Tag: Design & Architecture

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Sunne: Solar designer creates solar light that evokes sunrise, sunlight, and sunset

Solar designer Marjan van Aubel has created a solar-powered lamp, Sunne, that recreates the different stages of the sun, from sunrise to sunset. The solar-powered lamp – which has an anodised aluminium frame and is designed to be hung in front of windows – captures sunlight during the day and stores the energy in an integrated battery to brighten up the home at night. Sunne has … Continue reading Sunne: Solar designer creates solar light that evokes sunrise, sunlight, and sunset

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Sweden’s city of Skelleftea adds “second tallest wooden tower in the world” to its roster of timber buildings

A new timber building, featuring the second tallest wooden tower in the world, which opened recently in the Swedish city of Skelleftea could capture nine million kilogrammes of carbon dioxide throughout its lifetime of “at least 100 years”. Swedish architecture studio White Arkitekter designed the 20-storey, 75-metre-high Sara Kulturhus Centre from over 12,000 cubic metres of wood – harvested from forests just 60km from the … Continue reading Sweden’s city of Skelleftea adds “second tallest wooden tower in the world” to its roster of timber buildings

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Solar-powered catamaran improves transport on African Great Lakes

Kreatif Design has launched a solar-powered catamaran to improve maritime transport on the Great Lakes of Africa with an emissions-free vessel for the local population. The Slovenia-based design created a lightweight and economical vessel with 10 solar panels attached to the roof that contribute up to 4 kW of power. The catamaran has lithium “Powerwall” type batteries. The vessel allows the driver to cruise at a speed of … Continue reading Solar-powered catamaran improves transport on African Great Lakes

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Thai university’s urban rooftop farm honours rice farming past

A university in Thailand is home to Asia’s largest urban rooftop farm, designed to be a cascading rooftop farm that mimics local rice terrace landscapes. Thammasat University draws inspiration from traditional rice-farming practices. The farm conforms to the H-shaped floor plan of the campus building, using modern green roof technologies to slow down and retain runoff rainwater with its sloped levels. Any excess runoff is collected … Continue reading Thai university’s urban rooftop farm honours rice farming past

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The Plastic Flamingo: Recyclers in Philippines creating building materials from plastic waste

A group of recyclers in the Philippines, known as The Plastic Flamingo, are turning bottles, single-use sachets and snack food wrappers that clog rivers and spoil beaches into building materials. The Plastic Flamingo, otherwise known as The Plaf, collect the waste, shred it and then mould it into posts and planks called “eco-lumber” that can be used for fencing, decking or even to make disaster-relief … Continue reading The Plastic Flamingo: Recyclers in Philippines creating building materials from plastic waste

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Solar Squared: Electricity-generating solar bricks changing the way we build

Solar Squared – a modular glass brick embedded with near-translucent photovoltaic solar cells that can generate electricity – is to revolutionise how buildings are constructed sustainably. Similar to the solar tile created by Tesla, Solar Squared is an innovative glass block, which can be incorporated into the fabric of a building and is designed to collect solar energy and convert it to electricity. The Solar … Continue reading Solar Squared: Electricity-generating solar bricks changing the way we build

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Margent Farm: Farmhouse home made from hemp from farm’s own crop

A film director has built an off-grid, carbon-capturing farmhouse in Cambridgeshire using hemp grown in the surrounding fields. Steve Baron – whose career highlights include music videos for Michael Jackson’s Billie Jean and A-Ha’s Take On Me, as well as feature films like the 1990 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – teamed up with Practice Architecture to create his Margent Farm home made principally of hempcrete processed from … Continue reading Margent Farm: Farmhouse home made from hemp from farm’s own crop

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Forust: New process delivers sustainable 3D printed wood made from upcycled wood waste

A new 3D-printing process that utilises wood has launched offering designers a new way to produce sustainable wood pieces for home decor and interiors. Forust is a new process to sustainably produce functional end-use wood parts using patented single pass binder jetting additive manufacturing technology. The Forust process upcycles waste byproducts from wood manufacturing (cellulose dust) and the paper industry (lignin) and re-materialises functional wood … Continue reading Forust: New process delivers sustainable 3D printed wood made from upcycled wood waste

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Families to move into world’s first community of 3D-printed homes in Mexico this year

Families will be moving into the world’s first community of 3D-printed homes later this year in Tabasco, Mexico. A total of 50 3D homes are being printed by New Story, a US-based nonprofit focused on pioneering solutions to end global homelessness, and construction technology company, ICON, to provide a safe space for a community prone to earthquakes, flooding and poverty. Each 3D printed home will … Continue reading Families to move into world’s first community of 3D-printed homes in Mexico this year

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3D-printed homes with net-zero emissions set for neighbourhood near Coachella Valley

The “world’s first community” of 3D-printed homes with net-zero emissions and all of its energy supplied by solar power is set to be constructed near Coachella Valley, California. The project, which is a collaboration between California-based Mighty Buildings and developers Palari Group, will see prefabricated panels made of 3D-printed material made in a factory before being shipped and assembled into steel-framed modular houses at Rancho Mirage. A total … Continue reading 3D-printed homes with net-zero emissions set for neighbourhood near Coachella Valley

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