Inhabitat – Green Design Will Save the World

GO BACK TO SCHOOL WITH AN AMAZING NEW SOLAR BAG!

If you want to put your best (and greenest) foot forward as you start the new school year, we’ve got something that will help – a lot. We’re giving away a fantastic Back to School Prize Package (worth over $500) packed with green school supplies to one lucky winner – and it could be you! This amazing bundle includes 7 awesome 100% recycled hardcover notebooks in assorted colors and styles by ecosystem, a 100% recycled binder, tabs and binder pouch from Naked Binder, and to top it all off, an amazing solar-powered bag by Sakku (worth $450) that keeps all your gadgets charged up using power from the sun!

ENTER HERE >

 

 

This vibrant mixed use development for Ljubljana, Slovenia combines two things we love - modular housing and green space. Designed by OFIS Architects, the building may seem like one continuous, cohesive structure, but its pixelated look stems from the fact that its actually a series of 10m x 10m units stacked together like legos. The smart modular design affords tons of flexibility, and with spots of green throughout and a lush central park, who wouldn't want to live or work in a place like this?

 

Read More >

 

 

This striking Large Home Tree is an experiment in self-sufficient housing that responds to its site and draws on local resources for all of its needs. Situated in Zvezditsa, Bulgaria on a reclaimed illegal waste dump, the home features a boxy frame that maximizes living space while an abundance of windows maximize light. The architects at Bignatov Studio developed an unusual wall and roof motif that depict a tree branching out and taking root. The symbolism is well justified granted how the home extracts energy from the earth, collects rainwater, and harvests solar power to sustain itself.

 

Read More >

WIN A BACK TO SCHOOL SOLAR BAG BUNDLE WORTH OVER $500!

Headed back to school and need some help getting inspired? Inhabitat is here to help! We’ve got an awesome eco back-to-school package that we’ll be giving away to one lucky winner in our Green Back-to-School contest. You may have noticed we ran a contest like this last week on Inhabitat… Well it was so popular that we decided to do another one and really up the ante this time. So if you didn’t win in the last contest, now you have another chance! We’ll be giving away an amazing bundle that includes 7 awesome 100% recycled hardcover notebooks in assorted colors and styles by ecosystem, a 100% recycled binder, tabs and binder pouch from Naked Binder, and to top it all off, an incredible solar-powered bag by Sakku (worth $450) that keeps all your gadgets charged up using power from the sun!

Read More >

 

 

This striking micro home in Japan is an amazing example of efficient design for small-space living. Designed by Tokyo-based Atelier Tekuto, the faceted three-story home is located on a small corner lot near the center of Tokyo. Abstractly titled "Reflection of Mineral", the home is a study in small spaces, simple finishes, and daylighting through the use of transparent and opaque surfaces that suffuse the interior with light.

 

Read More >

If you’re fed up with the balancing act of taking groceries home on your bike handlebars, or are still a little too proud to go for that front anchored basket, then the PUMA Mopion just may be the stylish cycling solution you’ve been looking for. Although Puma is best known for their sweet kicks, this beloved brand has been busy pumping out a portfolio of bikes, and their latest design created with KiBiSi and Biomega is one beautiful green ride. Offering all the convenient features of both a commuter and cargo bike in one sleek aluminum frame, the Mopion could easily be considered the cool new Cadillac of bikes.

Read More >

 

 

JDS Architects recently announced the grand opening of their latest project - the Two Seasons Hotel situated in the center of Stavanger, Norway. Appearing almost like an M.C. Escher drawing from above, the square building is crowned with an undulating green roof that dips towards the historic section of town and rises dramatically on the far side to address a nine-story apartment tower. The new hotel has 194 rooms and was designed and built on top of an existing parking garage.

 

Read More >

A new water filter that employs cotton dipped in nano-sized silver wires and copper tubes works 80,000 times faster than filters that simply block bacteria from getting through. The filter, developed by Stanford University researchers for use in developing countries, efficiently conducts a tiny charge of electricity, zapping 98 percent of all bacteria.

Read More >

James Gilpin has Type 1 Diabetes — his pancreas doesn’t work, forcing him to take shots of insulin to process glucose from food. Gilpin got to thinking about elderly patients with diabetes, like his grandmother, who secrete tons of unprocessed medicine and sugar in their urine. A great idea dawned upon him — well, perhaps it’s a gross idea but we’ll leave that up to you — and he started the Gilpin Family Whisky project, a high end line of single malt whiskey made from the sugar-laden urine of people with diabetes. His grandmother was the first patient to recycle her pee into whiskey!

Read More >

Have a lot of old stuff to get rid of? Well you could give it away and get a lot of awesome stuff for yourself at the same time on Give Your Stuff Away Day! Slated to sweep the nation on September 25th, the event, which is being organized by Mike Morone, calls people to simply bring their unwanted items to the curb. No trash, food, drugs, chemicals, or dangerous items — just safe, valuable items you would like to give to others. Find out more here!

READ MORE >

Times flies when you’re helping out humanitarian efforts. Okay maybe that’s not quite how the saying goes, but this Epigram Clock by Botanist gives us a little poetic license. Designed by celebrated graphic designer Milton Glaser, the clock is made of aluminum which contains up to 70% recycled content, and a percentage of the proceeds goes directly to the International Rescue Committee, an organization that responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps people to survive and rebuild their lives.

+ Epigram Clock

Via Econesting

Need another reason to buy a plug-in hybrid vehicle? How about this: California Governor Arnold Schwarzanegger just signed into law this week a bill that grants HOV lane (aka carpool lane) access to qualifying plug-in hybrid vehicles.

Read More >

While some states are already starting to get cozy for cooler fall days, the folks up in Northern California will still be sitting pretty during September, which happens to be the Bay Area’s summer month! With warm and sunny days filling out their calendar, it’s only fitting that the community driven event, Water Works, has been scheduled to happen over September’s weekends. Starting this Saturday, local artist and designers will gather in an Oakland backyard to discuss water issues and show off some of their very own creations, including, as seen above, the Raintree by artist Christina Bertea, a rainwater collection tree that doubles as a clothesline in the summer. Read ahead to learn more about this fantastic event and to gander at a few more glorious projects!

Champagne bottles contain three times the air pressure of a typical car tire, which is why the iconic green bottles weigh 900 grams (two pounds). Not for long though – makers of Champagne bottles in France have been working on slimming down the bottle in an effort to reduce its weight, thereby reducing carbon emissions from transportation. A New York Times article reports that after much research and testing, manufacturers have streamlined the bottle through its shoulders, shaving off 65 grams (2.3 oz). Many Champagne producers have already switched over or are planning to do so.

It may sound like a mineral used in an evil scientist’s death ray, but ‘dark silicon’ actually refers to underused transistors found in modern microprocessors — and scientists believe that this resource can be tapped to improve the batteries of everyday smartphones. A team of researchers at the University of California San Diego have developed a new prototype chip called the GreenDroid that harnesses dark silicon to improve energy efficiency by up to 11 times compared to standard mobile application processors.