While the vast majority of cyclists must adhere the same traffic laws as all other vehicles, and in some cases absurd bike-specific laws, bicycle activists in France have successfully campaigned for the right to run red lights. The new laws, presently in a trial phase at 15 intersections in Eastern Paris, will permit cyclists to continue straight through or turn right on red lights when the road is clear of pedestrians and oncoming traffic.

Read the rest of French Cyclists Win the Right to Run Red Traffic Lights

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Post tags: Bike Paths, bike sharing, cyclists, cyclists rights, france, french bike sharing, green planning, green transportation, Paris, running red lights, traffic laws, velib

This barn extension in the Pyrénées Mountains has a gorgeous green roof that minimizes its impact on an incredible site overlooking the Adour de Lesponne river valley in France. When the client commissioned PPA Architects to extend the original stone barn building that once stood alone on this enviable pastureland, they made it clear that the existing site and vernacular architecture had to be preserved at all costs. So the firm tucked the new holiday home into the side of the slope and gave it a deceptive log facade wrapped in steel, ensuring that the extension is barely visible from afar.

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Post tags: "natural materials", adaptive reuse, barn extension, Daylighting, eco design, france, green design, green renovation, green roof, Lesponne River, PPA Architects, Pyrenees Mountains, retaining wall, stone, sustainable design

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Post tags: "energy efficiency", Advanced Architecture, Blaf Architecten, Chalboard Skin Passivhause, crossway house, design standards, france, green design, JustK Passive Haus, Karawitz, passive house, Passivhause, Solar Decathlon, sustainable design

French artisan Alain Bellino took his craft to the dark side when he welded a number of leftover metal pieces together to create this surprisingly realistic Darth Vader bust. Bellino saves and restores a variety of items – from chandeliers to sculptures to tea sets to door knockers – and his handmade Vader sculpture is made of everything but the kitchen sink (including two recycled spoons for the eyes and an entire helmet of decorative ornaments). If you’re impressed with Bellino’s Star Wars tribute, check out his online portfolio for a look at his other creations – which include a chrome skull, a lamp made of out forks and spoons, and even a model of the Statue of Liberty!

+ Alain Bellino

Via design you trust

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Post tags: Alain Bellino, Art, darth vader, darth vader art, darth vader sculpture, eco-art, eco-materials, france, french sculpture, green art, green materials, green sculpture, Metal, Nice, recycled art, Recycled Materials, recycled sculpture, recycled sculpture france, sculpture art, star wars, star wars art, sustainable art

MVRDV Architects and the Urban Community of Bordeaux (CUB) have joined forces to design a brand new eco-community called Bastide Niel on the banks of the Garonne River. Spanning nearly 86 acres of industrial land and overrun parks (that’s about 144 city blocks), the new zero energy city district will contain over 3,000 homes, community buildings, a university building, sports facilities, schools, day cares, and plenty of urban greenery. When the project is complete it will be one of the largest sustainable neighborhoods in the world – definitely the most significant modern plan for the historic city of Bordeaux.

Read the rest of MVRDV Unveils Plans for Zero Energy ‘Bastide Niel’ City District in Bordeaux

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Post tags: "sustainable architecture", Architecture, bastide niel, bordeaux, bordeaux architecture, Eco Architecture, eco bordeaux, eco design, france, french architecture, garonne river, green architecture, green bordeaux, green design, MVRDV, sustainable bordeaux sustainable bastide niel, Sustainable Building, sustainable design, urban community of bordeaux, Zero energy

Read the rest of CHL Social Housing is Clad With Bright Blue Louvers for Sun Protection & Privacy

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Post tags: atelier o-s, chl housing, chl social housing, Daylighting, eco design, france, green architecture, green design, louvers, low income housing, social housing, Sustainable Building, sustainable design

Read the rest of Off Architecture Unveils Rolling Green-Roofed Apartment Complex for France

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Post tags: Anglet, Duncan Lewis SCape Architecture, eco design, france, green design, green roof, housing complex, off architecture, sustainable design, tiered green roof

Read the rest of OFF Architecture’s Terraced Green Roofed Apartments To Add Landscaping to Anglet France

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Post tags: Anglet, eco design, france, green architecture, Green Building, green design, green roof, green roofed apartment complex, off architecture, Sustainable Building, sustainable design, terraced green roof

