Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: Africa, African-Themed Gingerbread Geodesic Dome, Architecture, DIY, eco design, geodesic dome, gingerbread house, green design, Henley-on-Klip, kruger national park, Scout Regalia, South Africa, sustainable design

What started as the 15,000 Bottle Caps for Africa concept just a few months ago is now an actual built computer learning center and library thanks to architect Charles Newman and the organization Under The Acacia. The Kenya-based project revolved around Newman’s inclusive approach to design, which made it imperative that he work closely with the local Maasai people and give them ownership over the build. More than an architectural feat decorated with colorful bottle caps laid out by Maasai women according to traditional jewelry patterns, the project also creates social cohesion and introduces technology in a non-intrusive way. Newman explains, “In a community that has historically resisted western influence, allowing them to create something unique to their tribe helps them understand that while computers might be foreign, it is an opportunity to further enrich their own culture.” Read on for Inhabitat’s exclusive interview with this revolutionary architect.

Read the rest of INTERVIEW: We Talk to Architect Charles Newman About 15,000 Bottle Caps for Africa

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: 15000 bottle caps for africa, Adele’s Literacy Library, Africa, Charles Newman, Charles Newman Design, Engineers Without Borders, Greystone Aviation, Greystone Learning Center, habitat for humanity, inhabitat, Internet Society, Jess Teutonico, kenya, Loita Hills, low impact, maasai, Maasai culture, recycled bottlecaps, Recycled Materials, repurposed materials, reused materials, social design, traditional techniques, Under the Acacia, Village Earth

Read the rest of Sipopo Congress Center’s Lace Envelope Shields it from the Hot Equatorial Guinea Sun

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: "sustainable architecture", Africa, congress center, Daylighting, eco design, equatorial guinea, green architecture, Green Building, green design, high performance envelope, malabo, natural daylighting, negotiations center, shade screen, sipopo congress center, sun screen, sun shade, Sustainable Building, sustainable design, tabanlioglu architects

With a serious housing shortage but no shortage of plastic bottles littering the streets, the Development Association for Renewable Energies (DARE) – an NGO based in Nigeria – decided to build this incredible two-bedroom bungalow entirely out of plastic bottles! Although many in Kaduna were dubious when the project began construction in June this year, the nearly-complete home is bullet and fireproof, earthquake resistant, and maintains a comfortable interior temperature of 64 degrees fahrenheit year round!

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: Africa, Africa's first bottle home, African Community Trust, bulletproof, Dare, earthquake resistance, eco design, fireproof, green design, housing shortage, humanitarian design, Kaduna, nigeria, plastic, plastic bottle house, Pollution, Recycled Materials, sustainable design

A group of 25 Ugandan students from Makerere University’s College of Engineering, Art and Design have built Uganda’s first electric car, the Kiira EV. Initially designed in 2009, the fabricated car was taken for a public test drive last week. Most of the parts of the two-seater, including the core body and combustion system, were designed and built locally.

Read the rest of Uganda’s First Electric Car Built by Makerere Students

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: Africa, alternative energy, alternative transportation, battery operated, battery powered, eco-conscious, electric car, green design, green transportation, inhabitat, Kiira EV, Makerere University, rechargeable, student design, Sustainable, sustainable design, Uganda

Read the rest of Makeshift Magazine Launch Celebrates Innovative Design in Unlikely Places

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: A Journal of Creativity, adaptive reuse, Africa, asia, developing world, earth-friendly, Eco, eco-conscious, green, green design, informal economy, informal sector, ingenuity, inhabitat, innovation, invention, inventive, Makeshift, makeshift magazine, Makeshift: A Journal of Creativity, re-culture, Recycle, Recycled Materials, repurpose, Repurposed Space, resourceful, reuse, south america, sustainable design, Sustainable Materials, trash, Waste

Customized fixies may be all the rage in urban America nowadays, but even the simplest, cheapest bike is a rare sight in rural Africa. Fortunately, the bamboo from which to craft bikes grows on trees – or rather in groves. However, the labor and money to manufacture bicycles does not. That is where Zambikes comes in. In partnership with the non-profit Akerfa, this Zambian bike manufacturer sells hand-crafted bamboo bikes to the West and invests the profits back into its community.

Read the rest of Zambikes: Bamboo Bikes That Help Fight Poverty & Save Lives in Africa

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: Africa, akerfa, alternative transportation, bamboo, bamboo bike, bicycles, bikes, green materials, green transportation, handcrafted, handmade bike, rapidly renewable, Sustainable Materials, zambia, zambike, zambikes, zambulance

With New York Fashion Week now off and running, we’re all geared up and bustling around town to get to all the green shows. But before we unleash our lastest NYFW coverage on you, we thought it’d be fun to revisit one of last season’s most impressive shows: EDUN. At a rockin’ presentation that attracted a slew of A-listers, EDUN’s designers Ali Hewson and Sharon Wauchob made some time to stop and chat with us about their stunning SS’11 line, their inspiration, and what they think will bring the sustainable fashion movement to the mainstream.

