Designers at Studio Ooms have been working on a fantastic social project in Indonesia that helps to lift people out of poverty while creating great recycled products. So far, the team has spent five weeks in Jakarta working with former street children on Ffrash, an eco project that involves collecting trash and discarded materials and re-using them to produce furniture. Addressing the huge problem of waste in the capital city, the designers have created creative educational projects in order to teach about sustainability and recycling.

Read the rest of ‘Ffrash’ is Furniture Made from Trash by Former Street Children from Jakarta

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Post tags: eco design, Ffrash, green design, recycling materials, Studio Ooms, sustainable design

Click here to view the embedded video.

The Buckminster Fuller Institute (BFI) is an organization after Inhabitat’s own heart. It was formed by the visionary eco architect/designer’s family in 1983 to champion Buckminster Fuller’s amazing legacy and provide the design world — and the rest of humanity, for that matter — with the tools we need to solve the world’s most pressing problems. Buckminster Fuller was a “full systems thinker” — he was a renaissance man who foresaw the problems we are facing now decades before anyone else, and came up with innovative, thoughtful ways to solve humanity’s most pressing problems around energy, shelter and natural resources. Sadly, this amazing man is no longer with us, but The Buckminster Fuller Institute marches forward in his name with a handful of thought-provoking programs for designers. Their flagship initiative is the Buckminster Fuller Challenge design competition to provide solutions to complicated social/environmental problems. Inhabitat covered the BFI Challenge finalists back in April, and we are thrilled to announce the winner of the competition here in our latest video! Watch our video profile (above) to learn about BFI, Bucky’s legacy, and the inspiring winner of last year’s $100,000 prize.

Read the rest of VIDEO: The Buckminster Fuller Institute

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Post tags: buckminster fuller challenge, buckminster fuller institute, Green Design Competitions, holistic design solutions, holistic solutions, whole systems solutions

Honest Buildings, the new real estate site that is looking to be the new social media hub for buildings, has just received a sizable cash injection topping $1 million. The site features over 600,000 projects in New York City, Washington DC, San Francisco, Seattle, Austin, Dallas, Houston, and Portland (OR), as well as many more across the US. What this means is that you can not only get all kinds of information on how a buildings in your area perform, but you can also connect with folks who can fix ‘em, and share insights and experiences of your own. Now with well over a $1 million to work with, the site is sure to grow ever more robust. If you haven’t taken a look yet, head on over now!

+ Honest Buildings

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Post tags: building socail media, Green Building, green building network, HB, honest building, honest buildings, how to find a building

Read the rest of US Pavilion at Venice Biennale Focuses on Design Actions for Common Good

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Post tags: activism, Architecture, Economic, exhibit, Institute for Urban Design, italy, Positive Change, Projects, Public Interest, social, Spontaneous Interventions: Design Actions for the Common Good, Sustainable, Urban design, urban interventions, US Pavilion, Venice Architecture Biennale

Green Africa Directory, the first online pan-African sustainability directory and network, was recently officially launched in Cape Town, South Africa. This green networking ‘hub’, which is expected to grow rapidly over the next few years, already showcases over 800 environmental and sustainability-focused organizations from across Africa. The website also offers users access to comprehensive listings for green events, green jobs and tenders, green specials and competitions. In the context of Africa’s predicted population growth and urbanization, vulnerability to climate change and natural disasters, wealth of biodiversity and natural resources, expanding infrastructure and growth in ICTs, the Green Africa Directory aims to contribute towards building a resilient and sustainable future for the continent. The network is well placed to provide a central role in promoting and mainstreaming green options and development alternatives throughout Africa.

+ Green Africa Directory

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!

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Post tags: Africa, Cape Town, environmental issues, environmental organizations, Green africa directory, green design, green networking hub, South Africa, sustainable design, sustainable global development

With a flurry of controversial discussions surrounding the 4th installment of LEED (formally known as LEED 2012), the USGBC has found themselves on a collision course with powerful construction industry interests. The rating system has long been criticized for being too slow to adapt to pressing environmental needs, but with a much more aggressive agenda in tow this time around, they are finding resistance from entrenched special interests who are doing everything they can to stall the process.

