It’s been an exciting month as we’ve seen green transportation records set on the ground and in the sky, so naturally we are taking the next step and bringing you to the sea with the Earthrace, a 78 ft tri-hull “wavepiercer”. The biodiesel boat recently completed a carbon-neutral tour of the globe in an incredible 60 days and 23 hours, besting the previous world record by 14 days!
Partly Sunny: Designs to Change the Forecast is an exhibition showcasing innovative designs from around the world that focus on solutions to shifting climate conditions. An initiative of students and faculty from Rhode Island School of Design, the exhibition was created to contribute to national conversations about climate change and to illustrate how individual choices and public policies can change the forecast. The exhibition is on display now through August 28th in Denver, CO during the 2008 Democratic National Convention.
We love concept vehicles here at Inhabitat - not because we hope that they will be manufactured at some point, but because we’re impressed by the innovative thinking behind them. Take the 888 by Oskar Johansen, which looks like any other slick two-seater - until you dig a little deeper. It turns out this solar-electric super-car is capable of a unique feat of imaginative engineering: it can shrink!
Every year, Peugeot launches a contest call for entries from the international design community to showcase their talents in a concept car showdown. The theme for this year’s contest requested that they imagine a Peugeot in the megalopolis of tomorrow, and by the looks of the entries, (such as the Stylight above), they definitely delivered. If you think that you’ve seen concept vehicles, you ain’t seen nothing yet.
Public bike sharing is one of our favorite solutions to cutting inner-city congestion while providing for carbon-free modes of transportation. Services such as Velib and Smartbike have proven to be a popular and effective way to reduce our reliance upon cars, so we were excited to hear that Freewheelin will be bringing 1000 bikes to this year’s Democratic and Republican Conventions!
Last year we brought you news of the Zephyr, an unmanned solar-powered airplane that shattered a world record with a flight of 54 hours. Not content with their initial achievement, the creators of the Zephyr decided to give it a second shot. This time the Zephyr flew for an incredible 82 hours and 37 minutes!
With the current vogue of reality tv shows sweeping the networks, we’re excited to see one with an admirable humanitarian design mission. Architecture School is a new series that follows twelve architecture students at the Tulane University School of Architecture as they design and build a low-cost sustainable home for a family returning to New Orleans. An excellent example of integrating students within a community, the three year venture will join the architecture school with URBANbuild and the nonprofit Neighborhood Housing Services
Some of the most interesting examples of green innovation are those that transform the environmentally unkind into a beacon of eco-friendly sophistication. Such was the challenge dealt to Bligh Voller Nield in designing the headquarters for Sydney-based Stockland. Their solution recycles an existing structure into a cutting edge workplace so successfully that it received the Milo Dunphy Award for Sustainable Architecture in this year’s NSW awards.
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