This stunning LED chandelier lit up this year’s BKLYN Designs with a stellar low-energy lighting solution for light emitting diodes. Recent Pratt graduate Kenzan Tsutakawa-Chinn wowed attendees at the BKLYN Designs show with his constellation chandelier, which takes the form of a gorgeous starburst, breaking LEDs free from their circuit-mounted domain.
We love our green sports cars here at Inhabitat, and we have plenty of room on our favorites list for more than one. While we’ve been raving for the last two years about the Tesla Roadster, the Fisker Karma has been doing the one thing Tesla has yet to do: bring a hybrid sports car to market. Created by noted car designer Henrik Fisker, the ultra cool Karma is a sleek, power packed eco-luxury ride.
We don’t usually make a habit of asking you to stop reading Inhabitat and send you off to watch television, but this program is definitely worth it. If you live in the US and you weren’t paying attention, you might have missed NOVA’s Car of the Future special. This program features NPR’s ‘Car Talk’ guys off in search of “a new breed of clean, fuel-efficient vehicles.” Car of the Future is filled with thought-provoking information, innovative transportation ideas and plenty of future-forward thinking, so we want to let you know that you can now watch it online!
Worrying that you don’t think about death enough in your day-to-day life? Pratt student Charles Constantine is looking to change this and inject a bit of morbidity into the daily routine, with his new design for a coffee table coffin. On display in the Pratt Institute student design booth at BKLYN Designs, this ‘Coffin Table’ is a typical coffee table which packs a punch when it comes to storage. Not only can it store books and other knick-knacks like personal mementos, but its ultimate goal is to store YOU - or what remains of you - when you pass on to the next life.
Inhabitat was on the scene all three days of BKLYN Designs this weekend and we have a lot of great finds to report back to you. The BKLYN Designs furniture exhibition, which is held in DUMBO every year in May, is not a large event by any means (unlike the upcoming International Contemporary Furniture Fair at the Javitz center this weekend). However, what the small, carefully curated show lacks in scale, it more than makes up for in the quality of the work on display. Every year there are a handful of designers that knock our socks off, and the best part is that they are always local designers, using locally-sourced materials, sustainable production methods, and high-quality hand-craftsmanships. This year we were especially impressed with the designs coming out of Pratt students, as well as some new designs from old favs like Brave Space, Uhuru, and Argington. We’ve got lots of pics of the event in our Inhabitat Photo Gallery >
In a stunning example of biomimicry, Scottish architecture firm ZM Architecture have come up with a brilliant scheme to provide solar power to the city of Glasgow - and do so in a way that is provocative, creative, and aesthetically appealing. The proposal? To design Solar Lily Pads which will float in Glasgow’s River Clyde and soak up the sun’s rays, sending electricity to Glasgow’s grid while also stimulating urban riverfront activity.
California Academy of Sciences green roof
Green Roofs for Healthy Cities has just announced the Awards for Excellence 2008 honoring projects that exemplify the aesthetic and environmental benefits of green roofs and living walls. The winning installations are a showcase of innovation and awareness-raising ideas that standout among the growing field of building integrated green space. Honorees were recognized for several important aspects including design, research and policy development in seven award categories. The distinguished designs among this year’s winners are engaging examples that successfully deploy economic, ecological, aesthetic and functional considerations in gorgeous green form.
There is a lot to be thankful for this Mothers Day, and we are excited to celebrate a day dedicated to nurturing both the fabric of families as well as the health of the planet. It is also a time for simply being together and remembering those who we think are special in our lives and have helped to shape who we are as thinkers, dreamers, and designers of the future.
With this in mind, we wanted to highlight a great mother/daughter tale that I came across while attending the D&A show here in NYC. Anne Novotny of Frei Designs is a talented and innovative star on the Chicago eco fashion scene, and I was inspired to learn about how her views on sustainability and fashion did not come from design school or eco study exclusively, but from her own mother who taught her about first-rate quality, true integrity, and digging in locally to make a lasting difference. This Mother’s Day we wanted to take a closer look at why Frei Designs typifies the best of the future in green fashion and the connection that comes from mothers who pass along their wisdom and guidance in order to make the world a sweeter place for all.
