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Holly McWhorter

Holly McWhorter, LEED AP, is a writer and designer living in Brooklyn. A native of Philadelphia, she went to Spelman College for undergrad and has a graduate degree in architectural interior design from Parsons. She's been hardcore design junkie (with a special hankering for the green kind) since childhood. She has written for publications including the Village Voice, TheRoot.com, Zink magazine and various design blogs, and with her husband Bjarke Ballisager is a co-founder of PLANT design studio. In her spare time, she likes to play music and sing, take pictures, and travel far and wide.
design, holiday, christmas, santa claus, history, amanita muscaria, fly agaric, 'shrooms, santa claus origins

Santa and the 'Shrooms: The real story behind the "design" of Christmas

When we think of Christmas in the United States, we invariably think of Santa Claus — a man in a red suit and...

Studio Garneau's Transformer is an NYC Apartment That Morphs to Meet Your Needs

The custom-designed wall bed can be flipped up to create a small open space that the resident uses for yoga, and...

bunkie, prefab house, prefab housing, bldg workshop, 608 design, cnc milling

Meet Bunkie: A Tiny Prefab House from 608 Design and BLDG Workshop

Have you ever dreamed of having your own little house in the countryside, just big enough for you and friend or...

ny state pavilion, 1964 world's fair, adaptive reuse, nyc landmarks, nyc landmark preservation, flushing meadows corona park, matthew silva, nyc architecture, nyc design

New Documentary Sheds Light on Philip Johnson's Forgotten 1964 World's Fair New York State Pavilion

Have you ever noticed those big, spaceship-looking towers hovering over Flushing Meadow Park in Queens, and wondered...

nyc small shops, nyc urban planning, bleecker bob's, forever yogurt, combination shops

Could Oddball Combo Shops Mean Salvation for NYC's Beloved Mom and Pops?

The mall-ification of NYC has been pretty difficult to ignore, and it seems like every week another one of the...

garrison architects, jim garrison, nyc prefab, post-Sandy construction, prefab beach buildings, flood-proof construction, nyc beach buildings

See Pics of the New Flood-Proof, Prefab Beach Buildings NYC Plans to Roll Out This Summer

When Hurricane Sandy wiped out the lifeguard stations and public bathrooms on many of New York City's beaches,...

london coffee shop, london, coffee shop, london cafe, london espresso, public toilet renovation, attendant cafe, london attendant, the attendant, attendant coffee, adaptive reuse

London's Hip New Cafe Used to be a Victorian-Era Public Toilet

If the thought of sipping an espresso amongst urinals doesn't gross you out, then we've got a café for you: Attendant,...

tablet hotels, dean moran, rethink hotels, farm-to-table, sustainable food, rooftop farm, food-centric hotel

The Allotment Concept Proposes Growing Farm-Fresh Food In and On an NYC Hotel

An entry in Tablet Hotel's Rethink Hotels competition, the Allotment is a totally new concept in hospitality: A...

Lego bricks, BIG, Bjarke Ingels Group, LEGO House, Ralph Appelbaum Associates, LEGO museum

LEGO Soon to Get the "Best Museum EVER" by BIG and RAA

LEGO building blocks may arguably be the best toy ever - and they'll soon be getting the "best museum ever"! Bjarke...

nyu 2031, nyu expansion, boomerang building, nyc universities, nyc green space, greenwich village

NYU's Modified Expansion Plans Move Closer to City Council Approval

Washington Square photo via Shutterstock After two weeks of hot debate between NYU and the New York City Council...

nyc trans fat ban, nyc trans fat, mayor bloomberg, city health initiatives

New Study Finds NYC's Trans-Fat Ban to Be a Huge Success

© katerha/Flickr Years before Mayor Bloomberg proposed his hotly debated ban on sugary drinks sized over 16...

milliontreesnyc.org, green nyc, nyc trees, bette midler, new york restoration project

MillionTreesNYC Has Surpassed Halfway Mark in Planting One Million New Trees in NYC

Great news! The MillionTreesNYC Project, which is one of 132 PlaNYC initiatives to green up the city, has already...

rooftop farm, bright farms, brooklyn rooftop farms, hydroponic farming, sunset park, local food

BrightFarms Reveals That A&P Will Be Its Retail Partner for Sunset Park's Massive Rooftop Farm

