You usually see government officials at car plants or farms, in mainstream businesses. It is weird to see them in one’s own industry. More here.
This is at Bourget Flagstone in Santa Monica. It has been installed for more than five years, the beautiful colors caused by the exposure to dirt and water.
Brand new color shown here in a shower / laundry room combo.
Arto is now charging for pallets, as we have grown we have had a need to get consistent quality pallets. Since the beginning we have been keeping prices low by asking our neighboring dealers to bring pallets. Here is what they look like.
Driving around town came across this project in Santa Monica
Arto has completed the purchase of ColorCastnational.com . They bring over 250 dealers and a great line of pool coping and wall cap.
Will sent me this link. The emphasis on Green should be tied to Greed. Why, “conservation” is the key not just a small carbon foot print.
San Francisco’s Green Building Nightmare
Arto and crew have been going here since the sixties. Here is the LA Times Story link
Here is a very old school advertisement. I saw it at Bourget Bros. Someone highlighted “Hostesses” .
Will and I were in Goleta and stopped by Goleta Building Materials. The picture is taken from their front door not a bad site.
Some pictures for the eye enjoy
Will sent this to me today.
Hello Armen: SRI results have arrived and all colors tested passed except Charley Brown: Early Gray, Natural Gray, Bone, Old California, Buff, Caqui, Gold, Ocean Green,
This means we have more colors that can meet LEED SS Credit 7.1 (heat island non-roof) and SS Credit 7.2 (heat island roof) SS Credit 7.1Provide any combination of the following strategies for 50% of the site hardscape (includingroads, sidewalks, courtyards and parking lots):? Shade (within 5 years of occupancy)? Paving materials with a Solar Reflectance Index (SRI) of at least 29
SS Credit 7.2 Use roofing materials having a Solar Reflectance Index (SRI)3 equal to or greater than the valuesin the table below for a minimum of 75% of the roof surface.Roof Type Slope SRILow-Sloped Roof ? 2:12 78 (colors do not meet this requirement)Steep-Sloped Roof > 2:12 29 (colors meet this requirement) Please let me know if any question or if you need copies of the test results. Best regards,
William
These shots are from NASCAR cafe in Orlando Florida
It started out as a weed, a plant in the wrong place. Now it seems at home.
Well…I did it > I went to Green Building Resource Center. I heard about them at ALT BUILD 2007, Tim from the EpiCenter invited me into their booth. Any-case that was back in May and now it is December well it feels like it is almost the end of the year. > To point> I had plenty of preconceived notions that I had created in my Ivy Tower of their Ivy Tower (definition I am using: intellectual isolation). At this point I should list my preconceived notions but I will not if you are interested send me a note. I spoke to a woman named Monica and we discussed issues that I thought only I thought about.
1) What is a green product>
2) Why higher priced items help attain LEED points>
I look forward visiting them again learning about the process in which they recommend for no charge to vendor or consumer what products can help the home owner or specifier.
We have been working on this project in Arizona for a couple of years now. This is one of the custom homes that appeared in AZCENTRAL.COM. The fence screen in the background is made with our 16×16′s and the slide shows shows off our floor tile. This puppy is waiting for Mike.
This is definitely a historical post. I am moving some from the old blog bit by bit.
Here is the link to his promo piece when he was on Jeopardy.
http://www.sonypictures.com/tv/shows/jeopardy/howdies/4925_love_fo57t.asx
Gardena,
Using the LEED system architects, builders, and owners can apply for project certification based on prerequisites and performance benchmarks in a range of categories. Projects are awarded Certified, Silver, Gold, or Platinum certifications depending upon the number of credits received. Arto products can help secure LEED credits in the following categories:
- Regional Materials
- Recycled Materials
- Heat Island Effect Reduction
- Storm Water Runoff Reduction
- Innovation Credits
LEED certification is expanding rapidly and is now an important consideration for architects, real estate professionals, facility managers, engineers, interior designers, landscape architects, construction managers, lenders, government officials, and other building industry professionals.
For more info on Arto and how our products can help contribute LEED points to your project contact William Love, Technical and Architectural Sales Manager, 310-768-8500 x100 or wlove@artobrick.com.
As part of Arto’s Green Initiative we are working to provide products that help our customers meet Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards. Along with making all of our products from regionally sourced materials, we are proud to announce that three of our more popular colors have passed tests for the Solar Reflectance Index (SRI).
Samples of our pieces in the colors Hacienda and Early Gray were sent to Atlas Material Testing Solutions in Phoenix, AZ along with one of our darker colors, Cotto Gold. We were fairly confident the first two colors would pass easily, but to our surprise so did our Cotto Gold piece. Since this is a very popular color we are very excited to be able to provide specifiers with the option to apply for LEED points by using our product to reduce the heat island effect.
