Open Architecture Network

Sylvan housing reaches new heights with these wonderful dewdrop shaped Treetents by Dutch sculptor and designer Dré Wapenaar. Originally designed to ease the lives of tree-sitting activists, they also make excellent treetop retreats for campers, kids, and anyone soothed by an evening spent softly swaying among the branches. Each beautifully formed droplet attaches directly to a tree trunk and is roomy enough to sleep a family of four.

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In 1988, Lawrence and Sharon Tarantino bought a run-down house in the Millstone borough of New Jersey. A house that was designed by none other than Frank Lloyd Wright. Turns out, that Wright had been thinking of the environment back then. The home, along with about 100 others, was designed in his “Usonian” style– a style that utilized admirable green building principles, including smaller footprints, lower cost, passive solar and radiant heating. The couple, principals of architecture and design firm, Tarantino Studio, renovated it, which won an award from the New Jersey chapter of the American Institute of Architecture.

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Tags: frank, lloyd, wright, renovation, usonian, sustainable, building, green, merit, award, new, jersey, millstone

In 1988, Lawrence and Sharon Tarantino bought a run-down house in the Millstone borough of New Jersey. A house that was designed by none other than Frank Lloyd Wright. Turns out, that Wright had been thinking of the environment back then. The home, along with about 100 others, was designed in his “Usonian” style– a style that utilized admirable green building principles, including smaller footprints, lower cost, passive solar and radiant heating. The couple, principals of architecture and design firm, Tarantino Studio, renovated it, which won an award from the New Jersey chapter of the American Institute of Architecture.

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Blu Homes is a relative newcomer to the prefab design world. That being said, they are in the midst of two projects that should be completed by Spring 2009. One is in Blue River, Colorado and the other is in Salt Lake City, Utah. Blu Homes focuses on more than good contemporary and energy efficient design. With a Blu Home, you’ll get a fun and beautiful design, but you’ll also get walked through the whole process from site evaluation, permitting, financing, design, site work all the way through construction and finishing the home. And you’ll know the price right from the start because it’s a package deal. Not many other prefab builders offer that service, especially at the affordable price they’re guaranteeing on their website.

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Tags: blu, homes, salt, lake, city, prefab, green, housing, sustainable

The GreenWashBall is a device that you toss into the washing machine to clean your dirty laundry in place of detergent. An innovative concept, but not the first of its kind - “laundry balls” like the GreenWashBall are abundant, including the Miracle II Ball, the Laundry Solution ball, and the Mystic Wonder Laundry Ball. They are supposedly popular in Europe and the laundry ball industry is hoping to gain popularity in the U.S. Completely cutting the use of detergent is enticing from both ecological and economic standpoints, but how exactly does the GreenWashBall work, and can it up to its claims?

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Just in time for the overly packaged holiday season, we are thrilled to see that Amazon is debuting a new eco-friendly idea called ‘Frustration Free Packaging’. If you’ve ever tried to open a plastic package twice the size of the product inside and ended up with box cutters in one hand and carpal tunnel syndrome in the other you may know ‘wrap rage.’ Then once you finally got the plastic off, you still had 18 wires to unwind and a mountain of mostly unrecyclable trash. The folks at Amazon are working hard to remedy this problem with the introduction of Frustration-Free packaging. Amazon is working with manufacturers to eliminate dreadful clamshell packages for simpler brown boxes. Not only will it make wrapping and unwrapping much easier, but these boxes can broken down like any other and recycled.

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Attention all eco inventors, green design visionaries, and gadget geeks! We’re excited to announce Greener Gadgets 2009! Registration is now open for the return of this provocative conference, which will take place on February 27th, 2009 in NYC. Like last year’s inaugural Greener Gadgets event, the 2009 conference will convene some of the world’s leaders in green tech to explore the sustainable side of the consumer electronics industry. This year’s event is shaping up to be better than ever, with a star-studded lineup of speakers and another exciting design competition, and Inhabitat will be posed at the center of the technological whirlwind to present, cover, and bring you all the latest news. Be sure to check out our coverage from last year’s event, complete with photos and videos, live webcasts and the latest up-to-the-minute coverage.

Greener Gadgets 2009 will take place at the McGraw Hill Conference Center in NYC on February 27th, 2009.

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Sylvan housing reaches new heights with these wonderful dewdrop shaped Treetents by Dutch sculptor and designer Dré Wapenaar. Originally designed to ease the lives of tree-sitting activists, they also make excellent treetop retreats for campers, kids, and anyone soothed by an evening spent softly swaying among the branches. Each beautifully formed droplet attaches directly to a tree trunk and is roomy enough to sleep a family of four.

(more…)

What do you get when you take an average vertical blind (the kind found in practically any rental apartment across the United States), outfit it with special mini photovoltaics and LED pixels, then add a healthy dose of creative inspiration? The surprisingly chic and witty Solar Vertical Lamp designed by Yoon-Hui Kim and Eun-Kyung Kim. By creatively applying existing technology, Kim and Kim transform the lowly blind into a sustainable, sexy, and dramatic lighting system. Finally, a blind that has truly seen the light.

