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Angus Hutcheson's exquisite Chrysalis Sky floor lamp is as elegant as sustainable design gets. Conceived as a surreal glowing orb for the living room, the lamp's diffuser is made from randomly configured silk cocoons, each attached to a hand-soldered wire matrix. Produced by Hutcheson's lighting Argo brand, the lamp continues with the brand's design narrative of fusing nature......read more
Rio de Janeiro is famous for its beaches, its carnival celebrations, its rich musical traditions, and the massive Christ the Redeemer statue that overlooks the whole city. For environmentalists, Rio is remembered as that hosted the 1992 United Nations Earth Summit, a landmark in global environmental awareness. When the coastal Brazilian city hosts the 2016 Summer Olympic Games, a gigantic......read more
What if buildings could talk? David Benjamin and Soo-in Yang (aka "The Living") answer the question, helping lead the burgeoning movement of interactive architecture, which seeks to engage citizens with environmental and other issues. Living Light is a permanent outdoor pavilion in the heart of Seoul, Korea with a dynamic skin that lights up to show real-time air quality data in the......read more
In Toronto, local architects recently won a design competition for a new farmers market building in the historic part of the city. The building is four stories tall with a roof covered in skylights and green vegetation. It utilizes a geothermal heating and cooling system, in addition to natural daylighting and ventilation. The structure will be built to the Toronto Green Standard, and shows that......read more
Oil gushers and global warming: The New Republic asks why we stink at dealing with ecological catastrophes. GOOOAAAAAL! Scoring green at the FIFA World Cup 2010. Tunto Design modestly describes its wooden LED1 lamp as "the best lamp in the world." It's hard to disagree. The hybrid goes virtual: Honda's CR-Z sport hybrid coupe makes debut at E3 video game expo. Gehry vs.......read more
The work of Singapore-based Guz Architects, who specialize in the design of tropical, eco-friendly buildings and homes, is informed by the firm's earth-focused philosophy. Fish House, designed last year for a seaside location in Singapore, is a nice expression of the company mission. With a fluid structure that creates plenty of open space, encouraging natural ventilation and offering views......read more
A central tenet of eco-tourism is that it should keep disturbances to the local ecosytem to an absolute minimum. "Mirrorcube," one of the six rooms at the newly opened Treehotel just south of the Arctic Circle in Sweden, takes that concept to the extreme. The structure is suspended on a tree and completely covered in mirrors, making it nearly invisible. As hotel owner Kent Lindvall......read more
A wind power mega-project -- the largest in the country -- breaks ground in the Mojave Desert. The VeGZAtarian: Eater interviews Wu Tang's lyrical genius and resident raw food guru. In Fast Company, a great slideshow of EV chargers of the future may have been published just a little too soon. The small print: At a mere 220 square feet, the L41 is a subcompact home with a tiny footprint. ......read more
The world's largest tensile structure, the Khan Shatyr Entertainment Center, opened in Kazakhstan earlier this month. But no ordinary tent is this. The visually striking building, designed by Foster + Partners, has cinemas, shopping, restaurants, venues, and a water park within. It also has loads of green features. The building is covered with three layers of ETFE fabric, which allows light......read more
Top notch architecture site BLDGBLOG points us to this inspired bit of material reuse from German architect Matthias Loebermann. The Palettenpavillon is made entirely from shipping pallets, ground anchors, and tie rods. Intended as a temporary meeting space, the structure is designed for simple dismantling and reassembly, and can be recycled in entirety. With dramatic textures and a curvilinear......read more
