Living off-the-grid in the foothills of the colorful Colorado Rocky Mountains, Andrew Michler LEED AP BD+C and his wife Jennie are learning firsthand what low entropy living really means. He is building a Passive House rest/work space and is currently writing the book [ours] Hyper-Localization of Sustainable Architecture to be published in 2014.
Follow Andrew on twitter @andrewmichler
The Zoe Z.E. made its initial debut in 2009 but it still has a fresh design sensibility, as we saw at the 2012 North American International Auto Show in Detroit -- it's futuristic enough to turn
The holy city of Amritsar, India will be the site of the first urban installation of the Personal Rapid Transport, a system first seen at London’s Heathrow Airport. The elevated transportion
Apenheul is a unique open-air zoo for primates that rests in a heavily forested area east of Amsterdam. The De St@art (The T@il) was designed for the zoo as a multi-use facility to house a
TIP 1: Upgrade or tune-up your heating system The first plan of action is to actually have a plan. 30% of a average home’s energy cost is for heating and sometimes a lot more if you heat
China just took a massive step forward for renewable energy as it flipped the switch on the world’s largest battery, which will help integrate a solar project and a wind farm into a smart
Denver’s vaunted Union Station - once the transportation gateway to the west - recently received the nod to be renewed as a contemporary vision of urbanity and clean transportation. The Union
Stacking people into windowless offices may be a cheap way to run a business, but it certainly takes a bite out of productivity. As most of us can testify, we would prefer the
Patrons are greeted with a bright, glass lined and airy restaurant with a curious roof that looks like a bit of the Alps was shaved off and placed on top. The vegetated roof adds a visual
The wheel may be one of humankind's first inventions, but that doesn't keep us from continuing to tinker with it. The Energy Return Wheel or ERW is a radical redesign of the common tire that
The 17-story building was conceived as a low-cost social housing block - one of many that popped up throughout Europe at the time. A façade renovation 20 years ago eliminated much of the
Green Lite Motors just unveiled a three-wheeled, two-passenger hybrid vehicle that looks like it could be the child of a motorcycle and a Prius. The prototype balances efficiency, comfort, and
The tiny satellite campus is the collaborative effort of Tecnológico de Monterrey, a private university, and the bank Bancomer. The project was developed to provide education for
South Korean Artist Choi Jeong-Hwa used 1000 brightly colored recycled doors to transform a bland 10-story building into an eye-popping visual indulgence. Jeong-Hwa is a master of using found
Newport Beach, California has a storied history with the Pacific Ocean, and a proposed museum wants to turn that experience into an edutainment attraction. The ExplorOcean, a radical update to
Philadelphia just gave the go-ahead for a large mixed-use multi-family housing project that is urban friendly and energy frugal. Conceived by design/build group Onion Flats, The Ridge' will
The TED Prize has just announced its 2012 winner, and it turns out to be not a person, but an idea. Cities 2.0 will be the recipient of the annual $100,000 prize, in an unusual move on
Photo studio55 Boxpark Shoreditch claims to be the world’s first pop-up mall, which isn’t quit the case, but a good idea is a good idea and we look forward to seeing the Boxpark Mall
Audi and BIG showed up at Art Basel Miami last week with what could be mistaken as the latest dance floor design -- a huge LED surface which illuminates and tracks humans. The floor and
The Bathing Beach Seeburg resort's translucent skin stretches around the entire building, and it is transparent on the south side to provide heat, light, and fresh air. The lake side of the
Samsung just threw their hat into the growing LED market by launching a new line of bulbs that can suit practically any lighting need. The line features 7 energy-sipping bulbs that should fit
We have seen similar tricks like this before, most notably in the Australian outback, and the concept is extremely useful as it serves multiple functions with one design gesture. When the
The University of California at Davis has just opened the doors to the first phase of its West Village complex -- an ambitious net zero energy housing and recreation development that will
Larrea's design seems to capture all the qualities we like to see in sustainable building design. The shallow floor plate allows every unit to have access to the southern sun and northern
Hard to believe the Toyota Prius is 15 years old as a brand. After only a few tweaks in design over the years, Toyota is finally letting loose some new form factors of the proven technology.
The renewal of Christchurch, New Zealand after a devastating earthquake just took a huge leap with the opening of a pedestrian shopping mall made from shipping containers. The brightly colored
The main design principle of the WingHouse is relatively simple. Because they come in the standard shipping container size they are easily transportable and do not need a crane to set down. The
While the retreat may be of humble origins, the visitor experience is intended to be one of refinement. The main dining room serves up delicacies made by trained local residences. The rooms are
We have seen a lot of houses made from shipping containers, but few have approached the scale of the Sea-Can Home. The container home was designed by its owner, and it shows - the boxy form and
The cardboard came in damp bales so it had to be pulped and re-fabricated locally. Nearly four thousand triangular components were assembled by folding strips to make triangular frames and
With this Tesco Plastic Bag Warrior Princess costume, Ria Burns is taking no prisoners in our Green Halloween Costume Contest. She used 15 old plastic shopping bags sewn together to start the
