Architecture in China never ceases to amaze us—case in point—the REN Building. Copenhagen’s Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) proposed this eye-catching design over a year ago to coincide with Shanghai’s “Better City, Better Life” 2010 World Expo . The building takes its form from the Chinese character for person 人 (“ren”) and combines two buildings (one symbolic of mind and the other symbolic of body). We love the poetic inspiration that reflects both site and cultural sensitivity.


Read the rest of The 人 REN Building Takes the Form of a Sloping Chinese Character

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: big, BIG Architects, bjarke ingels, Bjarke Ingels Group, Chinese architecture, Eco Architecture, green architecture, Green Building, green design, ren, ren building, Ren Building Night View, Shanghai Proposal, Sustainable Building

While nothing beats reusable dishware for your festive events, these biodegradable plates from VerTerra are a great alternative to yucky paper or plastic dishes. VerTerra (true to the Earth) plates are made from organically-grown palm tree leaves from India. The fallen leaves, which would traditionally have been burned on the roadside, are collected, sterilized, steamed and pressed into plates. The process uses no chemicals, glues or bonding agents, and over 80% of the water used during the steaming and pressing process is recaptured and recycled. Best of all, VerTerra’s plates are 100% natural and biodegradable!

Read the rest of VERTERRA: Dishware Made From Fallen Leaves

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: "natural materials", biodegradable dishes, biodegradable plates, Compostable and Biodegradable Dishware, composting dishware, disposable dishes, Disposable Dishware Made From Fallen Leaves, eco-friendly dishware, Michael Dwork, Organic Palm Leaves from India, Palm tree leave dishware, Recycled Materials, VerTerra, VerTerra palm leaf dishware

Award-winning Norwegian design house TRØKK16 will be exhibiting their latest designs at this year’s Milan International Furniture Fair , but before we unveil their latest works, we’d like to highlight a few of their outstanding past projects. The Loop LED Lamp puts traditional desk lamps to shame. This stylish desk light uses LEDs and needs only 5 watts to light up your work space and, perhaps, inspire your own eco-creations.

Read the rest of Loop LED Desk Lamp by TRØKK16

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: 2007 Prixluxor Award, 5 watt Desk Lamp, Bergen National Academy of the Arts in Norway, designed by Petter Knudsen, Desk Lamp, Eirik Helgesen, Lars Urheim, LED Desk Lamp, LED lighting, Loop Lamp by TRØKK16, Petter Knudsen and Siv Lier Jahnsen

The Nut Bench is fun, colorful and made from pineapple paper to boot! Bangkok-based Yothaka International creates hand-woven, modern Asian designs using local natural fibrous materials available in Thailand. The firm that pioneered the use of water hyacinth and Yan Lipao (a fern-like vine found in the South of Thailand) in furniture making has introduced a Pineapple Paper collection made from locally produced pineapple paper fiber. Pineapple leaf fibers are pressed, dyed and made into eco-friendly chairs, stools and benches.


Read the rest of Pineapple Paper Furniture by Yothaka

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: "natural materials", Asian designs, fiber, green furniture, hand-crafted furniture, pineapple fiber, pineapple paper, renewable materials, sustainable design, Thailand, waste products, Yothaka

Here’s a breakfast that’s capable of not only fueling your body but also powering the entire factory that makes it. Scott’s Porage Oats, a Quaker Oats Factory at Uthrogle Mills in Scotland is installing a combined heat and power biomass boiler that will enable the factory to become carbon-neutral, running entirely on waste oat husks. The husks, removed from the oats during the milling process, will provide 9,709 MWhrs of electricity and 10,902 MWhrs of steam a year, reducing its emissions by 9,000 tonnes a year—equivalent to the annual emissions of 3,000 cars. Now none of the energy stored in the oats will go to waste.


Read the rest of Quaker Oats Porridge Powered Factory

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: byproduct fuel, Carbon-Neutral Factory, industrial waste, Quaker Oat Field, Quaker Oats Porridge Powered Factory, renewable energy, Scott's Porage Oats Factory at Uthrogle Mills in Scotland, Waste Oat Husk Power

Furniture designer Cliff Spencer couldn’t resist when he heard about a Napa winery discarding wine-stained oak. An avid user of reclaimed materials, Spencer now regularly reclaims oak staves from California wineries and transforms them into these stunning one-of-a-kind pieces for residential and commercial use. (p.s., you don’t have to be a wine aficionado to enjoy them).


