July102012

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Village Repair: Permaculture Design Maquettes for Small Towns and Villages

Village Repair focusses on creating relationships, gathering places and habitat that promotes healthy interactions between people, animals, birds, reptiles, insects, plants, fungi and all other living and non-living links in the ecological community. As an activated social permaculture program and transition initiative, Village Repair hopes to inspire communities to redesign their own neighbourhoods into thriving, abundant and diverse ecosystems which support the web of life for all living and non-living things.

Permaculture Research Institute

Tags: /permaculture /intentional communities /Ecovillages /design

July12012

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For nature-lovers who have limited or no access to a green space, a strong connection to nature can be an elusive thing. But it doesn’t have to be, if green designers diligently step up to the challenge. Brooklyn-based design and “experimentation studio” Autumn Workshop, a collaborative collective founded by Daniel Goers in 2011, are producing intriguing and functional pieces that attempt to fulfill our undeniable bond to nature and other forms of life, also known as “biophilia.” Treehugger

For nature-lovers who have limited or no access to a green space, a strong connection to nature can be an elusive thing. But it doesn’t have to be, if green designers diligently step up to the challenge. Brooklyn-based design and “experimentation studio” Autumn Workshop, a collaborative collective founded by Daniel Goers in 2011, are producing intriguing and functional pieces that attempt to fulfill our undeniable bond to nature and other forms of life, also known as “biophilia.”

Treehugger

Tags: /design

May292012

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With apologies to real estate agents, we’d like to say that the three most important factors in design are scale, scale, and scale. One reason is that many of the worst environmental design blunders of the 20th century have been mistakes of scale — especially our failures to come to terms with the linked nature of scales, ranging from small to large. The cumulative consequence of these failures is that the scales of the built environment have become highly fragmented, and (for reasons we detail here) this is not a good thing. Can we correct this shortcoming? Metropolis

With apologies to real estate agents, we’d like to say that the three most important factors in design are scale, scale, and scale. One reason is that many of the worst environmental design blunders of the 20th century have been mistakes of scale — especially our failures to come to terms with the linked nature of scales, ranging from small to large. The cumulative consequence of these failures is that the scales of the built environment have become highly fragmented, and (for reasons we detail here) this is not a good thing. Can we correct this shortcoming?

Metropolis

Tags: /scale /science /design /building /impact assessment

December262011

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oldoldschool:

Weed Suppression

Tags: /permaculture /weeds /mulch /design /landscaping

Reblogged from BK Bumpkin.

December102011

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The kitchen of Philips Design’s “Microbial Home” turns food waste into compost and cooking gas. Organic waste gets thrown in a “bio-digester,” where specialized bacteria processes it into methane gas to fuel the range. Then the remaining solid matter is turned into compost. So the peelings from a potato might provide the heat to cook the potato and the fertilizer to grow more potatoes. Philips calls it “an integrated cyclical ecosystem where each function’s output is another’s input.” You could also call it cradle-to-grave-to-cradle food production. And it’s an elegant, nature-inspired way of making home appliances sustainable. Grist

The kitchen of Philips Design’s “Microbial Home” turns food waste into compost and cooking gas. Organic waste gets thrown in a “bio-digester,” where specialized bacteria processes it into methane gas to fuel the range. Then the remaining solid matter is turned into compost. So the peelings from a potato might provide the heat to cook the potato and the fertilizer to grow more potatoes. Philips calls it “an integrated cyclical ecosystem where each function’s output is another’s input.” You could also call it cradle-to-grave-to-cradle food production. And it’s an elegant, nature-inspired way of making home appliances sustainable.

Grist

Tags: /self-sufficiency /design /ecology /permaculture

November302011

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The (Limited) Power of Good Intentions

More architects and designers than ever are working to save the world. They want to contribute not just to a healthy economy but also to a clean, well-regulated environment and peaceful society. And they’re beating multiple paths to those ambitions: forming nonprofit companies or partaking in corporate social-responsibility initiatives, mobilizing students, partnering with NGOs, applying for foundation grants, and participating in competitions trolling for innovative ideas. They’re even moonlighting in their studios, designing emergency shelters, water purifiers, public-awareness campaigns, sustainably sourced fashion, and solar-powered stoves.

Metropolis Mag

Tags: /design /social learning /non-profits /cooperatives /new economics /repurpose /Water Planning

November242011

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A Parliament Building for the People


Before he got busy being one of the best architects in Australia, Andrew Maynard would do wonderful polemics, thought exercises, and just fun stuff that displayed his imagination and humour. Now he is at it again, imagining a new Parliament Building that responds to the people, that he calls Mob-ile Parliament.
TreeHugger

Tags: /Architecture /governance /government /design

November192011

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ecolocoblog: There’s nothing more annoying than getting a flat tyre when you’re unprepared and out cycling. So the clever people at Cyclehoop came up with the public bike pump. Looking sleek and modern, two of these stainless steel, hand powered bike pumps have been installed in the City of London, next to some of its bike parks. With a number of different valves available, you can pump up almost any bike tyre for free, no problem. Another useful little tool to make city cycling that much easier.

ecolocoblog:

There’s nothing more annoying than getting a flat tyre when you’re unprepared and out cycling. So the clever people at Cyclehoop came up with the public bike pump. Looking sleek and modern, two of these stainless steel, hand powered bike pumps have been installed in the City of London, next to some of its bike parks. With a number of different valves available, you can pump up almost any bike tyre for free, no problem. Another useful little tool to make city cycling that much easier.

Tags: /bike /ecofriendly /ecology /succession /urban planning /design

Reblogged from Live Madly Green.

November182011

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The Ecological Shower

Jun Yasumoto’s Phyto-Purification Bathroom is a conceptual system that turns your shower into a mini-ecosystem. The design is a clever take on the water-saving conundrum that relies on plants to do its dirty work. Jun Yasumoto’s Phyto-Purification Bathroom works kind of like a miniature river. Water from your shower travels to a series of rushes, reeds, hyacinths, and lemnas—all plants that are known to absorb bacteria, metals and other waterborne particles. A carbon filter captures any particles that remain, and the filtered water is then recycled back into the shower system for use.

Trend Hunter

Tags: /design /ecology /permaculture /innovation

November172011

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DON’T PANIC! POLITICAL ECOLOGY & CLIMATE CHANGE »

» Reflections on Authoritarian Eco-Design, Decorative Eco-Design and the Potential for Creative Public Ecologies«

Will check this out in more depth later, but on first glance this looks pretty bang on.

Tags: /political ecology /political economy /design /climate change /design /adaptation /adaptive management /transition