We've been following BrightFarms' plan to build the world's largest rooftop farm in Brooklyn, and now they've sent...

adaptive reuse, Andrew Tarlow, eco design, factory windows, green design, ides, Marlow and Sons, radiant heat floor, reclaimed factory, Reynards, sustainable design, Williamsburg, Wythe Hotel

PHOTOS: Inhabitat Explores Williamsburg's Sexy New Wythe Hotel and Rooftop Lounge

Artwork throughout the hotel is by local artists, including the huge Duke Riley drawing in the lobby. The big...

lancaster lexington, buildings with green roofs, green roofed building nyc, green roof nyc, green roofs nyc, eco design, green design, green new york city, green NY, Inhabitat Local New York City, Inhabitat New York City, Inhabitat NYC, local food, local food nyc, Manhattan, new york city, nyc, sustainable design, environmental sustainability, fresh food, green building

East Harlem Lancaster Lexington Co-Op Offers Green Roof Garden Plots with Each Apartment

The farm-to-table dining trend is getting an urban update this month at the Lancaster Lexington, a condo development...

hunts point, food distribution, rooftop farm, rooftop farm nyc, rooftop farm bronx, green building, sustainable food

NYC Looking to Build World's Largest Rooftop Farm in Hunts Point Area of The Bronx

The new rooftop farm could look like this one in Greenpoint, Photo by Kthread Mayor Bloomberg's Economic Development...

star knot, louis lim, noho design district 2012, modern craft, merchant's house museum,, new york design week 2012,

Our Top Picks from Noho Design District 2012 in NYC

BALANCING BLOCKS BY FORT STANDARD, FOR AREAWARE At a popup space at 22 Bond Street, Areaware showed off these...

handbag, bag for high heels, parsons mfa product design, parsons festival 2012, new york design week

Green Design Highlights from Parsons' BFA Product Design Thesis Exhibition

ALTO BELLO, BY YOUJIN SUNG Youjin Sung created a clever handbag for women who wear high heels at work, but wear...

green manufacturing, green building, sustainable design, sustainable construction, new york city, brooklyn navy yard

Brooklyn Navy Yard Announces Development of Massive Green Manufacturing Center for NYC

Some great green news for NYC: The Brooklyn Navy Yard has announced that it's developing a massive green manufacturing...

recycled records, green furnishings, orlando rodriguez, brooklyn design, new york design, icff 2012, icff

Old Vinyl Records Transformed Into Chic Lamps After the Music Stops

The vaguely Art Deco/moderne-looking lamps come in either black, red or a multicolor mixture of 45s and are a great...

green lighting, leds, led lighting, jake dyson, csys, desk lamps, icff, new york design week

Jake Dyson's CSYS Lamp Extends the Life of Its LEDs by a Whopping 37 Years!

Up until now, heat-sink technology has been being used primarily in satellite technology, and Dyson is the first...

valet, coat rack, hallway storage, matthew plumstead, ICFF 2012, ICFF, clip tree

Matthew Plumstead's Clip Tree Is More Than Just a Pretty Coat Rack

So you finally got around to hanging some hooks on the wall by your front door, or maybe you even bought a coat...

kyle fleet, private rocker, cranbrook, office furniture, herman miller, furniture design, rocking chairs, chair design, seating designcranbrook academy of art, student design, icff 2012

The Private Rocker by Herman Miller and Kyle Fleet Creates a Quiet Retreat In the Office

Need an escape from your fellow office workers? Or maybe a serene space to concentrate on what you're doing? The...

100% wool, mioculture.com, mio design, millinery, sustainable materials, beehive softbowl, icff, design week new york, jaime salm, roger c. allen

MIO's Adorable Softbowls are Made from 100% Wool Felt

We recently spotted these nifty wool bowls by MIO at ICFF during New York Design Week. Even though they're not...

newtown pippin apples, queens college, erik baard, gotham orchards, heirloom variety apples, newtown pippin, nyc orchards

Students Join Together to Plant Heirloom Apple Orchard at Queens College

Imagine being a student at New York City’s Queens College, and being able to pick a ripe, organic apple right...

smile jamaica earbuds, the house of marley, green gadgets, green electronics, 1 Love, 1love.org

The House of Marley's Eco-Friendly Earbuds Raise Money for One Love

The House of Marley's in-ear, candy-colored headphones are pretty enough to eat, but they do more than just look...

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