Tesla Motors has announced that the first deliveries of its new Model S electric sedan will begin on June 22nd, ahead of the previously  predicted July delivery date. The first Model S buyers will receive their cars at an invitation-only event at the Tesla Factory in Fremont, California. Additionally, the automaker plans to kick off the first Model S test-drive events in July. “In 2006 our plan was to build an electric sports car followed by an affordable electric sedan, and reduce our dependence on oil,” said Elon Musk, Tesla Motors CEO and Chief Product Architect. “Delivering Model S is a key part of that plan and represents Tesla’s transition to a mass-production automaker and the most compelling car company of the 21st century.”

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Who needs Central Park when you've got a grass-topped table that makes every meal a picnic? Okay, we still love Central Park, but on days when you can't go out to play, Haiko Cornelissen's PicNYC Table is a breath of fresh air. Unlike other faux foliage-filled designs we've seen, the PicNYC table features living, growing greenery, and you aren't just limited to growing grass. Spotted at the Wanted Design exhibition during NY Design Week, the clever double-duty piece can be planted with flowers or even herbs to pick and sprinkle right onto your meal.

 

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At this year's Wanted Design show during New York Design Week 12 contemporary designers unveiled 12 fresh new designs made entirely of lumber reclaimed from blighted New York City buildings! Dubbed 12 x 12, the exhibition features a chair made from a Park Avenue water tank, a desk made of wood salvaged from the Brooklyn Bridge, a coffee table made from Coney Island boardwalk planks, and a bar cart made of old wood casks from a distillery in Flushing. Read on to check out our photos and learn more about all 12 designs from this inspiring show!

 

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Spotted at New York Design Week, we are in love with the Urbio, a system of mix and match modular planters and organizers that snap into place with high-strength magnets. The series of various sized containers allow for the creation of a personalized wall garden, an elegant centerpiece, or a space-saving solution for organizing your home office.

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When gardening, we’re sure many of you have used herbicides to kill weeds and other invasive plants. However, the thing about herbicides is that in order to kill weeds, they are often very toxic and affect everything from those using them to potentially the groundwater. To prevent any possible environmental damage with herbicides in the future, a team from the Leibniz University in Hannover, Germany have developed a hi-tech alternative: weed-killing lasers!

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Haiko Cornelissen's lush, living PicNYC Table is a brilliant plant-growing furnishing that brings a taste of the outdoors to every meal. The aluminum table is deep enough to double as a planter bed, and it can grow everything from grass to herbs and flowers. We caught up with Haiko at this year's Wanted Design exhibition during NY Design Week to ask him about his inspiration and snap some firsthand photos - read on for a closer look!

 

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The LED-lit One Raffles Place Tower Two is a worthy successor to its taller neighbor, One Raffles Place Tower One, with a flair for environmentally advanced design. Located right in the heat of the bustling downtown of Singapore’s financial district, the tower’s 38 gleaming, LED-illuminated stories tell the tale of a new breed of buildings that are designed to do more with less. The building, which achieved the Green Mark Platinum Award, is the work of SAA and Paul Noritaka Tange, the son of the Pritzker Prize-winning architect Kenzo Tange.

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Flip-flops are a summer staple that many of us will be spending the next three months in. But instead of purchasing some flimsy pair at the local mall this year, why not consider slipping your toes into an eco-friendly, vegan option instead? We’ve rounded up 10 eco-friendly flip-flops that use everything from raffia fiber to recyclable rubber to make for some stylish slip-ons. Check ‘em all out ahead!

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The colorful Santa Eugenia de Berga Social Housing project in Spain presented an interesting challenge to Barcelona-based design firm Bailo Rull ADD+: to design an efficient building despite the site's unfortunate solar orientation. Located between an existing building and open green space, the site for the project was along the north-south axis that had zero shade on the west. In order to keep the building from cooking in the afternoon sun, the firm's solution was to add a brise soleil handrail to filter the light and block the heat.

 

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Here at Inhabitat we have seen some very creative iPhone amplifiers that use bamboo canes, repurposed musical instruments and even an entire tree trunk to blast tunes. But here is one example you can easily DIY by combining a vintage bike horn and a standard plastic tube. Homemade, low-tech and definitely eye-catching, Lowtechatmo’s Bike Horn iPhone will combine your love of music with your love for bikes.

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With China becoming the world’s leader of solar cells and panels, it was hoped that their mass production would help bring down global prices. However, in order to aid domestic manufacturing, the US has hampered such progress by imposing tariffs of as much as 250 percent on Chinese-made solar cells. While the decision was made to protect US solar production against foreign competition, it is expected that it will ultimately raise PV cell prices and hurt the domestic renewable energy industry.

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Green roofs may be a newer phenomenon in many places, but Norwegians have been planting greenery atop their houses for hundreds of years. Some have flowers mixed in with grass, and a few even have small trees. The verdant roofs have many advantages like the fact that they help stabilize homes, provide good insulation and are long-lasting.

 

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