One year ago…
by: Dezeen, 2012-06-30 05:00:47 UTC
This time last year we featured projects constructed from all kinds of unusual materials, including a car made of cartilage that generates its own fuel from algae, pencils created from workshop dust and a table made from polystyrene steamed inside fabric moulds. (more…)
Photosynthetic Glassware: "The Energy Collection" by Marjan van Aubel
by: Core77, 2012-06-29 11:00:00 UTC
One more from the graduating class of RCA: Marjan van Aubel, "a product designer with an inquisitive, almost scientific perspective," presents "The Energy Collection," a set of solar glassware that discharges through a matching bookshelf, which serves as a rather large battery. It's a vaguely biological ecosystem: the tableware 'drones' gather energy during the day, 'feeding' the shelf, which can be used to power a lamp or charge a phone... but the real magic lies in the physics:
Within each glass is a photovoltaic layer of dye Synthesized Solar Cell. This means that the properties of colour are being used to create an electrical current. This technology was invented by Michael Graetzel at EPFL. It is a technique based on the process of photosynthesis in plants. Like the green chlorophyll which absorbs light energy, the colours in these cells collect energy.
Graetzel uses a porous Titanium dioxide layer soaked with photosensitive dye—a natural pigment extracted from the juice of blueberries or spinach. He discovered that the dye that gives the red or blue colour to berries, gives off an electron when light strikes it. One side of the glass is positive, the other negative and when the cell is exposed to light, the dye transmits its electrons to the titanium dioxide and releases an electronic current.
Sounds like pretty heady stuff; I'd be curious as to whether the technology can be implemented at scale, especially given the material advantages of the dye (as opposed to traditional silicon cells): "The glassware uses sunlight as a sustainable source of energy, but can also work under diffused light. This makes them much more efficient for use inside the home compared to standard solar panels, which only work in direct sunlight and are not suitable for indoor use."
(more...)
velouria by paul t. dack
by: Designboom - Weblog, 2012-06-28 13:15:00 UTC
a traditional 17th and 18th century styled french furniture piece that can be dismantled and relocated to a new residence.
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How to replace a broken front panel on your iPad
by: Gizmodo , 2012-06-29 12:00:00 UTC
Breaking the glass on your iPad might not stop it from working, but can make it difficult and unsafe to use. Here's a step-by-step guide to fixing a broken front panel on your iPad 2 or iPad 3.
Originally posted at How To
CDP: 86% of EU Cities Have Set Emissions Goals
by: Environmental Leader, 2012-06-28 14:43:05 UTC
European cities are leading their international peer group in climate change management and 86 percent have set a city-wide emissions reduction target compared to the global average of 70 percent, according to a recent report by the Carbon Disclosure Project and Accenture. The Seven Climate Change Lessons from the Cities of Europe report surveyed 22 [...]
A Workspace Powered by Sitting
by: Eco Geek Latest, 2012-06-28 19:30:32 UTC
Swedish Designer Eddi Törnberg has designed the best human-powered work station we've seen yet because unlike other concepts that require you to do things like ride a bike while you're working, it doesn't require a person to do anything more than sit and work. The project, called "Unplugged," powers the various gadgets we use to work -- laptops, lamps, etc --through our small constant movements and body heat.
The desk chair is equipped with a metal seat that gets hot as a person emits body heat, but the underside stays cools through a pattern of metal fins. Electricity is produced through the Seebeck Effect where an electric charge is created when a material is hot or warm on one side, but cool on the other.
The other energy-harvesting part of this set up is a rug that lies under the desk that is outfitted with piezoelectric crystals that generate electricity when pressure is applied to them. Each random shuffle, stomp, and rolling back and forth of the chair is a source of electricity.
The final part of Unplugged is plant-powered rather than human-powered. A potted plant provides electrcity through a process similar to a potato battery.
Unplugged is definitely more of a concept than a working product, but if this set-up were put to use, it could generate a nice chunk, though probably not all, of the energy needed to get through the workday.
via The Atlantic Cities
Images via Eddi Törnberg
Vintage suitcases up-cycled as unique boomboxes
by: Gizmag Emerging Technology Magazine, 2012-06-29 11:09:02 UTC
I would hazard a guess that most readers haven't given very much thought to what happens to trusted and faithful luggage when it's retired from frequent use. If they're not exiled to the basement for storage of odds and ends, old suitcases could very well end up just being dumped in the trash. If they're lucky though, brothers Ezra and Alex Cimino-Hurt might get hold of them and for conversion into stylish and powerful Case of Bass boomboxes... Continue Reading
Vintage suitcases up-cycled as unique boomboxesSection: MusicTags: Amplifiers,
Boombox,
Luggage,
Speakers,
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Stackable Dresser Drawers Grow With Your Kid
by: TreeHugger Design, 2012-06-28 13:19:00 UTC
Buy as much as you need when you need them, or just rearrange them- your choice.
BRC Designs’ One-Of-A-Kind Pocket Rugs are a Patchwork Of Recycled Denim
by: Inhabitat , 2012-06-27 19:10:06 UTC
While known for his upcycled chairs and tables, Benjamin Rollins Caldwell of BRC Designs has also been dabbling in the world of fashion — or at least repurposing fashion. One of his latest projects has been to collect hundreds of pairs of denim jeans, which he scavenges for their pockets. The upcycled denim pockets are then sewn into a unique patchwork rug that has us DIYers salivating to create our very own.
Read the rest of BRC Designs’ One-Of-A-Kind Pocket Rugs are a Patchwork Of Recycled Denim
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Post tags: Benjamin Rollins Caldwell, BRC Designs, denim rug, green interiors, jean pocket rug, jeans rug, pocket rug, pocket rug collection, reclaimed material, Recycled Materials, rug, upcycled materials
POO POWER: New Toilet System Turns Human Waste Into Electricity and Reduces Water Use By 90%
by: Inhabitat , 2012-06-27 21:16:06 UTC
Poo power is rapidly becoming the energy source of choice in many countries, powering everything from homes to motorcycles. Now scientists from Nanyang Technological University (NTU) have invented a new toilet system that not only turns human waste into electricity and fertilizers, but also reduces the amount of water needed for flushing by up to 90%!
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Post tags: alternative energy, bioreactor, biowaste, compost, fertilizers, human energy, human waste, no-mix vacuum toilet, Poo Power!, poop power
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