Hanging Air Plant Pods by Michael McDowell
Michael McDowell has created a collection of ceramic hanging air plant pods.
from Michael McDowell:
I designed these ceramic hanging air plant pods specifically for air plants (Tillandsia) after discovering that tillandsias will not survive in standing water and if water pools in their leaves it can harm them.Each pod is made from a gorgeous natural buff colored stoneware clay that I cover in an exquisite silky matte white glaze. Your pod comes with a generous amount of natural hemp cord all ready to hang. Because they are high fired, you can hang them outdoors as well but make sure to bring your air plants inside during cooler temperatures. To secure the air plants I tuck a couple leaves inside if the bulb isn’t big enough to hang within the pod itself. Each arrives gift packaged and make the perfect house warming present. They look amazing individually or hung in groups! The colors of my pods are designed to be able to be mixed and matched. You can also display these right side up on a shelf or table just by taking the cord and hanger out.
Iseami House, Costa Rica by Robles Arquitectos
Created by Robles Arquitectos, the house is isolated from civilization that it has no access to public power cables, sanitation, or water. For the latter, the house uses water from the forest, which also serves as a power source thanks to two low-impact hydroelectric turbines that crank 800kWh. In addition to the generators, the roof can provide up to 10,800kWh of electricity thanks to its panels. Additional panels heat up the water.
The house uses water from the forest, which is also used as a power source by the two low-impact hydroelectric turbines that generate 800KWh of electricity. Additionally, 10,800KWh of electricity is provided by a rooftop solar array, which has been designed in order to have the orientation and position to maximize electricity generation.
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R-House by Della Valle Bernheimer & Architecture Research Office
R-House was created in full collaboration by Della Valle Bernheimer and Architecture Research Office.The prototype residence that our two design firms envisioned for Syracuse, New York, was a winner of Syracuse University’s “From the Ground Up” competition, held in conjunction with the Syracuse Center of Excellence and Home Headquarters as part of their initiative to revitalize the Near Westside neighborhood of Syracuse.
R-House presents an affordable, innovative paradigm for minimal to net-zero energy consumption embodied in architecture that is meant to nurture the spirit and engage the community as much as it is meant to perform in terms of cost and sustainability. Wrapped within its iconic exterior are expansive and luminous spaces that require only the equivalent energy of a hair dryer for heating.
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Maximum Garden House by Formwerkz Architects
Maximum Garden House was made by Formwerkz. The design maximizes the area for garden, that usually doesn’t have enough area to be built.
From the architects:
One questions the sense of “landed-ness” in a typically maxed-out envelope of a semi-detached typology. What is usually left over after the building footprint is no more than a slender planting strip on the ground. Hence, one prime motivation of this house was to seek out more garden spaces/surfaces in an attempt to redress this imbalance while we fulfill the client’s brief.
The Picturesque Landscape
The vertical wall planting set within a niche along the front boundary wall and the Burle Marx inspired shrubbery on the car-porch roof, reclaim surfaces otherwise normally neglected as canvasses for beautification.
Passive House in Bessancourt, France by Karawitz Architecture
The French firm Karawitz Architecture have developed a passive house in Bessancourt, France.
The house is closed to the north to limit heat loss and opened to the south benefiting from free solar energy. aesthetically, it is an abstract replica of a traditional house.The second skin of the houses design is untreated bamboo which envelopes the frame in solid wood panels.
The cladding, which becomes grey over time, drew inspiration from traditional barns in the part of the Ile-de-France region where the house is situated. It passes in front of the windows to the north and finishes by unfolding on to the roof. Identical shutters are fitted on large bay windows to the south to provide shade and light in the house, during the day or at night.
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July 22, 2010 - Category: Architecture, Green, Latest - Posted by: Chantal - Comments: 2
Terrestrial Shrub Rover by Justin Shull
Terrestrial Shrub Rover fits easily into a number of environments ranging from suburbia to the urban forest, offering a green option for short distance travel. It is a solar-powered vehicle that looks, as you may have guessed, exactly like a large shrub.
According to Shull, “In the spirit of NASA and its forthcoming 2020 lunar expeditions in preparation for colonizing the moon, the Terrestrial Shrub Rover presents the opportunity to explore terrestrial and social environments back on Earth from within a manned, foliage bedecked, solar electric powered rover.”
Oxygen of Green by Mingling Wang
The Oxygen of Green indoor furniture concept is designed by combining air plants with a living room table. Conceptualized by industrial designer Mingling Wang, the system produces a decent amount of oxygen, especially after dark and does that at the place where it’s most needed – the center section of the house.