Read the rest of Furniture from Reclaimed Wine Staves by Cliff Spencer

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: Cliff Spencer, fsc certified, green furniture, Green Home decor, reclaimed hardwood, Recycled Materials, wine staves

A human-powered energy-generating gym like Hong Kong’s is now taking shape in Seattle, turning human sweat into usable electric energy. By connecting spinning bikes to wind-generator motors, clients at Adam Boesel’s green microgym can generate enough electricity to power the gym’s music system or run their own personal DVD player.

Read the rest of Energy-Generating Green Microgym in Seattle by Adam Boesel

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: adam boesel, energy generating gym, green gym, human power, human power gym, human-powered gym, kinetic energy, kinetic energy powered gym, kinetic power, kinetic power gym, renewable energy

We love designers who get their inspiration from the unexpected, and we love transforming, 2-for-1 furniture even more! Check out the Caterpillar, a flexible piece of furniture inspired by bicycle chains. Why settle for just one position, when Anna Bullus’s Caterpillar lounge chair can be maneuvered into at least 14 different positions. With such flexibility, its easy to find a position that fits your comfort.


Read the rest of SHAPE-SHIFTING CHAIR: Caterpillar by Anna Bullus

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: Bicycle Chain Inspired Piece by Anna Bullus, Caterpillar

Here’s a sweet treat that may leave you a little sticky. Anna Bullus’s gives new meaning to term ‘biodegradeable’ with a vanishing cup made entirely of sugar. With ‘One Cup or Two’ not only is there no leftover plastic or paper cup headed for landfill, but there is also no need to add sugar to your tea or coffee — as you can just add your tea or coffee to the sugar cup and enjoy. One Cup or Two can be used up to four times and come in an assortment of flavors including plain, almond and Irish Whiskey. Hey Starbucks…. can you smell a fun eco idea brewing here?


Read the rest of ONE CUP OR TWO – Sugar Cup by Anna Bullus

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: One Cup or Two, Sugar Cups by Anna Bullus

Solar Cynergy’s new line of solar LED lights is an eco-friendly, reliable and smart alternative to traditional street lights and home garden lights. Run entirely on solar energy, there’s no battery or complicated wiring involved, simply place the unit in a sunlit area and you can use the sun’s rays to light up anything from your front yard and drive way to dangerous intersections and crosswalks.


Read the rest of Solar Cynergy Solar LED Paver Lights

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: City Street Lights, Solar Cynergy’s Solar LED Lights

Our streets our littered with used chewing gum, but next time your bubble loses its pop, don’t drop it—recycle it! Anna Bullus’s Bubble Gum Bin is made from Gumnetic, a new biodegradable material she developed made from sterilized used chewing gum and bio resin. The bin keeps chewing gum litter from our sidewalks and shoes and when full, the entire container is recycled to make even more bins. How’s that for cradle-to-cradle?


Read the rest of THE BUBBLE GUM BIN – Made From ‘Recycled’ Gum!

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: Bubble Gum Bin by Anna Bullus, Gumnetic, Used Chewing Gum and Bio Resin

Say goodbye to plastic cutlery and hello to SpudWare—cutlery made from 80% potato starch and 20% soy oil that’s just as heat resistant and every bit as strong as plastic cutlery. The kicker? It biodegrades in just 180 days! SpudWare can even be washed and reused, so you can eat your potatoes with potatoes for months to come.

Read the rest of SpudWare Cutlery made from potatoes

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: biodegradable cutlery, SpudWare Cutlery

Last year we highlighted HansaCanyon bathroom fixtures, sleekly designed faucets whose “canyons” are lined with LEDs that change color according to the temperature of the water (blue=cold, pink=warm and red=hot). It’s a pretty neat functional feature, and a safety measure as well- the colors can help prevent you from scalding yourself while washing your hands or stepping into a really cold bath. And now, the German-made Hansa Canyon is available in the U.S.! Until now, despite the Hansa hype, many American buyers were left to settle for alternatives like Equa’s Light Delight or ThinkGeek’s budget LED faucet. But now, just check out the Hansa U.S. website’s Where To Buy” page for further details.

Read the rest of HANSA CANYON: Temperature-Sensitive LED Faucets

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: HansaCanyon, LED lights, Temperature Sensitive Bathroom Fixtures

Researchers at the Technical University of Denmark have invented a new method of magnetic cooling technology that brings a whole new meeting to refrigerator magnets. Scientists have been able to drop the temperature of a room from 20° C to 11° C by taking the heat energy from opposing magnetic fields and thermodynamically reversing it to a cooler temperature. DTU researchers will use this technology to create a prototype refrigerator that cools itself using only magnets. According to research from Risø National Laboratory, magnetic refrigerators would be silent and their cooling cycles could be up to 60% more efficient than traditional refrigerators!


