Black is the New Green

(from the top: Karl Lagerfeld with his bear, Nouvelle chaise longue, a slab of granite, and Sam Mogelonsky’s The Archipelago. Visit her site here.)

Environmental awareness has everyone thinking: ‘What can I contribute to the cause?’

The green movement is revolutionizing the way we conceive and realize things especially structures. In architecture and environmental design, black is the colour of the new eco-awareness.

If used properly, a black interior in a southfacing room (or unit for condos) can keep down one’s heating costs. Why? Any black surface absorbs the heat during daylight hours and then, depending on the material, heat is released slowly for the rest of the night.

Why do you think you get hot when you are wearing that black t-shirt in July? Black pigment absorbs all rays of the light spectrum whereas white absorbs none! The light just bounces off! This is physics in action and my high school teacher would be very proud. I might not be able to explain quantum mechanics but I know that black is the new green. And it goes with everything.