Lloyd Alter
Lloyd edits the Design section of TreeHugger, and writes about land use, urban planning, design and architecture, with a few seques into food systems, peak oil, bikes and transportation related to urban issues.
Lloyd is a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Toronto, and is licenced to practice by the Ontario Association of Architects. After practicing architecture he became a real estate developer, building a number of award-winning projects before becoming convinced that the whole process of development and construction is wasteful, destructive and unsustainable. In 2001 he started promoting modern green prefabricated housing as an alternative method of building, and was one of the first bloggers on the subject.
Concerns about uncontrolled demolition and development led to a passion for historic buildings and neighbourhoods, so Lloyd got involved in the local preservation movement and served as President of the Architectural Conservancy of Ontario from 2009 to 2011.
Lloyd's blogging about prefab and sending green prefab tips to the brand new TreeHugger in 2004 led to a new direction, writing at first part time for TreeHugger, then full time, while also writing for Azure Magazine, Greensource and Ontario Nature.
Latest Stories from Lloyd Alter
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Visiting Graham Hill's Amazing LifeEdited Apartment
I will admit it: It is better than I expected, and can be a real model for urban living.
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Franco Albini's Veliero Bookshelf Is Like A Suspension Bridge For Books
Just like a bridge, it tries to do the most with the least as it creates a bookshelf and room divider
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The (Coffee) Pod People Are Taking Over Europe
The triumph of convenience over common sense and good taste takes hold even in Italy
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What We're Looking For at ICFF and New York Design Week
It's a lot more than just furniture.
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Urban Design Lessons from Milan and Bologna: Architecture Matters as Much as Planning
In one city the pedestrian rules; in the other, the car. And it's the architecture that makes the difference.
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Wood Construction Can Last A Long Time
In Bologna, Italy, it has been doing the job for 800 years.
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Cyclists and Pedestrians Keep Getting Killed By Trucks When The Solution Is Easy: Mandatory Side Guards
Looking at trucks in Europe, one sees that the arguments against Side Guards are specious.
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Cross Laminated Timber is Ready for Prime Time
They are using this fabulous tech all over Europe. Why are we taking so long in North America, when the trees are dying?
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The Inertial Seawave Energy Generator Rocks
Clever device puts a gyroscope in a boat hull, and converts rocking motion into electricity
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Milan's BikeMi Bikeshare Uses Shaft-Drive Bikes
Interesting wheels are all over central Milan
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Spin Your Old Vinyl On The Jónófón, a Flatpack Papercraft Gramaphone
The Jónófón is "a return to simplicity", when people could understand how technology actually worked.
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Amsterdam RAI Convention Centre Goes Greener
Convention Centres are Huge Consumers of everything and generators of waste. Here is one that appears to address it seriously.
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Vertical Farm Proposal Is Woven Into The Fabric Of The City
If vertical farming is going to get real, then it has to get really local and mix it up.
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400 Foot Long Badboot Floating Pool in Antwerp Is A Flash From The Past
Rem Koolhaas once described a floating pool designed by Russian Constructivists. Is it finally being built?
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From Hermit Crab Shells To Moon Bases: 19 Amazing Things You Can Do With 3D Printing
We are at the stage that the Commodore 64 was for the computer: Just going mainstream and the start of what may be a third industrial revolution.
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Great New Idea For Old Buildings: Radiator Labs Solves The Too-Hot Apartment Problem
This is one of those why-didn't anyone-think-of-this-before ideas that are so simple and so good.
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Big Surprise: Most People Don't Buy Green Products If They Cost More
But 40% would pay a little more if they were readily available.
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Just What We Needed Dept: A Concrete Chandelier
Filled with seven incandescent bulbs, it's slogan should be "It's not a light, it's a heater!"
