FARM21

While “modern” & “rural” are rarely used descriptively in the same sentence, Sasha Sykes has found a way to merge these two design ideals. The contemporary furniture and art

NOT A CORNFIELD

Say what you will about the sprawling urbanism of Los Angeles, there are some phenomenally cool projects coming straight out of the city’s smoggy heart. From the prodigious Treepeople to the

Looking for alternatives to the typical education available for their own kindergarten child, Mark and Gretchen Biedron established the Willow School, the first independent school in the U.S. to achieve a

2005 GREENBUILD

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) will be holding its 4th official GreenBuild International Conference & Expo in Atlanta this week. This annual conference brings together professionals from the

SIERRA CLUB TABLEWARE

Branching out to mainstream consumers, the Sierra Club has teamed up with the Parsons Design Lab to develop collections of dinnerware and glassware. The Parsons students were inspired by the Sierra

MODABODE

Out of Australia, another little prefab with an eco-friendly slant. The Modabode is a modular structure created for flexibility in size, shape and location. The single-module prototype, called e-Bode,

THE ART OF CLIMATE CHANGE

Over on Archinect this weekend, we discovered that a couple museums in England are currently gearing up for major exhibitions on “The Art of Climate Change”.

PHILIPS HERBARIUM

As part of its 2004 “Sense and Simplicity” project, Philips has devoted the development of many new products to simplifying the way we live. Many of these products have come about as responses

CAPSULA MUNDI

The most earthly looking eco-burial container that we’ve found is the Capsula Mundi, created by a pair of Italian designers who wanted to remove the taboo from the burial process and give it a new

LA: The Ecology Center – Backyard Skills Terrarium Workshop

Backyard Skill is the Ecology Center’s monthly DIY workshop series. This month, join the folks at their lovely San Juan Capistrano location to explore the wonderful world of terrariums. Create

FERNWOOD ECO-CEMETERY

When it comes time to bury a loved one, our otherwise expansive worldview is often funneled down to the immediate and necessary. Thinking of the environmental impact of final arrangements is rarely a

PHILIPS LED BULBS

LED technology is often heralded as the future of lighting – and for good reason. LEDs are easy to produce, generate very little heat, and are super energy efficient, using only one-eighth of the

NEXT GENERATION 2006

While it seems like only a couple months ago that Metropolis magazine publicized the winners of Next Generation 2005, the call for next year’s submissions has already been announced.

DRIFTWOOD BATHS & BASINS

A little while back we were taken on an emotional roller coaster ride by a teak bathtub. When we spotted William Garvey’s stunning wooden bathtubs and basins, it was love at first site. However, a

MAARTEN BAAS TREASURE FURNITURE

Though he’s most famous for being the guy who burns iconic pieces of modern design (the Eames chair, the Rietveld chair), transforming them literally into new pieces of postmodern furniture,

FLOATING HERMITAGE

At South Carolina’s Clemson University, architecture students are looking out for their peers. Their recent project was to create a floating hermitage for the reflection pond in front of the campus

LUMEN TREE

Here is a good idea made just right. The Lumen Tree by Adam Frank is an oil lamp that projects the shadow of a tree onto your wall. The tree and the body of the lamp are made of acid-etched stainless

JUMPTOWN

In the 1940′s, Portland Oregon’s jazz scene was thriving with activity and nightlife, welcoming such greats as Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk, and Charlie Parker to its legendary Dude Ranch

BUSINESSWEEK LOVES PREFAB

As if the recent explosion of publications and conferences about Prefab housing (Prefab Now, Fab Prefab) weren’t enough – now a new article in Business Week confirms what we’ve long