As the year end approaches and we count down to the new year, we want to take a moment to reflect on the year in design. 2006 has been a pivotal year for green design. With the success of Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth, and books like Worldchanging & Design Like You Give A Damn, 2006 seemed to be the year that environmental design went mainstream. In our opinion, here were the most pivotal moments for green design in 2006:
Anyone who tuned into fiftyRX3 over the last year knows that I am a big fan of the “reuse” in “reuse, reduce, recycle”, so it was just a matter of time before I recommended a dip into the apparel archives for Sustainable Style Sunday. Formalwear seems one category where it is quite common to borrow from the past. Many of these designs are timeless, such as the clean and modern aesthetic of Halston in the 70’s or Vionnet, who pioneered the bias cut some 60 years earlier. Therefore, wearing vintage does not always mean sacrificing modern style. If the Paco Rabanne or Givenchy dresses above don’t work for you, a wealth of possibilities exist in many other sites from Rusty Zipper to Enoki World.
Buildings consume 40% of the world’s energy every year.
Buildings generate almost half of the carbon dioxide emissions that cause global warming.
40% of landfill currently comes from construction waste.
Clearly, the building industry has a huge impact on the state of our environment. Because of this influence, architects have a moral and social responsibility to learn about and concern themselves with issues of energy and environmentally sustainable building. After all, architecture is supposed to serve the greater good of society… isn’t it?
The folks at Marmol Radziner Prefab have been busy bees these past few months. Aside from their two new Joshua Tree homes, a slew of other custom projects, and Leo Marmol’s lecture and interview at the Dwell on Design conference, the dynamic duo have just completed the initial installation of their Utah House 1. Two days before Thanksgiving Day, the fifteen-module custom home was assembled on site, near Moab, Utah. Before the owners move in after the New Year, all that’s left to do is connect utility lines and seal joints between the modules. Prefabricated in Marmol Radziner’s own state-of-the-art factory, Utah House 1 arrived on site with pre-installed solar panels, windows, doors, and cabinetry.
Skylights are a great addition to any house, as they bring in more natural light – cutting down on artificial light electricity costs, as well as promoting good health for a home’s occupants. Unfortunately, however, skylights are hard to install in most pre-built homes because they require so much roof real estate. Also, unless the sun is at the right angle and there are absolutely no clouds in the sky, skylights don’t always illuminate a space in a way that makes their cost worthwhile. Thats why we love Solatube – a smart technology which takes skylights one step further by refracting, reflecting and concentrating solar light into a small tube using mirrors and lenses.
In the Electrolux Design Lab competition we just mentioned, our favorite submission was probably the HydroSphere – one of the runner-up picks among the nine finalists. The Electrolux Design Lab is an annual competition that challenges design students to find innovative solutions for consumer products. The theme of this year’s competition was focused on food preservation and preparation, encouraging designs that promote healthy lifestyles through healthy eating habits. The HydroSphere is a small self-efficient green house that manages to be a really cool light fixture and science lab all in one.
Hundreds of young student hopefuls entered the Electrolux Design Lab industrial design competition this year for a crack at the big-time. Finally the results are in – Metin Kaplan, an industrial design student from Istanbul Technical University has snagged the grand prize for his innovative take on the conventional lunchbox. Kaplan’s design cleverly addressed the competition’s running theme – solutions that provide the 2016 consumer with healthier eating habits. Kaplan’s creation, which he dubbed Nevale, was inspired by an antique food container with layers called ‘sefertasi’ which was used for centuries in Middle-Eastern countries.
As the holidays come to a close, the gifts have been given, the cookies have been eaten, and your Christmas tree is more than likely starting to look a little crisp around the edges. It is at this point in the holiday season that the realities of the Christmas tree dilemma start to sink in. If you have a live cut Christmas tree like the majority of the US population, you are probably beginning to contemplate how to dispose properly of the tree. This point in the cycle always seems so sad, considering this tree probably took at least 10 years to cultivate and grow and was cut down for a just a few weeks of holiday pleasure.
There are better, greener ways to do the Christmas tree thing (and we’ll talk about them in detail below), but if you already have a cut tree, your best option now is to send your little tannenbaum to a better place through Treecycling. These days, most communities have treecycling centers, where you can drop your trees off without hassle and know that they will go on to start a new life providing mulch, landscaping or erosion prevention.
For treecycling locations near you, look here >
Christmas is a great day for traditions. Some families make a giant turkey, some roast chestnuts, while others tear open presents with grandma at the crack of dawn. This year, allow me to suggest a new tradition: Giving Back For Christmas. What better day to be thankful for the gifts you received, then give back to the world. There are so many ways to give- from volunteering at your local soup kitchen to hauling a trunkload of clothes and unused housewares to the Goodwill, to making a monetary donation to a worthy cause. Even the smallest actions can make a difference. So, in the words of my proactive father, “Just do something.” Here are some suggested volunteer opportunites, charitable organizations, and ways to donate… And from all of us at Inhabitat, have a safe and merry Christmas.
