Tesla says it will eventually build a new version of the Roadster electric sports car.
(Credit:
Josh Miller/CNET)
Tesla's model ramp-up is looking rapid indeed, as Franz von Holzhausen, the electric vehicle maker's chief designer, talked to British publication Autocar of a new model planned for 2015 to compete with the BMW 3-series. Tesla's Model S, the first car it built from the ground up, began deliveries to customers just last month. Tesla also showed off a new concept, the Model X crossover, earlier this year, which enters production at the end of 2013.
WaterFurnace International, Inc., a manufacturer of geothermal and water-source heat pumps, just launched what the company is calling the “world’s most energy-efficient heat pump,” according to a press release. The 7 Series 700A11, pictured, is the first variable capacity unit available for homeowners and boasts a 41 energy efficiency ratio and 5.3 coefficient of performance. The 7 Series exceeds Energy Star requirements and qualifies for a 30% federal tax credit, said WaterFurnace. The heating and cooling system also comes with a laundry list of other design features: integration with automation and energy monitoring systems, online remote monitoring and control, quiet performance with a lower compressor speed, advanced hot water generation, and a port for service and diagnostics that doesn’t require opening the unit. 700A11 uses a soft-start variable capacity compressor, variable speed ECM blower, and variable speed loop pump to scale output as needed.
This bright orange home was made with two 40-foot and three 20-foot shipping containers in Santiago, Chile. Due to our publication of various shipping container homes, the architect, Rubén Rivera Peede, shared Liray House with Jetson Green recently, and you’ll find more vibrant photos and a floor plan below.
As background, the owners wanted an earthquake-resistant home at an affordable price, and Peede was able to deliver a design to suit those needs using the container units as the structure. Proyecto ARQtainer built Liray House in three months for about $75,000 USD.
The three short containers have the living room and kitchen, while the two long containers have the bedrooms and bathrooms. The home was raised off the ground and plumbing was placed in the crawl space.
Original container flooring was removed and replaced with hardwood flooring. Existing container doors were used to structure the balconies. The builder installed energy-efficient windows, insulated the walls and ceiling with spray-applied cellulose to avoid thermal and acoustic bridges, and then finished the interior with drywall.
by: Environmental Leader, 2012-07-13 06:28:08 UTC Greenpeace has adjusted Apple’s grade in an evaluation that ranks industry leaders in cloud computing, and credited the company for making significant improvements in its clean energy policies, but still gave it low scores for its energy choices when compared with sector leaders. The Greenpeace International analysis A Clean Energy Road Map for Apple upgrades Apple [...]
These half-plastic, half-wicker waste paper bins by German designer Cordula Kehrer for American brand Areaware are made with the Aeta people of the Philippines. (more…)
by: Gizmag Emerging Technology Magazine, 2012-07-12 06:14:03 UTC
Palacio de Sal (meaning Salt Palace) is a hotel and spa in Bolivia where the walls and furniture are made entirely of salt. The hotel is located on the edge of the Great Salar de Uyuni, the world’s largest salt flats, which spans across 10,582 sq. km (4,086 sq. miles). Guests are apparently politely asked to refrain from “licking the walls.”.. Continue Reading Palacio de Sal hotel built entirely of salt
Faced with the paucity of free Wi-Fi, chances are you’ve had to fight the table hogs at Starbucks in order to email a time-sensitive attachment. Wouldn’t it be fab if cities provided wired outposts for the digital needy? That’s the idea behind Mathieu Lehanneur’s first urban development project in Paris dubbed Escale Numérique (“Digital Break” in French), a beautiful bus-stop-like shelter that provides a restive spot for connecting to the web or get city information via a large touch-screen display.
Realized with the support of the British outdoor advertising company JCDecaux, The proposal won the competition to design street furniture that links to the underground fiber-optic network that now services the city. Per Lehanneur’s studio: “Like the Wallace fountains, which since the end of the 19th century have offered Parisians the free drinking water which was circulating beneath their feet, Escale Numérique allows everyone to benefit, like a real public service, from a high-speed Wi-Fi connection by raising it from beneath the ground.”
Instead of using hi-tech visual language, Lehanneur opted for a soft, modern aesthetic: A cluster of wooden supports resembling tree trunks hold up a protective canopy, which hosts a green roof that residents can admire from their balconies above. Concrete swivel chairs, equipped with plugs and surfaces for computers, are comfortable while blending into the urban terrain. A touch screen also provides updated info to tourists about services around the city.
If you’ve ever traveled through Central America, you probably know that the standard to-go cup at any convenience store or roadside stand is usually a plastic baggie. Noticing this trend, an anonymous designer has created an eco-friendly plastic bag in the shape of a coke bottle for El Salvador. The affordable, biodegradable bag retains the brand image with a green twist. Check out the video after the jump!
by: Design 4 Sustainability, 2012-07-05 09:02:10 UTC
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Named after a Danish candy – colourful, sugarcoated licorice balls – Pinocchio is a carpet that makes you smile. Pinocchio is handmade in Nepal where ...
by: Design 4 Sustainability, 2012-07-03 12:00:14 UTC
Palmwood baskets
Palmwood is for Vietnamese woodworkers a great and fast growing wood. It however easily changes shape when it ages. By using thin ...
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Personally I love the smell of freshly printed books. Yes, I know it's chemicals I smell and that they are unhealthy. But I adapted and switched to ...
by: Design 4 Sustainability, 2012-07-02 14:20:51 UTC
Most of the books printed and shipped are never sold! That is why it is such a great idea to print books, in publishers quality, on demand, in the ...
Designer Orla Reynolds Designs a Bookcase Like a Stage Set for Small Spaces
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