Scottish designer Peter Ananin has created a way to bring a little more of the outside world into our everyday lives by creating personal miniature rural worlds dubbed MyBioPod. MyBioPod provides people with green fingers, a scientific streak or city dwellers with an innovative way to feel a little more connected to the natural world, as nature and technology are combined into a single device to study small ecosystems.

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Post tags: bio, Design, eco design, ecosystem study, Eden Project, environmental design, green design, mybiopod, Nature, peter ananin, Scotland, sustainable design, sustainable learning, Technology

Scotland may be a small country, but its stake in the future renewable energy is about to get serious as Aquamarine Power’s Oyster 800 Wave energy device will soon be installed and connected to the UK grid. We covered the launch of this innovative “near shore” Oyster 800 device last year, and earlier this week Scotland’s Energy Minister Fergus Ewing granted full consent to developments of the 2.4MW wave energy demonstration project. This consent means two further Oyster 800 wave energy devices will be installed at the same site at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in Orkney, and this will create the UK’s first grid-connected near shore wave power array with a total of three 800kW Oyster devices.

Read the rest of Aquamarine Power To Connect Wave Energy Generator To UK National Grid

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Post tags: alternative energy, aquamarine power, eco design, Energy Minster Fergus Ewing, Fergus Ewing, green design, green resources, green technology, MArine Power, news, orkney, Oyster 800, renewable energy, Scotland, sustainable design, wave energy, Wave Energy Power Array

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Post tags: 2011, eco design, green design, green lighting, London Design Festival, recycling, sustainable design, TENT, TENT London, Urban design

Read the rest of An Incredible Crop of Living Green Offices Springs Up in Downtown Denver

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Post tags: "green furniture", "sustainable architecture", Denver, eco design, eco-art, green design, green office, green office space, green office spaces, green offices denver, installation art, keen footwear, natural system domination, nature covered offices denver, Office, office spaces, Recycled Materials, sustainable design, tres birds workshop, tres birds workshop denver

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Post tags: "sustainable architecture", city art installations, eco design, eco-art, green design, green installations, Outside the Planter, Sean Martindale, Street art, Urban design, urban renewal art, urban renewal canada

French student Florent Bouhey Fayolle created the Sun Container: an elegant freestanding radiator that uses sunlight as its power source. Inspired by the Trombe Wall system, this 120w passive solar heater draws sunlight through the glass cloche and stores heat in its slate fins before releasing it through the vents in the top of the glass. It can collect warm sunlight during the day and release warm air once the temperature has cooled.

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Post tags: "energy efficiency", "solar energy", alternative energy, eco design, florent bouhey fayolle, green design, green gadgets, radiator, renewable energy, solar heater, solar heaters, solar heating, sun container, Sustainable Building, sustainable design, trombes wall

Read the rest of Aquamarine Power Unveils Oyster 800 Wave Energy Generator – Exclusive Photos!

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Post tags: Alex Salmond, alternative energy, aquamarine power, Bifab, Burntisland Fabrications, eco design, Fife, green design, hydro-electric, oyster, renewable energy, Scotland, wave power

Read the rest of Bigg Design Transforms a Drab Scottish Underpass With Dazzling LED Lights!

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Post tags: bigg design, city places, city spaces, cumbernauld, eco design, eco-art, energy saving, gallery, glasgow, green design, green renovation, hamish bigg, LEDs, north lanarkshire council, roy shearer, Scotland, scottish council, Street lighting, sustainable design, UK, underpass, Urban design, Urban Environment, Urban Re:Vision, urban regeneration, zero-waste design

Pierre Ospina’s Blossom Bulbs create a unique garden of light that is directly inspired by natures’ diversification through growth. These rubber lamps are varied in width and height and are designed to distribute light in a flexible manner, making them a great feature for any indoor or outdoor space. These Blossom Bulbs have been constructed from rubber tire tubes, cast iron, aluminum tubes and can accommodate LED technology. This striking design is one of 40 finalists in our Bright Ideas Competition – so  if you’re a fan, make sure to vote for the blossom bulbs here!

