It is ironic that 90% of the ‘natural’ disasters that we see today are actually a culmination of man’s callous exploitation of the planet. Yet, every time there is a disaster that strikes the civilized world, our heart goes out in support of the needy. It is not easy to face the fury of the elements and as kind as the planet can be, it can also unleash moments of madness that can and often do leave millions homeless. Matthew Malone’s innovative new green disaster shelter is a wonderful option which provides shelter to the homeless.

Designed for disaster relief, the Recover Shelter can house a family of four for a month. It can be set up by one person in minutes, collapsed into either of two configurations for transportation and is made of 100% polypropylene. The polypropylene makes the Recover Shelter 100% recyclable, the ridges can collect drinking water, and the structure can be covered in local materials for better insulation. The shelter has unique green features and is cheap to both produce and use.

Since there is no harmful gas produced during both the making and using of this green recovery Shelter, it makes it a lot better than the many that are in use today. The fact that it can be shipped with ease and convenience and can be set up by a single person in minutes only saves precious time in situations of emergency. Matthew Malone’s technology could probably be improved and developed further to provide permanent shelter for the millions who are homeless world wide.

Via Yankodesign

 
Nothing can beat the freshness quotient of a hot-water bath! Better still, if this bath is situated in natural settings in form of a thermal spring. Located in the womb of dense forest cover of the Villarrica National Park (Chile) the Geometric Hot Springs is one green destination which every one would love to visit atleast once in their lifetime! German del Sol have designed the whole hot springs complex in a manner that the architecture bearing the 17 pools (over a stretch of 450 meters) can bring you as close to nature as that fantasized by you in your dreams! The Geometric Hot Springs project got completed in 2005. Since then it has been open to visitors who love to gel in the abundant greenery of the region.

 
Tourists are free to pick up any pool they wish to take a dip in and leading them to their destination are the red wooden paths and a ramp without steps. Intelligent lighting system ensures a well-lit path, one that is heated by the thermal water. The latter flows under these paths before being collected in the pools.
 

 
 Post bathing one can enjoy a gossip session at the Quincho or the meeting place. The Quincho’s serene look comes from the native assembled wood that was used in its construction. The distinguishing architectural design employs geometrical shapes in its structure to highlight the natural bounty of the area and provide a calm recluse far away from the maddening city life. The photographs (taken by Guy Wenborne) are enticing enough for me to plan a vacation out there. I’m sure they will affect your senses too!

 
Some more pics..
 
 
 
 

 
Via: Archdaily

The concept of eco-interiors was talked about at great length by Jeanie Pyun, editor of Sprig along with famous eco-interior designer Kelly LaPlante on Discussion on WashingtonPost.com. The strongest point of the show was the little tips that were offered to help you green your style. And that was not all as the hosts gave guidelines on finding healthy food and products. Even FAQs like “What is a green roof” and “What does VOC mean” were answered by them. Since the discussion was hosted online, the two eco-friendly women could post web-links directly to the chat to give readers easy, direct access to the tips being discussed. Other areas of concern were, “why it is still so difficult to find healthy products and why are they not cheaper?” as well as “what is a single mom hoping to green on a limited budget?”

Now isn’t Washingtonpost.com really cool as the discussions there are like an interactive blog, where readers can ask questions in real-time to experts on a variety of subjects.  For those of you who did not know, Pyun was the former editor of Organic Style magazine and co-editor of In Style Home magazine. LaPlante owns a furniture showroom in Venice Beach, CA, is the host of Brilliant Green on Ovation TV, and recently published her first book Ecologique. 
C’mon let’s go green because the experts say so.
Via treehugger

While we ponder over making our dream home, an inevitable mania would be to pick appealing and elegant colors for the background. And in making this choice of colors and coats we just overlook the malicious effects of noxious constituents associated with them. We just contemplate on a classy and pleasing look without bearing in mind the ailing effects of the coats & paints brand which we would be going to use.
Even today majority of people are not sentient about indoor air quality which is appallingly vital for creating a hearty and calm environment. Headaches, Exhaustion, disabled immune system, asthma, cardiovascular disease and cancer are few of the severe infirmities which could be added on by poor indoor air quality. Another unfamiliar but imperative matter is Volatile Organic Compounds, VOCs which are there in paints and accountable for outlining poor indoor air quality.

