Building a home in the desert is certainly a test of green building innovation — because in a climate where resources are limited, how do you build to ensure comfort and longevity? Architect Lloyd Russell offers a beautiful solution with his Austin Residence near Palm Springs, California. Besides its construction out of recycled materials, Russell gave serious consideration to the mechanics of passive ventilation the home during the hot summer months. He was also sensitive to the culture of the surrounding California desert when developing the home’s look-and-feel, creating a contemporary home reminiscent of an old West outpost that captures the essence of desert living.

Read the rest of California Desert Home Uses Passive Ventilation Techniques

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: california homes, california residence, california residential architecture, desert homes, desert living, eco friendly residence, eco-friendly homes, green architecture, Green Building, green homes, green residence, lloyd russell, palm springs, passive ventilation, Sustainable Building

The fabulous Dwell on Design Show in LA last weekend showcased some amazing new products and home designs, like the organic ‘Solar Ivy‘, and the Mormal Radziner Skyline Prefab Series. Even more exciting though was the little prefab that could by Reclaimed Space, which sold on Ebay for $75,000, with a portion going to Habitat For Humanity. Reclaimed Space designed and built a 400 square foot prefab cabin, trucked it to LA for the event. The home has a contemporary mix of wood and metal in its exterior, and a beautiful interior decorated by our friends at Ecofabulous, with the help of Jeffers Design Group. We’re in love with the design, space and interior — so we weren’t surprised that it was a smash hit at the show.

Read the rest of Reclaimed Space Prefab Sold on Ebay for $75K

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: dwell on design, dwell on design 2009, dwell on design conference, ecofabulous, Prefab, Reclaimed Materials, reclaimed space, reclaimed wood, small spaces

The United Kingdom’s Hanham Hall Development is the largest eco-village aspiration to date. Designed by HTA and funded by Barratt Developments and the Homes & Communities Agency, there are a rumored 188-195 zero carbon homes in the overall housing scheme. The development will include an onsite biomass CHP plant, strategically placed reed beds, shops for farmers to sell their goods, bicycle storage throughout, and a carefully crafted drainage system. Hanham Hall is the first major eco city underway that is part of the government’s Carbon Challenge Programme. The government has set a goal for all new builds to be zero carbon by 2016. It looks as though they are six years ahead of the curve.

Read the rest of Largest Eco-Village in the UK Will Boast Zero Carbon Homes

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: eco-village, hanham hall, Sustainable Building, UK, united kingdom, zero carbon homes

Good things really do come in small packages — as is the case with these mini modernist Bauhaus Models crafted by Auckland based painter and sculptor Gidon Bing and styled by Katie Lockhart. The diminutive Bauhaus dwellings were created as a promotional showcase for New Zealand paint company, Renese, to demonstrate their Karen Walker Paint charts. The inspiration for the dollhouse models was derived from “the Bauhaus school of the 1920s whose concept was to create and combine colors from an emotional point of view rather than a technical one.” This artful nod to Bauhaus architecture blurs the lines between child’s play and grownup art appreciation, proving that great design spans the ages.

READ MORE AT INHABITOTS >

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Bauhaus architecture, Bauhaus dollhouses, Bauhaus Modernism, design savvy dollhouse, designer dollhouse, Karen Walker paints, mini Bauhaus models, Renese, Renese promotional Bauhaus models

Pre-built homemakers extraordinaire, Marmol Radziner Prefab were in the news this week once again introducing their newest custom prefab home. High up in the hills above Los Angeles sits the new Hollywood Hybrid, a 2576 sq. ft. sustainable, modern prefab home with killer views and a minimal carbon footprint. Inhabitat went up to the site where the home was being built for a peek.

Read the rest of Marmol Radziner Prefab’s Hollywood Hybrid Takes Shape in the Hills

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: "prefabricated housing", dwell home collection, hollywood, hollywood hybrid, Los Angeles, marmol radziner, Prefab Housing

Today all that nomadic telecommuters need is internet access, a phone, and some strong coffee. Waskman Design Studio’s stunning mobile home, designed for Vodafone, has all of those things (except the caffeine). The solar powered trailer was created for Vodafone to show off its fixed phone and wireless internet service, and is currently occupied by blogger Marcos Morales and his family as they travel through Spain on a family vacation!

Read the rest of Solar Mobile Home Liberates Office-Bound Desk Jockies

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: "prefabricated housing", carlos morales, green design, la casa movil, mobile home, sustainable design, vodaphone, waskman design studio

Who says materials have to be scraped, buffed, and varnished to be beautiful? Recently, we spotted a beautiful storage barn that proves raw materials can make a breathtaking exterior. The building’s site was once home to a scrap lumber yard where the owner was looking to restrain the sprawl of the wood and stone. The architects, Gray Organschi Architecture, designed a simple structure that not only stores the materials, but operates off-grid on an isolated site. With accessibility in mind, the lumber is organized on the exterior of the building in rectangular cubby holes, creating a wonderful mosaic-like texture that proves that functionality and aesthetics can go hand-in-hand.

Read the rest of Beautiful Solar Storage Barn Built From Raw Materials

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: eco-friendly shed, Green Building, outdoor barn, outdoor shed, storage barn, storage facility, storage shed, Sustainable Building

We all know that invisibility cloaks can protect Harry Potter from Filch and his cat Mrs. Norris, but now physicists in France and the UK say they may be used to hide buildings from the devastating effects of earthquakes as well. Sound like fiction? It’s not! Stefan Enoch and his team at the Fresnel Institute in Marseilles, France have been studying other applications for the physics behind invisibility cloaks. The result of their research is an “earthquake cloak” that could render objects “invisible” to shocks, storm waves or tsunamis. And they aren’t even Level 8 mages!

