Inhabitat - Sustainable Design Innovation, Eco Architecture, Green Building » Jon Dioffa

Help Save the Gap Filler Shipping Pallet Pavilion in Christchurch, New Zealand!

Jon Dioffa — Tue, 21 May 2013 21:00:12 +0000

The Gap Filler Pallet Pavilion in Christchurch, New Zealand, was built as a community space following devastating earthquakes. The recycled shipping pallet pavilion is an incredible facility, but unfortunately it was only ever funded for one year. The organizers have now turned to crowd sourcing to secure funding to keep it open for an additional year. In addition to being a stunning piece of shipping pallet architecture, the pavilion has been a positive beacon amongst the rubble. The people of Christchurch want the facility to stay, but it will take a global fundraising effort to make it happen – check out the crowdfunding campaign here and donate today!

+ Pallet Pavilion Pledge Me Campaign

+ Gap Filler Pallet Pavilion

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: "sustainable architecture", Christchurch, Gap Filler Pallet Pavilion, green architecture, green design, New Zealand, pallet architecture, pallet pavilion, Recycled Materials, recycled shipping pallet, shipping pallet, sustainable design, Urban design

The Chug-A-Lug Will Turn a Plain Old Jar Into a Cute Portable Drinking Glass

Jon Dioffa — Wed, 08 May 2013 21:00:41 +0000

Chug-A-Lug is a handcrafted leather cozy that can be slipped onto just about any jar, turning it into a portable cup or even a hanging flower vase. The design also features a handy clip that can be affixed to just about any bag, ensuring that you’ll keep on chuggin’ everywhere you go. Chug-A-Lugs have been crafted to last a lifetime, and they sure do look cute!

+ Chug-A-Lug

The article above was submitted to us by an Inhabitat reader. Want to see your story on Inhabitat? Send us a tip by following this link. Remember to follow our instructions carefully to boost your chances of being chosen for publishing!

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: Chug-A-Lug, cup cozy, hanging flower vase, leather cozy, reusable cozy, reusable cup

The Union Wood Wallet Is Perfect for Card-Carrying Minimalists

Jon Dioffa — Tue, 07 May 2013 21:00:37 +0000

The Union is a slim minimalist wallet made from a solid wood piece and injection molded elastomer. The design is simple, streamlined and perfect for anyone who doesn’t need much more than a few cards, cash, and small miscellaneous essentials. The Union is part of a sustainable accessories range started by Chris Hong with the goal of incorporating wood into functional, everyday goods that endure.

+ The Union Wallet

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: eco accessories, eco wallet, slim wallets, the union wallet, union wallet, wood card holder, wood wallet

The POTHRA Flower Pot is Made From Recycled Coffee Grounds

Jon Dioffa — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 21:00:29 +0000

Matthew Waldman and his team at Nooka just unveiled a new line of POTHRA planters made from recycled coffee grounds! The team started experimenting with discarded coffee grinds left by consumers and discovered that, when combined with resin, each kind of coffee creates a different look and color. If you’d like to support the project you can donate to the POTHRA Kickstarter here!

+ POTHRA Kickstarter

The article above was submitted to us by an Inhabitat reader. Want to see your story on Inhabitat? Send us a tip by following this link. Remember to follow our instructions carefully to boost your chances of being chosen for publishing!

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: coffee, coffee grounds, coffee planter, green design, green gardening, green housewares, green interiors, pothra, recycled coffee, Recycled Materials, recycled planter, recycled pot, sustainable design

BWArchitects Builds Out a Stunning Lighting Installation with 1,600 LED Bulbs for the Tribeca Film Festival

Jon Dioffa — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 21:00:23 +0000

Justin Weiner of Studio Kenji created this short video of a new LED installation designed and fabricated by BWArchitects for the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival. 1,600 LED bulbs were made into pink and blue “flowers”, swaying in the wind at night on the courthouse steps in NYC. Check out the video above to see the installation in action!

