Recent advances in 3D printing technology have resulted in plenty of breakthroughs in the fields of medical science and prosthesis, but 3D printing is also contributing to the art world in new and unexpected ways. Sculptor Marco Mahler recently collaborated with mathematician Henry Segerman to produce a collection of the world’s first fully 3D-printed mobiles, and they’re pretty impressive. As Mahler explains on his website, the mobiles come out of the 3D printer completely assembled, and their balance points were calculated to 1/1000th of a millimeter. All of the mobiles are now available for sale through Mahler’s and Segerman’s shop at Shapeways.

+ Mobiles by Marco Mahler and Henry Segerman

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Why do so many couples care where their diamonds come from? Maybe the best answer to that question is that many diamonds are tainted by bloodshed and violence. But the ethical problems facing the diamond industry run deep, and are more varied than some people realize. In too many ways, diamond mining contributes to the exploitation of people and the environment. Hit the jump to learn more.

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A team from the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) have broken their own record after flying their hydrogen fuel cell powered-Ion Tiger UAV for an astonishing 48 hours and 1 minute last month. The UAV, which used liquid hydrogen fuel in its  new, NRL-developed, cryogenic fuel storage tank and delivery system, broke its previous record of 26 hours and 2 minutes which it set in 2009.

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Photo via Shutterstock

According to a recent op-ed on the Wall Street Journal, rising CO2 levels are the best thing to happen to the planet since the Big Bang. The column was written by Harrison Schmidt, a former astronaut and adjunct professor of engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and William Happer, a professor of physics at Princeton University. In it, they claim that increased CO2 levels in the atmosphere will result in increased agricultural productivity. But mainstream science of course says this is a bunch of hooey.

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Photo: Eric Cheng

The South Bronx is known for many things - its role in hip hop history, being the home of the Yankees and notable natives like Al Pacino, Colin Powell and Jennifer Lopez - but unfortunately, recycling is not one of them. According to city surveys, the South Bronx has the lowest recycling rate in all of NYC, but musician will.i.am and Coca Cola are hoping to change that through their joint venture, EKOCYCLE. This morning, EKOCYCLE announced their $200,000 grant to Sustainable South Bronx to create a new pilot program to help make it easier for area residents to get into the habit of recycling.

 

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Alternative energy company Urban Green Energy (UGE) has announced the launch of its new vertical axis wind turbine, the VisionAIR. The turbine was the result of over a year of dedicated testing at UGE’s research and development facility and according to the company, and it could be used in distributed energy applications, which are typically located near the point of energy consumption. The VisionAIR will debut at the Beijing International Garden Expo next week.

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The Optical Glass House in Japan takes its name from its unique translucent façade, which shields the home's tranquil courtyard from the surrounding urban environment. Designed by Hiroshi Nakamura & NAP Co. Ltd., this single-family home in downtown Hiroshima features a gorgeous secluded patio with a garden and pool, all hidden behind the bricked-glass wall. The translucent wall filters sunlight and provides some privacy, while protecting the house from the noisy street.

 

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Can technology save the world? In short: No, not by itself. A sweeping set of changes in the way we interact with the planet is needed to stabilize our rapidly deteriorating biosphere and avert a bleak future. Technology is simply a tool to help us achieve these changes. A dangerous argument, however, is when decision-makers and influencers say our impact on the planet is not a concern, and changes in our behavior are not needed in the near future, or ever, because technology will save us. Sounds ridiculous, but various forms of this argument are commonly invoked in government and international forums, particularly when profits and votes come into play.

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Bower's magnetic Polaris lamp is one of the BKLYN Designs product unveils we've really been looking forward to, and yesterday we finally got the chance to try out the light's sticking power at the show. The Polaris is made up of pieces of scrap wood that have been cut and fit to form its multi-faceted shape. Each lamp has been embedded with small but powerful magnets, allowing it to be adhered to any magnetic surface at many different angles depending on task and mood. We spoke to Danny Giannella and Tammer Hijazi, the two man team behind Bower, about the Polaris and some of the other cool wares showcased at their site - read on to see what we found out!

 

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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.

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As soon as 2014, the Burj Khalifa may no longer be the tallest building in the world. Sky City, a planned 220-story prefab tower in Changsha, China, will soon claim that title. According to Lloyd Alter at Treehugger, Broad Sustainable Building, the company behind the tower, will begin construction on the prefab behemoth this June. The energy-efficient skyscraper will literally house an entire city using just 10 percent of the site area, and it could serve as a model for sustainable urban development of the future.

 

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Researchers at SUNY Buffalo are working on a new generation of liquid solar cells that may one day be as cheap as paint. Although they would be significantly less efficient than conventional solar cells made with either amorphous silicon or cadmium telluride, these new plasmonic-enhanced photovoltaic solar cells containing metal nanoparticles are less costly to produce and can be applied to much bigger surfaces.

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Last weekend, the New Museum's Ideas City Festival brought an action packed array of sustainable events and exhibitions to the Bowery. Visitors marveled as treetops and skyscrapers were brought within arm’s reach by Davidson Rafailidis’ Mirror Mirror installation, while others hung out inside Raumlabor’s inflatable bubble pavilion. Inhabitat joined the hundreds of New Yorkers who enjoyed the sustainable art installations, forums, and creative recycling initiatives - click through our gallery to see what we saw!

 

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Lanternen is a new contemporary pavilion that stands in the middle of a pedestrian street in the city of Sandnes, Norway. Designed by local studio Atelier Oslo, the shelter has a become a prominent landmark in the city. Shaped like a greenhouse on eco-friendly wooden stilts, it lives up to its name by glowing like a lantern at night.

 

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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.

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