entirely. So L.A. is the perfect place for electric cars. There are potentially millions of acres of rooftops that are perfect for creating energy to power those cars. It’s potentially a utopia. It was a utopia when my grandmother lived here in the 30s, when cars hadn’t taken over things. The car kind of destroyed things in a way.

I didn’t realize that there had been public transportation in the city and that it had been blocked by General Motors.
There were three factors of the removal of the streetcars. You can see where the streetcars were everywhere you drive. You can see where the tracks used to be. In Culver City where I live, the light rail system is being placed where the trolleys used to go down to Venice. Tons of money is being poured into the light rail extension. If you drive along just south of the 10 freeway, a half mile along La Cienega and La Brea, you’ll see a lot of it—yellow train tracks. The red car went to Long Beach. In the 1900s, the 10 freeway used to be a railroad that took people to Santa Monica. Before air conditioning, people would take the trains out to cool off for the summer. The train would stop at the pier. They’d take the train back to the city for the weekend. We moved from a train and street car-centric world here, to one based on the automobile. Unfortunately the automobiles aren’t as clean as could be, by a long shot.

What was sexy after World War II was a car. Cool people would ride the car; they built the Pasadena Freeway, the 110, and everyone wanted a car, if you were a happening person. Streetcar ridership fell way off. The tire companies and car companies saw it as a big chance. They bought up all the streetcar lines and tore out the tracks; they sold the cities big contracts for buses, which would use tires. There was no resistance … this happened all over the country.

Tell me about how the Marrakesh House came about.
Well, I like getting people together. I don’t like suburban island fortress existences. I like things that bring people together. For 15 years, I lived down on the beach in Santa Monica in a rent-controlled apartment. I’d have parties all the time, and it was very social. We got evicted by a big developer. I thought, what can I do now? Maybe I need to move to Topanga, get a group house. I decided I didn’t want to move away from the city and wanted to stay close. I saw a 1950s house that I could show that you can power your cars off your house, and you can power your house up, have a place you can entertain and have great events. I was little bit tired after the last film … I needed a change of pace and needed another kind of creative project, and that became the remodeling of this house.

Describe your perfect LA day and night.
My perfect L.A. day would be mountain bike ride up Mandeville Canyon. A great thing at night would be a downtown party. I’m a fan of house music. And maybe hanging out at the Marrakesh House later, with people visiting from around the world.

What the best L.A secret you can share?
It’s not a secret—but a secret for our generation. The Los Angeles Philharmonic. We have probably world’s greatest conductor—Gustavo Dudamel, he’s Venezuelan. Most of the audience is 50 years old and over, and this guy is in his 20s or early 30s, max. He’s so exciting. The secret for the Philharmonic—you can get these $15 seats if you call the box office on Mondays at noon. They call them bench seating. When I moved here from San Francisco, it’s the pact with the devil, I said … I might be moving to the “cultural wasteland,” but I’m gonna start going to the Philharmonic. It’s been a great change from Hollywood and the electronic music scene, all the things I really like. The Philharmonic is amazing.

What’s your favorite place to have a cocktail?
Akasha in Culver City. Great bartenders, brilliant organic cuisine, and plenty of ambience.

What’s your favorite thing about Los Angeles nightlife? Where do you like to go?
I prefer nightlife where people are having a good time together, not just checking each other out. Clubs and parties where people dance as much as hang at the bar. The LA Burning Man and Do Lab community does a great job of this. I also like events put on by Create Fixate and Hollywood Hill. Benefits at private homes are great too‚ especially because you meet so many like-minded people. I’ll admit to taking out-of-towners to the occasional show-me experience (Hollywood Roosevelt, Hotel SLS, etc.) but most of the time I’m watching email for cool downtown parties and Westside benefits.

What’s the work of art—film, book, or short story—that best represents Los Angeles?
The book Cadillac Desert. It’s a history of water in the West. It’s one of my favorite books. It’s the real Chinatown story—a fantastic look at Los Angeles and the West’s deep relationship with water.

Which Los Angeleno do you most admire and why?
I admire John Quigley, he’s an environmentalist. He puts himself on the line over and over again. I admire Kiefer Sutherland … he went and did his DUI time without getting star treatment. I thought that was pretty classy. I like to see people who deal with life as it comes and deal with their own issues.

