Yesterday morning, Mayor Bloomberg and New York City Parks Commissioner Veronica M. White visited Coney Island to announce the opening of all New York City beaches for the 2013 season. The kick-off was even more special than in past years because it also included beaches in places like the Rockaways, Coney Island and Cedar Grove that were badly damaged by Hurricane Sandy. After the storm, there was speculation over whether these areas could be restored in time for Memorial Day weekend, but all doubts were erased this morning with the unveiling of even better, more resilient facilities at these locations.

Read the rest of NYC Beaches Open Today After Post-Hurricane Sandy Restoration and Improvements testing

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Post tags: Brighton beach Manhattan Beach, brooklyn beach, Cedar Grove, coney island, eco design, environmental sustainability, flood-proof construction, Garrison Architects, green building, green design, green NYC, Hurricane Sandy, Inhabitat Local New York City, Inhabitat NYC, jim garrison, new york city, nyc beach buildings, nyc beaches open, nyc prefab, Orchard Beach, post-Sandy construction, prefab beach buildings, Rockaway Beach, South Beach, sustainable design, when do nyc beaches open, Wolfe’s Pond

Read the rest of School of Visual Arts Offering Co-Working Desks to Work from This Summer testing

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Post tags: chelsea co-working, co working, co-working desk, desk rental, eco design, green design, green office, manhattan co-working, office rental, products of design, school of visual arts, shared office, summer desks, sustainable design, SVA

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Post tags: ARTLANTIC, Atlantic City Alliance, Atlantic City redevelopment, Casino Reinvestment Development Authority, eco design, green design, Ilya and EMilia Kabakov, Jedediah Morfit, John Roloff, Kiki Smith, Lance Fung, Peter Hutchinson, RObert Barry, Robert Lach, sustainable design

Read the rest of Clever 425 sq. ft. Manhattan Micro-Loft Stacks Upwards for More Space testing

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Post tags: built in furniture, eco design, green architecture, green building, green design, green renovation, Manhattan, micro apartment, micro condo, micro loft, pied-à-terre, renovation, small space living, specht harpman, specht harpman architects, sustainable architecture, sustainable building, sustainable design, tiny apartment, tiny home, upper west side

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Post tags: bubble chandelier, eco design, eco lighting, green design, green lighting, helping the homeless, ICFF, nyc design, product design, recycled bottle lamp, recycled lighting, souda, sure we can, sustainable design

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Post tags: botanical gardens New York, eco design, green design, Landmarked buildings New York, Snug Harbor, Snug Harbor Cultural Center, Staten Island, sustainable design

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Post tags: east village, East Village History, east village mosaic man, eco art, eco design, green art, green design, Jim Power, Legendary Mosaic Trail, lower east side mosaics, mosaic, street art, sustainable design

This Thursday, May 23rd, Inhabitat’s Architecture Editor Bridgette Meinhold will be speaking at The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University about sustainable housing and environmental challenges. Bridgette Meinhold is the author of Urgent Architecture: 40 Sustainable Housing Solutions for a Changing World and will discuss housing options in the context of natural disasters, climate change and how we can prepare our housing stock for upcoming challenges. Meinhold will also be joined by Jonah Reynolds, who is a world-renowned Earthship builder and educator and will also be speaking at the free event. The talks will take place on Thursday, May 23th, starting at 6:00pm at The Academy of Natural Sciences at Drexel University.

+ RSVP for Bridgette Meinhold’s Academy of Natural Sciences Lecture

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Post tags: academy of natural sciences, architecture event, bridgette meinhold, bridgette meinhold talk, drexel university, eco design, green architecture, green building, green design, green event, lecture, philadelphia, philly, speak, sustainable architecture, sustainable building, sustainable design, talk, urgent architecture, urgent architecture talk

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Post tags: eco art, eco design, green design, MoMA, Museum of Modern Art, rain art, Rain Room, rain room at moma, Random International, sustainable design, water recycling art installation

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Post tags: Axor, axor faucets, Axor Starck Organic, eco design, green design, green faucet, green faucets, Hansgrohe, Philippe Starck, philippe starck faucets, sustainable design, sustainable faucet, water saving, Water-Saving Faucets

We’re looking forward to all that this weekend’s International Contemporary Furniture Fair will bring, and we just learned that the latest in home furnishings won’t be the only thing visitors can expect at the event. Showgoers who are interested in 3D printing technology will also be able to participate in DesignX‘s hands-on 3D printing workshops in a pop-up classroom at the fair. Over the course of four days, guests will be able to enroll in fifteen different reasonably-priced classes on cutting edge technology and design, including 3D printing, cloud collaboration and 3D design.

