Bosch Automotive Service Solutions and the Evatran Group are developing a wireless electric vehicle charging system that could become the first commercially available system of its kind in the US. Unlike other EV charging systems, the Plugless Level 2 Electric Vehicle Charging System offers hands-free, automatic EV charging. All EV drivers have to do is park their vehicles on the system’s floor-mounted Parking Pad and their vehicle begins charging.

Read the rest of Bosch And Evatran Team Up to Launch Wireless Electric Vehicle Charging System

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Post tags: bosch, electric vehicles, ev, ev wireless charging, Evatran Group, infrastructure, Plugless Level 2 Electric Vehicle Charging System, wireless charging

Read the rest of TEST DRIVE: A Quick Drive Around Manhattan in the 2013 Lincoln MKZ Hybrid

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Post tags: car review, electric car, electric motor, ford, ford hybrid, green car, hybrid, lincoln, Lincoln electric car, lincoln hybrid, Lincoln MKZ, New York.

Automotive designer J Mays has become well-known as the design director of Ford Motor Company. Born in rural Oklahoma, Mays started working at his family’s auto parts store at an early age with aspirations of becoming an architect, but eventually found his calling in car design while at the Art Center in Pasadena. An automotive design pioneer with more than 30 years under his belt, Mays has been involved in the design of a number of the car industry’s most well-recognized automobiles, including the VW “New Beetle”, Aston Martin DB9, Land Rover LR3/Discovery, Ford GT, 2011 Ford Fiesta, 2012 Focus (including the Focus EV), and the new green 2013 Ford Fusion—just to name a few! For the last 16 years he’s been leading the charge at Ford as the Vice President of Global Design and Chief Creative Officer and has played a critical role in bringing a new generation of stylish, green, high-performance electric and hybrid vehicles to a mainstream market. I recently got the chance to chat with Mays about his monumental career, and I’ve published our interview here. Click ahead to read the entire interview, where Mays touches on his global travels, his design ethos and influences, the current market for hybrid and electric vehicles, and what he sees for the future of zero-emissions vehicles, both at Ford and on a global scale.

Read the rest of INTERVIEW: Inhabitat Chats with J Mays, VP of Global Design and Chief Creative Officer at Ford Motor Company

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Post tags: auto design, auto designer, Automotive Designer, electric cars, electric vehicles, energy efficient cars, ev, ford, Ford Chief Creative Officer, ford design, ford electric, ford EV, ford fiesta, ford fusion, ford fusion energi, ford fusion energy, Ford Head of Design, ford hybrid, ford motors, fuel efficiency, fuel efficient cars, fusion energi, green auto design, green automotive, green cars, inhabitat interview, J Mays, VP of Global Design and Chief Creative Officer at Ford Motor Company

People have been turning to nature for inspiration to help them solve problems for millions of years. From buildings and bridges to materials and medicine – examining the design of nature has aided in the development of almost every aspect of our lives, and most of us – often without realizing – benefit from these inspired revelations several times a day. This design concept is most commonly known as biomimicry. Designers, scientist, and engineers continue to study the complex structures found in nature to create greener and more efficient products and process for our homes and lives. In 2005 leading biomimicry expert Janine Benyus founded the Biomimicry Institute to give people the resources they needed to further their studies and understanding. Read on to learn more about how nature has inspired some truly innovative new products.

Read the rest of Design Inspiration from Nature – Biomimicry for a Better Planet

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Post tags: "wind power", African termite mounds, arup associates, biomimicry, Biomimicry Institute, Biomimicry of Termite Mounds, biomimicry solution, biomimicry techniques, Biomimicry: Design Inspiration From Nature, bioStream, blade design, Butterfly Wing biomimicry, butterfly wings, COM-BAT, design from nature, design inspiration from nature, eco design, fish swimming patterns, George de Mestral, green design, Janine Benyus, Mick Pearce, nature design, nature inspired design, Qualcomm, quantum dot solar cell, quantum dot solar cells, renewable energy, solar powered plane, solar-powered spy plane, spy plane, Termite Mounds, tidal power, veer, velcro, velcro burs, Whalepower, whales, wind turbines, wind turbines X wind power