What’s the most annoying cliché about Los Angeles?
The most inaccurate cliché is that L.A. doesn’t have any culture. We have the greatest DJs in the world. Some of the theater is fantastic … it’s not New York, I won’t pretend, but there’s incredible improv and comedy. We have the movie biz, and not a lot of it is high-grade, but some is. Michael Tolkin, he wrote The Player, and he really reminded me that there are so many brilliant writers in the world that live here.

What the most true cliché about Los Angeles?
The most true is that the city could not be uglier to see for the first time from an airplane arriving. Every time I look out the airplane and landing in LAX—smog plus sprawl and not one solar roof to be seen anywhere. It’s really depressing.

What do you think of this quote from Dorothy Parker: “Los Angeles is 72 suburbs in search of a city.”
I’d say, what’s wrong with that? I would say yeah, they are probably the most exciting suburbs in the country. If you take Hollywood, Culver City, Malibu, and compare that to any suburb in the country, they are amazing. The trick right now is to better connect these suburbs together.

Email tips to tromano@bbook.com.

http://www.blackbookmag.com/article/la-qa-chris-paine/10966

Go “green” Moroccan style for you party

September 23, 5:03 PMLA Party Planning ExaminerGisele Perez

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The Marrakesh Room-Phot Courtesy of Mara Myers

The “going green” trend has been huge in the event industry for the last year or two. Luckily for those of us here in Los Angeles, we have a couple of wonderful brand new party rental spaces with impeccable “green” credentials.

From the initial vision through execution and everyday policies, Marrakesh House and The Smog Shoppe, are committed to moving “green” from trend to lifestyle when it comes to entertaining. In today’s article we’ll take a look at Marrakesh House (come back for next time at when we’ll look at The Smog Shoppe).
Marrakesh House is the brainchild of Chris Paine, director of the documentary film Who Killed the Electric Car -and one of the Hollywood community’s most well regarded and influential environmentalists.

The design for Marrakesh House was inspired by Paine’s 2008 visit to Morocco. Realizing that Marrakesh and Los Angeles are located on similar latitudes, and that they shared desert topographies near high mountains, he decided to incorporate Moroccan design into his new home, and based his project on the country’s traditional “riads”, houses arranged around a central open-air courtyard.

Paine wanted to create a showcase residence that incorporated the arts and a unique indoor/ outdoor entertaining space into the home, all infused with his strong environmental values. The renovation was designed to utilize many of the house’s pre-existing features (including a dramatic grove of palm trees at the entrance), thereby reducing potential reconstruction waste by 75%. The home’s furnishings are locally built using sustainable materials, and the house is situated next to one of our region’s newest state parks.

Marrakesh House encourages their event clients to implement “green” reduce/reuse/recycle techiniques. Some suggestions- selling paperless tickets to events online, using serviceware that is recycleable or reuseable, and cutting down on individually packaged products. They also request that caterers separate waste into trash/recycle/compost, and they then use the compost in the house’s organic victory garden.  Additionally, they encourage carpooling and are working in the long term to build an electric car shuttle service (of course) to transfer guests up and down the hill with the objectives of reducing carbon footprints and broadening the role of electric cars.

Most of the house, including all the outdoor spaces- backyard, pool area, courtyard, and indoor spaces- the great room (which includes the living room/bar/kitchen), the library/office, and the featured “Marrakesh Room”, a little jewel box designed and decorated in completely Moroccan style, is available for use, and additional bedrooms are available for use as dressing rooms, if needed.