Read the rest of USGBC’s LEED v4 Plays High Stakes With Industry Special Interests

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Post tags: "energy star", American Chemical Council, Avoidance of Chemicals of Concern, BOMA International, LEED 2012, LEED controversy, LEED EB 4.0. LEED NC 4.0

If art school was in our future we might opt to study under, or on top of, the amazing green roof at the School of Art, Design and Media at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, designed by CPG consultants. This 5 story facility sweeps a wooded corner of the campus with an organic, vegetated form that blends landscape and structure, nature and high-tech and symbolizes the creativity it houses.

Read the rest of A Swirling Green Roof Tops Gorgeous Nanyang Technical University in Singapore

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Post tags: Art, CPG Consultants, Design, Eco Architecture, eco design, glass facade, green architecture, green design, green roof, green roofs, Media, Nanyang Technological University, natural landscaping, planted roof, Singapore, sustainable design

An ambitious citizen campaign called Reforest Patagonia is hoping to plant one million trees in Chilean Patagonia in what has been considered the largest, most ambitious native tree reforestation campaign in the country’s history. Chile was ravaged by wildfires in 2011, so the project hopes to repopulate the country’s six national parks and reserves.

Read the rest of Reforest Patagonia Announces Plans to Plant One Million Trees in Chile

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Post tags: Chile, chilean forest, deforestation, forest, forestry scheme, Google maps, Patagonia, reforest patagonia, Trees, wildfires

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Post tags: "green furniture", eco table, Fragment Table, green furniture design, green table, Milan Design Week, milan design week 2012, Milan Furniture Fair, Recycled Materials, rubber table, Rubber Table Studio, Salone Satellite, sustainable design, Technology, Thomas Schnur, young designers

Read the rest of VERDMX’s Soaring Vertical Gardens Clean Mexico City’s Air

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Post tags: Chapultepec Avenue, eco-sculptures, greenhouse gasses, mexico, mexico city, NISSAN, public art, Sustainability, verdmx, vertical gardens

When we first broke the news of the split between Passivhaus Institute (PHI) and Passive House US (PHIUS), it was a murky proposition to project what the results would be. That answer has become much clearer in the past months after a series of proposed changes and intense debate within the community. The conversation heated up in the last week as those aligned with PHI asked PHIUS to choose a different name for their certification system from Passive House, and Katrin Klingenberg, head of the American group, got personal in her response. The question on everyone’s mind is: “how much damage does this cause the movement?”

Read the rest of Passive House Debate Heats Up on the Future of the US Standard

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Post tags: green building standard, Katrin Klingenberg, Passive House debate, Passive House trademark, passivhaus, PHI in US, PHIUS controversy

The SolarWorld GT has been on a world tour, and it finally reached the North American leg of its excursion, hitting the sparkling streets of the US just yesterday! The solar car was sent off on its cross-country jaunt at the Half Moon Bay in California with a plan to head east to meet Florida in 49 days. Since leaving Darwin, Australia, last October, the zero-emission, solar-powered beauty has clocked over 3,000 miles!

Read the rest of The SolarWorld GT Lands in the U.S. for the Next Leg of Its World Tour!

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Post tags: arrives US, Bochum University of Applied Sciences, green automobile, solar car world record, solar design, solar powered car crosses US, SolarWorld GT, sustainable vehicles, world tour

Supporting model green communities across the US, Global Green USA has announced it will give eight communities a free design consultation over the next six months. Each of the chosen neighborhoods will recieve a 3-day visit from four sustainability experts who will give a comprehensive review and recommendations about how to improve infrastructure and urban design. The suggestions will ensure that these communities become more environmentally responsible, more resource-efficient and support healthy lifestyles.

Read the rest of Global Green to Give 8 US Cities Free Sustainability Consultations

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Post tags: Building Blocks for Sustainable Communities Program, eight sustainable cities, Environmental Protection Agency Office of Sustainable Communities, environmental review, global green usa, green city model, USA green recommendations

We’ve seen some pretty epic gingerbread houses this holiday season but this Transformer Gingerbread House, aptly called Gingerbreadtron, really takes the cake. The crazy candy-clad house slowly transforms into a motorized candy robot right before your eyes! With a little help from an Arduino Uno board, some glue and cardboard, creator Brian Hall made his gingerbread house like no other.

