German architect Jakob Tigges has unveiled a plan for a 1,000m tall faux mountain at the site of the former Tempelhof airport in Berlin, and his supporters are taking it rather seriously. Dubbed “The Berg,” the snow-capped colossus would be the world’s largest man-made mountain and would serve as a tourist attraction for skiers in the otherwise slope-less city. We’re all about adding green space to urban environments, but devoting an enormous amount of time, energy and resources into a gigantic landmass that isn’t even inhabitable on the inside seems like a huge mound of you-know-what, if you ask us.

Read the rest of Design for World’s Largest Man-Made Mountain Towers Over Berlin

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Post tags: berlin, faux mountain, giant mountain, jacob tigges, tempelhof, the berg, world's largest man made mountain

The Progressive Automotive X-Prize is heating up as the May 2010 start date approaches, and one of our favorite entrants is the eVARO, a three-wheeled plug-in hybrid from Future Vehicles Technology. The sleek electric vehicle can go from 0 to 60 MPH in 5 seconds and purportedly reaches 275 mpg under certain conditions. And for those times when there isn’t a gas station in site, the eVARO can cruise for up to 90 miles on pure battery power.

Read the rest of 275 MPG eVARO Electric Vehicle Goes From 0 to 60 in 5 Seconds

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Post tags: auto x prize, electric vehicle, ev, evaro, green design, green transportation, phev, plug in electric vehicle, sema, sustainable design

Industrial design lab GR recently launched a clever new product called the ‘Aqua Jar’ that transforms any plastic bottle into an easy-pour pitcher. Formed from biodegradable and recyclable plastic, the attachment perfectly fits the universal coil of any plastic bottle, creating an attractive and sturdy mount allowing for water to be served anywhere with ease. Available in orange, graphite and frost, the Aqua Jar for Balvi was launched as part of the ZOCO exhibit at last month’s Valencia Design Week. Now if only they could come up with something for the orange juice carton!

+ GR Lab

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Post tags: aqua jar for balvi, gr, green design, Recycled Materials, Recycled Water bottles, sustainable design, valencia design week, water bottle pitcher

Located in downtown Philadelphia right above the Suburban rail station, the Comcast Center has been awarded the title of “tallest LEED certified building in the US” after earning a Gold Certification for LEED-CS (Core & Shell). The obelisk-like 58 story tower is covered in high-performance glass and sunscreens, and features louvers in the atria to help optimize daylight inside the building. Many other green design features help this mixed-use skyscraper reduce energy consumption, making it a great example of environmentally responsible urban growth.

Read the rest of Philadelphia Announces the Tallest LEED Certified Building in US

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Post tags: "energy efficiency", "leed", Comcast Center, leed certification, LEED-CS, philadelphia, Robert A.M. Stern, tallest LEED building

Back in 1979, Winooski, Vermont, a town that often experiences -20 degree weather in January, proposed building a giant dome over their city to help reduce energy costs and keep warm throughout the winter. Thirty years ago, we were experiencing an energy crisis with rising oil prices, and people were looking for solutions to reduce their costs. Nowadays, while we’re also looking to reduce our carbon footprint in addition to costs, the concept is still applicable. By doming off the small city of 7,000, Winooski could stay warm all year round, reduce energy costs and emissions, grow food all year, and ban cars inside the dome. Environmentally, it seems like it has potential.

What do you think?

Read the rest of Could Encasing Cities in Giant Domes Be an Energy Solution for Our Future?

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Post tags: carbon emissions, city dome, dome, geoengineering, reduce emissions, reduce energy costs, vermont, winooski

Throughout India there are many rural villages that are completely removed from the grid. With no source of power for cooking, light, and heating they currently must rely on firewood, kerosene or diesel for fuel. Now green jobs are blossoming throughout these remote areas as the Orissa Tribal Empowerment & Livelihoods Programme trains women and youth to become barefoot solar engineers. This brilliant initiative provides a bright future for the semi-literate and illiterate rural poor by teaching them to harness the sun through the construction of photovoltaic systems and solar powered lanterns.