The average fee for renting the space begins at $4000 and goes up depending on size, duration, and scope of the event.  It can accommodate up to 650 people for a stand up cocktail and dancing party, and 250-300 for a sit down event. Renters are free to bring in their own caterer, or the Marrakesh House staff can recommend a local green caterer. The contact for events is laura@firecircleevents.com

http://image.examiner.com/x-15192-LA-Party-Planning-Examiner~y2009m9d23-Go

To purchase your ticket, please visit http://www.improtheatre.com/section/shows/afternoon-with-jane-austen/ or http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/76657

Posts Tagged ‘ Maria Menounos breezes into the sustainable Marrakesh House for our cover shoot on a very warm July afternoon. Sporting a cazh ensemble of shorts ’

A Day in the Life of A Greek/Green Goddess! (7)

By Anna on September 16, 2009

Without announcement or fanfare, Maria Menounos breezes into the sustainable Marrakesh House for our cover shoot on a very warm July afternoon.  Sporting a cazh ensemble of shorts, tank, sandals, and straw trilby, she is the epitome of our laid-back LA vibe, completely defying her body of work, rapidly rising star, and appetite for life.  She’s TV’s current “It” girl, poised for a super-star career, should she choose, working for shows such as Access Hollywood, Nightly News and the Today Show. At the same time, she’s also a successful actress and building a solid reputation in filmmaking.  She’s beautiful, incredibly eco-conscious, has her own charity, grows her own organic vegetables, and even does her own Tweeting!  Extremely level headed, confident, down to earth, and in control, I wonder if there’s anything Maria doesn’t do, and do well?  After a great shoot in a fab location with a hot Tesla Roadster and chic green wardrobe, we sat down to find out, and apparently the answer is no!

Photography by Rachel Schwarz
Styled by Thuy Nguyen
Make Up by Jake Bailey at Traceymattingly.com
Hair by John Francis at Soloartists.com
With thanks to Chris Paine and the Marrakesh House, Tesla Motors, and Jane Iredale Cosmetics
Black Tank Top, Black Sweatpants, and Pink
Sweatshirt
all by LIV GRN www.livgrn.com

Coco Eco Mag: How’s your day been with Coco Eco Mag?

Maria Menounos: It’s been fun.  A lot of cool eco looks and designers which is always nice to discover, so it’s been good.

CEM: What was your favorite look today?
MM: I think this one (referring to her Leila Hafzi ensemble).  It’s a really pretty dress, although the Linda Loudermilk seaweed shirt was pretty cool too!

CEM: What turned you onto being green?  How did you get started?
MM: I’ve always been conscious of waste since I was young.  I think growing up the way we did with little means, you’re always conscious of that, but I didn’t know I was being green before going green.  I think that the Hollywood Green show really pushed it to the forefront for me, made it more of a priority, and made me more aware of things.  There were things I didn’t realize, like water bottles, so now I don’t have any water bottles in my house because I realize how many bottles don’t get recycled, and how bad it is for the environment. Little things like that which make a big difference.

CEM: What are some of the other green things you practice in your life?
MM: Well I drove here in my Jetta which is clean diesel TDI car, and I have an organic garden.

CEM: Yes, I’ve heard about you and a rather large zucchini.

MM: A huge zucchini.  It’s so huge it’s bigger than my torso, and it’s still sitting in my kitchen actually as I don’t want to eat because I am so nervous to not have shown everyone I could how big this zucchini is!

Everything I buy, I try to buy green, whether it’s a hot water heater, recycled furniture, anything, and I try not to be gluttonous in always wanting to buy new things, so I recycle old things, like my lawn chairs.  I did some funky things to them to make them fresh and new rather than buying all new lawn chairs.  Right now with this economy, it’s actually so much better to be green anyway, as no one really has the money to do otherwise, anyhow.

CEM: Well when you reinvent items, you get to save money and have something that’s totally one of a kind!  It’s cool.  But I digress!  Tell me about this vegetable garden, because you were saying earlier that you basically eat everyday from your garden.
MM: Yes.  I did a segment on Access Hollywood on this company, Grow Organic, and this lovely woman Karen started this company. She came to my house and taught me how to plant a garden.  I grew up with a garden, and my parents always had fresh vegetables in the house, but I just hadn’t done it on my own as an adult.  I forgot how to do everything, so she retaught me and I went home to make this film Serial Buddies, and when I came back, the garden had just completely blossomed.  Now when I’m home, I eat everyday right out of the garden.  I’ve been making tomato cucumber salads with scallions, and green peppers and chili peppers, and grilling zucchini and okra, so it’s exciting and I love it.