Read the rest of Powell River Library by Miller Hull to Become Social, Cultural Hub for Canadian Town

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Post tags: british columbia, canada, community space, Daylighting, green roof, mill town, Miller Hull, Powell River, Powell River Library, public space, Public: Architecture + Communication, revitalization, Seattle, Sustainable, ventilation, views

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Post tags: Bill McDonough, bill mcdonough interview, c2c, Construction Specialist, cradle-to-cradle, green architecture, Green Building, green design, green interview, green products, green wash, GreenBuild, Herman Miller, Howard Williams, intelligent materials pooling, Material science, materials recycling, MBDC, McDonough interview, Michael Braungart, product chemistry, PVC, reverse logistics, sustainable design, technical nutrient, upcycle, upcycling, use periods, william mcdonough interview, William McDonough Partners

The greenest building is the one that’s already standing, and this week London officials announced that the buildings from the 2012 Olympic Village will be transformed into rental units, and many of them will be reserved for low-income housing. It has just been announced that the Olympic Village in London will be getting a face-lift to accommodate a new neighborhood, which London is calling the East Village. The East Village will have 2,818 brand new homes to be rented for this summer, and 1,379 of these homes will go to low-income Londoners. This is a great solution for London, since the city’s housing shortage was intensified by the global recession in 2007.

Read the rest of London’s 2012 Olympic Village to be Transformed into Affordable Housing Units

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Post tags: affordable housing, Delancey, East Village, Get Living London, London, London 2012 Games, low income housing, olympic village, olympics, Qatari Diar

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Post tags: Astley Castle Renovation, Castle, castle renovation, green renovation, green renovation project, Landmark Trust UK, repurposed castle, RIBA, RIBA 2013 Awards, uk landmarks, Witherford Watson Mann Architects

One of the biggest culprits of disease and death in slum areas around the world is the lack of sanitary toilets. There are several places in Uganda’s capital Kampala where, on average, 1000 people have to share the same toilet and where urine and excrement are dumped directly onto the streets or into open sewers. Appalled at these conditions, Design without Borders (DwB) decided to intervene and came up with a holistic solution to the problem. Sarah Kell and her DwB team designed a unisex Ecological Urinal that collects urine, stores it in a sanitary way, and turns it into high quality fertilizer. They partnered with local plastics producer Crestanks and Sustainable Sanitation Design (SuSan Design) to produce their design, which has been selected as a finalist for the 2013 Index: Award.

Read the rest of Design without Borders Creates a Unisex Ecological Urinal for the Slums of Uganda

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Post tags: collecting urine, crestanks, Design Without Borders, INDEX Awards 2013, lack of sanitary toilets, sanitation issues in kampala, sanitation issues in slums, sanitation issues in uganda, sarah kell, selling urine for fertilizer, slums of kampala, storing urine, susan design, sustainable sanitation design, turing urine into fertilizer, unisex urinal

We at Inhabitat are bona fide prefab lovers. And while we tout the benefits of the prefab process every day, it’s also important to step back and examine the potential of the prefab market, its opportunities, and how it can be maximized to produce even more sustainable, affordable, and high-quality structures. Toby Long, of CleverHomes, has been one of prefab’s pioneers with the MiniHome and NowHouse. I had a chance to sit down with him and discuss the prefab “movement,” and how he sees it maturing in the future.

Read the rest of INTERVIEW: We Talk With Prefab Home Architect Toby Long

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Post tags: Clever Homes, CleverHomes, eco design, geen home, green building San Francisco, Green Community building, green design, heron's head park, Interview with Toby Long, LEJ, Literacy for Environmental Justice, Living Classroom, Prefab Architect, prefab architecture, prefab home, sustainable design, Toby Long, Toby Long AIA

Back in March, Inhabitat reported that One Earth Designs (OED) enlisted Google Glass creator Tom Chi to perfect the design of their parabolic solar cooker, the SolSource. Readers wanted to know where they could get one, but at the time, it was only being tested in developing nations where affordable cooking fuel is hard to come by. Well, at long last, the opportunity is here! OED recently announced the launch of a Kickstarter campaign that will bring the SolSource to U.S. customers. Only 24 hours in, the crowdfunding project has already raised almost $9,000.