We love our wholesome kid-friendly furniture here at Inhabitat. A modernist sensibility combined with the fun of living with a versatile, ‘growing system’ of organic pods equals the best in green design and family-friendly solutions. Iglooplay Tea Pods by Lisa Albin are unmatched when it comes to children’s furniture pieces that integrate organically with home décor as well as engage the ever-curious peeps. Sculptural, space saving, and moveable, we love that Iglooplay is all about eco-friendly design via dynamic and ergonomically modules at play. We are visiting Iglooplay’s display at BKLYN Designs today during our Mother’s Day Green Design Walking Tour to highlight how Iglooplay is all about the best in sustainable design and true organic versatility.
We’ve been having a great time at this year’s BKLYN Designs discovering new eco-friendly designs from inspired Brooklyn-based designers. Today, we invite you to join us for a unique event, a green design walking tour in celebration of Mother’s Day. Inhabitat editors Jill Fehrenbacher and Abigail Doan will be at BKLYN Designs today at 2pm to lead a Green Design Walking Tour of kid and family friendly furniture, décor, and much more. If you are looking for a great way to celebrate Mom, gain green design insight and meet some of the Inhabitat team, join Jill and Abigail for this wonderful event!
We only have a few spots left for the tour, so if you are interested in joining us, please email us at inhabitat at gmail.com, so we know to expect you.
Yesterday’s rainy weather did nothing to deter our spirits as the Inhabitat team of Jill, Abigail, Mike and Ali headed to BKLYN Designs to check out this three day local design extravaganza. Your intrepid Inhabitat team took to the streets of Brooklyn to scope out the sustainable scene at this year’s event, and we’ve found plenty of fresh, new green designs to share with you. We discovered beautiful lighting ideas in LED designs from PRATT Institute (pictured below); new eco-friendly pieces from some of our favorite Brooklyn-based designers like Brave Space, IglooPLAY, Argington; and many debut green designs that are destined for greatness.
Fritz Haeg has been turning American lawns into life-giving, sustainable gardens from coast to coast with his project Edible Estates. We’ve been following these lawn-eating transformations for quite some time, so we are beyond excited to see the book Edible Estates: Attack on the Front Lawn go to print. This read is filled with commentary and projects from some of todays most innovative thinkers including Haeg, Diana Balmori, Rosalind Creasy, and Michael Pollan.
Always quick to act, Architecture For Humanity is quickly pulling together efforts to offer design services to the survivors left in Cyclone Nargis’ wake this past Saturday. With more than two million people now displaced in Myanmar, even small donations will be a big help in AFH’s effort to rebuild. More than 85% of the donations go directly toward innovative design and construction solutions.
At the time of writing, $13,500 have been raised (and 25% matched) by more than 240 donors who believe in the power of design to rebuild communities. If you would like to contribute to the cause or volunteer follow the link below:
Any of you looking for something fun and designy to do this Sunday? Wanna meet the faces behind the Inhabitat blog, and check out some hot green furniture design in the process? This Sunday, at 2pm, in honor of Mothers Day, Jill and Abigail from Inhabitat will be leading a Green Design walking tour at the BKLYN Designs furniture fair - and it is sure to be a lot of fun.
We’re taking a limited number of people on the tour, so if you are interested in signing up, please email us at inhabitat at gmail.com.
BKLYN Designs STARTS TODAY!!
We are thrilled to be on the scene at this year’s BKLYN Designs - it is one our favorite springtime events, and we couldn’t be more excited! Locally sourced and inspired, the BKLYN Designs furniture fair captures a side of sustainable design that is near and dear to Inhabitat’s mission - drawing local designers together into a familiar, yet fresh, environment to celebrate design innovation. This year is especially exciting as four of our Inhabitants (Jill, Ali, Mike & Abigail) have converged upon Brooklyn to scope out the scene and partake in eco-conscious events during this design extravaganza. We will be here all weekend reporting back with the best in sustainable design from BKLYN Designs 2008!
Move over Michelle Kaufman, these new prefabs will leave you and your pet drooling. LA-based Sustainable Pet Design combines green design, healthy living, non-toxic paints and your pet to create this sustainable Greenrrroof Animal House. Now man’s best friend will feel confident that his home has a low environmental impact and that he or she isn’t inhaling toxic fumes all night long.