In view of that nowadays countless low VOC paints are accessible in the market but they are not utterly gratis from toxic ingredients like ammonia, acetone, exempt solvents and odor masking agents. Hence we must hunt for harmless paints embracing no VOCs. Accordingly an undisputed reference advocated by Green building experts comes out to be AFM SAFECOAT which has got a distinctive odor. This eco paint is so finished that one would not be able to smell it even all through painting or past drying.

Apart from the odor and tint no other apparent disparity is present in this green valued paint. Although this superb quality Safecoat is slightly pricey than conventionally used paints but at the ante of our healthiness and wellbeing we could not haul ourselves away from the pros of this flawless quality paints.

Via GreenBuildingSupply

Tired of a soaring electricity bill? Concerned for nature, want to reduce global warming but are a victim of lousy habits, always forgetful about switching off the lights or fans when you leave a room? For all those who are perfect example of “old habits die hard” notion but are willing enough to adopt greener ways, California based Agilewaves has come up with a smart device- The Resource Monitor. The device is native integrated system which functions in real time to monitor the electricity, gas and water consumption of your house. With the real monitor, you can carry out your chores without being worried about a hefty bill at the end of the month as you can set specific monthly targets for consuming these three facilities. The device uses behaviorally-driven quantitative feedback by the users for effective monitory. It is fit for use inside homes and offices. Resource monitor displays the consumption details and carbon footprint of a household/office via a built-in touchscreen interface or a password protected web page.

As I already said, the system is a real time analyst so now you can get hourly details about the eco-footprints of your daily activities inside your home/office. This well-structured monitoring approach helps in tightening the noose over reckless consumptions and wasteful activities. The company says its latest resource monitor tracks the performance of major appliances and then, calculated the resource consumption room/floor wise. Features like Standard browser application, real time data display, intuitive graphic UI, temperature data in key locations, budget setting and trend analysis and visualize time-series data to name a few, make Resource Monitor the ultimate watchdog device. The appliance comes from a responsible software company and it looks after your social, environmental and financial performance in a well–organized and efficient manner. Well readers, I m thoroughly impressed and would certainly go for it! What about you?

Via: agilewaves

Beach houses and cabins are synonyms of relaxation and holiday-fun. If you own one you are lucky and if you are planning to get one constructed near your favorite eco-spot then you are super lucky! Why, I’m saying this is for the facts that, those who are yet to get one for themselves, have an option to make a responsible choice and pick up a design which is both environment-friendly and sustainable. Like Andrea Salvini’s Crab House! A multidisciplinary architect and industrial designer that he is, his designs reflect simplicity and functionality. He draws his inspiration from natural elements (flora & Fauna). His latest vision for the American Cabin-a beach house for Fire Island (NY) derives its anthropomorphic shape from a Crab!

The crab house is raised off the ground by stilts. To capture the scenic beauty of the vast ocean the front of the house is made of glass mostly. Its top floor bears a wide open-air solarium so that, on days when you are too lazy to go to beach you can bask in your own house and get sun-ergized! The interiors of the crab house are equally interesting with a ‘no-fuss’ notion evident everywhere.

Crab house redefines the modern American Cabin along with the architect’s trilogy for cabins & beach houses for the Fire Island. His designs emphasize recreational space for socializing yet preserving the much-needed privacy in modern day living! In simple words, the crab house and other of Salvini designs take you one step closer towards peaceful eco-living. 

Via: inhabitat

Singapore-the island nation, is a platform of neck-straining skyscrapers. To add to its skyline, world-famous architect Ken Yeang has lent his artistic vision to yet another skyscraper “Fusionopolis”. The latter has been projected as Singapore’s R&D icon.

