Prefab Planit House

The information on this prefab design is very limited, but we thought we would post about it because of the cleans lines of the design.

A prefab partnership between Pircher a European wood product manufacturer and architecture firm Bestetti Associates. The building seems be to used as a showroom/set for Pirchers product line.

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Furniture Which Comes In A Pizza Box

If you only made a dollar a day, what kind of furniture would you buy? Maybe some cardboard furniture will do the trick for you. Yes, the billions of mud hut dwellers and college students alike, can find something to love about COMPACt, the cardboard furniture inside a pizza box.

COMPACT is totally sustainable furniture design made from cardboard and recycled polypropylene. The modular solution comes in 5 flat boards which make for easy transport. Assembly should be a cinch if you’re used to IKEA and it’s all held together by interlocking areas that are sealed with wood glue. Configurations are endless, everything from storage, to a work area complete with lighting.

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Green Architect Michelle Kaufmann Recycled Bath Towel Rug Project

Architect Michelle Kaufmann brings us another recycled project using our old bath towels. In this project she takes the old towels and make a new bathroom floor rug. This is part of Michelle’s Green It Yourself Projects. Continue Reading / See Additional Photos

Organic ThanksGiving To-Go

Hunting down a gazillion different organic ingredients at the market and slaving away in a hot kitchen all day might be some people’s idea of a great time, and all part of the familiar ritual of the big holiday dinner – but for most of us, we’d rather just enjoy our food and the company of our family without the fuss. Quite frankly, the idea of spending the entire day in the kitchen whipping up 10 different recipes bores me. If you don’t even trust yourself with a kitchen knife, or you’re just a lazy cook like me, the best idea is to order your meal from a local organic restaurant. That is if you are lucky enough to live near one. If you are in L.A. or NYC, you are indeed in luck. If you have a Whole Foods Market near you, you can also order an organic holiday meal from their catering menu. Continue Reading / See Additional Photos

Lounge at 20 Miles an Hour on A Electric Folding Scorpion FX

There are a lot of emerging electric bikes out there, but most of them match cheap heavy steel frames bikes with equally cheap lead acid battery/ low powered electric motor systems. Yes, they might only cost $500 but believe me, they suck. Okay maybe saying they suck is too strong. They are fine if you are only going a few miles, once in a while. But when it comes to really replacing your car, with a bike, you might want something like the Scorpion FX.

The conveniently foldable touring trike has been designed by HP Velotechnik’s engineers especially with the needs of commuters and touring cyclists in mind. The seat height of the Scorpion fx is noticeably higher and more upright compared to its more sporty fellow Scorpion, offering great outlook and a good view in traffic. The higher seat also allows for an additional lowrider rack behind the seat. Its solid design allows for a safe transport of a pair of front panniers. Together with the robust rear rack, you can thus transport up to 50 kg of luggage in four panniers. For a stable ride, all racks are positioned close to your body and your trike’s center of gravity. Once you are loaded that high, you’ll value our optional 81 speed gear system that will give you your extra low gear when pedaling the really steep challenges.

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The Modern Treehouse

Nature shouldn’t be a spectator sport. There’s nothing like living, sleeping, breathing and playing amongst Mother Nature’s finest to feel a real connection to the earth. Treehouses epitomize this. They’re the perfect place for children to let their imaginations run wild, a place adults can seek solitude (or possibly some rumpy pumpy), a place creative types can seek inspiration and house guests, possible accommodation.

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Environment Furniture | A Perfect Balance

It isn’t easy coming up with a new idea, but that’s just what Thomas Bina has done. While traveling through Brazil with a friend, Bina came upon what would become his design muse — a perfectly weathered piece of Peroba wood. That one piece of wood, and the natural process that created it, has ushered in Environment Furniture and the Peroba Collection.

Imagine an old shed or a dilapidated barn, leaning and nearly collapsed. I’ve just described the birthplace of Bina’s designs. EF dismantles these structures and uses the wood for new and exciting furniture. For me, the appeal is not just the clean modern aesthetic or the “rawness” of the Peroba wood that speaks to me; personally, I’m a sucker for history and a good story. These pieces of art are not just preserving the planet, they’re also preserving a piece of history. I like to imagine where some of this wood came from, and who may have lived with it before me…

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Using Geothermal To Power California

QUEST on KQED Public Media.

Solar and wind power may get the headlines when it comes to renewable energy. But another type of clean power is heating up in the hills just north of Sonoma wine country. Geothermal power uses heat from deep inside the Earth to generate electricity. The Geysers, the world’s largest power-producing geothermal field, has been providing electricity for roughly 850,000 Northern California households, and is set to expand even further.

Producers Notes: When I first began researching this story for QUEST, I was surprised that I hadn’t heard more about geothermal energy. It’s never lumped into that renewable energy laundry list that’s recited by politicians and journalists alike — you know, “…solar, wind, hydroelectric and biofuels”. But it turns out that geothermal energy has really great potential. Continue Reading / See Additional Photos

Mumbai Tower | The Greenest Kept Secret in India

Lately, a mysterious building in the heart of Mumbai has been growing two floors a day. Literally growing. It’s covered in plants. It’s the greenest kept secret in India, until recently, when owner and oil tycoon Mukesh Ambani finally revealed his plans for what he purports to be the most environmentally friendly building in Mumbai. It’s called the Residence Antilia.

Architecture in Mumbai often looks very green in color because of the popular blend of modern Indian architecture and ancient Indian Vaastu, which calls for a lot of greenery in the design. In the Vaastu tradition, the spine of the building reaches up, towards enlightenment, and the foliage on the building creates “gardens-in-the-sky.” The Residence Antilia takes this concept to the extreme, creating the largest and tallest living wall in the world.

The plans show a variety of landscaping: garden tiers, terraces, waterfalls, ponds and recreational facilities. The Residence Antilia will be one of the tallest buildings in Mumbai, and all of the floors are included in the green wall. The views will also be spectacular, some of the best in the city.

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In Fitness Consistency Gets the Goods

Opinions on what we should and should not eat flood our lives every day. I’ve been on a high-raw vegan diet for almost 5 years now. A good proportion of that ended up being green smoothies and superfood smoothies. If someone includes those two items into their day, its pretty difficult not to stay high-raw…they are total meals by themselves.

I’ve been branching out a little bit lately with what I’ve been listening to. Not exactly the same raw vegan material as before. I’ve been listening to some speakers with a more “paleo” style of eating, which would include raw, grass-fed meat and dairy. And eggs. LOTS of eggs. I heard a speaker online today talk about healing someone with 18 raw eggs a day.

Im not saying AT ALL that im going to get into that way of eating. I like my diet the way it is. I’ll occasionally have some pasture-raised chicken eggs, but the real bulk is in the superfoods, greens, and raw plant fats, especially hemp and coconut.

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