Archive for June, 2010
June 30th, 2010
Besting the efforts of nearly 3,100 architects worldwide, a team involving blaanc of Portugal and João Caeiro of Mexico won the Open Source House design competition with their entry “Emerging Ghana.” All of the entries are available online and Emerging Ghana, as a pilot project, is expected to be built by the end of this year.
As an overall initiative, Open Source House plans to build more than 100,000 affordable green houses by 2020, starting with Emerging Ghana. This home is modular, expandable, flexible, and built with dry connections for deconstruction and reuse.
Panels are made with locally available bamboo and dahoma wood, while rammed earth walls are compacted with simple formwork. Large windows fill the interior with natural light, and exterior folding wood screens provide natural ventilation and shade when necessary.
Emerging Ghana places the courtyard at the heart of the home, and this space is where most family activity will happen. The home has a system for rainwater recovery and a small septic tank for sewage.
The purpose of the Open Source House competition was to “design a sustainable, flexible and locally embedded one family house for a specific location in Ghana” using eight principles. Emerging Ghana took the prize, but the work of thousands will provide a foundation for more affordable, sustainable homes throughout the country.
[+] Read more about Emerging Ghana and other OS House Winners.
Media credits: Blaanc & João Caeiro.
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June 30th, 2010
If you’re in the market for an engineered, wide-plank, natural flooring, Mafi is a great place to start. The company uses FSC-certified woods that are treated with organic, natural oils (and no lacquer). As a result, Mafi is “breathable,” “warm,” durable, and will not cup, gap, warp, or fail. The Colorado-based company has operations on both the east and west coast and can create a floor to suit your project perfectly.
[+] Learn more about Mafi Natural FSC Certified Wide Plank Flooring.
Photo credits: Mafi.
June 30th, 2010
Photo by bwohack
The Düsseldorf International Airport and seven other airports in Germany have decided that bees are the best “biodetectives” for monitoring local air quality. By regularly testing the honey of hives placed on airport premises, researchers are able to see what toxins are in the air and being captured by the flora and fauna. From planes themselves to the buses, taxis, freight trucks and other vehicles used at airports, ensuring the air pollution stays under regulated levels is important; bees seem to be the perfect for the task…. Read the full story on TreeHugger
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June 30th, 2010
Competition is a driving force in nature, but can it be a driving force to save nature? Image credit: mikebaird/Flickr
Among birders, the desire to identify as many species as possible in a day, month, or year is what separates the interested from the obsessed. In The Big Year, Rick Obamscik tells the story of a group of competitors racing across the country to secure the coveted American Birding Association championship.
Now, some conservationists are using this passion to aid protection efforts…. Read the full story on TreeHugger
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June 30th, 2010
Image credit: ori2uru/Flickr
Researchers often wondered whether the finless porpoise, which has a range from Japan to China, India to the Persian Gulf—in fresh and salt water—might not be a single species.
New research, however, indicates that at least one group—which lives in China’s Yangtze River—is genetically distinct from Neophocaena phocaenoides as a whole. If verified, … Read the full story on TreeHugger
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June 30th, 2010
Willie Shakespeare never could have guessed that one of his more gruesome and famous plays would be the namesake of Blink-182 front man, Tom DeLonge’s very fashion forward footwear company. Macbeth might have been about greed and power but these shoes are just the opposite. Made of organic canvas, denim, homemade vegan glue, and heat-molded natural rubber, these kicks successfully maintain Tom’s rocker image while keeping in mind All the Small Things – no pun intended.
Since its launch in 2002, MACBETH has progressed its styles to meet the demands of a wide array of vegans including celebrity animal lovers Natalie Portman, Zoey Deschanel, and Gavin Rossdale. With various colors and styles for men and women, you too can rock out with a clear conscience.
June 29th, 2010
The show home for Dwell on Design, Eco Fab House, which just sold for $66,100 on eBay, was garnished with a vertical living wall from Fyto Wall and Design Ecology. The system was set up with modular panels, a soil-less hydroponic watering system, and pre-grown plantings. Fyto Wall is estimated to require upkeep only once per month and can be used to reduce noise, reduce cooling loads, filter air, produce food, or, of course, add life to a design.
[+] Read more about Fyto Wall Vertical Garden Walls.
Credits: Re-Nest (#1); Design Ecology (#2-3).
June 29th, 2010
White-rumped vulture, photo: Lip Kee Yap via flickr
Some hope for three species of endangered Indian vultures: Conservationists have successfully bred all of them in captivity for the first time. Considering that at current rates of decline–brought about in no small part because of a painkiller used in cattle (more on that below)–these vultures would be globally extinct within 10 years, the importance of this seems clear. … Read the full story on TreeHugger
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June 29th, 2010
Image via MyNature
Ever walked along a park path or hiking trail and wondered the name of the tree you were looking at, or whether or not that particular vine was poison ivy or not? Or perhaps you saw some tracks and had no idea what type of animal made them. MyNature app puts everything you need to know for identifying flora and the footprints of fauna right in your pocket. … Read the full story on TreeHugger
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June 29th, 2010
Last week, a newly completed IQ Haus by DNA European Design Studio was on display at Dwell on Design in Los Angeles, California. The container home, clad in a contemporary application of Douglas Fir, was enjoyed by conference attendees and could have been the “coolest thing” there.
IQ Haus, according to the website, was formed to “offer a beautiful high-end home that is cutting edge, strong, luxurious, green, and affordable.“ These homes can be used as an office, retreat, studio, rental property, or
off-grid abode.
In terms of pricing, IQ Haus starts at $65 a square foot, according to Modern Luxury San Diego. The price is pretty surprising considering its California origins and small size.
These green prefabs start at 320 square feet and come with low-E glass, ceramic paint insulation, a rain shower bathroom, heating and air conditioning, and other modern amenities.
[+] Learn more about IQ Haus Affordable Green Prefab Homes.
Credits: Huffington Post (top); IQ Haus (#2-3); Ron Miriello (#4).