WATCH THE VIDEO HERE >

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: Africa, Ali Hewson, Bono, eco-fashion, EDUN, Ethical Fashion, Gavin Rossdale, green fashion, Kingston Rossdale, New York Eco-Fashion Week, new york fashion week, New York Green Fashion Week, Sharon Wauchob, Spring/Summer 2011, Sustainable Fashion, sustainable style

Read the rest of Diébédo Francis Kéré’s Great Mosque and National Park Sit Beautifully In the Heart of Mali

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: adobe, adobe mud construction, Africa, aga khan trust for culture, baobab, Burkina Faso, Climate Change, CO2, cultural architecture, culture, development, Diébédo Francis Kéré, eco design, eco habitat, eco-art, eco-conscious, eco-friendly, ecology, Environment, environmental design, government, Green Building, green design, green infrastructure, green living, green structure, green technology, green transportation, infrastructure, kere, kere architecture, land preserve, Landscape Architecture, lattice-work, mali, Minimalism, minimalist architecture, National Park of Mali, national parks, natural construction, natural stone, open space, preservation, public space, sandstone, simplicity, sports pavilion, steel roof, stone walls, sustainable design, sustainable living, sustainable structure, vernacular, vernacular architecture, West Africa

Construction on the largest utility-scale wind turbine project in Africa is set to begin construction in Kenya in December of this year after the group behind it received a letter of support from the Kenyan government. The Lake Turkana Wind Power project, once finished, will consist of 360 wind turbines, each with a capacity of 850 kilowatts that will generate a total of 300 megawatts of electricity. The letter of support from Kenyan officials gives the Lake Turkana Wind Power (LTWP) project government backing in the sale of their energy and will help them seal the deal on their final round of financing, putting the last wheels in motion for bringing this project online.

Read the rest of Construction on Largest Wind Farm in Africa to Start in Kenya This Year

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: Africa, african renewable energy, kenya, kenyan renewable energy, lake turkana kenya, lake turkana wind project, lake turkana wind turbine, renewable energy in africa, renewable energy in developing countries, renewable energy in the kenya

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: "energy efficiency", "sustainable architecture", Africa, ceramic tiles, dome, earth tube, Foster and Partners, granite, limestone, morocco, passive cooling, passive design, tadelakt, zellige

Read the rest of Harvard Graduate Students Complete Locally Constructed Rwandan Hospital

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: Africa, butaro hospital, Design for Health, eco design, eco hospital, green architecture, Green Building, green design, hospital, humanitarian design, local labor, local materials, mass design group, rwanda, sustaianble architecture, Sustainable Building, sustainable design

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: Africa, art installation, eco-art, green art, Jan Körbes, Millegomme, Mmabatho Stadium, port a potty, portable toilet, potty, stadium, Thjeu Donders, toylit, upcycled, www.refunc.nl

Read the rest of Inhabitat Reader Builds Sustainable Homes in Ghana

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: Africa, brandon rogers, earth bag, Eco Architecture, eco building, eco design, Ghana, green architecture, green design, Sustainable Building, sustainable home

Rwanda is harnessing the natural gas in one of three known “exploding lakes” to generate electricity in a nation where just 1 in 14 houses has access to power. The technology will boost the African nation’s economy while also mitigating the danger of lake overturn, in which huge clouds of carbon dioxide are released, suffocating everyone in their midst.

Read the rest of Rwanda Taps Volcanic “Exploding Lake” for Power

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: Africa, carbon capture, carbon dioxide, carbon sequestration, lake kivu, methane, natural gas, rwanda

Read the rest of Mapungubwe Interpretation Centre is a Fun Cluster of Earthy Domes

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: "sustainable architecture", Africa, domed architecture, Eco Architecture, green architecture, Green Building, local labor, local materials, Mapungubwe Interpretation Centre, peter rich architects, South Africa, Sustainable Building, Zimbabwe

While the excitement of the World Cup may be over, one group of creative thinkers still has soccer on the brain – and for a great cause. Jane Harrison and David Turnbull of Atopia Research have come up with PITCH: AFRICA, a soccer field (or pitch) that collects and filters water. Currently, almost one billion people on the Earth don’t have clean drinking water, and dirty water and a lack of basic sanitation cause 80% of all disease and kill more people than all forms of violence. This ingenious invention is both a fun place for communities to gather and a way for them to access clean water.

Read the rest of PITCH: AFRICA is a Soccer Field that Also Produces Clean Drinking Water!

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: Africa, annenberg foundation, Atopia Research, clean water, David Turnbull, Design for Health, humanitarian design, Jane Harrison, pitch: africa, Soccer, soccer field that can provide clean drinking water, South Africa, World Cup

The Kibera slum of Nairobi is home to a million people — and no electricity. Kibera residents use dangerous and heavily-polluting kerosene lamps to see at night, and despite their fervor for soccer, watching the World Cup has been entirely out of reach — regardless of how geographically close it may be. Until now — a Swiss not-for-profit, Solafrica, has provided a portable solar power station that runs a large donated TV where residents can gather to watch the event.

Read the rest of Africa’s Largest Slum Will Watch World Cup on Solar-Powered TV

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: Africa, kenya, kibera, nairobi, solar lighting, World Cup

From the US to the UK to China, countries around the world getting in on the high speed rail bandwagon. The latest country to announce plans for a network is South Africa, which is now looking into a high speed rail line that connects Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town. Right now a journey from Durban to Johannesburg can take up to 12 hours, but with a high speed rail line the trip would only take 3 hours. This vast improvement is what South African officials feel is necessary to improve economic development and modernize the country.

Read the rest of South Africa to Unveil Plans for High Speed Rail Network

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: Africa, alternative transportation, eco design, gautrain, green design, green transportation, high speed rail, HSR, South Africa, south african high speed rail

No matter how cool you think your childhood science projects were, Sam Todo, a student from the Togolese Republic in Africa, has probably one-upped you with his humanoid robot made almost completely out of old TV parts! Sam named the robot SAM10, and is working on making it perform feats like saying hello to people and avoiding objects in its path – ambitious goals considering that many similar robots needed to be constructed in fully-staffed, million dollar labs.

Read the rest of African Student Builds Humanoid Robot From Old TV Parts

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: Africa, eco design, green design, Recycled Materials, recycled robot, recycling, robot made from tvs, robots, sam todo, sam10, student makes robot from tv parts, sustainable design, togo, togolese student, upcycling