As we head into Christmas and a frenzy of gifts and gluttony, try to take a moment to step back and remember what the holidays are really about. We found Brian Smith’s story about Recycled Christmas a while back and thought it an inspiring example of what the holidays could and should really represent: celebration, thoughtfulness, and giving part of yourself.
Eco-friendly Dutch designer Rianne de Witte has crafted a collection of accessories that is both playful and a subtle reaction on the current socio-political climate. The scarf, ‘an arm to hold you’, is in the form of an arm with hands on both ends, designed to literally give you a warm embrace. The ‘Peace deux pièce’ consists of a balaclava and a pair of gloves. The gloves show the peace sign by means of two colored fingers. What …
We had our first ever holiday party this past Wednesday night in San Francisco, and it was lots of fun. Thanks to all of you who stopped by to join in the green holiday cheer- we hope you had as good a time as we did! And a special thanks to our gracious and generous co-sponsors and supporters: Branch, Architecture For Humanity, Design Within Reach, and Mendocino Wine Company. Looking forward to next year! Following are some pics from the party…
They say that good things come in small packages, and the Clever Mini Home is a perfect demonstration of this theory. This compact 480-sq-ft design makes minimalist living efficient and elegant, with an open floor plan, abundant natural light, and well constructed interior details.
A large-scale convergence of public art, renewable energy and sustainable design, Aluna is a “lunar clock” — a giant timepiece that uses tidal-powered (or lunar-powered) LEDs to indicate the phase and position of the moon, and the ebb and flow of ocean tides.
We bloggers are so tied to our laptops that we often times take them, and our constant connection to a never ending flow of information, for granted. We write and read about some amazing eco-friendly and environmentally-conscious design initiatives. But often times the socially-focused projects have the most potential to incite change, like Fuseproject’s XO computer designed for the One Laptop Per Child program, which provides not only an ingeniously designed piece of technology, but a plan to deliver said technology to an otherwise technologically underprivileged demographic. The cleverly-designed, fully-loaded XO laptop will be delivered in mass quantities to developing countries for about $130 each, giving thousands of children access to the web and other educational applications. This past July, Nigeria placed the first hefty order of one million units. And just last month, XO was honored with Popular Science magazine’s “Best of What’s New” Award.
Kids love the holidays- for the cheer, the joy, the abundance of cookies, but mostly, for the gifts. This year, why not give green gifts that are healthy, educational, and eco-friendly. The little ones will love them, and you’ll feel great about giving them. Warning: excessive cuteness ahead…
Leaves Imagination from HNTB & Brad Bell Studios
December marks the last month of the 13 extreme tree houses on display at the Dallas Arboretum. The Dallas Arboretum Ultimate Tree House exhibit is the result of a competition open to local architects in the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex to design unique tree houses with regards to two rules…
Samples! Product representatives have opened our eyes before about their company’s sustainable efforts. So we were thrilled to receive this sample bracelet from 3form, a company that makes laminate panels for walls, doors, stair treads, tables- pretty much anything you can think of.
The bracelet is fabricated from the company’s Ecoresin, which is a non-toxic polyester resin. (They also offer a line called 100 Percent, which is made entirely from post-consumer HDPE.) Rather than sandwiching bamboo, glass, fabric, or any of the other popular materials inside the Ecoresin, 3form created a version which they call Ithemba, which translates as “hope” in the native language of the Xhosa – a people of South Africa.
Jewelry always makes a great gift. Whether you lean bohemian or mod, there are a variety of sustainable yet stylish adornment options to lend that added something to your look. Check out our suggestons below for the perfect eco stocking stuffer…
Last year we got super excited about a recycled steel pipe menorah by Grand Idea studio. While that steel pipe menorah was just a DIY design idea and wasn’t actually for sale – this year we’ve come across a very similar steel pipe menorah that you can actually purchase for $99, from a company called Notschlock
Of course this makes us wonder a bit …
Here’s the most minimalist menorah we’ve ever seen. The Hanukit, by Isreali design duo Reddish, is a tiny Hanukah lamp designed to hold matches instead of candles. Its small stature, combined with the quick-burn of matches allow one to perform traditional Hanukah rituals on the go.
Wooden dreidels? Sure. Clay dreidels? Even the South Park kids know about those. But recyclable stainless steel flat-pack dreidels? Can hanukkah get any better than this? I think not. If everyone in the world bought these instead of those old school bulky dreidels we could surely offset the Co2 emissions of every menorah in Kansas for the next fifty years. At the very least.
At the recent Dwell On Design conference in Palm Springs, I had the opportunity to talk one-on-one with Leo Marmol of Marmol Radziner about prefab architecture and sustainability. I asked him about his trajectory as a designer, and what opportunities he sees for prefab to have a larger impact on a wider, more affordable market. His response was thoughtful and optimistic, and provided some great insight into the mind of a forward-thinking and increasingly green designer.