Read the rest of REFRIGERATORS POWERED BY MAGNETS!

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: Magnetic Refrigeration, Risø Laboratory, Technical University of Denmark

September 22nd marks the first annual “No Car Day” in China, a national campaign hoping to reduce exhaust emissions and ease traffic congestion by limiting the number of private vehicles on the roads. Over 100 cities in China will participate, leaving residents to travel by foot, bike or public transportation. In Shanghai, a third of the city’s vehicles will be ordered off the roads and private cars will be banned from driving through areas of downtown.

Read the rest of CHINA’S NO CAR DAY- September 22nd

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: “NO CAR DAY” in China, September 22nd, Traffic in Shanghai

Wondering what to do with all those old floppy disks, scratched CDs and random computer parts you can’t get yourself to throw away? Check out the clocks, notebooks and jewelry the clever folks at Acorn Studios have fashioned from old keyboard keys, circuit boards and floppy disks for a little inspiration. Acorn Studios transforms electronic waste into fun gifts perfect for computer geeks and eco-friendly consumers.


Read the rest of RECYCLED GEEKWEAR: old computer parts given new life!

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: Acorn Studios Geekware, clock made from recycled computer parts, cufflinks made from recycled computer parts, jewelry made from keybaord keys, Jewelry made from recycled computer parts, Recycled computer parts

The Olympics are less than one year away and construction on Beijing’s Olympic Green and Forest Park is stepping into high gear. The Olympic Green, a massive 1,135 hectares along the historic north-south central axis of Beijing, will be the heart of the Olympic games and the site of thirteen venues, including the stunning Olympic Stadium and National Swim Center. U.S. design firm Sasaki has emphasized sustainability and post-Olympic use in their design—a problem many hosting cities find themselves faced with once the events are over.


Read the rest of BEIJING’S OLYMPIC GREEN

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: "sustainable development", 2008 Olympics, Beijing Olympic Green, Green Olympics, Sasaki Associates, The Olympic Green

Building Asia Brick by Brick is an architectural exhibition currently touring China put together by ArtAsiaPacific magazine, People’s Architecture Foundation and LEGO to raise the awareness of architectural preservation in Asia. The exhibition features the architectural designs of some of Asia’s leading architects, but you won’t find any traditional model building materials here, each original architectural model is built entirely out of LEGOs. The models will tour the urban hubs of Guangzhou, Shanghai, Beijing and Chengdu before being auctioned off in New York in 2008. Inhabitat brings you highlights of the Shanghai event.

Read the rest of LEGO ARCHITECTURE: Building Asia Brick by Brick

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: ArtAsiaPacific Magazine, Building Asia Brick by Brick, LEGOs, Ma Qingyun for MADA s.p.a.m. Architectural Model, People’s Architecture Foundation, Shanghai & Los Angeles

If you want to see a beautiful example of environmentally-minded public art, hoof it down to Arlington County in Virginia before September 1st. In this stunning public-art installation, five-hundred twenty-two solar-powered LEDs on rods, each topped with a reused plastic bottle, light up the Rosslyn traffic island between North Lynn Street and Ft. Myer Drive in Arlington County – looking a bit like luminescent reeds. This temporary environmental public artwork, aptly named CO2LED by artists Jack Sanders, Robert Gay and Butch Anthony, was designed with Arlington’s environmental initiative FreshAIRE (Arlington Initiative to Reduce Emissions) in mind.


Read the rest of CO2LED Solar-Powered Public Art Installation

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: Arlington County, CO2LED, FreshAIRE Initiative, Night View in Rosslyn, Planet Arlington, Robert Gay and Butch Anthony, Sustainable Artwork by Jack Sanders, virginia

Discovery’s new eco-lifestyle channel Planet Green is partnering with actor and avid environmentalist Leonardo DiCaprio to help launch the channel early next year with a touching environmentally-friendly project. DiCaprio is set to executive produce “Eco-Town,” a 13-part reality series which will follow state and local officials in their quest to build an ecologically—and economically—sustainable town in Kansas, aptly named Greensburg.


Read the rest of LEONARDO DI CAPRIO to Build “Eco-Town” in Kansas

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: “Eco-Town”, Discovery Communications, Kansas, Leonardo DiCaprio, Planet Green Channel, Sustainable Building, Tornado Damage in Greensburg