Solar panels are unique among sources of clean and renewable energy for their ability to generate electricity practically anywhere in the world. Recently Madagascar joined with the Development Intervention Fund to begin retrofitting a number of rural clinics with photovoltaic cells. For those in energy-deprived communities who are in need of medical care, having access to solar energy can literally mark the difference between life and death.
Recently Herzog & de Meuron revealed Le Project Triangle, an incredible structure that will rise 200 meters from the Porte de Versailles in Paris. The stunning skyscraper will feature a profile so slim that it casts virtually no shadow, and its orientation will be optimized to take advantage of both solar and wind power. Paris’ new pyramid will be the first high-rise to be approved for construction is the city’s center since 1977, thanks to the recent lifting of a 31-year-old ban established by the previous Mayor of paris, Jacques Chirac.
Designed by Tom Raffield, co-founder of Sixixis, these beautiful Ash Pendant lamps are formed from 80 meters worth of locally-sourced FSC-certified English ash. Their delicate interwoven shades are steam-bent, and each is illuminated by a giant low-energy bulb. The design was recently featured in [re]design’s Lighten Up exhibition.
Just in time for cooling temperatures, Hemp Hoodlamb offers a collection of men’s and women’s eco chic winter clothing and accessories. The collection includes coats, knitwear, hats, and ear muffs which are all made from bamboo and hemp fiber, including the (faux) fur! The Amsterdam-based clothing company is a strong believer in the wonders of hemp, a rapidly renewable plant that can be made into extremely strong fiber. Which means that hemp is an ideal alternative for making eco friendly gear for harsh winters.
Fashion forward bike aficionados can now make an eco statement with the new Spare Tire Bike Tube Belt designed by Surya Graf. The stylish Spare Tire Belt is constructed out of reclaimed bicycle inner tubes, allowing bikers to sport their passion on their sleeve (or at least around their waist).
Surya Graf is a Brisbane-based product designer who cleverly strives to mesh functionality and environmental sustainability in his designs. An avid cyclist himself, he was in search of a smart recycling solution to all of the tube garbage from old inner tubes. He began to collect used mountain bike tubes from local cycle shops who were glad to have them off their hands and out of the trash, and the Spare Tire Belt belt was born.
All good things deserve a second life. This includes, as the re-opening of Museum of Arts and Design (MAD) last weekend shows, everyday objects and civic architecture. The recently renovated museum now sits in midtown Manhattan, on the southern edge of 2 Columbus Circle - a public space that has recently experience a renaissance of sorts with new open space planning and green plantings. A testimony to the power of reinvention, inaugural exhibit Second Lives: Remixing the Ordinary examines the re-purposing of the everyday and random flotsam in our lives. From used shopping bags to old record collections to plastic spoons and forks, this exhibit demonstrates that perception goes a long way in jump-starting innovative recycling.
Chicago’s Fashion Focus Week is currently underway, and considering the amazing student talent in Chicago these days, it is not surprising to discover that fresh green shoots of sustainable style are increasingly visible on the streets and sidewalks of the windy city. This year’s fashion week line up will feature the first ever Museum of Sustainable Style (MoSS) exhibit, curated by Pivot Boutique, Chicago’s own eco fashion, go-to-source for green glam style. With a fabulous line up of movers and shakers on the local and international design scene, MoSS promises to be a great new resource for greening fashion weeks and trans-seasonal collections everywhere.
We’re excited to announce that Inhabitat was recently nominated for a Cooper Hewitt People’s Design Award! Founded by the prestigious Cooper Hewitt Design Museum, the competition gives people a chance to vote for their favorite examples of good design. We’re honored to be nominated and we think it’s important to spread the word that good design is green design. Help us spread the word and Vote for Inhabitat today!
Two years ago, Matt Blesso, a real estate developer, bought a 3,100 sq ft apartment in lower Manhattan. He dreamed of an apartment with beautiful rooftop gardens, and wanted to be surrounded by nature even in the heart of the city. Not having much of a green thumb as a real estate mogul, he turned his apartment over to two Yale professors. The duo was comprised of Joel Sanders, the architect, and Diana Balmori, the landscape architect, who teach a course together called Interface, all about uniting architecture and landscape design.
It’s hard to contain one’s enthusiasm for DeMaria Design’s Redondo Beach House. The home, constructed with a combination of prefabricated shipping containers and traditional buildings materials, is a stunning beachfront residence. It is the first in a line of homes that will be available from DeMaria Design’s “packaged architecture” affiliate, Logical Homes. DeMaria has said that he considers shipping containers the icons of the global age: “stacked containers create a powerful imagery on the landscape.” With that, we can certainly expect to see more recycled shipping container architecture to come from this Manhattan Beach-based design studio.
Imagine if your house came delivered to you in over a 1,000 precisely-cut jigsaw-like pieces. This is the idea that New York-based, Jeremey Edmiston of System Architectsand Douglas Gauthier of Gauthier Architect had for NYC Museum of Modern Art’s Home Delivery: Fabricating the Modern Dwelling exhibition, when they created BURST*008. Combining architecture and technology, the home was computer-designed and its pieces milled to the exact dimensions to fit together like a 3-D puzzle. The pieces were then flat-packed onto a truck and shipped to MoMA’s West Lot, where it was assembled on site, held together by an insulated skin.
A vibrant swath of yellow amid the brownstones of Crown Heights, the Brooklyn Children’s Museum re-opened on September 20 after its completed expansion. Designed by Rafael Vinoly Architects, the expansion will be New York City’s first LEED-certified museum in addition to being the first structure to tap geothermal wells as a means to heat and cool its grounds. The museum’s new exterior -composed of 8.1 million canary yellow tiles- is a playful voluminous canopy that rests above the pre-existing buildings. Subtly glistening, its vibrant color engages and beckons viewers to come explore its earth -and kid- friendly grounds. Read on for all the details, and be sure to check out Inhabitots for an inside tour!
