Inhabitat

WATERSTUDIO’S FLOOD-RESISTANT ARCHITECTURE

As we approach the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, you may notice we’re running a little theme on Inhabitat: flood-resistant design and architecture. In the months following Katrina, one of the most interesting design solutions we found for dealing with rising water levels was the amphibious architecture of Dutch firm Waterstudio. Architect Koen Olthius specializes in a unique technology that allows land-based buildings to detach from the ground and float under rising water conditions. Olthius’ claim to fame is that he focuses exclusively on aqueous design – design for building in, on and at the water – in a country where water dominates the landscape.

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LIVING THE LIFE AQUATIC ON A WATERLIVING HOUSEBOAT

Sea levels may rise and coastlines may fall but one thing will always remain consistent: the Danish are going to get through life in style. These fabulous houseboats from Copenhagen’s Waterliving are but the latest example.

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PS LAB’s FLOATING CHAIRS

The old saying goes “God created the world, but the Dutch created the Netherlands.” Now that global warming is starting to become a serious concern, this below-sea-level, man-made nation of dikes and levies is starting to feel the heat and plan for a wet future. Recently, we are starting to see a lot of Dutch designers churning out products that will help you stay afloat in the coming water-world. We mentioned Waterstudio’s floating houses last year, and now we’ve discovered some floating chairs to go with it! PS Lab’s ChairBag is an inflatable bean-bag chair turned buoy. This water resistant addition to any home will provide a safe floating haven when the North Sea breaks through the dikes or the ground sinks out from under your feet. It also looks like a lot of fun for kids, even when high and dry.

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PARK(ing) DAY: CALL TO ACTION!

The Rebar Group, who you’ll doubtless remember from their PARK(ing) project, is proving that inspired action can be contagious. The collective of San Francisco greenthumb-artist-activists rolled out sod in a metered parking space last year and set off a viral wave of enthusiasm for disruptive urban art. Now they’re taking to the streets again, and this time, they want you to join them!

September 21, 2006 is PARK(ing) DAY!. If you live in San Francisco, go scope out your favorite parking space and get greening! If you don’t live in SF, you can play anyway. This year: the Bay, next year: the world!

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PREFAB FRIDAY: TKiT House almost complete

Real-iT-y Now…

The reality of prefab versus its promise has been a hot topic as of late. Last year, we wrote about the high-tech, interactive iT House when it was just a bit more than a glimmer in Taalman Koch Architecture’s eye. To refresh your memory, the TK iT House is an ambitiously “smart” prefab house that comes with a whole host of high-tech amenities such as radiant heat flooring, photovoltaic roof, and custom-designed vinyl panels to screen your glass walls. In short: its a high-tech prefab dream. Today, not one, but two of their sleek glass houses are set to shine on actual sites. In anticipation of their talk at this year’s Dwell on Design Conference, we thought we would catch up with them and find out how their best laid plans were coming to fruition.

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ECO-TRANSPORTATION SHOW IN CHICAGO

Hybrids, electrics, and Twikes, oh my! Last week’s Eco-Transportation show in Chicago left visitors in awe at the wide array of safe, efficient, and environmentally-friendly transportation options on the market today. Organized by Foresight Design Initiative, the Chicago-based non-profit dedicated to the furthering of sustainable design efforts, the first Eco-transportation show, held on the streets of downtown Chicago, had a simple mission: to showcase more sustainable transportation choices.

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RAIN WINDCHIME CHANDELIER

Good design probes the dimensions of harmony and vitality.

Australian designer Ilan El created this beautiful Rain pendant chandelier with the goal of engaging the senses through sight and sound. Rain is an interactive chandlier which doubles as a windchime: moving the rods creates a delicate string of sound, which are accompanied by rippling reflections of light. The lights inside hang on the electrical cords that power them, and while they aren’t overtly sustainable, the choice of both recyclable material (aluminum) and playful/engaging functionality makes the lights a beacon of good design.

+ Rain Chandelier

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GREEN BUILDING 101: Eco-Power!

Most of us underestimate or ignore our incredible dependence on electricity. But after the heat waves that swept the U.S. and most of Europe last month, it was impossible to look the other way. Temperatures skyrocketed, we jacked up the A/C, and – poof! – out went the power. Nothing like a blackout to remind us that we’re all connected by our need for electricity. But just as we can cause a major outage through the accumulation of our personal actions, we can as easily facilitate the reverse effect through simple, smart choices about what kind of energy we use and how we use it.

Today’s Green Building 101 talks about how to retrofit your home to be more energy-efficient, as well as how to convert to more clean, green and efficient sources of energy. There are lots of things you can do to cut back on those energy bills, from simply turning off lights, all the way to installing photovoltaics and going off the grid. However ambitious you feel, we’ve got you covered.

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INTERVIEW: Brave Space Design

Best known for their Tetris-inspired shelves, Nikki Frazier, Sam Kragiel, Jesse James Arnold make up the Brooklyn-based group Brave Space Design. Here at Inhabitat, we’ve been keeping an eye on them since May 2005, when their design sparked a frenzy in the blogosphere with Tetris fans who loved the design but wanted the shelves to be much cheaper.