VOTE FOR THE BLOSSOM BULBS HERE >

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Post tags: bright ideas competition, eco design, Green Building, green design, green lighting, LEDs, pierre ospina, recycled tires, rubber, rubber tyres, sustainable design

Coffee pots, colanders, toasters and kettles all sound like pretty ordinary items that you would find in your kitchen. Yet, Gilles Eichenbaum effortlessly transforms these objects from ordinary to extraordinary by crafting beautiful artistic lamps out of old and disused kitchenware in his small Parisian studio. Giles’s Coffee Pot lamp is a finalist in our Bright Ideas Competition and we love this example of creative recycling, where these forgotten objects are brought back to life whilst still retaining the charm of their former selves. If you like this also – you can vote for it here!

VOTE FOR THE COFFEE POT LAMP HERE >

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Post tags: coffee pots, eco design, eco-art, giles eichenbaum, green design, green lighting, kitchenware, l, paris studio, Recycled Materials, sustainable design

There are few bags that manage to forgo the manufacturing process of sewing, but Strand Design has created a range of bags that does just that. Believing that their products need to adhere to a sustainable lifecycle — by allowing for easy and affordable local assembly, and even easier disassembly — they realized they only had to do one simple thing: fold instead of sew! Their straightforward construction approach has since given way to a new line of carryalls they’ve dubbed Tree Theory Bags. The eye-catching bags are not only stunningly simple, but best of all, able to stand the test of time!

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Post tags: bags, billboards, billboards bags, chicago, eco design, eco-fashion, green accessories, green design, green fashion, green leather bags, green materials, green products, Lifecycle, manufacturing, messenger bags, recycled material, Seatbelt Bags, seatbelts, strand design, sustainable design, sustainable lifecycle, tree theory bags

Who doesn’t love a quiet country escape after a long week in the urban mix? Surrounded by nature and stunning views, one lucky family in Washington has found itself with a stylish escape they’ve named the Vashon Island Cabin. An eye-catching, modern three-bedroom waterfront retreat, this cabin was carefully designed by Vandeventer + Carlander Architects to include an innovative layout atop a compact 172 m2 lot. The new building features extensive windows throughout which not only allow for great views of the Puget Sounds, but also make the most of natural light and passive solar heating.

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Post tags: "solar energy", "sustainable architecture", alternative energy, cabin, Eco Architecture, eco cabin, eco homes, green architecture, Green Building, green cabins, green design, green home, green homes, green retreats, solar passive homes, solar passive retreats, Solar Power, Sustainable Building, sustainable design, Vandeventer + Carlander Architects, Vashon Island, washington

Silver, Gold or Platinum? Everyone has their preference when it comes to choosing jewelry. However that choice isn’t limited to precious metals, as Jessica Leigh Filipovitz of Revolve Designs points out with her Declined Credit Card Earrings. A featured finalist in the ReadyMade 100 Competition, Jessica suggests that these DIY earrings can “save the environment and your wallet”. They were one of the top picks by Bill Moggridge who stated: “These earrings look good and will make an excellent conversation starter at any social occasion, as the idea contains a wry element of social commentary about the banking system meltdown…” We agree with Bill, and we think this clever project offers a great alternative to throwing away your credit cards after they have passed their expiration date. The best bit is they can be made in just 3 simple steps.

Read the rest of Recycled Credit Card Earrings Are Easy on Your Wallet

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Post tags: bill moggridge, credit card earrings, eco design, eco-fashion, Fashion, green design, green fashion, ReadyMade, readymade 100 projects, Recycled Materials, recycling, rm100, sustainable design

Time often seems to fly past with the ticking hands of a clock — but this intriguing 365 Knitting Clock unveiled by Norwegian designer Siren Elise Wilhelmsen at the Milan Furniture Fair turns traditional time telling on its head. Wilhelmsen swapped numbers for wool yarns to visualize time in a new physical form that changes and develops as days pass — the clock will knit a 2 meter long scarf over the course of a year. The un-knitted thread is also placed on display as a sign of how much time is left of the current year. Often products that create strong emotional attachments are more likely to survive in today’s throwaway society, and we think that the 365 Knitting Clock is a great example of multifunctional design that resonates with the passage of time.