Black Dress by Sara Shepherd available to order through Vie Bungalow www.viepr.com
Silver Cuff Bracelet by Calleen Cordero www.calleencordero.com
Ring by Nola Singer www.jewelrybynola.com

CEM: So tell me about Serial Buddies.  I read it’s the first serial killer buddy film.  Ever?
MM: I think so!  I don’t think you hear about many buddy films about serial killing, but it’s definitely a comedy, and a fun road-trip movie.

CEM: I hear it’s like Napoleon Dynamite meets Dexter?
MM: Exactly.  It’s got a lot of heart and a lot of fun, but it’s definitely a comedy.  They’re like these two Dumb and Dumber characters that happen to be serial killers, and they happen to be on this journey together.  By the end they realize that they’re not really serial killers, and they don’t really want to be serial killers, and it was just a minor moment in their journey to becoming more human.

CEM: I can’t imagine Dumb and Dumber actually being very good at serial killing?

MM: Yeah, they weren’t very good at it!

CEM: You actually produced and starred in this film, correct?
MM: Yes among every other job I had on the set.  I had some colleagues on set and they kept saying, “Is there anything you haven’t yet done?  We want to do a short film.”  They kept filming me every time I would do something different, like I gripped for a month, which was really good for my body because I got very tight and toned!  I directed Second Unit, I operated camera as well, and I did make up sometimes when needed.  I did pretty much everything except for sound.

Black Seaweed Shirt and Jeans by Linda Loudermilk www.lindaloudermilk.com
Black Belt by Calleen Cordero www.calleencordero.com>br>
Earrings by Brooke Benson Design www.brookebensondesigns.com
Copper with Freshwater Potato Pearls Ring and Gunmetal Bracelet by Hovey Lee www.hoveylee.com
Wedge Shoes by Mink www.minkshoes.com

CEM: Is this because you are an over-achiever, or just because you love to jump in and get involved?

MM: I love making movies.  I’ve been producing since I was nineteen, and all I know is to get in and do it, so the new thing for me on this movie was learning how to Operate.  I had a female DP who thought I had a really good eye for framing and that I should learn more about the lenses, so she taught me.  Then one day, someone told me that we couldn’t get a shot that I really wanted, and I was like, “Give me the camera!” They said “You can’t use the cameras,” and I said, “I own them.  Give me the camera!”  I shot it and said,  “Now do you see?  This was a great shot and you were telling me we can’t do it.”  So it’s a power to have that knowledge so when you’re in a situation where you have naysayers and people who say “I can’t” (my least favorite saying in the world!), you can.

That was exciting, and I love directing as well.  Filmmaking is a lot of fun, but you do have to love it because independent film making on the budget we were on is not a pretty site sometimes.  It was twenty-two hour days for almost eight weeks, so it’s a lot of work.

CEM: Well anything worth having in life is a lot of work, but the reward is huge.
MM: Oh my gosh!  When I see the footage in the edit bay, and I see the shots I lined up and filmed with the camera itself, it’s so rewarding and so worth it, and I want to get back on a set tomorrow.

CEM: Is this eventually where you are heading, or will you always keep your feet in television?

MM: I’ll always do everything as long as I can, and as long as everyone will let me.  I love doing movies, I love doing the news, I love hosting, and I love acting.  I love doing everything, and as of now, I get to do it all, so it’s good.

CEM: What’s it like being one of the hosts of Access Hollywood?  You get to talk to some really cool interesting people.
MM: It’s fun.  You know I had a moment the other day, when I was playing in this celebrity football game, and Joe Montana is throwing me passes from the end zone, and I thought it was so crazy.  Sometimes I don’t really take in the moment, but I did this time, and I get to be in these positions that people can only dream of.  I share my moments with people on Twitter, like “Do you even understand what we would do to be there, forget actually getting to play!”

CEM: And you actually do your own Tweets?
MM: I Tweet all by myself.  No assistants, nobody does it.  Just me.  I don’t think my assistants could come up with half the stuff I Tweet about.  I’m a psychotic sports fan so I’m always tweeting “Did you see that?”

Dress by Leila Hafzi
Gold Earrings by Nola Singer www.jewelrybynola.com
Lily Necklace by Nola Singer www.jewelrybynola.com
Ring by Hovey Lee www.hoveylee.com

CEM: You were the first person to interview the Obama family as a whole.  How was that?

