If you’ve ever owned a laptop or a netbook, you know that their batteries come with a finite lifespan. But what about a longer lasting alternative to powering up your computer? Fuel cells, namely hydrogen fuel cells, not only boast a longer useful life, but they are also capable of running for weeks without requiring a recharge. Not surprisingly, it is reported that Apple is looking into using this technology, recently filing two patents incorporating the cells.
by: Sustainable Design News, 2011-12-23 13:32:10 UTC Leo A Daly recently received two 2011 American Institute of Architects (AIA) Hong Kong awards-an Honor Award for Architecture and a Sustainable Design Award-for its design work on the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) Hong Kong campus in the Sham Shui Po district.
Of the 12 winning projects, only two architecture firms received both Honor and Sustainable Design awards.
by: mocoloco, 2011-12-25 05:04:38 UTC
Everyone at MOCO LOCO wishes you, our readers, very happy holidays. Here's a selection of season's greetings we've received over the past few weeks. Above, colored icicles from schindlersalmerón (it's their logo colors). Made with an ice tray designed by Ramón Middelkoop and Chris Koens, art directors at Invotis Orange.
by: Gizmodo , 2011-12-21 14:25:47 UTC
Startup GMZ Energy raises $14 million to make materials that convert heat to electricity, including a solar hot thermal product and chips to draw electricity from car exhaust pipes.
by: Gizmodo , 2011-12-22 20:23:28 UTC
In newly published patent applications, Apple describes how a fuel cell can be built right into a device, such as a laptop, and work with a battery to provide a much longer run time.
Bamboo is considered a green building material, but it is most often found as an adjunct within larger construction using other materials. Recently, however, an entire chocolate factory has been built in Indonesia as the world's largest commercial bamboo structure. The 26,500 square foot (2,460 square meter) facility handles the entire range of operations, from initial processing the beans to final production of chocolate, what they call "beans to bars."
The Big Tree Farms factory, located in Sibang, Bali, not only has the exterior built from bamboo, but bamboo was also used for interior walls, which were made from woven bamboo strips, and stairs which used bamboo plywood for treads. The bamboo was treated with borax for fire-prevention and boric acid to resist insects, and a food-grade coating was applied to interior walls.
What makes bamboo an especially green building material is that it is fast-growing, making it a rapidly renewable resource that doesn't devastate the landscape when it is harvested. Bamboo is strong enough to compare with mild steel in some applications. It is regularly used for construction scaffolding throughout southeast Asia.
by: The Design blog, 2011-12-24 06:40:30 UTC
Balasubramanya Subbarao:
Presentation is everything in the world of statistics. When you present any figures or numbers, they often tend to get boring and they make no meaning to an average member of the audience. But if you help the audience to visualize the import and meaning of the same numbers, it suddenly becomes interesting and at times, exciting too. GO is an interactive exhibit that converts the numbers and facts of nutrition and energy into a visual demonstration that grabs the interest of the viewer.
GO! - interactive exhibit
Here is what happens. The amount of energy that is present in six different types of foods is represented visually by how far an average 12-year old can run with that energy. You just have to set the foods and pull back the release triggers behind each ‘boy’ and off they launch to give you the information. Thus, in a matter of seconds you realize that ’seafood’ powers a human body to a greater extent compared to a soft drink for instance. And the visual medium is so powerful that once seen, the message is rarely forgotten.
The exhibit works on simply a ball and piston system. The tension in the piston is set differently. The ball has the mounted ‘boy’ on top. As the trigger is released, the piston shoots the ball to different distances. The idea becomes very clear when you watch the video below. Education and learning can be made interesting and fun with such innovative ways of display.
GO! - interactive exhibitGO! is an interactive exhibit designed to show how much energy embodied in our food.
the primitive grandfather clock collection is a study by the israeli artist examining the effect of two dimensional design planning upon project completion.
by: Design 4 Sustainability, 2011-12-13 13:23:51 UTC
The Green Design Competition is a competition for entrepreneurs in the design industry, for individuals (and teams) with a vision of what the future ...
by: Design 4 Sustainability, 2011-12-11 17:22:57 UTC
foldtex consists of at least two layers, one is flexible, the other is stiff. When an incision is made in the stiff layer, the flexible layer below ...
by: Design 4 Sustainability, 2011-12-08 20:53:52 UTC
Bagasse is a byproduct form sugarcane production and besides being used for energy production it can also be used as a material for making paper or ...
by: Design 4 Sustainability, 2011-12-08 09:28:08 UTC
I am not much as an activist although this site might make you think otherwise. But ...
By now we all know that our consumption is bringing our ...
by: Design 4 Sustainability, 2011-12-07 10:11:39 UTC
Zero-Loft™ Aerogels insulation is thin, compression-resistant, breathable and waterproof.
It is made of 99.8% air, air is locked in a solid material ...
by: Design 4 Sustainability, 2011-12-04 11:46:36 UTC
Designed by Bertjan Pot and introduced in the Moooi collection in 2002, the Random Light has become a best seller right from the beginning. It transmit ...
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