In Manhattan shops come and go all the time. Still, it was with surprise that New Yorkers watched the swift transformation of a retail space in Union Square from wine store to Puma concept store almost overnight. Thanks to the innovative “Store-In-A-Box” concept – inspired by the fold-out efficiency of mobile shipping containers – Puma was able to set up this store in less than a week. Puma’s new prefab retail system is a marvel of efficiency that anyone who has ever put together a retails store can appreciate.


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Post tags: manhattan, Mass customization, New York., Paolo Luchetta, Puma store-in-a-box, retail prefab, RetailDesign SRL, shipping container architecture, Shipping container store, Union Square

One of the most desolate places after dark, New York’s financial district used to be more or less for bankers only. Residential development in the area was lacking and as a result commercial activity was mainly geared towards servicing office workers and shut down entirely in the evenings. And then came 9/11…

In the post 9/11 rebuilding process, the Lower Manhattan area is being revamped to be more welcoming area that will include a healthy mix of residential, commercial and cultural activity. Much of the redevelopment is focusing on sustainable building. New green residential buildings, such as the Solaire and the Verdisian are the result of mandatory green guidelines for all new residential buildings imposed by the Battery Park City Authority.

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Post tags: green ground zero, greening up lower Manhattan post 9/11, lower Manhattan, the solaire, WTC, WTC 7

Its striking how seldom we talk about literal greenery here in the “green space” – especially when it comes to new technology. However, at “The Future of Green” pavilion at the Wired NextFest We found a few eco-innovations that are actually green.

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Post tags: Hydroponic Butter Lettuce, hydroponic garden, jill fehrenbacher, Wired Greenery, Wired NextFest

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.

Read the rest of INTERVIEW: Brave Space Design

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Post tags: brave space design, brooklyn design, tetrad shelving, tetris shelves