MM: It was incredible.  I had been on the campaign trail for Nightly News for an entire year, and I had interviewed everyone from John Edwards to John McCain, and Hillary Clinton.  I actually got her first sit-down exclusive.  So throughout the campaign, I’d actually been interviewing everyone, and they were the only ones I hadn’t interviewed yet, and I got the call two days before the Fourth of July.  I was beyond exhausted, and I have to say there was even a hesitation in my voice when my boss called me, as it was the first day I had gotten to actually rest. I was so tired, but I got on the plane and was totally there.  At that time, I didn’t know I was getting the entire family.  It was just Michelle and the Senator, but once I got there, the girls and I and our group all kind of clicked. They jumped in on the interview, and there I was getting this massive exclusive.  I remember going to the airport and I got really teary-eyed and emotional afterwards. I think I must have kind of felt what was coming, knowing that they could potentially win the Presidency, and that this would be such a huge interview.  They were such a wonderful, warm and genuine family, and I was taken aback because I didn’t know what to expect.  It was pretty incredible.

CEM: Tell me about LIV GRN?  You design and consult for them?

MM: I kind of do a little bit of everything.  I think of LIV GRN as my training wheels into the fashion world.  I wanted to be involved in an eco brand, and they’ve come up with this really cool concept.  I pop into the design rooms, I fit things, I tell them what I do and don’t like, so it’s kind of a miscellaneous position, but I love it.

CEM: Apart from LIV GRN, what other sustainable designers do you favor?

MM: Definitely Linda Loudermilk, and Mr. Larkin is one of my favorites as well.

CEM: Any favorite eco beauty products?
MM: Cargo.  I designed an eco Cargo lipstick that is a pretty cool color, actually.  I have a few things from Josie Maran’s line too.

CEM: Let’s talk about some of the charities you support.  You started Take Action Hollywood?
MM: I started Take Action Hollywood nine years ago when I moved out to LA, and we have a lot of programs we work with the Children’s’ Hospital.  I get involved in pretty much everything – dogs, children, pretty much everything under the sun as I connect with so many different issues.  I have family members who have struggled with different diseases and I work with the diabetes organizations a lot, and I am the Diabetes Aware Ambassador for EIF (Entertainment Industry Foundation).

Grey Sweatshirt by LIV GRN www.livgrn.com
Jeans by Linda Loudermilk www.lindaloudermilk.com
Goldplated Earrings by Hovey Lee www.hoveylee.com

CEM: With all that, you have a very full plate.  You have Access Hollywood, the Today Show, Nightly News, Serial Buddies, LIV GRN, Take Action Hollywood; you grow your own veggies, and even do your own Tweets!  Anything else?
MM: I’m writing a drama script, and have a few things up my sleeve that I can’t talk about yet, but I can promise you that I’m going to continue to be as busy or more busy than I ever have!

http://cocoecomag.com/new/tag/maria-menounos-breezes-into-the-sustainable-marrakesh-house-for-our-cover-shoot-on-a-very-warm-july-afternoon-sporting-a-cazh-ensemble-of-shorts/

Inside Marrakesh (7)

By admin

By Nicole Landers eco consultant for eConnect Group

Marrakesh’s by their Shellie Collierby Solar Panels

Changing the world one home at a time is what Shellie Collier’s company Homage Design is doing.  Turning on her clients to efficient, healthier and cool ways to build responsibly and eco friendly is the ultimate mission for her company based locally in Southern CA.  Shellie is one of the select few of the USGBC LEED for Home Accredited Professionals (United States Green Building Council Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design for Home) in the US.

Marrakesh’s Solar Use Kiosk

The task here was for Shellie to remodel a 4,300 sq ft Residence located on a hillside adjacent to a CA recent State Park, the Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook in Culver City.

Marrakesh’s Living Room

Electric charging stations lined up in the garage told the story on who the home owner is, acclaimed documentary filmmaker Chris Paine from the film, “Who Killed the Electric Car”.  Chris has two electric vehicles, the Tesla Roadster & the original Toyota Rav 4.  While remodeling his home in Culver City he has been filming the sequel of the documentary, “Revenge of the Electric Car”.