Read the rest of SolSource Sun-Powered Grill Coming to the US via Sizzling Kickstarter Campaign

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Post tags: barbecue, green grills, grills, kickstarter, One Earth Designs, solar cooking, solar stove, SolSource Pro, summer

With hopes of replacing hazardous kerosene wick lamps, d.light has created a series of affordable solar LED Lamps for areas without a reliable source of electricity. The lamp has an integrated solar panel and can easily orient itself towards the sun during the day, and provide focused task lighting at night. The compact-yet-powerful S1 Solar LED Lamp is one of the finalists for the 2013 INDEX: Award.

Read the rest of S1 Solar LED Lamp by d.light Aims to Provide a Brighter Future for Rural Areas in Asia and Africa

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Post tags: Affordable Solar Lamp, Africa, asia, d.light, INDEX Awards 2013, LED lighting, Lighting for Rural Areas, renewable energy, rural areas, S1 Solar LED Lamp, solar lighting, Solar Power

Read the rest of Facit Homes’ D-Process Creates Buildings that Snap Together Like LEGO Bricks

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Post tags: 2013 Index: Awards, 3d modeling techniques, digital 3d modeling, digital fabrication, Facit Homes, Facit Homes D-Process, green homes, Index Awards, lego-like building, on-site fabrication, plywood homes, Prefab Housing, prefab plywood, Sustainable buildings

Watch the ‘Big Ideas in Small Spaces: Proportion in Design’ discussion right here!

Our webcast has just ended, but you can still hear everything that was discussed by clicking on the video above. ‘Big Ideas in Small Spaces: Proportion in Design’ was an incredible design panel discussion hosted by Ford Motor Company and The Chicago Architecture Foundation. Following up on the successful ‘Design with a Conscience‘ webcast in April, this latest design discussion is focused in on how designers can maximize aesthetics and functionality in small spaces to produce innovative designs that are comfortable, efficient, and beautiful. The Big Ideas in Small Spaces panelists included: Diane Atwood of the Atwood Foundation, John Gately of Jahn, Gensler‘s Carlos Martinez, and legendary car designer and Ford’s group vice president of design and chief creative officer J Mays. All leaders in their respective industries, these four designers are brought to light how similarities in their creative processes have led to some of country’s most famous buildings, and the design of cutting-edge, eco-friendly Ford vehicles like the Fiesta and the elegant Fusion Energi.

Read the rest of Watch Inhabitat’s ‘Big Ideas in Small Spaces’ Webcast and Hear from Leading Auto Designers and Architects!

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Post tags: architecture and automotive, architecture panels, architecture webcast, atwood foundation, automotive design, big ideas in small spaces, big ideas in small spaces: proportion in design, Car Design, carlos martinex, chicago architecture events, Chicago Architecture Foundation, design events, design panels, diane atwood, ford, ford fiesta, ford fusion, ford live, ford motor company, ford motors, ford webcast, genselr, J Mays, jahn, jonathan gately

Read the rest of INTERVIEW: Inhabitat Talks to Housing Reclaimed Author Jessica Kellner About Debt Free Homes

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Post tags: "sustainable architecture", affordable housing, book review, books, eco design, green architecture, Green Building, green design, housing reclaimed, housing reclaimed book, inhabitat interview, interview, jessica kellner, low-cost housing, natural home and garden magazine, Reclaimed Materials, Recycled Materials, Sustainable Building, sustainable design, sustainable housing

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Post tags: Derek "Deek" Diedricksen, eco design, green design, Humble Homes/Simple Shacks, New England green design, Relax Shacks, salvaged materials, scrap materials, sustainable design, tiny homes, upcycled materials

When Inhabitat’s Architecture Editor,  Bridgette Meinhold, heard about the earthquake in Haiti in 2010 and the massive devastation it caused, she wanted to help, and was drawn to start investigating different options for temporary shelters and disaster relief housing. This exploration gradually broadened to a larger focus on design for disaster-preparedness; seeking out what type of shelters can best withstand earthquakes, hurricanes, rising sea levels and tornados. Now I’m thrilled to say that after years of research, Bridgette has just published an incredible new book entitled Urgent Architecture: 40 Sustainable Housing Solutions for a Changing World. Urgent Architecture showcases inspiring and innovative ideas for resilient design – design that will withstand the test of time – surviving climate change, rising sea levels, manmade and natural disasters. I recently had a chance to interview Bridgette about her new book at Inhabitat HQ in NYC, and she gave me some fascinating insight into her inspiration for the book, the impact climate change will have on future housing and what she believes is necessary to create a more sustainable and responsive built landscape. Watch the video above for the interview, and if you want to learn more, you can get your own copy of Urgent Architecture here.