The system produces a decent amount of oxygen, especially after dark and does that at the place where it’s most needed – the center-section of the house. Air Plants (Tillandsias) grow without soil, since water and nutrients are absorbed through the leaves and absorb CO2 from the air and produce oxygen in the night time.
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PopUP HOUSE, Prefab House by Hally Thacher
PopUP HOUSE offers an affordable, eco-friendly, pre-fabricated kit that comes to the building site ready to be built. Conceived by Hally Thacher, the stylish home is shipped flat–packed and ready-to-assemble, which means substantial savings on labor, shipping costs and waste.
The Pop-Up House is customizable allowing home owners to add their own style and personal touch to it – they can pick what type of doors to install, the layout, furniture, carpeting, etc. The house assembly is user-friendly enough so anyone with building experience should be able to put it together.
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Urcomante House at Solar Decathalon Europe
“URCOMANTE,” House has been built by the team group of dedicated students and teachers from the University of Valladolid, Spain. The project has been presented at the Solar Decathalon Europe 2010. URCOMANTE is a word composed of the various individuals to whom the living spaces of the house can be adapted to(urbanite, cosmopolitan, manager, immigrant, and dilettante).
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Vac from the Sea – Electrolux Collects Plastic from the Oceans
The Pacific Ocean is polluted with the largest floating garbage islands in the world. The initiative – “Vac from the Sea” – aims to bring attention to the issue of plastic pollution and at the same time combat the scarcity of recycled plastics needed for making sustainable home appliances.
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Virginia Tech’s Prefab Lumenhaus Wins 2010 Solar Decathlon
This year’s winner of the 10-day competition was Virginia Tech’s Lumenhaus, an 800-square-foot solar-powered home inspired by architect Mies Van Der Rohe’s Farnsworth House.
The prefab homes of the future won’t just be relatively cheap and easy to build on the fly–they’ll also be ultra-sustainable. For evidence of what these homes will look like, we need only direct our attention toward this year’s European Solar Decathlon, which asks teams to “clearly demonstrate that solar houses can be built without sacrificing energy efficiency or comfort, and that they can be both attractive and affordable.”
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Alpha Project by Xavier Vilalta Studio
Architects Xavier Vilalta Studio have won the competition with the theme : tower for Doha, Qatar. Called Alpha Project, the design is based on tha patterns of ancient Arabic tiles.
It would be designed as an independent ecosystem to ensure stable living at places with harsher climes with the use of sustainable renewable energy measures.
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Photosynthesis Car Generates Energy from Natural Photosynthesis
Conceived by designers Michal Vlcek and Klavir, the “Photosynthesis Car” is a revolutionary vehicle that is powered by nothing but pipe dreams and plants. The Photosynthesis Car would integrates a special kind of solar panels, generating energy from the natural photosynthetic process. For the vehicle concept grows its own turf and plants that not only produces sustainable energy for the car but also seat passengers in a natural environment. Running on an electric engine, the futuristic vehicle features nano plastic body and joystick controls, allowing a safe and easy driving. The design element of the car does seem great, but the technological aspects have mostly been untouched. Though photosynthesis can be used to produce sugars and later biofuel, but how will that biofuel power the vehicle is unclear.
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U-Grow – Indoor Growing Concept by Tom Gould
U-grow designed by Tom Gould is a self-sustaining, indoor Aeroponic growing system based on nutrientreclamation from organic kitchen waste. Perfect for people with limited or no garden space, who want to recycle waste and grow their own produce.
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SolPix LED Media-Wall by Simone Giostra and Partners
The giant media-wall called SolPix created by SPG Architects is the largest prototype of its kind. Embedded with LED lights and a photo-voltaic array, it combines energy efficient lighting, solar power and bling, and it can also function as a set of heavy blinds: each piece shifts according to the focus of sunlight.
Sourisverte Eco Rat Trap by Elodie Delassus
Sourisverte is a design changing the idea of the rat trap experience, and leaving behind harmful chemicals. As the rat dies, it participate to the natural cycle of the life.
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Ark House by Axis Mundi
New Yorker architects from Axis Mundi created this sustainable citadel in the Montana plains called Ark House. They filled the request to design a home for a 100 acre site in Madison Valley, that feels contemporary while still related to the ancient landscape.
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Eye Flowerpot, by Olga Kalugina
Russian based industrial designer created an awesome new object: the Eye pot, allowing to see the roots of your plant and to optimize the conditions of growing. The flowerpot allows to see the root system of the plant. More importantly, the system Eye defines automatically light level, ambient temperature, humidity and conditions of the soil. After what it shows them on the display. All developments of a plant and the influence of various factors can now be estimated.
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