Inhabitat – Green Design Will Save the World
log in
|
sign up
About
Mission
Submit a story
Shop
Advertise With Us
Support Us
Press
Contact
Architecture
Interiors
Products
Technology
Energy
Transportation
Fashion
Art
Kids
Contests
Gallery:
Greenspotlight: Hanging Stree...
< back to story
Slideshow
image 7 of 7
<p>Your browser does not support iframes.</p>
view this image in original size ( 537 x 395 )
Inhabitat Photo Galleries
Featured Inhabitat Stories
Inhabitat Local
Browse By City
San Francisco
New York
LA
popular today
all time
most commented
READ MORE >
Sonnenschiff: Solar City Produces 4X the Energy it Consumes
The project started out as a vision for an entire community — the medium-density project balances size, accessibility, green space, and solar exposure. In all, 52 homes make up a neighborhood anchored to Sonnenschiff, a mixed-use residential and commercial building that emphasizes livability with a minimal footprint. Advanced technologies like phase-change materials and vacuum insulation [...]
READ MORE >
Heliotrope: The World’s First Energy Positive Solar Home
Look, up in the sky — it’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s the Heliotrope! The brainchild of Architect Ralph Disch, this rotating solar home was the seed for the extraordinary Sonnenschiff Solar Development and the modern solar movement in Germany. The home takes full advantage of the sun by rotating with it, allowing daylight [...]
READ MORE >
“Wind Lens” Turbines Could Boost Energy Generation 3X
Forget about traditional tri-blade wind turbines — the ultra-efficient turbine of the future might look completely different if Kyushu University professor Yuji Ohya has anything to say about it. Ohya and his team recently unveiled the Wind Lens, a honeycomb-like structure that purportedly triples the amount of wind energy that can be produced by offshore [...]
READ MORE >
Solar Power Is Cheaper Than Nuclear for the First Time
Here’s bright spot in the news of the day: energy from new solar installations has, for the first time, become cheaper than energy from new nuclear plants, according to a new Duke University study. Thanks to cost-saving technologies and economies of scale, price can no longer be an excuse to invest in nuclear power rather [...]
READ MORE >
Chinese Traffic Jam Extends 60 Miles and Nine Days
If ever there were a case for the importance of good urban planning that includes mass transit, this is it: a 62-mile traffic standstill on a road leading to Beijing is now in its ninth day, with individual drivers caught in it for as long as three days. The cause of the jam — beyond [...]
READ MORE >
Human Powered Car Can Go 30 MPH While Driving Uphill
Here at Inhabitat we’ve seen vehicles powered by algae, poo, and magnets — but our favorite source of sustainable propulsion is human power! The HumanCar is powered by your very own kinetic force — just hop in, give it a few cranks, and you’re on your way. The vehicle was developed decades ago, but [...]
READ MORE >
World’s Largest Artwork Created on Frozen Lake Baikal!
A team of eight people committed to walking in circles for art, including a documentary filmmaker and a photographer. Given the ethereal nature of the piece, it’s not surprising how important documentation is to the process. After all, ice is one of the most potent artistic materials of our modern age. The team lived in [...]
READ MORE >
Light Sanctuary: a Field of Solar Ribbons Rises in the Desert
The UAE may be built on profits reaped from its oil-rich sands, but out of the region’s vast deserts rises a new vision for a solar farm unlike any we have seen before. Conceived by Martina Decker and Peter Yeadon, the Light Sanctuary is an elegantly unfurling ribbon of solar thin-film panels designed to take [...]
READ MORE >
PHOTOS: 1 Bryant Park Tower Gets LEED Platinum Certification!
Housing the new headquarters of the financial giant Bank of America, the green features implemented in this design quickly allowed it to rack up all the points it needed to garner its LEED Platinum rating. Quite uncommon for a tower of its size, the new building employs a system for rainwater catchement and reuse, greywater recycling, [...]
READ MORE >
Transparent Solar Spray Transforms Windows Into Watts
Photo by Robert S. Donovan Norwegian Company EnSol AS has developed a remarkable new spray-on solar film that allows windows to generate solar power without clouding the view. The material consists of metal nanoparticles embedded in a transparent composite matrix that can be easily sprayed on. And the cells don’t just work on glass — they [...]
READ MORE >
6 Fascinating Underground Homes That Go Above and Beyond
STUNNING BURIED HOUSE IN VALS, SWITZERLAND Unlike other homes whose goal in life is to stick out like a sore thumb (read: that guy on your block who strings up enough holiday lights to cause a neighborhood blackout), this clever dwelling was made specifically so that it would blend in perfectly with the breathtaking landscape in Vals, [...]
