While conjuring up comfort in the home seems like a basic principle, it’s a far more complex process for architect & remodeling guru Sarah Susanka, who believes that comfort can significantly influence the sustainability of your personal abode. With her mantra of “build better, not bigger,” Susanka promotes quality over quantity when remodeling a home. Through transforming your living space into a more beautiful and comfortable environment, Susanka says that any home’s occupants will automatically take better care of their space in a more sustainable way. We sat down with Susanka to get the low-down on how to do more with less when revamping your space.

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World-renowned architect Koen Olthuis is the leading designer of floating structures -- he has built a number of floating houses all over the world and has designed for the likes of Dubai and other metropolises. Recently, Koen Olthuis of Waterstudio and David Keuning of Mark Magazine finished a new book, called FLOAT!, which is a compendium of his knowledge on floating architecture. He details historical projects, discusses the practical uses for floating architecture, explores scenarios for a future world with higher sea levels, and rallies behind sustainability as a necessity for future development on the water. In between his busy travel schedule, Koen was able to take some time to answer a few questions about the future of hydrocities and building on the water - read on for our exclusive interview!

 

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Steven Holl has risen to become one of the most celebrated and well-respected architects working today. His architectural work is widely recognized and covers extensive ground ranging from the museums, educational facilities, residences, retail design, office design, public utilities, and master planning. But unlike the indistinguishable corporate work or ego driven monstrosities that litter the physical and cultural landscape, each of Steven’s structures rises above any predictable style, and are instead inspired by a unique contextual awareness. His ability to masterfully blend space and light in subtle forms has turned him into a central figure in the discussion of contemporary sustainable design. It also comes as no surprise that his work has garnered him wide acclaim not only from critics, but most notably, from his contemporaries.

On this rare occasion, Steven was kind enough to sit down and answer a few of our questions regarding his style, green design, and even a little something about his childhood. Steven also marks the first interview in a new series in which Inhabitat will pose seven questions to one of today’s most influential designers, hoping to shed some critical light on the state of design today. Read ahead for our seven questions with Steven Holl.

 

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On this week’s episode of GigaOM TV’s video show Green Overdrive (where if it’s green we drive it), I take Brammo‘s all-electric motorcycle the Enertia out for a spin. It’s so much fun to drive, and I did my best impression of Top Gun as I rode around the base and past the (fake) jet in Alameda, Calif. The e-bike’s got a top speed of 60 mph, a range of 40 miles, will cost you about $8,000 (but less with subsidies) and uses a lithium iron phophate battery. Watch our test drive – enjoy!

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New York City’s 1 Bryant Park building (also known as the Bank of America building) is the greenest skyscraper in the world and Inhabitat was fortunate enough to have the chance to speak with lead architect on the project Serge Appel of Cook+Fox Architects, who helped it reach that illustrious distinction. The glossy glass structure towering over Midtown Manhattan racks up the green points with rainwater cachement and reuse, greywater recycling, recycled and sustainable building materials, energy efficient building systems, and high performance glass which maximizes daylighting and minimizes solar heat gain and loss. Read on for our interview with lead architect on the project, Serge Appel to learn more about the design of this fascinating green building.

Bob Vila’s name has been synonymous with home improvement since he helped launch This Old House in 1979. After nearly thirty years of producing and hosting television shows about the world of home design and improvement, he now showcases many of his ideas on his popular website, BobVila.com – a destination also packed with how-to articles and archived episodes. A pioneer of the adaptive reuse movement, Vila helped bring “green” thought to the forefront, and in more recent years he has focused much of his efforts on investigating sustainable building and design. Read on for our conversation with one of the most recognized voices in remodeling as he discusses green building, retrofitting, materials and energy, and how we need to recognize science and the role of government when we talk about policy.

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Earlier this year Inhabitat’s Emily Pilloton highlighted the insightful video ‘The Secret Life of Cell Phones’ produced by environmental nonprofit INFORM, Inc. Now we are pleased to announce the launch of their latest video, The Secret Life of Paper. It explores the environmental impact of the paper production industry, focusing upon forest destruction, global warming, and the complexities of paper recycling.

