INHABITAT INTERVIEW: Koen Olthuis of WaterStudio.nl Talks About Design for a Water World
by: Inhabitat , 2011-04-30 11:40:37 UTC
In light of all the dire news related to climate change, rising sea levels and the natural disasters which have stricken numerous coastal areas around the world, we here at Inhabitat would like to highlight an interview Inhabitat Editor-in-Chief Jill Fehrenbacher conducted with architect Koen Olthuis of Waterstudio.nl. A studio focused on designing for a future water world, Olthuis has been at the forefront of this once unconventional, yet now timely design vernacular. Olthuis says that despite our civilization’s history of trying to drain and fight against wet landscapes for the past thousand years, our best move for the future would be to “let water in and even make friends with the water.” Read on for the fascinating interview where Olthius describes his what designing for water landscapes worldwide really means.
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Post tags: Amphibious Houses, floating house, flood proof housing, houseboat, inhabitat interviews, Jill Fehrenbacher Interview, koen olthuis, water house, Waterstudio, Waterstudio.nl
Managing Sustainable Global Supply Chains
by: Greener Design, 2011-04-25 17:30:09 UTC
What has been learned from 25 years of research on sustainable supply chains?
How to Undertake a Life Cycle Assessment of Your Products and Services
by: Greener Design, 2011-04-25 12:15:46 UTC
An excerpt from "The Green to Gold Business Playbook: How to Implement Sustainability Practices for Bottom-Line Results in Every Business Function."
GE to Cut Manufacturing Plant's Emissions by 80 Percent
by: Greener Design, 2011-04-29 20:11:00 UTC
GE will adopt cyclopentane for production of its top-freezer refrigerators. The foam-blowing agent produces 99 percent less greenhouse gas emissions than the chemical it replaces.
Invisibility Cloak: Will it really help design an efficient solar energy technology?
by: Ecofriend, 2011-04-29 19:44:56 UTC
Pacificwaters:
One of the latest breakthroughs in the field of optics and which would therefore have immense ramifications in the field of solar energy technology is possibly being scripted by a team of scientists currently working at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany. This group of researchers who are at work in the field of transformation optics are currently working on manipulating light – refraction of light to be more specific. The research if actually successful would help concentrate solar rays into the solar cell where they would be stored until need be.
Invisibility cloak as it is being referred to by the scientists; this technology which is still in the nascent stage and hence which is being effected only on a piece of material that’s as tiny as half the width of the human hair involves using a laser beam to create a 3-D pattern on a polymer material. This pattern also known as “logs” resembles a wood pile and when red light of wavelength 700 nanometers is passed through it; it just gets refracted creating the illusion of abruptly disappearing from its projected path.
Since the angle of refraction is dependant on the thickness of the logs, researchers believe that if they modulate the resolution of this 3-D pattern using laser beams, the resultant log or for that matter the entire cloak in the distant future would be able to bend not just the red light in particular but the entire light spectrum as well. And, the end result would therefore be, a technology that involves creating an “optical black hole” with an increased efficiency for concentrating sun-rays into a solar cell. If successful, no doubt this technology would change the very dynamics of solar energy utilization.
Via: Inhabitat
Gothic Chair by Studio Job for Moooi
by: Dezeen, 2011-04-28 10:00:21 UTC
Artists Studio Job of Belgium have launched this rotational-moulded chair for Dutch design brand Moooi. (more…)
Da Morto A Orto by Peter Bottazzi and Denise Bonapace
by: Dezeen, 2011-04-29 13:00:47 UTC
Milan 2011: Designers Peter Bottazzi and Denish Bonapace presented this exhibition of recycled furniture used as planters, in Milan earlier this month.
(more…)
The 30 hp Aquawatt - the world's most powerful electric outboard motor
by: Gizmag Emerging Technology Magazine, 2011-04-28 13:12:20 UTC
Champions of clean emission boating will be thrilled to know that rapid progress is being made in the field and much larger boats can now be powered by electric motors than ever before. Australian electric outboard motor specialist All4Solar has announced a 30 hp version of its Aquawatt electric motor which will become the most powerful electric outboard motor in the world. Due for launch at next month’s Sanctuary Cove Boat Show on Australia’s Gold Coast, the 30 hp (22 kw) Aquawatt is claimed to be three times more powerful than any other manufacturer’s electric outboard...
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Why Fair Trade Imports Rise Even As Buyers Shun Other Eco-Friendly Products
by: fast company, 2011-04-28 14:21:07 UTC
The Fair Trade stamp of approval has an allure that other eco-friendly products can't match. That's the conclusion we came to after learning that Fair Trade imports of coffee, vanilla, honey, tea, cocoa, sugar, and more have skyrocketed in the past five years--even while sales of "green" household products decline. So what's the Fair Trade secret sauce?
The simple answer is that people are familiar with Fair Trade, a global, organized social movement that ensures workers protect the environment, work in safe conditions, get paid reasonable wages and prices, and receive community development funds. And hearing about those people, like the enterprising banana farmer, pictured above, gets people in the mood to spend. The news about Fair Trade's growing imports comes from Fair Trade USA, the leading third-party certifier of Fair Trade products in the U.S.
According to Fair Trade USA, coffee imports (the first Fair Trade USA product) have climbed from 78,000 pounds certified in 1998 to 108 million pounds certified in 2010. Other Fair Trade products have become popular in recent years, too--cocoa saw a 67% growth in imports since 2009, and citrus experienced a 96% increase in growth in 2010. Fair Trade's ever-growing popularity led the organization to start certifying an even wider array of products in 2010, including apparel, vodka, and sports balls (now guaranteed to not be tied together by Chinese political prisoners!).
Not all Fair Trade products are organic--though many of them are--so the program's appeal certainly isn't just about the environment. We have another theory: Fair Trade certifiers are really good about highlighting the human side of the program. The first thing readers see on the Fair Trade USA site is a link to hear about farmers' stories. And the Fair Trade International site is filled with producer stories, like this one:
The
Association of Small Producers of Saman and Anexos (APPBOSA) has been
Fairtrade certified since the end of 2003. They have used the Fairtrade
Premium to construct a cableway to transport their bananas from the
trees to the packing stations....Thanks to the cableway, the farmers no longer
carry the bunches of bananas on their backs from the tree to the packing
station. The cableway takes the strain, improving efficiency and
cutting costs. The new system also increases the percentage of
non-blemished fruit suitable for export.
After years of being bombarded with stories like this, it's easy to roll your eyes. But human interest stories still pull the heart strings. It's just easier to feel good about buying a farmer--and environment--friendly product when there is a human face behind it. Are you going to spend the extra few cents at the store, or are you going to consign some poor banana farmer to an aching back? Are you really so cruel? Knowing that you're making a difference for a specific village or group of people is a lot easier to comprehend than thinking that you might contribute to some vague planetary future.
[Photo Credit: Flickr user Equiterre]
Reach Ariel Schwartz via Twitter or email.
Fascinatingly Simple
by: Yanko Design, 2011-04-28 07:01:32 UTC
I have been admiring this design all day, and driving everyone around me crazy talking about it and making them check it out. What can I say? I’m fascinated by the Rising Chair! It looks more like a sculpture than a chair, and what makes this combination rare is that it’s flat-pack ready. Designer Robert van Embricqs achieved the organic form by pulling up slats cut into a flat wood surface to see how the material should naturally mold to make the seat, back, and base. Intricate yet functional, the result is evidence of the special connection between material and designer.
Designer: Robert van Embricqs
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