+ BWArchitects

+ Studio Kenji

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: "lighting design", BWArchitects, eco-art, green design, green lighting installation, led installation, light art, studio kenji

Atlas Recycled: Tom Tsuchiya’s Eco Sculpture Encourages Recycling in Cities Around the Globe

Jon Dioffa — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 21:00:39 +0000

“Atlas Recycled” is a sculpture of the mythical Greek titan bearing the earth on his shoulders that doubles as a recycling receptacle for aluminum cans, plastic bottles and paper. In addition to serving as a recycling aid, the sculpture itself is made primarily from reused materials including over 30 pieces of maps and atlases. Artist Tom Tsuchiya (soo-chee-ya) constructed the sculpture’s internal structure from wood, foam, and steel scraps from his studio. He installed a hidden door on the globe portion of the sculpture to allow the recyclable contents to be removed. “Atlas Recycled” exhibits in various cities to promote the improvement of our environment through art. The sculpture has previously celebrated Earth Day on Cincinnati’s Fountain Square (2010), New York City’s Grand Central Terminal (2011) and Washington D.C.’s National Mall (2012). Though Tsuchiya is best known for creating bronze sculptures for the NFL and Major League Baseball, he has a passion for improving our environment through creative ways.

+ Atlas Recycled

+ Tom Tsuchiya

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: atlas, Atlas Recycled, eco-art, green art, green design, Recycled Materials, recycled sculpture, recycling, Recycling initiatives, sustainable design, Tom Tsuchiya, urban art

Post-Consumed: Art Exhibition Showcases the Problems and Potential of Plastic Waste

Jon Dioffa — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 21:05:04 +0000

Two Georgia artists address the problems and potential of plastic waste in the exhibition “Post-Consumed.” Harry DeLorme uses plastic waste recovered from the banks of the Savannah River to make “paintings” based on Google Maps. His functional art objects include a lamp made from 120 cigarette lighters intercepted on their way into the Atlantic. Artist Rachel Green repurposes discarded plastic toys, tools and appliances into witty commentaries on gender, play and work.

+ Post-Consumed

Via Savannah Now

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: eco-art, found objects, green art, green design, harry delorme, plastic pollution, post-consumed, Recycled Materials, recycled objects, sustainable design

The MUV-e All-Electric Scooter Can Fold Down to the Size of a Small Suitcase

Jon Dioffa — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 21:30:29 +0000

If you’re a commuter who faces the daily toil of getting to work through traffic snarls, you might be happy to hear about this new urban transportation device from Israel. The portable MUV-e is an all-electric scooter developed by inventor and automobile designer Amir Zaid in collaboration with Autodesk. The MUV-e electric scooter is different from Segway and other mobile scooters because not only is the MUV-e ultra portable, but it can also be folded into a suitcase trolley for easy storage.

+ Amir Razid

Via Damn Geeky

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: Amir Zaid, autodesk, collapsible scooter, electric scooter, foldable scooter, mobile scooters, MUV-e is an all-electric scooter, The MUV-e electric scooter, urban transportation device

Edible Sweeeeet Tableware is Made From a Traditional Korean Confection

Jon Dioffa — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 21:00:51 +0000

Designers Jiwon Choi and Alice Jung have created a line of edible “Sweeeeet Tableware” made from a traditional Korean confection called yeot. Yeot is made with various kinds of grains without any artificial additives, and it’s usually served in stick form. It has been enjoyed as a traditional dessert for centuries, and today it’s found mostly in tourist attractions in Korea. Choi and Jung sought to make Yeot into a playful and enjoyable set of tableware that glorifies the traditional snack. The set includes petite-sized bowls and plates to serve various kinds of traditional Korean desserts in the sweetest way. The line is part of the Seoul Utopia Project (SUP).

+ Sweeeeet Tableware

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: Alice Jung, edible products, edible tableware, green design, green kitchen, green packaging, Jiwon Choi, korean cuisine, korean desert, Seoul Utopia Project, sustainable design, Sweeeeet Tableware, yeot

The ‘Waste Less’ Chair by Architecture Uncomfortable Workshop Turns Log Offcuts into a Rockin’ Chair

Jon Dioffa — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 21:00:18 +0000

The ‘Waste Less’ chair by Architecture Uncomfortable Workshop is a unique and modern chair that employs timber offcuts recovered after structural beams have been carved out of whole logs. The simple sections of the log are joined by elementary yet strong iron clamps, thus traversing the complexity of ‘modern’ structural designs. The unadorned form also alludes to the easily accessible, as well as the naturalized, essence of the furniture. Functionally, the sections sort of “open up” to transform the log into the physical entity of a chair. This transformation process can be achieved manually by the user on removing the clamps, and then adjusting the position of the sections. In this regard, the final chair can be of two types — a conventional chair with leg rest or a rocking chair.