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Perfect for emergency preparedness and cute to boot, this adorable penguin eco flashlight would make an excellent addition to any home. The bright light eschews a landfill-bound battery for a pump powered kinetic charger that provides an hour of light for each minute spent pumping. Capable of functioning as either a nightlight or a flashlight, it’s also a great way to teach growing tots about renewable energy. Head on over to Inhabitots for full scoop!

Photo by Sean Powers, University of South Alabama

Coastal erosion is one of the most daunting problems that a seaside city or county can face. The loss of shorelines and coastal areas due to storm activity can be a devastating event, with damages ranging in the millions of dollars. There are a number of methods used to try and contain such erosion, but a new technique is seeking to establish a thriving underwater ecosystem in process. Marine scientists in Alabama are utilizing tons of oyster shells to create a barrier reef that will serve as a habitat for sea life, filter the water, and protect the coast.

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These sleek solar-powered lofts are part of a stunning adaptive reuse of an old textile warehouse in San Diego. Designed by Jonathan Segal Architecture the 20,000 square foot block receives 50% of its energy from photovoltaic panels and integrates a variety of urban living environments for a mixture of very low income (50% of the median), affordable and market rate units. A paragon of efficient modern minimalism, the Union is a truly beautiful project that recognizes that one of the best ways to build green is to revitalize something old to become new.

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The new Yellow Treehouse Restaurant by New Zealand based Pacific Environments Architects Ltd. (PEL) is a stunning architectural feat perched high above a redwood first. Appearing for all the world like an enormous chrysalis grafted onto a 40-meter-high redwood tree, the project is constructed of plantation poplar slats, redwood balustrading milled at the site, and makes extensive use of natural lighting throughout.

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Note to skaters – according to the Science Channel, skateboards have replaced furniture as the leading contributor to maple deforestation. The Canadian maple takes 40 to 60 years to mature before it can be cut down to make your decks. The good news? BambooSK8 is a true-green company that makes first rate skateboards that are durable, sustainable, and even stronger than maple.

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What if a single inexpensive upgrade could significantly cut your car’s emissions while simultaneously increasing its fuel efficiency? That’s the enticing concept behind the Blade, a chromed-out exhaust filtration module that wouldn’t look out of place on the most pimped of rides. From filtering particulate matter to increasing catalytic converter efficiency, the Blade it makes some pretty incredible claims, but is it truly a shining silver bullet aimed at the black heart of our carbon churning car culture - or just another piece of green-washed bling out to pilfer your pockets?

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Mazda’s aggressively styled KAAN concept vehicle represents an innovative foray into the future of racing. A finalist in this year’s Design Los Angeles Automobile Design Challenge, the all-electric car envisions a transit system where vehicles are propelled by roadways imbued with “a sub-level electro conductive polymer” powered by solar panel farms in the Mojave desert. The emission-free vehicle sports a sleek aerodynamic profile and is powered by electric motors encased within wheels infused with electric pickups.

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We have heard of cars and planes using biofuels, but we must admit that we never thought we’d hear of a bio-diesel powered flying car! Designed by Gilo Cardozo, the Skycar is a vehicle that has been attached to a paramotor that can actually fly! To prove its capabilities the vehicle will be chartering a voyage from London all the way to the Sahara!

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Frequent passerby in the neighborhood of Santa Margarita, Spain may find themselves a bit lost when they can’t seem to find the white wall they just passed by. Appearing at first as a simple sheet of folded paper, this beautiful white-walled building features a facade of panels that open in brilliant pops of color. Designed by Romera y Ruiz Arquitectos, “Ocho casas inscritas y tres patios” is a sustainably constructed social housing complex with a facade that changes according to the wishes of its inhabitants!

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Recently New York’s visionary Hearst tower was honored as the winner of the prestigious 2008 International Highrise Award. Constructed by Inhabitat favorites Norman Foster and Partners, the LEED gold-certified structure showcases a stunning array of sustainable strategies that have led to it being hailed as the greenest skyscraper in the New York skyline. We got the scoop on the Hearst tower’s sustainable features at last weekend’s Net Impact conference, where Hearst Director of Corporate Real Estate and Facilities Planning Brian Schwagerl gave an in-depth look at the iconic tower’s innovative solutions.

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What with gas prices being as high as they were this summer, we didn’t go on as many road trips as we would have liked to. If we had a camper like the Verdier Solar Powered Camper, we definitely would have embarked upon more road trips to beautiful National Parks and done it in eco-style. Verdier’s eco-RV is based upon a classic VW Westfalia that has been upgraded with many green elements, like a hybrid engine, solar panels and a lot of high-tech systems that makes this bus a hippy’s Pimp My Ride dream come true.

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