It will be the hub of local and international talents in the field of sciences and engineering. The scientific research thus carried out at Fusionopolis will power the future industries in the region and transform Singapore into a knowledge-based economy.

The eco-friendly skyscraper will be 1.4 Km high with 15 stories and a state-of-the-art green infrastructure!  Ken Yeang, known for his green designs has envisioned a long, continuous vertical run of vegetation which has not been seen anywhere in the world so far.

The vertical column of planting as projected in the design will rise up the building and merge into a landscaped terrace garden at the roof of Fusionopolis. This vegetation cover will be beneficial in passive cooling and insulation hence, provided to the inmates of the building.

The towering structure is designed to effectively capture sunlight by utilizing the refractive properties of prisms (to be placed in its interiors). Yeang (director of Llewelyn Davies Yeang-leading architect firm) has set his eyes on other greener technologies that will be profusely in Fusionopolis’ drainage and irrigation system.
In all the whole building will be a live-ecosystem, one which would be ecologically-viable and sustainable! While the Singaporeans await this super-green erection on a land area of 12,073 sqm, you guys have a look at other green and successful projects by the master architect.

Via: inhabitat

In times of water scarcity, every drop is precious. While some people & institutions realize this fact others still go on living in their ignoramus style.

Belonging to the former category is the High School in Arlington (Virginia) along with its Langston Brown Community Center which has set a fine example of green concept (to the world) in terms of rainwater harvesting efforts. The building has a LEED Silver rating for its interesting green features, which are:
• Presence of two 11,000-gallon water tanks (one being on the roof of the building) that store about 280,000 gallons of rainwater per year!
• The water so harvested is used for sidewalk washing, onsite irrigation and such uses.
• Presence of waterless urinals- contributes to the project’s 23% reduction in potable water use.
• Each classroom provides a minimum of 4 switches to control lighting levels.
• The high school’s indoors feature use of adhesives, solvents, paints, and carpets with low levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
• Presence of Sunshades-these provide indirect daylighting while still being effective in maintaining more than 90% visibility in building’s occupied spaces.
• Clerestory windows are present on third-floor classrooms to provide additional daylighting.

Source: treehugger.com

BEAUTIFUL BUILDING design is often overshadowed by extensive green shadow of latest high concert architecture. But intrinsic temperament of repurposing and bringing second life to an or else useless structure is a sustainable idea we can’t overlook, especially when BEAUTIFUL BUILDING design done as stylishly as this old barn redux in Belgium.

The BEAUTIFUL BUILDING design House beams with fresh, updated lines that give emphasis to structure’s immediate natural setting. The indigenous building concept of barn - to both care for weather and nature - are brought into a latest light with daylight filled living spaces that boast exciting views. Openings at either end of The BEAUTIFUL BUILDING design House frame the bucolic landscape, while operable sections of shuttered facade swing open to let daylight and normal breezes into home.

Source

A whole eco- development plan is being put forward by Fosters+ Partners for the Italian coastal town of Rimini. In this age of emerging mega cities with their jaw-dropping architectural planning and futuristic buildings worldover, Rimini might just be the next addition. The renowned architectural firm has plans to renovate the waterfront of this town putting it on the map of eco-tourism.

The proposal bears the nouveau development plan comprising of a brand new seafront promenade that links to Rimini’s existing green boulevards. Fosters+ Partners have envisioned a hotel tower located 300 meters into the ocean. Not only this, there will be a long pear that will extend from the hotel to the pedestrian link. The whole concept involves developing and planning the new waterfront by making use of latest technologies like rainwater collection and solar photovoltaics.

The plan sounds wonderful and the designs prepared by the firm look great, the long-term eco-sustainability and other environmental strategies for a better tomorrow are still under consideration. A lot of rigorous testing will be done before the plan actually starts transforming Rimini’s beachfront. Till this happens you may wonder at the designs.

Via Inhabitat