by: Sustainable Design News, 2011-12-10 00:38:07 UTC Steve Bishop is global lead of environmental impact at the design and business innovation firm IDEO.
At IDEO, Bishop helps companies build brands, develop new products, and design new innovation processes inspired by principles of sustainability.
by: Sustainable Design News, 2011-12-11 12:09:17 UTC The International Interior Design Association and InterfaceFLOR announced the winners of the ninth annual IIDA Student Sustainable Design Competition.
The competition was created to celebrate and encourage sustainable design and to award individuals who demonstrated consistent, creative incorporation and the understanding of sustainable principles.
by: Sustainable Design News, 2011-12-12 00:31:57 UTC Nature has always been a source of inspiration and resources to mankind - from the reproduction of floral motifs to the use of wood - but it has more to offer.
Throughout the ages, nature has developed and optimised countless solutions to issues that also man faces daily.
I buy many cups of coffee and habitually cringe when reaching for a plastic lid. It’s pretty hypocritical to make a point of avoiding Styrofoam, only to slap a petroleum disc on a paper cup. (And yes, I know that carrying a travel mug would obviate the issue.) Fortunately for me (and my eco karma), a designer named Peter Herman has come up with a greener, all-paper disposable cup that folds closed like a takeout container to form a sipping spout.
Herman spent two years of his spare time--he’s an architect at the Cambridge, Massachusetts, firm Ellenzweig--and made close to a hundred prototypes in the process of refining the folding design he calls Compleat. The construction is simple: The body and two integrated flaps are composed of a single piece of paper; the body is glued to the circular base. Like similar cups on the market, the paper would be waterproofed, though ideally with cellulose-based plastic, so that it could be composted. Herman partnered with Daren Bascome, of graphic-design firm Proverb, to make use of all three surfaces for branding messages. “Since the average customer has a paper cup in their hands for 16 minutes, the additional surfaces give retailers considerably more opportunity to reach their customers in a meaningful manner,” Herman tells Co.Design.
Plus, Herman estimates that Compleat could ultimately save retailers money, since it’s just one piece (instead of the usual two) and can be sourced through a single supplier. But he adds that figuring out the “hard-cost implication of the cup” will require “direct collaboration with manufacturers, distributors, and retailers.” Regardless of the cost benefits, Herman thinks that the iconic shape will perform priceless PR, conveying the retailer’s commitment to environmental stewardship.
The launch date for the cup is still unclear, says Herman, who is in talks with manufacturers and retailers. “There are important variables ranging from the required modifications of existing cup-making machinery to long-term contractual arrangements between manufacturers, distributors, and retailers that will all influence the rollout timetable.” Let’s hope that he sorts it all out soon. Compleat is the type of overhaul to an everyday product that could have a huge impact.
In January, we brought you an exclusive on Bjarke Ingels’s wacky plan to design a trash incinerator that doubles as a ski slope in his native Denmark. He billed the project as a paragon of “hedonistic sustainability.” But now comes news that the whole thing is perhaps more hedonistic than sustainable. Yesterday, several design blogs reported that the city of Copenhagen scrapped the proposed Waste-to-Energy plant because--wait for it--it’d damage the environment.
Whoops.
“What they’re saying is a bit like peeing their pants to get warm."
Here’s the thing. The project isn’t actually dead. At least not yet. Copenhagen’s City Council still has to vote it up or down. “The power plant is a inter-municipal collaboration between Copenhagen city--the main owner--and four other municipalities,” Ingels told Co.Design in a phone interview from Beijing late yesterday. “All other municipalities have voted and approved the project. Copenhagen City Council has a vote coming up December 15.”
What has happened is that the department handling Copenhagen’s infrastructure and urbanism recently came out against Ingels’s proposal--"completely against expectations," Ingels says. It’s worth noting that the department isn’t taking issue with the particulars of the architect’s design. (Who would hate on a ski slope?) It’s the fundamental conceit: The proposed plant--a replacement of an existing facility--would burn waste to generate heat and electricity. According to Politiken, a Danish newspaper, it could raise emissions from 140,000 to 200,000 tons of CO2 a year. So city officials want to slash the incinerator’s capacity in half and instead focus on recycling waste.