Click on the image above to watch the interview or read below for the full interview transcription.
As global leader of the bizarre world of upscale development, Dubai has yet another feat of both engineering and excess in the works. The latest spire to be added to the desert landscape will be the Time Residences building in the City of Arabia, a 200-unit apartment tower – that will rotate! The complex will turn a full 360 degrees over the course of a week, utilizing stored solar energy to power the turning mechanisms.
For me, nothing induces a good case of eco-guilt like Christmas tree lights. They may be gaudy, cheesy, blazing examples of over-consumption festooned across our streets, but I love them. But this year, it’s time to break free from this dysfunctional relationship and invest in a few strands of LED lights to twinkle my greenery. Compared to traditional Christmas lights, I’ll be using 1/10th the amount of electricity to light the small LED’s, and 1/160th for the larger bulbs. Beyond the expected energy savings, LED strands also burn brighter so my tree will be more jolly than my neighbors’ tawdry displays. LED’s are also significantly more durable, meaning my holiday cheer will survive the elements and twinkle for years to come.
Let’s face it: we live in a gadget culture. And around this time of year, gadget consumption peaks as people head to Best Buy and Sharper Image to pick up shiny new gifts for their friends and families. Since we can’t fight this trend, we thought we’d suggest some cool eco-friendly electronics for your favorite gadget geeks this year.
Today we continue our Green Gift Guide with clever suggestions for the woman in your life: green versions of a girl’s favorite gifts including chocolate, fuzzy sweaters, and jewelry. Indulge your girlfriend, mother, sister, or best friend this holiday season….
Wouldn’t it be great if all the nasty gas-guzzling Hummers of the world could be replaced by a clean green vehicle that produces oxygen and is completely recyclable? If General Motors is able to realize its utopian Hummer O2 design, we may actually see something like this in the near future. GM just won the Los Angeles Auto Show Design Challenge with a creative algae-fueled design for a green concept car.
A new high rise is going up in Miami’s design district, and its a lean, green, eco machine. A collaboration between Chad Oppenheim architecture + design, energy consultant Buro Happold, and structural engineer Ysreal Seinuk, the $40 million, 25-story, “COR” building will incorporate mixed-use residential and commercial space, integrating green technologies including wind turbines, photovoltaic panels, and solar hot water generation. The building’s exoskeleton is a hyper-efficient structure that provides thermal mass for insulation, shade for residents, and architectural elements such as terraces and armatures that support turbines.
The Inhabitat Gift Guide is back today with more cheap and cheerful gift ideas for under $50. Today we are highlighting green gift ideas that will fit inside a stocking…
Its hard to buy gifts for certain people in your life, but you can never go wrong with knit accessories like gloves, hats and scarves. Everyone likes to keep their appendages warm in the winter: men, women, young and old – and you’ll be hard pressed to find something that will be more appreciated than a cozy scarf on chilly winter days. Happily there are a lot of stylish and sustainable options out there in the realm of knit accessories. Here are our top picks:
Maria Yee has been making big strides in contemporary green furniture design. While not the most cutting edge conceptually, the Santa Cruz designer does make eco minded, heirloom quality furniture that you can purchase for your home without totally breaking the bank. And that, dear readers, is a major accomplishment. Stylistically, her work is often an asian inspired modern mix of casegoods, beds, and now upholstery items. (Disclosure: I have one of her Shinto side tables in my living room and absolutely love it).
Our friends over at Core77 have outdone themselves this year with their fancy schmancy designer gift guide. They’ve got tons of great gift ideas for your favorite design aficionado: from Make Magazine to the Power Squid, to Inhabitat favorites like the Twig USB stick and the Twist and Spout. Its certainly the most clever and the best-looking gift guide out there (except for ours of course!). …
We love the work of Jennifer Siegal’s Office of Mobile Design, and at this past weekend’s Dwell On Design conference in Palm Springs, I had the opportunity to talk to her in person about green architecture and her prefab designs. The recent completion of her ShowHouse serves as a great example of efficiently and effectively executed prefab construction combined with a seamless integration of green materials and technologies.
Watch the video here or read on for the interview transcription.
With The Design Can’s clever new Self-Destructo Candle, you can literally burn your candle at both ends. The Self-Destructo is a traditional paraffin pillar candle with an embedded LED light. If you replace the battery occasionally, the LED “candle” will last forever. However, if you ever get tired of it – you don’t need to worry about sending yet another gadget to landfill. Instead, just flip the candle over, cut the wick, light it, and watch it slowly melt away. Self-destruction is the future of eco-design!
LOTS MORE GREAT GREEN DESIGN STORIES HERE... KEEP READING!
Greentea Design sells
exclusive Asian-inspired
contemporary
furniture, kitchen
cabinets and antique pieces from China, Korea and Japan.
Their furniture is crafted
from salvaged woods
that were reclaimed from
throughout Asia.
