2013 Achievements and Acknowledgments

Hello EcoVidalDesign clients and professional consultants:

I would like to take this opportunity to give you a  good summary of EVD's 2013 projects. It has been a productive year starting with my continuous teaching at the Green Exchange site for St. Augustin College Workforce Development Institute. We teach there Green Construction Practices and LEED GA training. Hopefully we will expand the teaching to Universidade de Vigo, Spain in 2014.

EVD participated on a volunteer effort in Brazil with the Fruit Tree Planting Foundation with a travel grant from Partners of the Americas (POA). We coordinated the environmental educational component of a 5,000 fruit tree planting project in the municipality of Mococa, Sao Paulo, Brazil involving children from 20 low-income, public schools. 

EVD is very proud of having participated in the "2013 Living Building Challenge Collaborative Chicago" receiving an honorable mention (2nd place). Our team, "Roble Verde" included Franceline Villasenor, Iara Moraes, Irma Ayala, the old-time colleague and leader Luis Monterrubio and the talented young EVD's CMU architectural student, Gabriel Vidal-Hallett. To all I thank you for the great project!

Another high light in 2013 was the construction completion of all affordable housing units at Back of The Yards neighborhood through The Resurrection Project. Landon Bonne Baker Architects and EVD completed the renovation of 6 buildings which are now occupied by low-income families. This project helped the neighborhood to recover from the devastating foreclosure crisis. I want to give a special thank you to Franceline Villasenor, Tyler Brown and Catherine Baker for their excellent work and Benito Hernandez and Guacolda Reyes at TRP for this opportunity.

In addition, EVD has participated on the total renovation of 25 Chicago Park District playgrounds  as part of the Urban Works Architecture team with whom we have worked continuously since 2007. These play lots, mainly in the south side of Chicago, will have brand new play equipment, new ADA ramps and restored seating walls and many fruit trees which will be potentially donated by the Fruit Tree Planting Foundation.  Thank you Pat Natke, Rob Natke, Maria Pellot and Ameera Ashraf O'Neil for this opportunity. We look forward to continue to work with you.

EVD continues to work and help the Edgewater Environmental and Sustainability Plan  designing and creating more rain gardens in the neighborhood and helping the community to implement the plan through Planning and Development, stormwater management  advise and with a potential environmental educational program for youth. 

I finally want to dedicate all our  EVD's hard work to my father, Jose Enrique Vidal Campos, who passed away on December 31, 2013. My father and my mother were always great supports of my love for architecture and urban planning making sure I had all the opportunities possible and available during my formation years.  It was with them that I also learned to be an international citizen and moved to Spain to study and work and  now in Chicago since 1990. 

My father's favorite tree was an oak (roble) that leaves in Vigo since he was born. This year was the year of  EVD's Roble (oak) Verde, Fruit Planting Foundation collaborations, Chicago Park District play lots and rain gardens and affordable housing projects. Papa, your wise advise and teaching lessons will live forever in me. Thank you for everything.  We miss you dearly!