Read the rest of India’s Barefoot Solar Engineers Are Building a Brighter Future

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Post tags: barefoot solar engineers, dfid, green design, Orissa Tribal Empowerment & Livelihoods Programme, renewable energy, social design, solar lanterns, sustainable design

The Ecouterrorists holdin’ it down.

We kicked off the official launch of our eco-fashion site Ecouterre with a killer party. Check out all of the pics from this momentous night!

READ MORE AT ECOUTERRE>

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When it comes to kicks, the rarer the better. And if you’re looking for originality, we guarantee you won’t find another pair quite like these upcycled junk-metal Jordans by artist Gabriel Dishaw. He whips metal and electronic scraps from old computers into crazy DIY shoe sculptures that will have any sneakerhead foaming at the mouth. We don’t advise wearing them due to the jagged edges, but they’re certain to be conversation starters when placed strategically on your coffee table.

READ MORE AT ECOUTERRE>

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Post tags: dunks, eco shoes, eco-art, eco-fashion, Gabriel Dishaw recycled metal sneakers, jordans, Nike art, sneakerhead, sneakers, Sustainable Fashion

Self proclaimed pack-rat and the design mastermind behind the eco-fashion line Study Tara St. James knows how to make upcycling look good. So we weren’t surprised to see that her latest endeavor takes something as mundane as old zippers and transforms them into objects of desire fit for the pages of Vogue (Anna Wintour, if you’re reading this, give Tara a call). Check out all of Tara’s beautiful beribboned, and shockingly affordable, necklaces and accessories before they all get scooped up!

READ MORE AT ECOUTERRE>

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Post tags: eco friendly accessories, eco friendly jewelry, eco-fashion, recycled jewelry, recycled zippers, Sustainable Fashion, Tara St. James recycled zipper jewelry, upcycled jewelry, zipper jewelry

DRUMROLL PLEASE…

The results of our Green Halloween Costume Contest are finally in! Thank you to everyone who entered – we couldn’t be more psyched about the amazing homemade entries we got pouring in. It wasn’t easy, but we finally narrowed it down to 15 fabulous finalists and then left it up to YOU to choose your favorites. So with out further ado, here are the winners!

GRAND PRIZE GOES TO…IT’S A TIE!

Due to a glitch in our voting system, we had two outstanding costumes that had such a close number of votes that we had to declare it a toss-up. So congratulations to both Cheshire Cat AND Optimus Prime!!!

GRAND PRIZE GOES TO: OPTIMUS PRIME

Congratulations to Optimus Prime! You dazzled our readers with your incredible rendition of the world’s most popular autobot and got a whopping 309 votes by making a costume that actually transforms!

GRAND PRIZE GOES TO: CHESHIRE CAT

You bewitched us with your sly grin and clever costume made out of all recycled materials. This was honestly one of the most expertly executed costumes we’ve ever seen. Congratulations!

Both of our Grand Prize winners will receive a $100 Gift Certificate to the Inhabitatshop and a BoGolight solar-powered flashlight – with every BoGolight purchased in the U.S., another one will be donated to people in developing countries.

2nd PLACE GOES TO: WALL-E

One of the world’s most famous and beloved robots came to life in this super-detailed costume – we almost couldn’t believe our eyes at how closely this resembles Wall-E in the movie! We guess our readers agreed that Wall-E deserved some accolades because 122 of you voted for him.

EDITOR’S CHOICE AWARDS

HEADLESS MARIE ANTOINETTE

Could there be a more haunting and lifelike Marie Antoinette costume? We think not. The gown, the gore and even Marie’s expression caught our attention and made this costume a winner.

CORK TREE

This superbly-crafted costume gets extra points for sheer level of difficulty. We’re not sure how many hours you spent on your costume but, it’s absolutely ingenious (especially the squirrel placement)!

BEAKER

Oh Beaker – what can we say? You won us over with your simplicity and your master crafting skills. Thank you for bringing our favorite Muppet assistant to life!