+ Siren Elise Wilhelmsen

+ Milan Furniture Fair

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Post tags: 365 knitting clock, Art, clock, Design, eco design, green design, green furnishings, knitting, Milan, milan furniture fair 2011, norwegian design, Salone Satellite, siren elise wilhelmsen, sustainable design, time, wool

Although some of the world’s first bicycles were wooden, it seems that history is now repeating itself — Audi just announced yesterday that it has teamed up with Renovo to create an exclusive set of “Duo” handcrafted hardwood bicycles. The collection will blend the unique lightweight monocoque (hollow) frame that Renovo is famous for with the luxury and performance for which Audi is renowned. Renovo is the first and only bicycle manufacturer to develop wood as a material for lightweight bicycle frames, and they’ve included a number of component innovations as well – the parts include a belt drive, aluminum and carbon fiber components, disc brakes, and LED lights.

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Post tags: AUDI, Audi America, bikes, eco design, green design, green transportation, Launch 2011, Renovo bicycles, sustainable design, wooden bicycles

Read the rest of Pixelated Birdhouses Sprout on City Trees in London

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Post tags: 2010, Bio diversity, Biodiversity, Bird Boxes, bird house, bird houses, birdhouse, birdhouses, eco design, environmental art, green design, London, london birdhouse, London Fieldworks, pixelated birdhouses, Sculptural Installation, Secret Garden Projects, Super Kingdom, sustainable design, UP Projects

We’re big bike fans here at Inhabitat, and we’re always on the lookout for great designs that seamlessly integrate our favorite form of transport into our lifestyles. Now we’ve spotted one more inspiring item to add to the list: the PIT IN desk from Japan-based Store Muu. This versatile desk serves double duty as a safe place to store your bike – wouldn’t it be great to have one of these to rest upon when grabbing a quick coffee or checking your email?

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Post tags: "green furniture", bicycle, Bike Desk, bike in style, Bike Rack, Bike Storage, Desk, green design, green wooden furniture, Japanese design, Store Muu, street furniture, sustainable transportation, Urban design

The community of San Pedro Apóstol in rural Mexico is set to benefit from a fantastic new sustainable sports center designed by the Portuguese office Blaanc Borderless Architecture in partnership with Mexico-based architects CaeiroCapurso. The proposal recently beat over 200 proposals from 61 countries to win $25,000 USD in funding from the GAMECHANGERS international competition. This sustainable social development demonstrates how architecture can bring communities together throughout the development process — it encourages locals to work together to build the sports center under a program they have titled “LEARNING BY BUILDING”.

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Post tags: "sustainable architecture", Architecture, Architecture for Humanity, blaanc borderless architecture, eco design, GAMECHANGERS, green architecture, Green Building, mexico, Nike, Recycled Materials, San Pedro Apóstol, social, sports center, Sustainable Building

Read the rest of Green Roofed Sports Pavillion Opens in Portugal

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Post tags: "sustainable architecture", Eco Architecture, eco design, Filipe Brandao, Green Building, green roof, Nuno Sanches, portugal, school, sports acrhitecture, sports facilities, Sports Pavillion, sustainable design, urban impact

Scotland has a long history of whisky production and now the industry is brewing up a green future as drinks giant Diageo recently unveiled their £40 million environmentally friendly Roseisle Distillery in Elgin. As the first distillery to be built in Scotland in 30 years, this innovative project designed by Austin-Smith: Lord Architects combines modern environmental technologies with traditional distilling techniques. The building has been a awarded a BREEAM ‘Excellent’ award, so we can certainly say ‘Slange Var’ to that! (Scottish dialect for cheers!)

Read the rest of World’s Greenest Whisky Distillery Unveiled in Scotland

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Post tags: "energy efficiency", "sustainable architecture", alternative energy, architects, Austin-Smith:Lord, BREEAM, Diageo, Distillery, eco design, green architecture, Green Building, green design, Production, renewable energy, Scotland, sustainable design, Whiskey