One Bryant Park, better known as the ‘Bank of America Tower’, is set to be the greenest skyscraper in the world when it opens later this year. Designed by Cook+Fox Architects, the glossy glass structure is the only skyscraper to achieve LEED platinum - the highest LEED rating. It racks up green points with rainwater cachement and reuse, greywater recycling, recycled and sustainable building materials, energy efficient building systems, and high performance glass which maximizes daylighting and minimizes solar heat gain and loss. I had the opportunity to talk to lead architect Serge Appel about the finer points the tower’s design and construction - read on for our exclusive interview >
After four years of construction the world’s most sustainable skyscraper is nearly completed! Situated at One Bryant park in Midtown Manhattan, the crystalline structure will be the first high-rise to receive LEED Platinum certification. Designed for Bank of America by Cook+Fox Architects and Gensler and developed by The Durst Organization, the luminous spire will introduce a dose of levity to New York’s skyline while incorporating an excellent assortment of sustainable strategies.
The world’s very first Sustainable Dance Club recently let partygoers loose on its energy-generating dance floor to the sound of Iggy Pop & The Stooges! Originally rumored to be opened by Amy Winehouse, club Watt, features a LED-laden dance floor that is lit up solely by the kinetic energy generated by dancers. The new nightclub will also feature a variety of efficiency standards established by the Sustainable Dance Club group that allow it to save 30% on energy consumption, 50% on water use, cut CO2 emissions by 30%, and reduce waste by 50%.
Hulger’s beautiful Plumen bulbs explore the possibilities of the energy-efficient CFL, reworking its staid form into fluid light sculptures that dare to be covered up or hidden from view. Named for the plume-like forms that spiral and descend from the light’s pendant fitting, these brilliant bulbs celebrate and encourage the use of CFLs. We caught sight of them at (re)design’s Lighten Up exhibit at this year’s 100% Design.
This blue planet we call home is covered in water – from majestic mountain lakes, to expansive seas, to windy creeks, to home faucet flows. With a seemingly endless supply of fresh potable water coming through our pipes each day, its easy to remember that the Earth’s Surface is 71% H2O, but difficult to articulate how our individual consumption habits contribute to worldwide water shortages and pollution. With the average US citizen consuming between 100 gallons per day, according to the EPA, we continue to drink up, soak up, and waste up, this finite resource, even as one third of the world’s population live in countries experiencing moderate to high water stress. But don’t fret just yet. Read on to find out how you can minimize your water consumption through smart choices in appliances >
While Rioja is a name that is normally associated with red or white, the autonomous Spanish province will soon be just as synonymous with green - building green, that is. This week the local government gave the green light to the Logroño Montecorvo Eco City project, an ambitious carbon neutral development north of its capital city, Logroño. Designed by Dutch firm MVRDV and Spanish firm GRAS, the stunning development will feature enough photovoltaic cells and wind turbines to produce 100% of it’s energy.
One of the most stunning pieces at this year’s 100% Design was this gorgeous recycled plastic bottle chandelier by Michelle Brand. Composed entirely from cut-off bottle bases, it lit up the floor at (re)design’s Lighten Up exhibition, which showcased a selection of innovative lighting designer-makers who are ’switched-on’ when it comes to tackling domestic lighting design solutions.
One of the highlights from this year’s London Design Festival was LIGHTEN UP, an illuminated exhibition that featured 64 innovative lighting solutions from UK designers. Presented by [re]design at this year’s 100% Design, the event focused upon “Looking beyond the bulb” and showcased a variety of ways that “sustainability is driving the evolution of new technologies, aesthetics, materials, and interactions”. Read on for a selection of our favorite designs!
Every once in a while we come across an idea so fresh and simple it seems incredible that it has not been thought of before. The Rainwaterhog is just such an idea - the H2OG system is a modular rainwater harvesting system that is a ‘game-changer’ in the water harvesting and storage industry. The easy-to-install system “boldly fits where no water storage has fit before” and is expandable, reusable, and 100% recyclable.
Eco-celebrity David de Rothschild has decided to show the world what to do with its discarded plastic bottles. For his recent project, the Plastiki Expedition, the adventurous environmentalist plans to build a 60-foot boat made out entirely out of recycled materials and then sail it across the entire Pacific Ocean! The ambitious excursion aims to capture the world’s imagination while drawing attention to the state of our oceans, the idea of waste, and the unacceptable reality of pollution.
Chrysler recently revealed the GEM Peapod, a Neighborhood Electric Vehicle that uses no gasoline and emits no pollutants, making it perfect for city driving. Those of you who read our Car of the Future series may recall that smaller vehicles are more efficient, easier to park, and consume less resources, which makes them strong candidates for the future of personal transportation.
Recently Chrysler revealed a lean green supercar that can hit 0-60mph in five seconds flat! The Dodge EV features an emission-free 200 kW electric motor and has a driving range of 150-200 miles, leaving GM’s Chevy Volt in the dust. The sleek all-electric vehicle is not intended to compete with consumer-oriented cars - it has its sights set on the Tesla Roadster!
This year’s London Design Festival was an incredible event that showcased some of the world’s most acclaimed designers in addition to a host of upcoming talents. From innovative furnishings and lighting solutions to clothing and accessories, this year’s event featured a variety of cutting-edge concepts in sustainable design. Read on for our highlights from the event!