READ MORE >
Solo Helicopter Emits Nothing But Water Vapor
Developing an idea first sought by the U.S. military — one-man, easy-to-fly helicopters — Avimech has created a 230-pound helicopter that uses hydrogen peroxide for fuel and emits nothing but water vapor. The Dragonfly can reach an impressive 100 knots and can fly for 90 minutes without refueling, drawing on the simple decomposition of commercial-grade [...]
more popular stories >
READ MORE >
It’s a Bird! It’s a Plane! No! it’s a… Hostel?!
Visitors traveling to Stockholm will find soon themselves with the option of sleeping on a plane! That may not sound like the most exciting proposition until you realize that the 747-200 in which they will be sleeping has been retired from flying, salvaged from being dumped somewhere to rot and turned into a low-cost, fully-furnished [...]
READ MORE >
Iceland’s Gorgeous Passive Solar Hof House
Deep in the northern chill of Iceland, just outside the arctic circle, the Hof House sits snugly within its landscape. Built on an existing estate, Studio Granada Architects salvaged whatever materials possible from the site to be incorporated into the new residence, converting telegraph poles into a sun screen and basalt pillars into stepping stones. [...]
READ MORE >
TOP 5 TINIEST PREFAB HOMES
As prefab housing takes hold as a viable, sustainable, contemporary building technique, one of the lessons we are learning is that bigger does not necessarily equal better. In fact, when is comes to simplifying your life and trying to tread lightly on the planet, we would argue that smaller is most certainly better. Some [...]
READ MORE >
Amazing Green Roof Art School in Singapore
If art school was in our future we might opt to study under, or on top of, the amazing green roof at the School of Art, Design and Media at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. This 5 story facility sweeps a wooded corner of the campus with an organic, vegetated form that blends landscape and [...]
READ MORE >
REVERSE GRAFFITI: Clean Green Street Art
When is cleaning the sidewalks a crime? When you’re doing it to create art. Obviously. A number of street artists around the world have taken to expressing themselves through an innovative practice known as Reverse Graffiti. Taking a cue from the “Wash Me” messages scrawled on the back of delivery trucks, they seek out soot [...]
READ MORE >
New Zealand’s Whimsical Yellow Treehouse Restaurant
The new Yellow Treehouse Restaurant by New Zealand based Pacific Environments Architects Ltd. (PEL) is a stunning architectural feat perched high above a redwood first. Appearing for all the world like an enormous chrysalis grafted onto a 40-meter-high redwood tree, the project is constructed of plantation poplar slats, redwood balustrading milled at the site, and [...]
READ MORE >
X-SEED 4000: World’s tallest tower will house 1 million people
There’s a lot of debate about what the tallest tower in the world currently is. Some say the Taipei 101, at 1671 ft to the tip of it’s spire, is the world’s tallest tower, whereas we might argue that the Sears Tower, at a whopping 1731 ft (and 110 stories), still takes the prize. [...]
READ MORE >
World’s Biggest Building Coming to Moscow: Crystal Island
Moscow’s rapidly growing skyline will soon feature an eye-popping new addition: Crystal Island, which will be the world’s biggest building when completed. Sir Norman Foster’s mountainous 27 million square feet spiraling “city within a building” will cost $4 billion and it is scheduled to be built within next 5 years. The Crystal Island will [...]
READ MORE >
Spiraling Skyscraper Farms for a Future Manhattan
As the world’s population continues to skyrocket and cities strain under the increased demand for resources, skyscraper farms offer an inspired approach towards creating sustainable vertical density. One of three finalists in this year’s Evolo Skyscraper Competition Eric Vergne’s Dystopian Farm project envisions a future New York City interspersed with elegantly spiraling biomorphic structures that [...]
READ MORE >
THE MAGLEV: The Super-powered Magnetic Wind Turbine
Renewable energy produced from the wind has garnered much attention and support in recent years but is often criticized for its low output and lack of reliability. But now a super power wind turbine has come along that may be just what the renewable energy industry needs. The MagLev wind turbine, which was first [...]
READ MORE >
Living Moss Carpet Adds a Touch of Green to Your Bathroom
There’s nothing like the feeling of fresh cut grass under the toes, especially when stepping out of the shower. This Moss Carpet by Nguyen La Chanh brings the outside indoors in an unconventionally natural way by placing it underfoot. The lush green lawn thrives in humid environments, which makes your bathroom a perfect place [...]