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Debuting nearly two years ago, gDiaper became the world’s first flushable diaper. Meeting rave reviews from mothers and fathers who were conflicted with the extra work that came with cloth diapering, and the endless piles of dirty diapers toppling over in the planet’s landfills, the gDiaper was a perfectly packaged godsend to the eco-conscious parent. Since launching their first product in 2008, the gDiaper collection has expanded turning out gCloth washable diaper inserts, fashionable new gPant styles, and the latest addition to the line, biodegradable gWipes baby wipes. An incredible endeavor that has grown to become an eco-powerhouse, we decided it was time to catch up with Kim Graham Nye, co-founder of gDiapers. Read ahead for our five questions with Kim, who gives us the scoop on how gDiapers got its start and what Kim credits as her inspiration for these planet saving products!

READ THE INTERVIEW HERE>

If you haven’t discovered it yet, Sourcemap.org is an amazing free open-source software project that allows people all over the globe to track the origin and source of all of the materials that go into our everyday products, and share this information publicly.  The founder of Sourcemap.org, Leo Bonanni, created this project to encourage more public transparency and accountability around product manufacturing and materials and to share this information with the world.  As Bonanni says, it is about, “publishing the story behind products: what they are made out of, where they come from and what the environmental and social impacts of that might be.” Watch our exclusive video interview with Bonanni — from the 2010 Greener Gadgets conference — above.

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We can’t wait for the Greener Gadgets Conference next week, and the thing that we are most excited about is superstar industrial designer Yves Béhar‘s opening keynote presentation on his latest tablet PC design for the One Laptop Per Child Project. Béhar is known around the world for his fun, innovative and humanistic designs for things like the Herman Miller LED Leaf Lamp, the Mission One Electric Motorcycle and the XO $100 Laptop for the One Laptop Per Child project. We caught up with him to chat Greener Gadgets and find out a little more about what inspires him as a designer. More after the break…

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We’re psyched about the Greener Gadgets Conference coming up in just 2 days, and are thrilled to be able to give all of you a sneak peek by interviewing industrial designer extraordinaire and keynote speaker at the event, Yves Béhar. We’ve been long-time fans of Béhar’s innovative projects, which range from the Herman Miller LED Leaf Lamp to the Mission One Electric Motorcycle to his most recent tablet computer for kids that he’ll be showing at the conference. Check out the full interview where we caught up with him about his world-bettering designs, greener gadgets and what inspires him as a designer.

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In a charming Southern lilt, Interface founder and chairman Ray Anderson addressed a private gathering last night in Los Angeles, hosted at the LEED Platinum rated home of LivingHomes founder, Steve Glenn. Known widely as the grandfather of corporate sustainability, Anderson basically gave his rapt audience a progress report on how the proverbial climb up the mountain is going. The overall prognosis? There is still a long way to go.

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CALLING ALL SAN FRANCISCANS & those of you who want to green your cities!

We’re interviewing San Francisco mayor GAVIN NEWSOM next Wednesday the 28th at 12pm PST, and we’re inviting YOU to join us next for this live webcast conversation with the country’s greenest mayor! Join us to find out more about groundbreaking energy projects, mandatory composting, and how San Francisco got to be the greenest city in the U.S!

SIGN UP HERE TO JOIN THE CONVERSATION >

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Civil Twilight’s lunar-resonant streetlighting is a project that won the top honor from Metropolis Magazine’s Next Generation contest in 2007. But we were pleased (but not surprised) to discover that this project is just the tip of the iceberg; the Bay Area-based collective has a slew of other equally-engaging projects in the works (including the mycofarmhouse, in which mushrooms break down and recycle wood-frame buildings). They describe their design process as “brilliant simplicity, across scales and media.” We couldn’t have said it better ourselves. Read on for some more info about their winning streetlights, other projects, their approach to sustainability, and the trio of talent that is Civil Twilight.