“What they’re saying is a bit like peeing their pants to get warm in the cold,” Ingels says. “It works in the short term but will create a lot of problems in the end.” As he tells it, recycling is good in theory. The only problem is that the plant would burn waste that isn’t actually recyclable. “They‘re proposing to reduce capacity to half then export waste to adjacent municipalities, which means it will be disposed of in a less environmentally friendly way,” he says. “If Copenhagen doesn’t go forward with this project, they’ll have 200 trucks of garbage a day. I’m not sure that they actually considered the bigger picture.”
We asked Ingels if he’d consider designing a smaller plant--but still with a ski slope!--in the event that Copenhagen’s City Council shoots down current plans. He demurred: “There is no single rational argument for going against the project as it is.” Guess council members will be the judge of that next week.
by: Gizmag Emerging Technology Magazine, 2011-12-08 21:29:40 UTC
Wheelchair users with full use of their arms generally don't need electric wheelchairs ... but sometimes, especially if those users have long distances to cover, it sure would be nice to have one. Instead of going out and buying themselves a full electric wheelchair, however, those people may soon have the option of using a WHILL. Recently spotted by Gizmag staff at the Tokyo Motor Show, the prototype device clamps onto the wheels of an existing manual wheelchair, temporarily providing it with electric drive...
Continue Reading The WHILL turns any wheelchair into an electric vehicle
While rapper Ice Cube is certainly known for his lyrical stylings, what you may not know is that he studied architectural drafting before he got big. He also has a deep appreciation for design – and he shows off his love in a new ad about art in LA for the Pacific Standard Time. Here, Ice Cube rhapsodizes and pays tribute to midcentury design icons Charles and Ray Eames. After listing off some of his favorite buildings in LA, Ice Cube tours the Eames house and tells us why loves it so much – the Eames were resourceful, the house was built in two days, has prefabricated walls, and creates connections with nature. “This was going green 1949-style, bitch. Believe that.” The quotes are amazing – each sentence is worthy of repetition and it’s sure to brighten your day – it certainly brightened ours.
Angela Zhang is a real life Doogie Howser – while other high school kids were busy texting and updating their Facebook pages, Zhang has been hard at work doing research to fight cancer. And her efforts have proven successful – the 17-year-old was just awarded the Grand Prize in the Siemens Competition in Math, Science & Technology for her cancer cell-killing nanotech research.
by: Design 4 Sustainability, 2011-12-29 17:13:45 UTC
The first ceramic box cutter in the world. It is designed to reduce injuries on the workfloor. It's handle is anti-slip, easy to hold and protects ...
by: Design 4 Sustainability, 2011-12-28 16:29:20 UTC
Paperfoam is an sustainable alternative to foamed plastic inlays and other packaging. It is made from starch, fibers to fill and water. CD boxes for ...
by: Design 4 Sustainability, 2011-12-23 14:36:50 UTC
The United Nations is urging countries across the globe to phase-out old style incandescent light bulbs and switch to low-energy compact fluorescent ...
by: Design 4 Sustainability, 2011-12-23 14:02:36 UTC
Organic farming isn’t easy in China, but Tony’s Farm is doing its best. Located in the Shanghai area, it delivers organic vegetables to its member’s ...
by: Design 4 Sustainability, 2011-12-22 08:09:46 UTC
The new Vitocal 300-A is the first air/water heat pump with Digital Scroll Technology and electronic bi-flow expansion valve. This enables high annual ...
by: Design 4 Sustainability, 2011-12-20 06:23:58 UTC
Airdye is a water-less dye process for synthetic fabrics and materials. AirDye technology eliminates hazardous wastewater as a byproduct of dyeing ...
by: Design 4 Sustainability, 2011-12-18 08:00:57 UTC
Rusty Allen designed a great water bottle; re-usable, easy to fill due to the big fill opening, easy to carry on a finger, a mouthpiece that fits the ...
by: Design 4 Sustainability, 2011-12-16 09:00:46 UTC
Since a year or so Laundry driers are available more energy-efficient. Of course the most energy efficient is to dry the laundry outside on the line ...
by: Design 4 Sustainability, 2011-12-16 09:00:16 UTC
Economist Intelligence Unit Report on Sustainable Future
The research department of the weekly magazine regularly gives out the results of its research ...
by: Design 4 Sustainability, 2011-12-14 07:56:08 UTC
Thanks to an innovative adjustable mechanism that can change the width of the stroller, in just three simple clicks the Bugaboo Donkey transforms with ...
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