Category Archives: environment

Stunning waterfall hopes to make debut at 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro

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Solar City Tower, designed by Swiss architecture firm RAFAA.

Ever since Rio de Janeiro, Brazil was selected to host the 2016 Olympics, the International Architecture Competition has heated up with hundres of submissions from architecture firms.  They are all vying to create a winning design that inspires people to visit Rio de Janeiro and conceptualizes Brazil’s “natural beauty and its commitment to a sustainable future.”  The Solar City Tower is one of the most daring and tempting submissions that I hope takes top prize.  The Tower is lined with solar panels; captured energy allows seawater to be pumped to its top and gravity forces the water back into the ocean.  It’s a “green” waterfall!  When the water falls it spins turbines that produces energy during the night.  The designers call the waterfall effect “a symbol for the forces of nature.”  The tower also proposes to house a amphitheater, auditorium, cafeteria, shops, and observation decks with bungee jumping.  RAFAA on their design:

The aim of this project is to ask how the classic concept of a landmark can be reconsidered. It is less about an expressive, iconic architectural form; rather, it is a return to content and actual, real challenges for the imminent post-oil-era. This project represents a message of a society facing the future; thus, it is the representation of an inner attitude. Our project, standing in the tradition of “a building/city as a machine”, shall provide energy both to the city of Rio de Janeiro and its citizens while using natural resources.

[Via Likecool; DVICE; Treehugger]

Egg carton-inspired furniture

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Pulp furniture, Dan Hochberg, Odelia Lavie, recyclable furniture, green furniture, compostable furniture, bio degradable furniture, lightweight furniture, coffee tables, clocks, recyclable clocks, green clocks, compostable clocks, bio degradable clocks, egg cartons

Pulp Furniture, designed by Dan Hochberg and Odelia Lavie.

As you can tell from first glance, the Pulp Furniture series, which includes a coffee table, complimentary seating, and a wall clock, gets its inspiration from the pulp packaging that protects goods like eggs.  Although the set is made of paper, they are structurally sound and are constructed with human weight and stress amount in mind.  Says Inhabitat: “Lightweight, transportable, biodegradable, recyclable and just plain awesome.”  I couldn’t agree more.

[Via Inhabitat; Gizmodo]

A “green” chandelier comes in many colors

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I Saloni, Salone del Mobile, Milano, Milan Salone 2010, Salone 2010, Milan Design Week, Milan Design Fair, Bottleformball by Heath Nash, recycled materials, pet plastic lamp, green design

Bottleformball, designed by Heath Nash.

The colorful ball of chaos you see above is actually a chandelier made entirely of recycled PET bottles.  They are bundled together by a supportive wire structre.  South African designer Heath Nash is one of many that came together at the Misael Gallery in Milan to construct and exhibit “modern ecological designs” made from recyclable material.  The designers “redream paradise by reusing industrial materials to recreate natural or organic objects.”  Take a closer look at the “Bottleformball” in the gallery below.

[Via Inhabitat; Gizmodo]

Waterpebble helps you conserve water by encouraging shorter showers

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The Waterpebble, designed by Paul Priestman.

The “Waterpebble” is an innovative device that keeps an eye on water consumed when you take shower in the bathroom. Designed to be fully recyclable, the smart device monitors water going down the plughole, after each shower, to compare it with earlier showers, so you could manage or reduce your shower time and thus water consumption. Featuring an automatic mechanism, the Waterpebble takes your first shower as a benchmark and gently flashes “from green through to red” to stop the shower.

Priestman says that he “wanted to design something that takes the hard work out of going green and that helps people change their behavior so that eventually they are doing it automatically.”  Something like this might just work.  A rather strange video demonstrating how it works is after the break.

[Via Waterpebble; TheDesignBlog; Gizmodo]

Continue reading Waterpebble helps you conserve water by encouraging shorter showers →

Expandable chair made entirely of recycled paper and wood

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The FlexibleLove chair, designed by Chishen Chiu, combines an “accordion-like, honeycomb structure” and recycled paper and wood waste to form an expandable chair than can stretch and fold to make various seating arragements.  The company calls it “ecological, adaptable, practical” and I couldn’t agree more.  I want one!  Look after the break for a video of it in action.

[Via Likecool; FlexibleLove]

Continue reading Expandable chair made entirely of recycled paper and wood →

World’s largest revolving Christmas star

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Developed by Siemens and Munich multimedia artist Michael Pendry, this wind turbine-turned-Christmas “SuperStar” is made up of 9,000 spinning LED lights.  Each blade holds 3,000 LED lights and when it rotates the lights bright up the night’s sky.  The overarching reason this was made for the holiday season is because it promotes eco-friendliness.  The LEDs emit the equivalent of 22,000 candles and the structure uses as much energy as a hairdryer!  It sits in Munich until January 6.  Check out additional images of this glowing wonder in the gallery below; long exposure photography was used to capture the spinning blades at a colorful standstill.  Also, peek after the break for a video of the star’s construction and to see it in action.

[Via Gizmodo; Inhabitat]

Continue reading World’s largest revolving Christmas star →

Glowy dress monitors pollution in the air

Design, environment, Fashion, Images, Technology, , , , , ,

Climate Dress.  Designed by Diffus.

The inclusion of an Arduino Lilypad microprocessor, a carbon dioxide detector, and LED lights make this dress, well, very unique.  Stitched together using conductive embroidery, the LEDs are connected to the CO2 detector and light up when the dress interacts with carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.  Glowing patterns range from “slow pulses to rapid flashes” depending on how much CO2 is detected.  Diffus representatives: It generate awareness of environmental issues through an “aesthetic representation of environmental data.”  I’ll say.

[Via Engadget; ecouterre]