About The
Green Hive

The Buzz: Introducing The Green Hive

As Appeared in Luxury Life & Style March/April 2009

 

by Darren Elms

The movement, whether called “green,” “sustainable” or “ecofriendly” is no longer a fringe group touting rammed earth huts and off-the-grid lifestyle. It has become a way of doing business and living your life by doing small, and sometimes large, things that contribute to the stewardship of the planet. It is no longer about politics, but about action and scalability.

No corner market exists for sustainable products, no supermarket for renewable energy, no big box store for organic clothing or home goods. However, there are three South Bay residents united by their common desire to make it easier for the rest of us to “green” our homes, businesses and cities. Kris Kimble, LEED AP, Kimberly Robinson and James Meyer, AIA, formed The Green Hive, a new and comprehensive location where you can get answers to your green building questions.

The Green Hive is an integrated library, event center, marketplace and cafe designed to embrace, educate and promote a green lifestyle and the advancement of sustainable architectural and construction practices. The pilot site, located in downtown Los Angeles, opens in August and plans are to roll out additional locations nationally over the next 12 to 24 months.

Luxury Life & Style connected with the members of The Green Hive to discuss their exciting creative enterprise:

Luxury Life & Style: How did the three of you end up coming together to form The Green Hive

Kim Robinson: The summer before last, Kris and I sat on the bleachers during a season of little league sharing our experiences and frustrations in trying to design and build with the least impact on the environment. The biggest obstacles: sourcing green products, information and qualified installers. There was no “place to go” for information and materials we could choose as “green” or sustainable options. After spending a good part of the baseball season wondering why this was not available, we decided we needed to do something – to create a place where easy access to sustainable products, information and education is available to everyone.
Kris Kimble: I reached out to El Camino College as an academic partner and attended Green Build to speak with vendors. We connected with contractors, builders and retailers for market research and the enthusiasm has been overwhelming.
KR: For our concept to work it had to be a venue that leads in sustainability by example, is multi use for flexibility, effectively delivers access to products and education, is innovative and dynamic. Kris and I had been following the progress of a residential project in downtown Manhattan Beach by architect James Meyer. I was thrilled that someone was finally building a green project in our community! We knew that we had to connect with James.

LL&S: After your joined forces, how did The Green Hive begin to take shape?

James Meyer: It was only after our first meeting that I really began to think about the idea a bit and start to get excited about it. I made a few sketches and met with Kris and Kim to discuss my opinions and feedback. A facility of this size and scale, and with this type of supportive infrastructure (the non-profit resource center, the exhibition space, the café, etc.) simply DID NOT EXIST. I remember there was a lot of excitement at that meeting. The three of us began brainstorming exhaustively. We all thought that we were on to something really big!
KK: We started to build our board of advisors with like-minded people that came forward with enthusiasm for our vision. A serendipitous meeting with a Dwell magazine advertising consultant led us to an introduction to Michela Abrams, President and Publisher of Dwell. She’s a founding member of our advisory board.

LL&S: Ten years from now, what do you hope The Green Hive will have inspired?

JM: I have thought about this a lot. I would really like to see The Green Hive model take the place of the big box retailer as we know it today. As environmental stewardship becomes more en vogue, consumers are becoming smarter about the process of purchasing materials and finishes, as well as alternative energy systems and technologies. The Green Hive makes the whole process of building a lot easier for people – especially those do-ityourselfers.
KR: My hope is that in ten years these facilities will have helped drive green products and services to the mainstream. I hope we will have helped inspire ongoing innovation, a zero waste society, and a community of vigilant earth stewards collaborating for the greater good.
KK: It would be amazing if we contributed to the transformation of an entire generation toward green action. That would be success.

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