+ Architecture Uncomfortable Workshop

Via Homecrux

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: "green furniture", Architecture Uncomfortable Workshop, eco furniture, log chair, log furniture, recycled logs, recycled wood chair, waste less chair

Laughing Chickens Launches a DIY Chicken Coop That Fits in a Bike Box for Easy Portability

Jon Dioffa — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 21:40:29 +0000

Laughing Chickens is a Marin County, California-based workshop that’s been making beautiful hen houses and runs exclusively from reclaimed redwood fence boards. With interest in their designs coming from all corners of the country, the eco-minded company has recently re-designed their coops as DIY constructions that fit into bicycle boxes so they can easily be transported at lower costs.

Read the rest of Laughing Chickens Launches a DIY Chicken Coop That Fits in a Bike Box for Easy Portability

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: chicken coop, laughing chicken, laughing chicken chicken coop, portable chicken coops, reclaimed wood, recycled chicken coop, redwood chicken coop

Jinja Designers Create Cool and Colorful New Housewares from Recycled Textile Waste

Jon Dioffa — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 21:00:17 +0000

Jinja just launched a new line of sustainably designed products by Portuguese designer Norma Silva and Australian designer Tom Allen. Made to hold your most treasured objects, each design is fashioned from 100% recycled textile waste. Handcrafted in Portugal, the products aim to transform and improve your environment in an enjoyable and sustainable way!

+ Jinja

‘

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: designer Norma Silva, designer Tom Allen, eco bowls, eco housewares, Jinja, recycled textile waste, sustainably designed products

Infographic: Energy-Efficient Desalination Could Provide Clean Drinking Water for Those in Need

Jon Dioffa — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 18:00:13 +0000

The world is facing a serious water shortage. Humans are using more than 9 quadrillion liters of water per year (or 25 trillion liters per day), and more than one-third of people worldwide lack access to clean drinking water. For a long time, environmental groups have warned that desalination is not the answer to the shortage of freshwater because it is so energy intensive; depending too much on desalination would increase CO2 emissions while damaging marine habitats. But could new technology make desalination more sustainable? In honor of World Water Day, desalination company Energy Recovery has produced this infographic explaining how new advances in energy-efficient desalination technology could help provide clean water to those who need it most.

Read the rest of Infographic: Energy-Efficient Desalination Could Provide Clean Drinking Water for Those in Need

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: desalination, energy recovery, energy-efficient desalination, filtered saltwater, freshwater, saltwater, sustainable desalination, UN world water day, water issues, world water day

Public Coffee is a Mobile Coffee Shop That Wants to Bring Communities Together

Jon Dioffa — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 21:00:47 +0000

Click here to view the embedded video.

In Europe, the original coffeehouses were created to serve people coffee and provide a place for them to enjoy their drinks. As the coffeehouse evolved, it became an open center for thinkers and researchers across many disciplines to share their discoveries with one another. Public Coffee is specifically designed to generate this same type of collaboration and community engagement. Public Coffee will be a mobile nonprofit coffee shop that visits neighborhoods across Denver, Colorado. Equipped with a participatory coffee bar and modular tables, the structure of Public Coffee is designed to facilitate collaborative and discursive involvement. By providing a space for interdisciplinary dialogue, Public Coffee aims to inspire a culture of tolerance and innovation wherever it goes, starting conversation and engaging locals.

+ Public Coffee

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: coffee pop up shop, coffee shop denver, denver coffee scene, mobile coffee shop, public coffee

The Solecan Combination Waste Bin Makes Recycling a Breeze

Jon Dioffa — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 21:00:12 +0000

Can a simple redesign of the trash can make recycling so easy that everyone will do it? That is what husband and wife team Jeff and Liz Helfrich, asked when they invented the Solecan, a trash/recycling bin made from recycled plastic. The Solecan is a small dual compartment trash/recycle can that snaps apart to make emptying trash and recycling separately a breeze. The Solecan will be made in the U.S.A. in a variety of colors. If their Kickstarter campaign, which runs until Earth Day (April 22), is a success, the Helfriches hope the Solecan will help make recycling a habit in every room and keep millions of pounds of recyclables out of landfills.