Read the rest of Gigantic Bubbly Vitam’Parc Sports Center Pops Up in France

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Post tags: Architecture, ETFE membrane, france, geneva, green materials, green roof designs, Health, health and leisure center, L35 architects, Landscape Architecture, natural light, Recycled aluminum, Shopping center, social design, spanish design, swimming pool, uv light, Vitam’Parc

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Post tags: Architecture, eco building, eco design, france, Green Building, green design, jds, JDS Architects, lille, multi-function building, Recycled Materials, solar panels, Sustainable Building, sustainable design, youth center, youth community center

Read the rest of Saint-Étienne Residents Transform Wasteland Into Public Square and Garden

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Post tags: collectif etc, eco design, france, green architecture, green design, Landscape Architecture, Place au Changement, public garden, public park, public plaza, public space, Saint-Etienne, Urban design, urban park, urban space

Read the rest of Stadium du Littoral is a Spectacular Net Zero Sports Complex in France

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Post tags: "sustainable architecture", eco design, france, green architecture, Green Building, green design, olgga architectes, photovoltaics, renewable energy, sports stadium, stadium, Stadium du Littoral, Sustainable Building, sustainable design, wind energy, Zero energy

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Post tags: adaptive reuse, Bold Design, Daylighting, DIY, eco design, france, green design, green renovation, minimalist, Paris, space efficiency, space management, sustainable design

Read the rest of Monconseil Sports Hall is a Luminous Naturally Daylit Gymnasium in France

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Post tags: "sustainable architecture", brise soleil, Daylighting, eco design, explorations architecture, france, green architecture, Green Building, green design, mixed use building, monconseil sports hall, Multi-purpose building, natural daylighting, solar brise soleil, Sustainable Building, sustainable design, tours

Finger painting is a staple of modern preschool curriculum, but did you know that finger painting also might have been a feature of daycare centers in prehistoric times? Archaeologists have discovered 13,000-year-old finger paintings (or finger flutings, if you want to get technical about it) in a cave in France that are believed to have been produced by children aged 3 to 7. Finger paintings were found in every room of the five-mile Cave of the Hundred Mammoths, but one room contained much more finger fluting than the others, suggesting to archaeologists that it might have been a play room for children.

MORE >

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Post tags: archeology, Art, Cave painting, Children, finger painting, france, Inhabitots

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Post tags: "energy efficiency", colored glass, daylight, eco design, france, Green Building, green design, Hamonic+Masson, Paris, Paris Climate Plan, Sein, serpentine terrace, soundproofing, space management, sustainable design, terrace, Villiot Rapee

Can we stand a revival of the happy hippy movement? If it means that we’ll have more eye-popping trailers like this one revived by Pierre Arnoux in France, then we say go full steam ahead. At only 20 square meters, the trailer’s tiny size is aggrandized by a bevy of brightly colored decorations. It’s unclear whether the interior furnishings are recycled, but by gutting and renovating a used trailer, the designers saved all kinds of materials that would have been necessary to build a new home or rental. This trailer home may not suit everybody, but we are ready to don our bellbottoms and share the sustainable love!

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Post tags: abandoned buildings, adaptive reuse, Creative Reuse, eco design, france, green design, green renovation, Happy Hippy House, Jardin de la Licorne, Pierre Arnoux, sustainable design, trailer

An explosion at a nuclear waste treatment site in France killed one person today and injured several others. The explosion occurred at the Centraco plant located in the Marcoule nuclear site near Marseille on the Mediterranean Sea. The treatment facility claims there were no subsequent radioactive leaks. A fire in a furnace is said to have caused the blast, and it is reported to be contained.

Read the rest of Blast at Nuclear Site in France Kills 1, Injures 4

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Post tags: Agency for Nuclear Safety, Atomic Energy Commission, edf, france, french nuclear explosion, Fukushima, Marcoule, MOX, Nuclear plant explosion

Read the rest of Shining Low-Energy L’Arbrisseau Neighborhood Center Rises in France

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Post tags: Colboc Franzen & Associates, community center, eco design, energy efficient design, france, green architecture, Green Building, green design, high performance facade, L'Arbrisseau, L'Arbrisseau Neighborhood Center, lille, neighborhood center, Solar Power, Sustainable Building, sustainable design

Read the rest of WasteLandscape: 65,000 Discarded CDs Form a Sea Of Metallic Dunes in Paris

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Post tags: Art, art installation, cds, Clémence Eliard, discarded cds, eco design, eco-art, Elise Morin, france, green design, Paris, Recycled Materials, sustainable design, waste landscape, wastelandscape