Image via Dezeen.com

A new type of concrete has been created by Spanish researchers for buildings in Mediterranean-like climates that encourages the natural, rapid growth of pigmented organisms within the concrete. It can be used as a facade that offers advantages such as reducing atmospheric CO2 and natural thermal comfort.

The concrete works great as a support for the growth and development of certain kinds of biological organisms such as microalgae, mosses, lichens, and fungi. The goal is to set it up so that the surface is covered in less than a year, and that the appearance will evolve over time, changing color according to the time of year and the dominating organisms.

The structure is made of 3 layers: a waterproofing layer, a biological layer that accumulates water, and a “discontinuous coating layer” with a reverse waterproof function. The final product absorbs CO2, provides a natural source of insulation, and captures solar heat.

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With the recent popularity of container architecture, we are seeing some beautiful designs from recycled freight containers, the new hotel and office for Tony’s Farm in Shanghai, by design firm playze, features traditional Chinese typologies combined with a livable aesthetic to bring an stylistic elegance to what could otherwise be a cumbersome form.

Founded and owned by Tony Zhang, Tony’s Farm is Shanghai’s largest organic vegetable farm, providing natural, safe, organic produce to thousands of Shanghai residents each day. The farm is dedicated to soil improvement, water cycle system purification, and grows food without chemical fertilizers, hormones, or additives. No genetically-modified vegetables are permitted.

The new 11,400 square foot visitor center at Tony’s Farm, constructed of 78 shipping containers, will be used to welcome farm guests. Hotel rooms will be built in the second phase. It features a lobby and reception area, VIP area, courtyards, operational offices, and a store, with a connection to a packaging warehouse.

Sustainability was a primary goal in the construction and operation of the design. Heavy insulation has been used in container walls, some of which are perforated to allow for natural lighting, while retaining the exterior’s raw industrial appearance.

To visually and physically connect interior and exterior spaces, the building is designed as a continuous spatial sequence, inviting visitors to explore.

On the second level, two connecting bridges lead to the office wing, which is covered by an existing warehouse. Offices are sheltered beneath an existing room to form an inner facade towards a production hall.

Terraces transition between interior work and leisure spaces. From the cantilevered main entrance, visitors are greeted at the reception desk in a three-story high lobby adjacent to an inner courtyard.

Energy efficiency concerns were addressed with a geothermal heat pump for heating, cooling, and controlled ventilation. Additional green approaches include LED lighting and locally-produced bamboo flooring.

All photos copyright Bartosz Kolonko

Related Articles on JetsonGreen.com:

1. Shipping Containers used in Multi Family Home Build
2. Extreme Home Built with Old Containers
3. Live-Work Cargo Containers on an Island

Speaking of reuse, I've mentioned how I do what I'm guessing many of you do, and reuse all of my incoming cardboard boxes by turning them inside-out for re-shipping. Well, the sticky people over at 3M and Scotch apparently want in on this box-reusing action. In the bottom of my last Staples package I found this freebie:

Yep, Scotch/3M now answers "the three R's" with "four R's" of their own: "Reinforce, Re-cover, Remove, Re-seal." Their four new products aimed at getting you to reuse cardboard boxes for shipping are as follows:

Reinforce: Corner and Edge Reinforcers. The user is meant to place these across a box's centerline and on the corners, to shore up dumpy boxes after they've been through the UPS grinder. It's really just pieces of tape, with the corner reinforcers being a tape square partially bisected by a slit, so you can hit all three dimensions of a corner.

Re-cover: Cardboard-colored, self-adhering paper that you cut to size, then stick over the delivery-system graffiti on your used box.

Remove: A label remover that, as far as I can tell, is some type of shallow-bladed safety knife.

Re-seal: Simple, self-adhering mailer flaps like you find at the FedEx.

My first thought was that these are extraneous, as any ID'er or craftsperson worth their salt already has all of these raw materials or can whip some up. But for high-volume applications, like offices or businesses that need to turn a lot of boxes around quickly, I could see these being useful. And as I wrote in the post on the Globe Guard Reuseable Box, anything that sets people onto reusing before they resort to recycling is probably a good thing.

Thoughtful, environment-oriented consumers are continually faced with tough choices: buy recycled toilet paper from Amazon, or the local version from the mom-and-pop shop on the corner? Bike to work while wearing wear sweat-shop-produced workout gear, or drive a Lexus but buy only ethically produced organic cotton undies? And where to invest money?

Now, a new app hopes to make those tough decisions a bit easier and more fun. Oroeco (that’s "oro" for gold, "eco" for both ecology and economics) seeks to elucidate the impacts of everyday decisions on health, environment, and society--and to offer tips on how to better align your values and your actions.

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Husband and wife artists, Matthew Shlian and Thea Augustina Eck, teamed up to create their recently launched collection called Eight Emperors. The collection is a series of handheld heirloom objects that are meant to “instill a sense of wonder” and they do just that.

The line is currently made of wooden and paper objects for you to pass on as little treasures to the ones you love. Joining forces and talents, the duo are able to share their love of making things.

In 2013, they will be expanding the line by creating objects in ceramics and other materials.

It’s impossible to overstate the value of water. Without it, we’d be dead. And yet, 69% of Americans polled in a recent survey from Xylem say they take clean water for granted. Only 29% believe water infrastructure issues will seriously affect them. But now that water shortages are increasing in frequency and the importance of having clean water is coming to the forefront, there are a slew of companies working on water innovations. Every year, water nonprofit Imagine H2O holds a business plan competition for companies working to solve the water crisis. This year’s crop of 10 finalists are all working on consumer-facing products. Below, we look at our favorites.

NBD Nanotechnologies

This nanotechnology and biomimicry company does something that sounds impossible on the surface: collecting water from air. NBD doesn’t go into too much detail on how its Namib Beetle-inspired technology works, but the company’s website explains that it "makes use of a nano-scale surface to enhance water condensation." The Namib Beetle works by grabbing water from fog with the help of the wind, which pushes moisture into its back until droplets emerge.

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Nendo launched a new collection of furniture called Splinter for the Japanese manufacturer Conde House. Each wooden component looks as if it is peeling away, or splintering, to allow for hooks to hold coats, a single rod to become three table legs, or the backs of a chair to become armrests.

The thicker parts of the wood remain that way to provide the stability that each piece needs, while the more delicate parts were splintered away. There’s such a beautiful simplicity about the collection where the wood and its curves speak for themselves.

Photos by Yoneo Kawabe.

News: a project to bring cheap and easy-to-build mine detonators to Afghan minefields has just nine days left to raise the final $14,000 of its $100,000 goal on crowdfunding website Kickstarter. (more...)