Dwell on Design 2012 – Los Angeles, CA

Posted on June 18, 2012 by tournesol

Noted design fair Dwell on Design starts on Friday of this week at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Billed as the West Coast’s largest design show, we’re excited to be part of it this year, through our partner Street & Garden Furniture of Australia.

According to the press release:

Curated by the editors of Dwell Magazine (www.dwell.com),
the three-day celebration brings together the best and brightest products, services, and
thought leaders in modern design today

Street and Garden will be introducing their newest concept, a combination planter/bench designed for al fresco dining areas and configuring public space. It fits perfectly into the Tournesol Siteworks product mix.

The newest concept from David Shaw and his designers at Street & Garden Furniture

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Our new website is live!

Posted on June 4, 2012 by tournesol

Our new website home page!

If you are reading this, you’ve seen the new format for our blog and our website. It’s been a while in coming, but our new website is finally live.

Some of the major improvements you’ll find include:

Easier product search by category (pots, hanging planters, etc) gets you where you want to go faster
Full downloadable documentation on each product when you get there. One or two clicks will get you field manuals, guide specifications, pdf, dwg or sketchup drawings and models, etc.
Register as a user and you’ll be able to save products to a favorite folder for later reference.
We’ve reworked our materials & finishes page for most pots & planters. You’ll get a more accurate representation of the colors (although it still depends on your monitor – call for color samples to ensure the most true colors).

We’ve also integrated our blog into the website, so it’s quicker to get all the information you’d like on projects and installations of Tournesol projects. Remember, the website is fully searchable by product name or type.

We’d love to get your feedback (good and bad!). Email us here or simply comment on this post to tell us how we’re doing.

A stroll across the production floor

Posted on May 24, 2012 by tournesol

Casting the Urban Collection square trash receptacle in FRP fiberglass

One of the best parts about doing what we do is watching the product come together. I’m struck by the amount of hand craftsmanship that goes into creating product that satisfies our quality standards.

FRP containers curing after the final finishing step

A week ago I posted about the hand buffing that goes on to create a metal-infused finish. I decided to continue the series by simply walking around the production floor and snapping some images.

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So that’s how they get so shiny!

Posted on May 2, 2012 by tournesol

Aged Copper Village Collection planters, ready for packaging

While walking across our production floor today, I saw an order going through the final prep and polishing before being packaged up. The pots, our Village Collection VS-2400 in the metal-infused Aged Copper finish, positively glowed. They look great, and will be packaged and shipped shortly.

There’s only one way to get them to look like this. Two of our crew, Anthony and Luis, were putting the finishing touches on the last couple of pots. I took out my cell phone and snapped a few shots of them doing the buffing.

Anthony and Luis, hard at work hand-polishing the finish

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Conference Center Design Award

Posted on April 23, 2012 by tournesol

The Award!!

We recently blogged about our participation on the design team for the Conference Center at the King Abdullah Financial District in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The landscape architect leading the project, H.M. White Site Architects, applied for and was given an Honor Award for the project.

We’re extremely proud to be named alongside them – it’s our first official award from a chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects! We’ve been doing this a long time, but never has our participation on a design team been recognized. Other firms on the team included Plant Driven Design and Greenlee & Assocs (Horticulturalist), and Wolf Creek Company (Irrigation).

From the letter:

This was a huge collaborative team effort which we could not have done without the expertise and support of a talented consulting team. We would like to congratulate you as a participant on this endeavor.

Thanks again to Sam Lawrence, Hank White, and all their collaborators for including us on this exciting project.

The Urban Tall

Posted on April 19, 2012 by tournesol

Mi Dia restaurant patio, Dallas, TX

In 2008 we fabricated a custom Urban planter for a retail mall project in Florida. The planter was designed to hide bollards, so was designed specifically to be the same size as our 24″ square, but 48″ tall. Once that project was complete, we adapted the tool for our own use – and the Urban Tall planter was born.

The pot is something of a “red-headed stepchild”. It is has different proportions than the rest of the Urban Collection, and so only garners one line in our marketing materials. Nevertheless, it has become one of our more popular planters. Although it doesn’t get much attention, we felt it deserves it’s own post.

The planters in the image above and below were specified & installed by GHA Architecture/Development of Dallas, TX. The Mi Dia From Scratch restaurant, and the neighboring Winewood Restaurant (both located in Grapevine) used the URT-2400 with our CWC-R1850 container irrigation self-watering insert. All the containers were delivered in the T-0 texture in black.

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Conference center design project receives NY ASLA 2012 Honor Award

Posted on April 3, 2012 by tournesol

Original concept for the King Abdullah Financial District Conference Center

We’ve done a lot of unusual projects over the years, but the KAFD Conference Center is probably the most exciting one we’ve come across. Located in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the structure is covered with over 15,000sf of modular green roof, with nearly 10,000sf of living wall inside.

Tournesol Siteworks was invited to participate on the design team by HM White Site Architects, who are responsible for the breakthrough modular green roof design. The building, designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill in New York City, is the first major element in the new development slated to be the home of new banking and financial infrastructure in Saudi Arabia. The project will utilize a number of remarkable environmental construction technologies to reach an expected LEED Gold status.

KAFD Elevation

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Our most recent advertisement – Northlakes Bench of Boulevard Wood

Posted on March 20, 2012 by tournesol

If you’re browsing through this month’s copy of Landscape Architecture magazine, you’re likely to run across this ad on page 19. We’re beginning to promote our partnership with Street & Garden Furniture of Australia, and featuring our use of upcycled urban Boulevard™ Wood.

For those not familiar with Boulevard, we’re using wood felled in typical urban situations (that would usually end up in the landfill), treating it with a special high-temperature process, and creating a valuable wood that will last for the life of the bench. It is directly comparable with tropical hardwoods like Ipe or Teak, without the environmental baggage.

Call any of our sales team to find out more about upcycling, while eliminating the need for deforestation in the Amazon!

Ewing Irrigation sales staff training & tour

Posted on March 5, 2012 by tournesol

Checking out the new TWIG - All images courtesy of Stacey Nord, Ewing Irrigation

As most of you probably realize, Tournesol Siteworks sells most of our product through distributor partners. It’s always a pleasure to host our partners at our plant, and show them what we’re up to.

Last week we had 16 members of Ewing Irrigation‘s Northern California sales team come by for training and a tour. Not only that, we treated them to lunch, too!

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New 2012 Quick Ship planter program

Posted on February 22, 2012 by tournesol

Hyatt Gainey Ranch, Scottsdale, AZ Urban 1

The Urban Collection, shown at the Hyatt Gainey Ranch in Scottsdale, AZ

In response to a number of requests from customers last year, we’re implemented a quick ship program for 2012. With the way that we typically work, it’s hard to get a pot order, even a small one, out in less than a week. This year, we decided to put in place a program that will make it possible! Best of all, there will be no additional cost for this service.

The quick ship program features two of our most popular FRP (fiberglass) planter collections, the Urban and Metro. Limited quantities of most rounds, squares and rectangles will be available to ship within 5-7 business days, depending upon the final color and finish. Metal infused finishes will typically take slightly longer than base or MMP finishes. Confirmed ship dates will depend upon order size and current inventory levels.

This existence of this program in no way guarantees a specific delivery window to any customer. Check with your Tournesol salesperson for product availability and specific details.

Crocker Galleria, San Francisco, CA Metro 1

A Metro Collection square, as seen at the Crocker Galleria in San Francisco