+ Solecan

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: green design, green products, Recycled Materials, Recycled Plastic, recycling bin, Recycling initiatives, solecan, sustainable design, Sustainable Interiors, trash can

SITGREEN Takes Fully Recyclable Materials and Turns Them into Streamlined Pieces of Furniture

Jon Dioffa — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 21:00:08 +0000

With 9 million tons of furniture waste being added to our landfills every year, Phoenix, AZ designer Jon Irons decided to start SITGREEN, a company with a goal to never contribute to that rising statistic. SITGREEN takes fully recyclable materials and turns them into pieces of functional, beautiful furniture. They don’t offer any floral patterned overstuffed armchairs, but what they do provide is a plethora of unique handmade furniture that is made with care from the most unlikely materials. Each piece of furniture sold keeps close to 20 lbs of waste out of landfills, and their goal is to keep 1 million lbs of waste out of the landfill in 2013. Support them on Kickstarter.

+ SITGREEN

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: "green furniture", eco chairs, eco furniture, green chairs, jon irons, sitgreen furniture

MSA Unveils Durable Hard-Had Made From Renewable Sugarcane

Jon Dioffa — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 21:00:20 +0000

Pittsburgh-based safety equipment manufacturer MSA recently unveiled an industrial hard hat that is made entirely from renewable material. The MSA-Gard GRN Hard Hat is composed of sugarcane ethanol, which has a very small carbon footprint. Just like any other safety hat, the GRN Hard Hat provides head protection without any compromise – and its earth-friendly construction is the icing on the cake.

Via Damn Geeky

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags:

Urban Green Furniture Handcrafts Sustainable, Modern Furnishings in the USA

Jon Dioffa — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 22:00:36 +0000

Based in Brooklyn NY, Urban Green handcrafts wood furniture that is directly available in store and online. Their beautiful designs are sustainably crafted from wood free of formaldehyde, and they’re available in a variety of finishes free of allergens. Custom work is also available for home and business interiors.

+ Urban Green Furniture

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: "green furniture", "sustainable furniture", eco-friendly furniture, formaldehyde-free furniture, green design, green interiors, sustainable design, sustainable wood furniture, urban green, urban green furniture

BIBLIO-Centrum: A Green-Roofed Solar-Powered Library for Helsinki’s City Center

Jon Dioffa — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 22:00:51 +0000

BIBLIO-Centrum – from the Greek word for book and the Latin word for center – is a cultural hub designed by Dinkoff Architects to unite several of Helsinki’s most prominent facilities: Parliament, the Helsinki Music Centre, the Finland Opera House, the Kiasma Museum, Sanoma House, and the central railway station. The library features an elongated shape that is well suited to the Finnish climate – it is open to the south, which allows for natural heating in the winter as the sun penetrates deep into the building. A green roof up top acts as “lungs” that infuse the area with fresh air during the summer, and a set of roof-mounted solar panels reduce the project’s energy footprint. BIBLIO-Centrum is designed to be an icon for Helsinki that will serve as the city’s central library while anchoring and uniting its prestigious surroundings.

+ Dinkoff Architects

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: "sustainable architecture", BIBLIO-Centrum, dinkoff architects, green architecture, Green Building, green design, green library, green roof, Helsinki, photovoltaic panels, Solar Power, solar-powered architecture, sustainable design, Urban design

The Modular Andamio Shelf Takes Its Inspiration from Indian Scaffolding

Jon Dioffa — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 21:59:46 +0000

The Andamio Shelf is a simple modular shelving system that has been inspired by traditional Indian scaffolding. The design consists of three basic levels that can dock to each other and be adjusted to various widths to suit storage needs. Made from environmentally friendly and recyclable materials, it also requires zero tools for assembly.

+ Andamio Shelf

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: "green furniture", andamio shelf, eco furniture, green interiors, modular shelf, Modular Shelving