A full transcript of the interview with pics is available after the jump.

Read the rest of INTERVIEW: With Bridgette Meinhold, Author of ‘Urgent Architecture’

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Post tags: "sustainable architecture", adaptable housing, book review, bridgette meinhold, bridgette meinhold interview, design for disaster preparedness, design to withstand disasters, disaster design, disaster housing, Eco Architecture, eco design, green architecture, green books, green design, inhabitat book review, Prefab Housing, resilient architecture, resilient design, sustainable design, urgent architecture

Ford Motor Company and the Chicago Architecture Foundation have joined forces to bring you yet another amazing live webcast, following up on their successful Design with a Conscience discussion seen here just last month. We’re extending a special e-vitation to Inhabitat readers to join us for ‘Big Ideas in Small Spaces: Proportion in Design‘, a panel discussion where leading Chicago architects Diane Atwood of the Atwood Foundation, John Gately of Jahn, Gensler‘s Carlos Martinez, and legendary car designer and Ford’s group vice president of design and chief creative officer J Mays will be discussing how architects and automotive designers can maximize aesthetics and functionality to create innovative designs that are comfortable, efficient, and beautiful. We’ll be live streaming this discussion on Inhabitat.com, and our esteemed panel will be discussing similarities between their creative processes that have led to some of Chicago’s most famous buildings and the design of super comfortable compact cars like the new Ford Fiesta and the elegant Ford Fusion. Join us live on June 6th to participate in this design discussion. We also encourage you to take part in the conversation by submitting your questions for the speakers below in the comments! We’ll be sending Inhabitat t-shirts to selected question submitters, so join in!

JOIN US THURSDAY, JUNE 6TH FROM 12:30PM—1:30PM CDT

WATCH THE LIVE WEBCAST HERE >

SUBMIT YOUR QUESTIONS HERE >

Read the rest of LIVE WEBCAST: Join Inhabitat for the ‘Big Ideas in Small Spaces’ Webcast and Talk to Leading Architects & Automotive Designers

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Post tags: architecture and automotive, architecture panels, architecture webcast, atwood foundation, automotive design, big ideas in small spaces, big ideas in small spaces: proportion in design, Car Design, carlos martinex, chicago architecture events, Chicago Architecture Foundation, design events, design panels, diane atwood, ford, ford fiesta, ford fusion, ford live, ford motor company, ford motors, ford webcast, genselr, J Mays, jahn, jonathan gately

Read the rest of Micro Urban Prefab Project Wins Micro Housing Ideas Competition in Denver

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Post tags: "sustainable architecture", Denver, denver architecture, eco design, green architecture, Green Building, green design, league, micro house, micro housing, micro housing ideas competition, micro urban, modular housing, Prefab, Prefab Housing, studio de arquitectura y ciudad, Sustainable Building, sustainable design, tiny homes, tiny housing, Urban design

It’s been a great year so far for Tesla – the electric automaker paid back its federal loan a full 9 years early, it announced plans to triple its supercharger stations, and it scooped the green car of the year award. Now CEO Elon Musk has announced plans to follow up on the company’s success with two additional vehicles – a small SUV and a lower-priced sedan that will hit the streets as early as 2015.

Read the rest of Tesla Motors Announces Fourth Car for Future Electric Vehicle Lineup

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Post tags: affordable Tesla car, cheaper Tesla car, electric cars, electric vehicles, elon musk, new Tesla cars, Tesla cars, Tesla CEO, Tesla charger network, Tesla Crossover, Tesla Model X, tesla model-s, Tesla Motors, Tesla new lineup, Tesla Sedan, Tesla Supercharger, Tesla SUV