This gorgeous wood container prefab from Olgga Architects was turning heads at Salon Europeen du Bois in Grenoble last month. At just 70 square meters (about 753 square feet), this energy efficient abode is made of two prefabricated modules perched one on top of the other. Rather than box out the structure with a stacked configuration, the designers pivoted the top unit to create a variety of interesting and integrated outdoor spaces, as well as a variety of structural possibilities.
Chic organic designs coupled with cheap Target-style prices? Did you ever think that this was possible? It is now that the king of cheap-chic, Target, has teamed up with celeb eco fashion designer Rogan (of Loomstate and Edun), to produce a new line of 100% organic clothes that are as easy on the wallet as they are on the eye. With cute safari-inspired prints, and prices starting as low as $16.99 for tops, we don’t want to hear any more bitching and moaning about how expensive eco fashion is…Now you have no excuse not to totally greenify your wardrobe.
Named after one of the world’s most treasured natural wonders, Argington’s new Ayres Twin Bed tucks in your little treasures with the sleek signature style of this next generation minded furniture maker. We’ve featured many of Argington’s modern children’s pieces, but are particularly pleased by this sweet, sustainable, timber trundle bed. Presenting at BKLYN Designs this weekend, the Ayres Twin Bed upholds this sustainably-grounded company’s commitment to beautifully crafted children’s furniture made with the earth in mind.
We’ve long been fans of Brooklyn green furniture team Uhuru Design. Every year at BKLYN Designs we eagerly look forward to seeing Uhuru’s latest work, from the beautiful recycled scrap wood Stoolen series that we spotted in 2006, to the clever Cutoffs Table from 2007, both of which utilize reclaimed wood as the main design concept. In fact, Uhuru’s most recognizable style seems to be their unique sensibility in finding innovative ways to turn old wood scraps into stunning pieces of contemporary furniture. So, what are we keeping an eye on for 2008? The answer is Bourbon Barrel Furniture. Uhuru will be launching a brand new line of furniture at BKLYN Designs 2008, featuring a chair, bench, table and stool, all made from reclaimed bourbon barrels.
Love the idea of wind power, but can’t imagine that a wind turbine on your property could ever be quiet or unobtrusive? Personal wind turbines are the next big thing in wind power technology, and the Swift Wind Turbine is sure to make a splash with its quiet and unobtrusive design. Coming to rooftops in July 2008, this unique design uses an outer ring to diffuse air flow from five blades, minimizing noise to a minute 35 decibels - less noise than generated by whisper conversation. With the capability to generate up to 2,000 kWh annually, Swift is making small scale wind power more aesthetically and acoustically appealing.
Energy company Sunrgi recently announced an astounding new solar system that will break our grids free from the fossil fuel lockdown. Their Xtreme Concentrated Photovoltaics promise a low-cost, high-efficiency system with an incredible projected energy pricing of 5 cents per kilowatt. This breakthrough puts solar on par with the cost of coal, natural gas, and other non-renewable energy sources.
New sustainable furniture company EcoSystems creates cute, family-friendly furniture that is as thoughtful of the environment as it is to the owner. Starting with renewable materials, EcoSystems follows an earth-minded agenda from start to finish, including taking responsibility for their designs at end of its (first) lifecycle, by taking back and recycling their furniture when you are done with it. Did we mention this stuff is super cute and durable - coming in a variety of primary colors and innovation seating/table configurations? Ecosystems will be showing at BKLYN Designs this weekend, and you can be sure that Abigail and Jill will be stopping at this booth during Sunday’s Mother’s Day Green Design Walking Tour >
Wind power holds much promise but often meets obstacles in small-scale application. Enter Engineers Without Borders. Volunteers from this humanitarian group, including Malcolm Knapp and Heather Fleming pictured above, have developed a small wind turbine design that has the capacity to bring much needed electrical power to remote villages in Guatemala and provide an alternative to hazardous kerosene lighting.
Rain barrels, garbage cans, corrugated tanks… most water collection systems have a problem: they’ve got ugly written into their DNA. An unfortunate evolution, granted that rainwater storage has been practiced for more than 2,000 years. One would have hoped for a more elegant design by now! David l’Hôte’s Rainpod prototype rises to the occasion, pledging to better your battered cans with a simple, sleek design that uses only one operating principle: gravity.