Read the rest of Invisibility Cloaks May Shield Buildings From Earthquakes

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: disaster prevention, Disaster-proof design, earthquake cloak, earthquake prevention, fresnel institute, humanitarian design, invisibility cloak, invisibility rings, stefan enoch

Argentinean architects Gustavo Dieguez and Lucas Gilardi of Estudio a77 transformed an existing 1950s house on a small lot in an upscale neighborhood of Buenos Aires into an innovative eco-friendly dwelling. Constructed from recycled and reclaimed materials, this ‘demolition house’ turns trash into a treasured abode. Using approximately 50 meters of recycled highway guard rails from the General Paz (a highway surrounding Buenos Aires) and 300 meters of discarded metal profiles, wood, iron doors and windows found in scrap yards, Dieguez and Gilardi rework demolition materials into fully functioning structural elements.

Read the rest of A77 Architects Fashion Home From Demolition Materials

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Architecture, Buenos Aires, Estudio a77, Recycled Materials, sustainable design

Julia Molloy and Taka Sarui of Brooklyn design collaborative XLXS created the GrowShelter, a highly unique living environment where humans, plants and animals may co-exist. Consisting of three spherical shells embedded with seeds, the habitat is designed to evolve with the seasons - starting the cycle in spring, the spheres are embedded in a mixture of earth/mud/seed, and as summer approaches, the plants will be in bloom and the embedded food in the mud will create a mini haven for local animals and birds. The earth should weather away by fall and winter, leaving the permanent shells ready to be packed again for spring.

Read the rest of GrowShelter: Living, Growing Shelter for Plants, Animals and People

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: growshelter, Julia Molloy and Taka Sarui, Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education, XLXS

Just like the Empire State Building, the famed Sears Tower in Chicago will be soon receiving some major eco upgrades to become more energy efficient. Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture is responsible for the upgrade plans as well as a brand new 50-story luxury hotel to be built right next to the tower. The eco upgrade will reduce energy consuption by 68,000,000 kWh per year or the equivalent of 50,000 barrels of crude oil. Costs for the renovation are estimated at $350 million dollars for tower, which will soon be renamed Willis Tower.

Read the rest of Sears Tower Going Green With $350 Million Renovation

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: "energy efficiency", "wind turbine", chicago, eco upgrade, hotel, Renovation, Sears Tower, solar hot water, Solar Power

There is nothing we love more than good design meeting up with a good cause. That’s why we love this student humanitarian design project on the Thai Burmese border: it combines beautifully designed (and super efficient) vernacular-inspired architecture with social responsibility in aiding the plight of Karen refugee orphans. Five students in Thailand are using architecture to make new lives for 24 orphans by providing them with homes to call their own.

Read the rest of Butterfly Bamboo Homes Are Hope for Thai Orphans

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: butterfly hut, nust, pre-fab housing, soe ker tie, Sustainable Building, thai dorm, thai kids residence, thai orphanage, tyin tegnestue

Mass Studies created this wonderful dream-inspired pavilion for Denver’s Dialog:City last summer. Known as the Air Forest, the pneumatic pavilion absorbs passing wind currents to stay inflated and provides shade while allowing sunlight to filter through, creating a vibrant public space. The 1,400 square meter structure is easily transported, sets up in a snap without any building materials, and at night it lights up in a beautiful display of luminous pillars.

Read the rest of AIR FOREST: Inflatable Pavilion Lights up the Night

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Air Forest, Denver, Dialog:City, Mass Studies, Public Installations, Temporary Art

Inhabitat favorites Marmol Radziner Prefab and Dwell have teamed together in a joint effort to bring “good design to everyone” with their recently debuted Skyline series of prefabs! Unveiled just this past Friday at the Dwell on Design Conference, the Skyline series comprises four interchangeable floor plans available in six modern configurations that make extensive use of recycled materials, high efficiency insulation, and offer the optional installation of solar panels. Available in sizes ranging from 1 story (1755 sq ft) to two stories (3180 sq ft), the series has been designed for installation in urban spaces and offers the privacy of a residential retreat while bringing the outdoors in through a series of floor to ceiling windows and patio spaces.

Read the rest of Marmol Radziner and Dwell Debut New Skyline Series of Prefabs

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Dwell Homes Collection, Marmol Radziner Prefab, Modern Homes, Prefab Homes, Sustainable Construction, Sustainable Homes

Scrap Lab is a group of designers based out of Bangkok’s Kasetsart University’s Architecture program that creates fun and innovative furniture out discarded industrial scraps. The group makes an eclectic variety of furniture, from a funky shaggy lamp to a lounge chair with a quilt-block pattern — all masterfully re-purposing materials that were once considered waste. While their list of materials includes traditional materials such as wood and metal, it also includes less traditional items such as foam and rope. The purpose of the group’s work is to not only create physical products, but also to collect research on how discarded materials can be used effectively to design functional and aesthetically pleasing pieces.

Read the rest of Scrap Lab: Furniture Made of Industrial Scraps

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: "green furniture", eco-friendly furniture, industrial scraps furniture, leftover scraps furniture, re purpose waste, reycled materials furniture, scrap lab, Sustainable Materials