By using tiles like our California Paver and Roman Tile and Paver lines on roofs and hardscapes, builders can earn LEED points for their projects, reduce the heat island effect, and help save energy through lower cooling cost in urban areas. The heat island effect plagues urban areas where lack of vegetation and shade drastically increase temperatures. The unshaded concrete and asphalt absorbs heat overtime and release it slowly sometimes resulting in temperatures more than 10 degrees hotter than the surrounding areas. SRI rated products reflect solar rays away from urban landscapes, preventing heat absorption.
California Pavers & Roman Tile can be adhered to a substrate and Roman Pavers can be adhered, put on a pedestal or set on a sand base.
On roof decks 90% will be pedestal or sand set. On ground level decks it can be all three types of the installation.
Arto was quite pleased with the quick and helpful service provided by Atlas and already has plans to test more of our 30+ different colors
to determine their SRI qualities. The result of our recent test and more information can be found at www.artobrick.com.
After attending a restoration convention at the Hollywood Roosevelt put on by the California Preservation Foundation I came across a flier for the USC Masters of Historic Preservation. On the flier is a picture of a concrete block from the Freeman House. There was an open house for their Summer Program on June 16th. William, and I attended the open house with Sarah, my daughter. I was impressed with the enthusiasm of the program director Ken Breisch. His vision for the program included a philosophy that we all have a responsibility to preserve our history. Everyone from architects, to historians, to the city hall, as well as contractors, manufacturers, and even regular citizens. The involvement of all levels of the Architecture department was highlighted by dean Qingyun Ma’s speech. Coming from China, he brings the idea that we are “Honoring the Past, Inventing The Future.” I like this idea. It is simple and honest. I find that in life we are often trying to do many different things at the same time. Sometimes they seem completely contrary but can actually work and thrive together. One of my favorite examples of two things that shouldn’t work but do is the idea of a custom commodity or the process better known as mass customization. At Arto it is one of our goals to create products that are mass produced in a way that they can be customized to your individual needs. Likewise the past and the future seem like complete opposites, and trying to focus on both could be mind boggling. Still it is the past which has laid the foundation for our future, and so the two are actually very closely linked.
Over the years Arto has been involved with the restoration of many buildings and landscapes. Some of the projects have been done with products William, one of our sales managers, would call “off the shelf.” Other projects are custom jobs. An example of “off the shelf” would be the Roosevelt Hotel in
I am excited and encouraged by the direction the USC school of architecture is moving. Their openness to community involvement inspires me to develop a relationship with them. By helping the restorers of our past today, we can look forward to a strong network of well trained preservationist in the future. I am also motivated to search out (instead of them finding us) opportunities that will help preserve the history of our public spaces and historical buildings in the way only Arto can. Our past is important to us, so is education, and our community. We’ll keep you updated as we do more work in these areas.
-Armen
Arto Brick celebrates 40th Anniversary in 2006
Arto Brick is celebrating its 40th year producing handmade building products in Southern California. In an era when most products are machine made and/or imported Arto Brick is unique in that every one of our products is handcrafted in Southern California. The success of Arto Brick is a testament to the vision and perseverance of one man and the most timeless of American stories – a man with a dream.
Drawing upon his experience as an artist and installer, Arto created handcrafted brick veneer that was both beautiful and easy to install. The product line has since grown to include tile & pavers, wall & pier caps, pool coping, balusters, moldings, liners & decos and we are continually adding new products, styles, sizes, colors & textures to meet our customers’ needs.
Although Arto Brick is well known for its signature “rustic elegance” Arto has always made innovative use of the latest technology. Arto originally worked with kiln-fired ceramics until costs skyrocketed during the energy crisis in the early 1970′s. Always a visionary, Arto seized upon the idea of using concrete to minimize energy costs. Impressed by the beauty and flexibility allowed by this venerable but (then) underutilized material, Arto has used concrete ever since for each and every product.
The newest feature at www.artobrick.com exemplifies both the flexibility allowed by concrete and the spirit of innovation that drives Arto Brick. From the convenience of their home or office visitors to our website can now access a digital color matrix to quickly and easily select custom colors to match existing surfaces or to create a unique look for their project.
We would like to thank all our customers and friends for their support over our first forty years and look forward to many more exciting projects and products in the future.
For more information about Arto Brick visit www.artobrick.com
For media inquiries contact Johnny Vasquez at 310-768-8500 x101 or jvasquez@artobrick.com.