Read the rest of Gingerbreadtron: A Gingerbread House That Transforms into a Candy Robot!

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Post tags: Brian Hall, eco design, gingerbread, gingerbread house, Gingerbreadtron, green design, robot gingerbread house, sustainable design, transformer gingerbread house

Scarfs and architecture don’t appear to have much in common at first glance, but a new program recently launched by Dita Zakova of Ecolibri, and Rhea Alexander, founder of sustainable design house DIGS, changes all of that. Dubbed Scarfitecture: A Venture in Design, Sustainability and Impact Investing, this eco-initiative brought talented Guatemalan women artisans together with seven internationally renowned architects to create a series of scarves and shawls using natural dyes and reclaimed yarn. Check out the spectacular pieces that recently made their debut in NYC, ahead!

READ MORE >

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Post tags: Architecture, DIGS, eco-fashion, eco-friendly scarves, Ecolibri, Ethical Fashion, green architects, green fashion, Guatemala, Scarfitecture, social design, Sustainable Fashion, sustainable scarves, sustainable style

If you want to get into the holiday spirit without having to cut down a poor, defenseless evergreen, check out this clever idea from the resourceful folks at the Gleeson Library in San Francisco. They stacked a bunch of their own books (bound in a rather apropos shade of green) to form a perfectly proportioned recycled Christmas tree to add cheer to the space. The best part? Once the holidays are over, all of the books go right back on the shelves they came from!

Via Recyclart

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Post tags: book christmas tree, christmas tree, christmas tree made of books, eco christmas tree, eco design, gleeson library, Green Christmas Tree, green design, holiday tree, library book tree, recycled christmas tree, Recycled Materials, San Francisco, sustainable design

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Post tags: "wind power", cairo, Contemporary Design, Daylighting, eco design, egypt, Green Building, green design, greywater recycling, Islamic design, Karim Rashid, Komb House, LED, radiant flooring, rainwater harvesting, skylight, solar heated water, Solar Power, sustainable design

Dubbed the “Eight-Foot House,” this elegant and minimalist new home in Denver, Colorado takes a “passive” approach to the idea of sustainable design. Rather than focusing on expensive active technologies, the house embraced eight foot materials to drive the design process. Designed by Bill Buyers of 720 Design, this no-waste approach began with the use of five structural bays infilled with eight foot tall wood studs. This system allowed for the use of full height cedar plywood panels for the exterior and full height gypsum board sheets for the interior. Eight foot tall doors and windows extend from floor to ceiling. What results is an efficient, open home that is filled with natural light and cross breezes.

+ The Eight Foot House

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Post tags: "sustainable architecture", 720 design, bill buyers, eco design, eight foot house, green design, passive design, passive home, sustainable design

Imagine a world in which schoolchildren eat organic, locally sourced lunches rich with fruits and vegetables — some of them heirloom varietals, some of them grown on the school grounds. That is the world that Alice Waters, the celebrity chef at Berkeley’s Chez Panisse, is promoting through her Edible Schoolyard project. This week, as part of Chez Panisse’s 40th anniversary celebration, Waters threw a school lunch block party in downtown San Francisco, co-hosted by Levi’s — and Inhabitat was there to check it out.

Read the rest of Alice Waters’ Edible Schoolyard Launches Hand-Designed Levi’s Tees Over Lunch

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Post tags: alice waters, david byrne, Edible Schoolyard, green design, Levis, San Francisco, sophia coppolla, t-shirts

Urban farming projects are popping everywhere! A derelict shop in Dalston, London, is yet another site set on urban rejuvenation with its innovative FARM: project. The project, which has transformed an entire four story space, is now home to an urban food ‘hub’ complete with a cafe, arts venue, mini ‘aquaponic’ fish farm, indoor allotments and rooftop chicken coops. Launched in 2010, FARM: is bringing the rural to the urban, with the intention of growing as much food as possible in every corner of the building.

Read the rest of FARM:London Creates an Urban Food Production Hub in Dalston

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Post tags: city farming, converted urban farm, derelict converted farm, farm shop dalston, Farm shop london, urban farming london, urban gardening