Marrakesh’s Room

The home esthetically has a true Moroccan vibe created by interior designer Charlotte Jackson, but the inspiration came from Chris who traveled to Morocco in 2008 where he discovered that the layouts of traditional Moroccan “riads” center on a courtyard, which mirrored the layout of his existing property in Culver City.  Chris found out that the actual home was located on a similar latitude as Marrakesh, each with desert topographies near high mountains, hence why Chris chose to call the eco chic remodeled home “Marrakesh House”.  This home will double as a private residence as well as a venue for art, music & culture in the sounding community.

Marrakesh’s Library

Shellie and Chris spent time together considering how to take advantage of what the house already had instead of tearing everything down.  The team Shellie & Chris put together for the remodel succeeded in making most changes to the house in accordance with the motto ‘reduce/reuse/recycle’.  According to Shellie this motto means “using as much existing material as possible in order to significantly lower the carbon footprint during the remodeling process.”  For instance the already existing kitchen cabinets were reused to create bathroom cabinets.  A typical home of the size under construction would normally create 12,000 lbs of trash.  The team was able to recycle or reuse 75% of this potential waste from hitting the landfill.  In building areas the needed new lumber they chose to use FSC (Forest Steward Council Certified) so not to take wood from unmanaged forests.

Marrakesh’s Master Bed

The home had a few keys companies step up to be a part of this eco platform.  REC Solar a local company, installed Mitsubishi photovoltaic roof panels to generate solar power for both plug-in electric vehicles and the residence itself.  In CA we have bright sun almost all year round we might as well take advantage.  Toto USA a leading bathroom & kitchen fixture company supplied the dual flush toilets & the low flow faucets that automatically shut off which creates a water efficient home especially in our current drought problem.  Pittsburgh Paint donated VOC-free (volatile organic compound free) paint for much of the entire floor plan aiding in creating a healthier indoor environment.

There are many other eco elements of this residence that help the home to be energy & water efficient including, LED dimmable strip lights for under the kitchen cabinets, Solar Thermal to create heat for the domestic water, drought tolerant & native landscaping with LED landscape lights as well as drip irrigation system and high-efficiency nozzles.  All of these decisions reduced the total carbon footprint of the house.

Marrakesh’s Pool

Shellie & Chris have completed the mission of making a statement that you don’t have to compromise style to be green, you just have to be willing to go the extra mile.  But that mile will result in years in savings on energy and water bills as well as a home to show off to your family, friends and the community you live in.

A great take away for us all is the 3 R’s, reduce reuse & recycle.  We only have one planet lets all do our part, especially while remodeling your own home.

For more information on the Marrakesh home, http://marrakeshhouse.com/

http://cocoecomag.com/new/2009/09/live/marrakesh-7/

Green Architecture Spotlight: The Marrakesh House

The Marrakesh House: A hidden oasis of sustainable living in Los Angeles

Posted on 19. Jun, 2009 by Chathri Munasinghe in Art/Design

A Tesla for valet? Yes, indeed. The electric sports car was part of the introduction lunch to the Marrakesh House, owned by Chris Paine. Paine, director of Who Killed the Electric Car?, purchased the home in 2007 with the goal of transforming the space into a model home for sustainable living in the 21st century. 

The number of green elements infused into the 4,300 square-foot Culver City house are endless! To start, the solar-paneled roof, powered by Mitsubishi Electric,  produces enough energy to supply approximately 60% of the house’s electricity.  Dig deeper and you’ll find all the wood used in the house is FSC certified (Forest Stewardship Council).

A two panel solar thermal array which can heat water for four people on average and an on-demand hot water heater is used in the kitchen.  The cabinets in the kitchen and bar are made of FSC formaldehyde-free bamboo and toilets in the house are low-flow to reduce water consumption.

Step outside of the Morocco-themed rooms and you’ll find the the organic living food garden.  The three-season garden, designed by Christy Wilhelmi, is filled with a variety of edible plants, housed in wood planters post-consumer milk crates. An organic garden wouldn’t be complete without a compost bin, worm bin, and chicken coop. The Marrakesh house has it all!

http://opportunitygreen.com/green-business-blog/2009/06/19/the-marrakesh-house-a-hidden-oasis-of-sustainable-living-in-los-angeles/