Read the rest of Learn How to 3D Print at ICFF with DesignX! testing

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Post tags: 3d print, 3d printing, 3D printing class, 4d printing, DesignX, eco design, firefly, Francis Bitonti, green design, ICFF, Machine Made, Mode Lab, Nervous System, shapeways, sustainable design

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Post tags: Davidson Rafailidis, DS Institute, eco design, green design, green NYC, ideas city, Ideas City Festival, Kim Holleman, kim holleman trailer park, New Museum, nyc green, Raumlabor, sustainable design

We’ve been wanting to see Lamacek‘s new Phelt “clusters” in person ever since we found out about them, and we finally got our chance this weekend at BKLYN Designs. The fun series takes eco-felt made from 100% recycled plastic bottles and turns it into spirally groupings that can be used as wall art, seat cushions, coasters and pretty much whatever else you can think of (Lamacek takes custom orders as well). We got a chance to ask Connie Lam, who founded Lamacek with partner Michael Sedlacek, about PHELT. Read on to see what we learned.

Read the rest of Lamacek Shows Off Fun Phelt Wall Clusters at BKLYN Designs 2013 testing

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Post tags: bklyn designs, Brooklyn, connie lam, deer head lamp, eco design, eco-felt, green design, green furnishings, Lamacek, Michael Sedlacek, nyc, recycled materials, recycled plastic bottles, sustainable design, sustainable furnishings

Read the rest of Analog Modern Draws Upon Traditional Craft to Create Their Contemporary Furniture Collection testing

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Post tags: Amanda Coen, Analog Modern, bklyn designs, Brooklyn, Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, brooklyn designs, eco design, furniture design, green design, home goods, house ware, industrial design, Inhabitat, Inhabitat NYC, new york city, Peter Buley, reclaimed wood, recycled aluminium, recycled materials, salvaged materials, salvaged wood, sustainable design, West Elm

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Post tags: bklyn designs, eco design, environmental sustainability, flood-proof construction, Garrison Architects, green building, green design, green NYC, Hurricane Sandy, Inhabitat Local New York City, Inhabitat NYC, jim garrison, new york city, nyc beach buildings, nyc prefab, post-Sandy construction, prefab beach buildings, sustainable design

We’ve been in love with Adam Frank’s LUMEN nightlights for all the years that this veteran designer has been bringing them to BKLYN Designs, but we are absolutely thrilled with his new LED version. Frank’s delicate little Lumen lamps are made of stainless steel sheets cut into shapes found in nature (like pine trees), and they cast gentle shadows on the wall. But now each one is even more efficient, long-lasting, and earth-friendly than ever before.

Read the rest of Adam Frank’s LUMEN LED is a Delightful Little Nightlight with Big Energy Savings testing

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Post tags: adam frank, brooklyn designers, eco lighting, efficient night lights, green design, green designers from Brooklyn, green lighting, LED battery life, led lights, Lumen LED, sustainable design, sustainable lighting

Read the rest of Pickett Furniture Uses Sustainable Wood and Vintage Textiles to Create Playful Handcrafted Pieces testing

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Post tags: Brooklyn, Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, brooklyn designs, eco design, furniture design, green design, home goods, house ware, industrial design, Inhabitat, Inhabitat NYC, Jeremy Pickett, new york city, pickett, Pickett Furniture Company, reclaimed wood, recycled aluminium, recycled materials, salvaged materials, salvaged wood, sustainable design, West Elm

BKLYN Designs came and went far too quickly, but it was fantastic to catch up with Brooklyn’s best and greenest designers – including Bien Hecho. Translated to mean “well made” in Spanish, this local studio offers a playful range of interior furnishings that are all made with salvaged materials. From lamps to chairs and tables to a brand new mini water cooler made out of timber harvested from large water towers, each piece is uniquely and unquestionably sustainable.