However, outside of gaming circles, the Brooklyn design trio is probably best known for producing gorgeous, modern, environmentally-friendly furniture using FSC woods, bamboo and water-based finishes. I sat down with the Brave Space trio at their shop in Brooklyn to ask a few questions about how they went from art school in Florida to designing cult-worthy furniture and influencing the evolution of good, green, affordable design.

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UNPACK A PARK: MOBILE GREEN SPACE

We may never tire of new ways to interject some spontaneous green space into a concrete cityscape. Kevin van Braak’s caravan takes a top spot on our urban intervention favorites list. It’s a mobile trailer that unfolds into an elevated park replete with a fire circle and wildflowers.

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GULF COAST MODEL HOME PROGRAM

In the year since hurricanes ravaged the Gulf Coast, we’ve seen every approach and proposal under the sun for rebuilding. Competitions and charettes and forums and of course the notorious celebrity rescue squads. It’s good to see this much movement in all its forms, but it’s best to see real work happening on the ground. Architecture for Humanity just launched the Biloxi Model Home Program, and it’s all about getting real.

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LIGHT POLLUTION: The continuing spread

Nasa’s image of the earth at night…

You might remember that we’ve railed against light pollution before, and since we’ve been talking a lot about lighting this week, we figured now would be a good time to bring up the subject matter again. Today we’ve brought in guest writer / night sky activist Anthony Arrigo to talk about the overly-bright light continuing to plague our night skys..

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PREFAB FRIDAY: Sustain miniHOME

We have covered the Sustain MiniHOME on Inhabitat before – but this is the first time we’ve gotten a real photographic look at the gorgeous eco-friendly prefab. We go on and on about how sick and tired we are of seeing prefab in renderings and models and never the real thing. Of late, of course, we’ve had a few, such as Living Homes and a small army of sheds. But when we feasted our eyes on the most recent images of Sustain Mini Home’s first house, it was like getting a piece of 3-layer cake after endless courses of brussels sprouts. We could stare at these all day.

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DESIGN FIGHT! – Who designed this lamp first?

Seems like there’s quite a row going on over at Reluct regarding this foxy branching-bulb chandelier design. Dutch designer Chris Kabel published the version on the left in 2002, calling it the 1toTree Lamp (so punny!). The design was nominated for the Rotterdam Design Prize in 2003 and is part of the Amsterdam City Museum of Modern Art collection. Understandably, Chris was none to happy to see a very similar design pop up last week on Reluct by German design company Buro Fur Form:

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GREEN BUILDING 101: Environmentally Friendly Lighting

Lighting is one of the most critical – and most visceral – qualities of an indoor space. The difference between good and bad lighting can make or break comfort, mood and overall happiness in your home. Exposure to natural light

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DWELL ON DESIGN

From September 15-17, Dwell Magazine will host the Dwell on Design Conference + Exhibition as part of the AIA’s third annual Architecture and the City month in San Francisco.

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DIGITAL STAG CLOCK

The deer population has definitely gotten completely out of control in the design world lately. Product design firm Fly-pitcher has created such a fun take on the traditional cuckoo clock, though, that you’ll have to forgive us if we fall for the antlered motif just one more time (you do, however, have a choice –- the line also includes squirrel, swallow, chalet and ornate version).

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INTERVIEW: Reluct’s Joost Van Brug

I recently got back from a short trip to the Netherlands, and what Dutch-design tour would be complete without a check-in with Holland’s design-blogger extraordinare Joost Van Brug? Joost is the man behind Reluct - an excellent design blog that has been uncovering cutting edge design since 2003. Although Joost is squarely a part of the Dutch design scene and frequently writes about Dutch designers, his focus is international and his audience reflects this. Unlike many Dutch blogs, Reluct is published in English – and the majority of Joost’s readers are in the US.

I sat down with Joost in Amsterdam to chat about Dutch design, design-blogging and sustainability in design. Here’s what he had to say…

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DUTCH DESIGN: Sustainability and Interactivity

This morning we’ve been discussing the environmental friendliness of Dutch design. Like Tejo Remy’s rag chair (shown above), a lot of Dutch design uses reappropriated objects and recycled materials, challenging users to think about waste, materials, and consumption. However, very few Dutch designers approach their work from the framework of environmental activism. Instead, what seems unique to Dutch design is a passionate concern for engaging the user emotionally and intellectually. It is, in fact, this concern for human interaction which makes much of Dutch design so engaging – and what often also makes it eco-friendly by default.

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DUTCH DESIGN & SUSTAINABILITY: Droog Design

Despite the seemingly subjective nature of design, there seems to be one thing that most people can agree upon- Dutch design is good design. Product after product, Dutch designers continue to wow us with designs that are not only functional, but clever, funny, oddly nostalgic, at times tongue-in-cheek, and most importantly, engaging. Their products possess a certain unidentifiable quality that make them identifiably Dutch.

