British telecommunications company Vodafone wants people to be able to use their phones, even when they're away from a power source for days on end at music festivals, for example. So this week, the
JF-Kit is part pop-up gym, part self-sufficient off-grid home. The interior features a line of ‘domestic fitness furniture’ that enables residents to produce energy by pedaling a bike, doing sit
Vancouver architects Susan and David Scott set off to start their own practice and the first project they wanted to work on was their own. They designed and built a snowboard cabin located in an alpine
What if boiling water were a day-long chore? For millions around the world, something as simple as making tea or cooking lunch requires hours of backbreaking work to find fuel for a lasting fire. In
Isolée is a three-story structure designed on a concrete pier foundation in order to limit its impact on the site. This creates a sense that the building is standing on feet, like an old stand-alone
The client asked Charles Wright Architects to design an off-grid home on the edge of the FNQ beachfront rainforest. The goal of the home was to make the most of its natural surroundings and ensure the
Standing on 25 acres of agricultural land, Limekiln Line is a steel-clad shelter with an extended deck that leads out into the farmland. Its design was informed by local farmhouse vernacular and
Why did you start Reclaimed Space? Tracen Gardner: The job came about because I’ve always been in the construction business. I had a ranch that was remote, and I questioned how I was going to be able
Following an international seminar about the future of eco-tourism in the Western Ghats region in India, Sami Rintala, Daggur Eggertsson and Pasi Aalto of Rintala Eggertsson Architects and a group of
A project 30 years in the making, this tiny off-grid retreat on a coastal island in Maine is almost entirely self-sufficient. Designed and built by Alex Porter for her father, the project features a shed
The Shipping Container House questions the need for space in our day to day lives and challenges us to be more efficient. Coming in at only 1,517 sq ft, this compact home packs in a lot of functionality.
The 2013 Consumer Electronics Show kicked off in Las Vegas this week, and once again, gadgets that make use of renewable energy are making headlines around the world. MPowered's Luci solar lantern is a
As Eric Clapton says, “travelin’ light, it’s the only way to fly.” Whether it’s a weekend business trip or a month-long trek into the jungle, the less stuff you have to carry
Lendager Architects announced their first prize win in the competition to build the first DGNB-certified housing project in Denmark in Næstved. DGNB is a new green building certification system that is
The initial shell cost $154,000, which is said to be on the low end of local home prices, and was constructed off site before it was assembled on its present lot in 2009. All of the basics of sustainable
Regular readers of Inhabitat are likely to be familiar with Studio H. The high school design/build curriculum, which was founded by friend of Inhabitat Emily Pilloton, creates large-scale community
Macro Micro Studio is a 50-square-meter (538-square-foot) live-work Passivhaus developed by the University of Dundee’s Macro Micro research unit at the Botanic Gardens in Dundee. The project will be
Constructed from scratch in just under two weeks, the elegant but strong form of the Para Ecohouse creates an impressive dwelling for a couple to live comfortably in a sustainable manner. The simple
Urban Green Energy (UGE) today announced their newest alternative to power hungry outdoor lighting: the Sanya Streetlamp [pdf] is a standalone, off-grid street light that uses solar power, wind energy, or
Clad in black rough sawn timber that makes the home fit in so beautifully with its bucolic surroundings, the Storm Cottage by Fearon Hay Architects has operable metal screens that are perforated. These
The first thing you notice about this gypsy wagon is the surrounding smell of cedar forest and the sound of crashing waves from the lake, which is just a stone’s throw over the hill. In the winter,
While the Tate Modern may be a far cry from the Little Sun lamps eventual destination, it is in some respects a natural location for Olafur Eliasson to launch and promote the innovative endeavor. In 2003,
Streetlights are fixture of cities and towns across the world -- they literally guide us through the night. But even new LED streetlights require a large amount of energy, because they run all night long,
The Plant is a large vertical farm in southeast Chicago that houses Plant Chicago and a few other food producing tenants. The city's first vertical farm was started in 2010 and is expected to be fully
Dan and Emma Kigar started out with their own tipi way up at 11,000 feet in the Rocky Mountains. Their experience in these harsh conditions primed them for their life as yurt and tipi makers, and scores
The aim of the Garducho Biological Center (Estação Biológica do Garducho) is to foster sensitivity to the importance of biodiversity, and to increase scientific knowledge on the species and habitats in
The 78 square meter cabin was designed by Finnish architect Ville Hara with partner Anu Puustinen, who together comprise Avanto Architects. The simple home is laid out in the shape of a cross, and the
San Francisco has a poop problem – in the city’s Tenderloin district alone, there were almost 10,000 recorded “incidents of human waste” last year, according to the Bay Citizen. So
The multi-level central dome is framed with steel and clad in glazed glass panels that permit sunlight all year round. Although the greenhouse effect promotes natural heating, certain measures - such as
The team took inspiration for its design from the arts and crafts-style homes found throughout the center-city neighborhoods of Norfolk, Virginia. Craftsman style lines, windows and decor put this home in