Read the rest of PHOTOS: Bien Hecho Shows Off Their Reclaimed and Well Made Home Furnishings testing

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Post tags: Bien Hecho, bklyn designs, brooklyn design events, brooklyn designers, eco design, furniture made with reclaimed materials, green design, green designers, NYC designers, NYC water towers, salvaged Coney Island boardwalk wood, sustainable design

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Post tags: adam frank, Aellon, Bien Hecho, Bower, Brooklyn, Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, brooklyn designs, Caleb Zipperer, CASA Kids, Dog Tag Designs, eco design, From the Source, furniture design, Garrison Architects, green design, home goods, hooker and co, house ware, industrial design, Inhabitat, Inhabitat NYC, Lamacek, mark Jupiter, new york city, Noble Goods, Palo Samko, pickett, reclaimed wood, recycled aluminium, recycled materials, salvaged materials, salvaged wood, sustainable design, Urban Chandy, West Elm

We just caught up with Adam Frank at BKLYN Designs, and we’re very excited to share his newest and arguably coolest design yet – the LUCID Mirror. This awesome mirror functions just like any reflective sheet of glass, except it also has a 3D image of illuminated clouds floating at the top!

Read the rest of Adam Frank Unveils Mesmerizing 3D LED LUCID Mirror at BKLYN Designs 2013 testing

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Post tags: 3D LED Cloud mirror, adam frank, BKLYN Designs 2013, brooklyn designers, Dumbo designers, eco design, green design, green designers, green lighting, illuminated mirror, LED lighting, light artist, LUCID Mirror, sustainable design, sustainable lighting

Back in March the NYC Planning Commission approved plans for Cornell’s new tech campus located on Roosevelt Island – and now it looks like the university is about to jump its final hurdle. The City Council just announced that it will vote to approve the 2-million-square-foot sustainable campus, and if all goes as planned, construction will break ground in 2014.

Read the rest of New York City Council to Give Green Light to Cornell’s Tech Campus testing

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Post tags: cornell tech, cornell tech campus, Cornell University Manhattan, cornell university roosevelt island, eco design, google ny headquarters, green design, largest energy-neutral building, morphosis, new york city planning commission, roosevelt island, skidmore owings and merrill, solar powered academic building, sustainable design, the new york times

You might have known him as MCA of the Beastie Boys, but before he was a rapper Adam Yauch was just a happy Brooklyn kid playing at his favorite park. The late musician was honored last week when Palmetto Playground in Brooklyn Heights was renamed Adam Yauch Park in celebration of his popularity and influence as a rapper, filmmaker and activist. Yauch grew up hanging out at the Columbia Street playground, in the neighborhood that inspired one of the group’s most famous songs, “No Sleep ‘Til Brooklyn.”

Read the rest of Adam Yauch Park Opens in Brooklyn Heights, Honoring Late Beastie Boys Member testing

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Post tags: Adam Yauch Park, Beastie Boys, beastie boys park, brooklyn Heights Park, brooklyn parks, eco design, green design, green parks nyc, MCA, nyc parks, parks nyc, sustainable design

After the debut of her Live Screen hydroponic garden during NY Design Week 2012, Brooklyn-based designer Danielle Trofe is returning this year with a new series of off-the-grid LED lighting fixtures that are illuminated using the power of falling sand. Based on the shape of the hourglass, the new lamps need to be flipped to continue working and require the user’s involvement to stimulate awareness of the finite nature of lighting energy sources.


Read the rest of Danielle Trofe’s LED Hourglass Lamps Are Powered by Falling Sand testing

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Post tags: Danielle Trofe Design, green design, green lighting, hourglass, hourglass lamps, kinetic energy, kinetic energy design, lamp design, LED lamps, Live Screen hydroponic garden, ny design week, NY Design Week 2013, solar energy, vertical garden

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Post tags: bamboo furniture, bklyn designs, custom audio electronics, Dumbo designers, eco design, furniture made with salvaged materials, green design, green designers in Brooklyn, new york designers, reclaimed materials, sustainable design

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Post tags: 2013, artsy fartsy, bklyn designs, Brooklyn, Dog Tag Designs, Dumbo, eco design, green design, lamps, nyc, recycled materials, Steampunk, sustainable design, tables, Tyagi Schwartz, upcycled design