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AFFORDABLE HOUSING COMPETITION

August seems to be the month for competitions. Right on the heels of Electrolux’s Design Lab 2006 is the deadline for the “How to Provide Affordable Housing” competition co-sponsored by Ashoka’s Changemakers and Habitat for Humanity.

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XXS HOUSE

Deviating slightly from our Prefab Friday norm, XXS exemplifies an essential trait of prefab: spatial efficiency.

If good things come in small packages, then the eXtra-eXtra-Small House is as good as it gets. The dimensions of the XXS house, located in a small historic town in Slovenia, were dictated by law to fall within the measurements of the preexisting house on the site, leaving just 43m-sq (approx 460ft-sq) of potential space. But the house successfully incorporates all the necessities.

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NEW IDEAS FOR GREEN INSULATION

Nasa’s Aerogel material, which it uses to collect space dust – also makes a great insulating material for your house!

Since we’ve recently discussed energy consumption and indoor air quality on Inhabitat, we figured now would be a great time to talk about insulation. Don’t run away! We realize that insulation is not a sexy subject matter. Nevertheless, insulation is crucial to your energy consumption, comfort, health, and ultimate happiness – so don’t flee just yet…

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GREEN BUILDING 101: Energy & Atmosphere – Keeping cool and staying warm

The very root of what makes a home green is how effectively it responds to its surrounding environment. You could say that this has defined the primary material pursuit of mankind for all time – building better shelters to keep us warmer, cooler, and drier. Many of the native building techniques employed centuries ago are still reliable in similar climates today, and used as optimal models for environmentally conscious architects. However, since global acceptance of the air conditioner in the 1950s, the benefits of responding to a unique climate have been left by the side of the road.

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THE OVA LUMINAIRE BY ITEM

Don’t you just love it when aesthetics demand an ecological solution? Such is the case with the Ova Luminaire from UK design firm, Item. Inspired by the remains of sea life found on the beach, these lovely lighting fixtures use bone china and LED lights to create a serene, ethereal effect.

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2006 SUNSET IDEA HOUSE

One calendar year seems like a decade when considering the evolution of green building. So compared to last year’s Sunset Magazine Idea House, the 2006 Celebration Idea House represents years of innovation, just completed and currently sitting in the Sunset Magazine parking lot on a steel-pier foundation in Menlo Park, California.

The use of pre-cut Insulspan insulation panels for the exterior walls and sloped roofs makes on-site construction super efficient, as well as dramatically improving the home’s energy-efficiency (up to 300%), and offering better resistance to earthquake, fire, and insects than typical wood framed homes.

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BACK FROM THE NETHERLANDS

Just wanted to let you all know that I am finally back from my trip to the Netherlands and Scandinavia, and I will have a lot to report in the coming weeks. I managed to interview Koen Olthius of Waterstudio.nl, the Dutch architect who designs floating homes, and Joost Van Brug – the Dutch blogger behind fabulous design blog Reluct. I also toured the Droog studio and checked out the latest student work from Eindhoven, as well as catching up with Alver Aalto’s buildings in Helsinki, Steven Holl’s Kiasma Museum in Helsinki and Calatrava’s Turning Torso in Malmo. Good stuff will be coming your way soon!

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RICHARD SWEENEY PAPER SCULPTURE

UK designer Richard Sweeney took our breath away with these 3-dimensional sculptures made from the most ordinary of materials: plain old paper. The intricately folded forms are absolutely striking in their clean symmetry and the shadows cast by the curves and crevices. You can stare with jaw-dropped awe at most of his paper sculptures at his Flickr page. Geometry has never looked so good…

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PREFAB FRIDAY: Living Homes

One of the most beautiful, flexible, and complex prefab systems we’ve covered in the last year is the Ray Kappe designed Living Home. For better and worse, it was covered this week in the LA Times by writer Christopher Hawthorne in the article “Such a deal?” Although he addressed several shortcomings that bother us about the current prefab industry, we can’t help but feel he cast a harsh light on prefabs in general based upon this high end model.

“…the last thing the fledgling prefab movement needs at this point is aggressive marketing or more hype. What it needs is a reality check.” –Christopher Hawthorne, LA Times

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ZEBRA CHAIR

We love a flat-pack design – it’s easy to transport, unpack and assemble (usually). But once it’s out of the box, most flat-pack furniture is pretty much the same as the standard 3-dimensional. If you ever wish you could occasionally revert back to two dimensions for easy storage, you’ll enjoy the Zebra Chair by designer Dieter Paul. You’ll like it even more because it’s made with renewable beech wood and recyclable aluminum.

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GREEN BUILDING 101: Indoor Environmental Quality

Feeling good in our homes or offices isn’t just a matter of having a beautiful space. No matter how fabulous your furnishings, a poorly designed indoor environment can literally make you sick. Building green means considering not only the environmental impact of materials and construction, but also the physical and psychological health of the occupants.

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