READ MORE >
A BRILLIANT STORAGE IDEA: Staircase Drawers
Here’s a brilliant idea that leaves us wondering – why didn’t we think of this first? Despite our penchant for 2-in-1 furniture, we’ve never seen anything quite like this before. Regardless of attempts to be organized in the modern world, most of us continue to be ashamed of one (or eight, in my [...]
more popular stories >
2002 Comments >
Win an iPad and Matching Eco Case (worth $549)
MAKE SAVING TREES SEXY and WIN AN IPAD! Hoping to catch up on your summer reading without the bulk and arborcide associated with books? Well, we’re giving away a brand spanking new iPad and awesome bamboo sketchbook-style DODOcase (worth $549) that will let you do just that. Imagine having all of the powerful capabilities of this [...]
335 Comments >
WIN a Beautiful ANDREA Houseplant Air Purifier (worth $195)!
Want to clean and freshen the air in your home using the power of plants? We’ve been in love with the ANDREA houseplant filter’s modern design for quite some time now, so we’re thrilled to be giving one of these amazing air-purifiers (worth $195) to one very lucky reader this week! ANDREA isn’t just pretty to [...]
161 Comments >
BACK TO SCHOOL CONTEST: Win An Awesome Solar Book Bag!
Get ready for school with our back-to-school green giveaway contest! Fall is just around the corner, and students everywhere are getting ready to go back to school. To get into the autumnal school spirit and help our readers green their back-to-school regime, we’re running a contest on this site to give away an AWESOME solar [...]
158 Comments >
Win a Hymini Portable Wind + Solar Gadget Charger!
Put green power in the palm of your hand! Having trouble keeping your gadgets charged on a daily basis? Ever had your cellphone run out of juice on you in the middle of an important day? You’re in luck – we’re giving away one incredibly handy HYMini charger so that you’ll have access to [...]
134 Comments >
BACK TO SCHOOL GIVEAWAY: Win a Solar Powered Package (worth $500)!
WIN A BACK TO SCHOOL SOLAR BAG BUNDLE WORTH OVER $500! Headed back to school and need some help getting inspired? Inhabitat is here to help! We’ve got an awesome eco back-to-school package that we’ll be giving away to one lucky winner in our Green Back-to-School contest. You may have noticed we ran a contest like [...]
129 Comments >
THE MAGLEV: The Super-powered Magnetic Wind Turbine
Renewable energy produced from the wind has garnered much attention and support in recent years but is often criticized for its low output and lack of reliability. But now a super power wind turbine has come along that may be just what the renewable energy industry needs. The MagLev wind turbine, which was first [...]
125 Comments >
APTERA Diesel-Electric Hybrid Car On Sale Now!
The Aptera (Greek for “wingless”) is an environmentally-friendly car that’s as clean and green as it is fantastically futuristic. The three-wheeled hybrid, which offers an all-electric or plug-in hybrid option, isn’t just a concept- you can reserve your own with just a $500 deposit. Seating 2.5 with plenty of room for luggage, the Aptera can [...]
125 Comments >
GREEN TALKS: Meet the Inhabitat Editors and Win A $1700 Folding Bike!
Hey Inhabitat Readers from around the globe! Want to meet the editors of Inhabitat and win this awesome folding bike – valued at $1700? As we head into October we’re thrilled to announce a fabulous new initiative at Inhabitat: GREEN TALKS! We’re going to be harnessing the power of the internet to bring you [...]
121 Comments >
Enter Our Green Back-to-School Contest to Win $150 of Eco Loot!
GO BACK TO SCHOOL IN GREEN STYLE! Excited about going back to school? Not really, huh? Well, we’ve got something that might help get you fired up about hitting the books. We’re giving away a killer green back-to-school bundle (worth $150) chock full of eco goodies to one lucky winner – and it could be you! [...]
117 Comments >
BACK TO SCHOOL CONTEST: Win a Noon Solar bag!
It’s mid August, the leaves are turning brown, and you know what that means! Fall is just around the corner and school is about to start up for students around the country. In the spirit of back-to-school goodness we’re announcing a contest over the next week to give away some fabulously green back [...]
112 Comments >
PIMP MY ECO-RIDE CONTEST: Win a Strida Folding Bike!
WIN A $950 STRIDA FOLDING BIKE! As the weather gets warmer we’re looking forward to spending plenty of sun-soaked days outdoors – and what better way to take full advantage of the beautiful weather than by breezing along on a slick bicycle? We here at Inhabitat want to encourage the use of the world’s most eco-efficient [...]
110 Comments >
Win A Karim-Rashid Designed, Water-Filtering Bobble Bottle!
Win a beautiful, water-filtering bobble water bottle! We’re huge fans of design mastermind Karim Rashid’s colorful, reusable bobble bottles that filter your water on the go, so we’re excited to announce that we’re giving away 10 of them to lucky Inhabitat readers! Not only are these bottles beautifully designed, they’re also BPA-free, made of recycled plastic, [...]
more popular stories >
