And the Hipsters Said, "Let There Be an Eco-Lounge."

TreeHugger recently posted an interview with Evangeline Dennie, the designer of Oulu, a new lounge in Brooklyn made with truckloads of eco-sensitive materials. The lounge's live facade blows me away, but rather than blither on about how close I am to hopping on a plane and descending upon Brooklyn in time for happy hour, I'll let the designer tell you about the lounge in her own words.
Evangeline Dennie (excerpted from TreeHugger): The design reconceptualizes space using forms inspired by the natural landscape of Oulu's namesake in Finland. The finished woodwork of the walls and seating took its cues from the patterns that emerge from the bark of a birch tree with thin panels of wood that peel away from the wall.
Evangeline Dennie (continued): The wood was harvested from forests certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. Almost all of the construction materials had high recycled content. Almost all the construction waste was recycled. The interior finishes had low-VOC [paint], including the silver milk-paint in the ceiling. The green wall was nearly everyone's favorite due to its aesthetic value. In my humble opinion, the green wall was a brilliant response to the industrial landscape of Williamsburg, Brooklyn. It was clear that this would become a welcome addition to the neighborhood. And judging by the double-take from nearly every hipster that walks by, it is a success. The green wall helps combat global warming and filter air by absorbing and converting carbon dioxide to produce oxygen. Just 1.5 square meters of the grass-like vegetation produces enough oxygen in a year to supply one person's yearly oxygen intake needs. When translating that info to this project, Oulu's green wall will conceivably produce enough oxygen for 46 people a year!
(Oulu is located at 170 N. 4th Street in Brooklyn. Go check it out and let me know what you think!)