Congratulations to all of our runners-up and editor’s picks! You’ve each won your choice of an Inhabitat women’s or men’s T-shirt or bag!

A heartfelt thank you to everyone who entered our Green Halloween Costume contest. To look through the whole array of ingenious DIY entries, check out the Inhabitat Green Halloween website and the photo gallery below… Enjoy!

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Post tags: green halloween contest winners, Green Halloween Costumes, halloween costume ideas, Inhabitat Green Halloween Costume Contest, inhabitat halloween contest, sustainable halloween costumes

One of the main principles of permaculture is that “the problem is the solution.” Problem: tons of waste cups created by attendees of the OutsideLands concert in San Francisco. Solution: a fabulous recycled cup canopy. BIOS Design Collective tapped a keg and invited their friends over for a canopy party, building a gorgeous wave of concave color at Stable Cafe just in time for Architecture and the City.

Read the rest of re:Use Canopy Upcycled from Plastic Cups by BIOS Design Collective

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Post tags: aiasf, beer keg, BIOS, Canopy, eco-art, OutsideLands, Recycled Materials

Practically every household in America has its own tool set, drill, and ladder… but why? Most people don’t use these things on a daily basis, and due to their hardworking heritage these items tend to last forever; when’s the last time you wore out a hammer? Enter NeighborGoods, a service that seeks to cut down on redundant consumption and save households the cost of buying their own toolshed by enabling networks of borrowers. Perfect for those times when you need a drill for a day, or a saw for a few hours — plus you’ll actually have a chance to meet your neighbors and benefit your community. NeighborGoods was recently launched publicly in Los Angeles, and we hope to see borrowing hubs popping up everywhere in the months to come.

+ NeighborGoods

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Post tags: borrowing service, community, green design, lending, neighborgoods, social networking, sustainable design

Our Green Halloween Costume Contest ends TONIGHT at MIDNIGHT!

Today is your LAST CHANCE to vote in our Green Halloween Costume contest, and the competition is fierce! Our top 15 amazingly crafted submissions are currently vying for fame, glory, and some great green prizes – and we’re leaving it up to you to pick the winners! The competition ends tonight at midnight, so without further ado, here’s your chance to check them out and weigh in on who you think deserves the coveted title of “Inhabitat Best Green Halloween Costume 2009” not to mention some incredible prizes like a sweet solar-powered Bogo flashlight, an awesome $100 gift certificate to the spectacular Inhabitatshop or supercool Inhabitat t-shirts and tote bags.

VOTE HERE>

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And if you want to check out the adorable kid costumes that were submitted to our kids contest, check out our finalists for the Inhabitots Green Halloween Costume Contest here >

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Post tags: eco halloween, green halloween, inhabitat costume contest, inhabitat green halloween contest, sustainable costume

Instead of moving goods on resource-intensive trains, Spain-based technology company Novateq Guerrero SNL wants to build out a different kind of transportation network–one that uses super-powerful magnets to propel vehicles. Novateq has already developed a prototype of its system, which uses Neodymium magnets, or rare-earth magnets, as a driving force. The magnets are 9 times more powerful than conventional models.

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Post tags: green design, magnetic fields, neodymium, novateq guerrero, Spain, sustainable design, sustainable transportation, trains

The 2009 World Architecture Festival took place this week in Barcelona, drawing great minds to discuss, learn, share and award excellent architectural designs and completed projects. This year’s theme dealt with how to achieve Less With More and the relationship between cities and architecture, with climate change and sustainability playing key roles. The winners of the festival have been announced and we want to highlight four of the completed buildings that stand out for their environmentally sensitive and sustainable designs. Read on to see all of these noteworthy buildings.

Read the rest of 2009 World Architecture Festival Winners Announced

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Post tags: "sustainable architecture", 2009, Barcelona, Mapungubwe Interpretation Centre, Pearl Academy of Fashion, Restaurant Tusen, Unileverhaus, WAF 2009, winners, world architecture festival