TODAY is the LAST DAY to vote for your favorite finalists!

We received nearly 200 amazing entries in our Lighten Up! LED Lighting Design Competition over the last few weeks, and after countless hours of deliberation, we’ve narrowed these entries down to just 30 finalists. Now it’s time for you to have your say! Vote for your favorite designs and decide which of these fantastic commercial and residential lighting projects should be awarded a $1000 prize from Elemental LED. Will it be this fully interactive LED drum wall, this billowing Cosmic Quilt, this gorgeously lit net-zero home in California, or these classrooms inspired by Galileo’s night sky observations? There are no doubt plenty of impressive designs to admire, but ONLY TWO can win. Cast a vote for your favorites, and if you happen to be a finalist, don’t forget to remind your friends and family to vote for your design! Voting ends TONIGHT, Friday, May 10th, 11:59PM EST.

VOTE FOR YOUR FAVORITES HERE >

0 email thisemail this facebook this facebook this

Photo via Shutterstock

Goats are some of nature’s most efficient lawnmowers – so it makes sense that one of the biggest airports in the country would want to employ them. This spring, Chicago restaurant Butcher & The Burger will lend its herd of goats to O’Hare Airport to graze along the runways. The herd of 25 goats will be transported to O’Hare from the nearby suburb of Barrington Hills in about a month, along with a shepherd who will oversee them and presumably protect them from Chicago’s coyote population.

Read More >

0 email thisemail this facebook this facebook this

London photo from Shutterstock

Thames Water, the company that provides drinking water for the city of London, has unveiled a new long-term strategy that will recycle sewage to provide drinking water for the entire population. The strategy looks to address the challenges the city will face in the next 25 years as the population the company serves grows from 9 million to 10.4 million by 2040. This will increase demand by between 230 and 340 million liters per day, with about 80 per cent of this rise expected in London.

Read More >

1 email thisemail this facebook this facebook this

California-based company Glad may specialize in dustbin liners and food storage containers, but they recently unveiled a brilliant one-person trash bag tent for camping, music festivals and other outdoor events. The concept was launched at the SXSW 2013 music festival in Austin, Texas, where tents were distributed to campers and festival attendees on the condition that they would use them after the festival as garbage receptacles for cleaning up their campsite.

Read More >

4 email thisemail this facebook this facebook this

MSDModern’s Firefly pendant is a contemporary take on the popular ombre trend. Skillfully blown by expert artists, the Firefly comes in a variety of colorful and unique shapes, including: flared and scalloped, slender and sleek, and tuliped. This lamp is sure to add a chic, colorful and artistic aesthetic to any space it graces.

+ MSDModern

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!

0 email thisemail this facebook this facebook this

Approximately 7.5 million students in the US are taught in more than 300,000 portable classrooms. Many of them are outdated. Sprout Space offers an alternative to yesterday’s portable classrooms. Created by Perkins + Will‘s award-winning K-12 Education design team, Sprout Space uses cutting edge green building strategies to enhance learning. Sprout Spaces are pre-engineered, built in a factory and delivered on-site in less time than traditional construction.

+ Sprout Space

+ Perkins + Will

+ Triumph Modular

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!

0 email thisemail this facebook this facebook this

 

 

Dutch designer Bertjan Pot creates all sorts of things—from products to furniture and installations. But what he's really into is materials experimentation. For his 'Masks' project, Pot started stitching standard ropes in an attempt to create colorful, flat carpets. But the samples he was sewing started to get curvy, and just when he was about to give up, he decided to turn them into these delightful yet terrifying masks!

 

Read More >

0 email thisemail this facebook this facebook this

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 More >

0 email thisemail this facebook this facebook this

Out in the wilderness, there are few places to charge electronic devices. Those who are looking to slim down their packs and consolidate their GPS, maps, books, and radios into  one rugged machine may want to check out Earl, the world’s first backcountry survival tablet. Solar powered and able to withstand dust, mud, and shock, this hearty companion is currently looking for some crowdsourcing support to get it out onto the trail.

Read More >

4 email thisemail this facebook this facebook this

Hello Brooklyn! We’re reporting live today from BKLYN Designs, a celebration and showcase of home furnishings designed and made in the Kingsborough. We’ve only been here for an hour or so but it’s already plain to see that the show is a feast for the eyes, with lots of sustainable furniture, lighting and other decorative wares to choose from. Stay tuned as we keep you updated on all of our finds from the show and don’t forget to vote up your favorite Brooklyn designs here! We’ll be tallying up your votes on Sunday and awarding the winners our coveted Inhabitat Green Design Awards on Sunday.

Vote here! >

+ BKLYN Designs

0 email thisemail this facebook this facebook this

 

 

Dutch designer Roel de Boer has come up with a novel housing concept that would bring urbanites closer to nature while lifting them up above the urban chaos of the streets below. Unlike the eco-luxe treehouses we commonly feature here at Inhabitat, de Boer's tree pods reduce the home to its bare essentials, providing little more than a place to rest your head. The weatherproof pods are arranged in organic shapes that rest close to the trunks of urban trees.

 

Read More >

0 email thisemail this facebook this facebook this

Photo via Shutterstock

Citing high costs and extreme resistance from the mobile phone industry, San Francisco has dropped a law that would have required a radiation warning label to be placed on all new mobile phones sold within the city limits. On Tuesday, the city Board of Supervisors voted to settle a lawsuit with the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association by accepting a permanent injunction against the right-to-know cell phone ordinance. However, the city was quick to point out that legal fees prompted the action, and that fears about the health risks posed by phone radiation still exist.

Read More >

0 email thisemail this facebook this facebook this

 

 

The Shore Vista Boat Dock is a unique boathouse designed by Bercy Chen Studio on the edge of Texas’ Lake Austin. The two-story structure has an elliptical footprint, with large windows that provide stunning 360-degree views of the lake below. But the feature that caught our attention is the manmade waterfall that cascades down from the second-floor balcony.

 

Read More >

0 email thisemail this facebook this facebook this

As a college student, you would hope to attend an institution that values enlightened ideals and sound investments. However, at many universities across the country, portions of large endowments have long been used to support the fossil fuel industry. Joining over 300 schools around the US, Brown University is seeking to divest from dirty power. Receiving support from such organizations as 350.org, the Sierra Club, the Responsible Endowments Coalition, and As You Sow, the student-run campaign is asking the administration to pull its money from 15 coal and mining companies.

Read More >

0 email thisemail this facebook this facebook this

Steven Haulenbeek used simple materials and construction techniques to build this stripped down, efficient LED lamp. The humorously titled Apoc lamp “can be deconstructed and turned into a small kindling fire at a moments notice. Just large enough to cook a rat,” but also, more sincerely, draws on the long tradition of tool-making and industrial inventions connected to the city of Chicago over the last century. Available for purchase in the desk and floor versions, the lamp will be part of the Chicagoland exhibit at Wanted Design.

Read More >

0 email thisemail this facebook this facebook this