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Thurston
Get Blog Posts As EmailsWe are doing three things that will help conserve water at Isla Palenque. By utilizing these three techniques, our engineers have estimated that our water usage may be as low as half that of a typical resort. First, we are utilizing low-flow fixtures at most water outlets, such as faucets, showerheads, and toilets. Our toilets, [...]
Water Conservation
July 29th, 2010 by Ben
Palenque CD
June 30th, 2010 by BenActually, it’s better than that: the CD is actually entitled “Palenque Palenque!” Released earlier this month by Soundway Records, that English label which has also released three CDs of obscure Panamanian music from the 60s and 70s (blogged about here and here), “Palenque Palenque: Champeta Criolla & Afro Roots in Colombia 1975-91″ continues Soundway’s exploration [...]
Isla Palenque Music, Part 2
May 13th, 2010 by Ben(For background, find Part 1 here.) Despite my words in the previous post about a globalized world and ersatz simulacra, there is definitely some Panamanian music that should be included in our mix. And while Panama has a healthy reggaeton scene (in fact, it was arguably invented in Panama), it’s not quite our vibe and [...]
Isla Palenque Music, Part 1
May 12th, 2010 by BenWith the gradual opening of the sales office over the last few months, we needed to address the issue of background music. Since I’m a music nerd (over 2000 albums on my ipod, and a few hundred more I’ve listened to through Rhapsody – I’m not bragging so much as admitting an addiction ), I [...]
West Paces
February 19th, 2010 by BenI just executed a hotel management agreement with The West Paces Hotel Group about an hour ago. We’ve been working with them for the last several months, and signed an LOI back in November. But it isn’t til now that we could really make the information public. This is very exciting for us. Why we’re [...]
No Hurricanes
February 16th, 2010 by BenWhile reviewing the (near) construction drawings for our model home last month, it became clear that the (US-based) structural engineers were designing systems capable of handling hurricane-force winds. An understandable tactic, I suppose, since we are all used to hearing about hurricanes battering the Caribbean, Mexico, Central America, and much of the US’s coasts every [...]
Season Six
February 2nd, 2010 by BenAs Frances has been letting everyone know, big things are happening on lots of fronts now for our project. And I’ve been working pretty much non-stop since the start of the year, as the ramp up has required more time than I expected. It’s exciting times. But today I am especially excited: the final season [...]
Scale
December 14th, 2009 by BenIsla Palenque is 400 acres, covered mostly with mature forests, lagoons and mangroves. It also has a highly varied topography, meaning that if you are in one corner of the island, experiencing its specific qualities, you don’t necessarily understand any other part of the island. This makes it a difficult island to get to know, [...]
Bamboozled
November 12th, 2009 by BenThe WSJ journal has an article today about the sustainability of bamboo clothing; as it turns out, bamboo clothing really isn’t sustainable once you factor in all the chemicals and processing involved in its production, and claims that it is are probably close to fraudulent. One of these days I might get around to blogging [...]
Fun with GIS
November 12th, 2009 by BenJerrod wrote an entry back in July about walking the proposed road that had been staked for us by our topographers. Walking it, and understanding the topography of the area as well as Design Workshops’s intent, I was suspicious that the stakes weren’t quite where they were supposed to be. That, combined with a few [...]