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Manuel said: "This is great news! I hope all cities pass this into law.The practice of using plastic bags just to quickly dispose of them has been going on far t..." [read]

Jay Knecht said: "What are the performance stats for the Son of Max? ..." [read]

gazelle said: "@ Dallas: The book, and the supplementary videos in the "How It All Ends" youtube series, address this in detail, but I'll try to paraphrase:..." [read]

Barry said: "Kofi Annan has about as much of a clue about electric cars and developing countries as Ann Ann the Panda. He underestimates the ingenuity o..." [read]

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Derek said: ""I guarantee you this will spark huge debates around the world," she said. "We have to delve into this in a way that hasn't been done in a long tim..." [read]

How Insects Do Graphic Design

by Petz Scholtus, Barcelona, Spain on 11. 5.09
Design & Architecture

Bits n Pieces DEBUG in NYC

Yesterday the exhibition Bits 'n Pieces launched at Material Connexion in New York, a dialogue between the analog and the digital technologies within design in a post-digital era. What grabbed our attention in the busy space during the opening, were the insects doing graphic design! A sophisticated machine transformed the movements of a few bugs into beautiful patterns and logos and printed them out as fast as the insects performed.

Article continues: How Insects Do Graphic Design

You Can Recycle Window Blinds? Yes, You Can

by Kristin Underwood, Sacramento, CA on 05.28.09
Design & Architecture

Broken and Bent Window Blinds Photo
Image via: Flickr.com

Up until now, when you wanted to update your living room, or when you moved into a new place and needed to get rid of the junk that the previous tenants left, you didn't really have any options except to haul it out to the dumpster or, if they were somewhat decent, unload them on your local Goodwill. Until now.

Article continues: You Can Recycle Window Blinds? Yes, You Can

Eco-Friendly Designer Kelly LaPlante Embraces the Three R’s

by Rachel Lincoln Sarnoff, Los Angeles, California on 09.17.08
Design & Architecture

kelly laplante eco designer diffa installation photo.jpg
Kelly LaPlante's eco-friendly DIFFA installation/photo by Natalie Sojka

The design industry is not typically known for its desire to reduce, reuse and recycle. Clients who can actually afford interior designers to “do” their homes have a reputation for an “out with the old, in with the new” mentality that keeps these designers in business.

Read on to find out how sustainably-minded designer Kelly La Plante’s latest show installation took that mentality and turned it on its ear…

Article continues: Eco-Friendly Designer Kelly LaPlante Embraces the Three R’s

The Alter Eco Touch Lands on $3.5 Million Sustainable Home in Los Feliz

by Rachel Lincoln Sarnoff, Los Angeles, California on 09.10.08
Design & Architecture

richard byrd sustainable home living room photo
Photo: courtesy Richard Byrd

Got three million and change? Get in line. The hottest eco-friendly home on the market is a $3.5 million, LEED Platinum, 1920s Spanish stunner recently renovated by Adrian Grenier’s go-to green expert Richard Byrd of “Alter Eco” fame. The guy may be brand new in the eco-development department, but in this, his first sustainable home, he hits all the marks. Think reclaimed materials like 300-year-old Spanish roof tile, CFL bulbs, solar trees, low-flow sinks and toilets, and a carpet made entirely from post-consumer waste recycled plastic water bottles. (Check out more pics after the jump!) And that's not all...

Article continues: The Alter Eco Touch Lands on $3.5 Million Sustainable Home in Los Feliz

Canadian Picture Frame TV Channel Burns Up Screens

by Kristin Underwood, Sacramento, CA on 07.30.08
Design & Architecture

Picture Frame TV Photo

We all miss those vacations where we did nothing but leave the windows open to the beach and gazed longingly into the lapping surf, or slept under the stars while camping and listening to the crickets, or sang Christmas carols in front of a crackling fire. Ahhh, vacation. But, having an entire channel of background ambiance just to try to recreate that 'on vacation' feeling sort of misses the mark.

Article continues: Canadian Picture Frame TV Channel Burns Up Screens

Mio Introduces Their First Product Service System

by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA on 05.20.08
Design & Architecture

icff 2008 header
mio-jaime-salm-headshot-photo.jpg

The Salm brothers never cease to amaze TreeHugger. The pair, behind Mio's sustainable designs, are a great example of designers who really get it: how to design with the environment in mind; how to approach green design from a variety of angles; how to execute it with and style. Their Origami table, Nomad System room dividers, Shroom lighting, Soft Bowls, 3D wallpaper and cork flooring tiles are all great examples of each of these, and they've branched out even further.

The "Naked Line," made from formaldehyde-free particle board, is a modular storage system that Mio left without veneers to showcase the natural beauty of the product. We also liked "Loop," their first product service system, which is a wallpaper-like textile that comes with its own envelope, so you can simply and easily mail it back to Mio for replacement if it gets torn or just wears thin. Get the scoop on these and more from Mio in our video tour of the booth below the fold. ::Mio and ::ICFF 2008

Article continues: Mio Introduces Their First Product Service System

Manodo's Screen Is The Big Brother Of Energy Saving

by April Streeter, Gothenburg, Sweden on 04.25.08
Design & Architecture

Manodo%27s-Energy-Screen.jpgIn the hallways of 15 apartments at a complex in the city of Gothenburg is the ultimate smart-home gadget (fancier and smarter than Joule's Home) from Swedish start-up Manodo - it's a screen that tells you everything you want to know about your consumption, plus a few stats you maybe didn't want to see - like how many pounds of CO2 emissions that long, hot bath you just took is worth.

The pilot Manodo project in a handful of Swedish cities gives apartment dwellers lots of other information, including how long before the next tram will pass by their nearest stop, what the weather's expected to be, and a bird's eye view of who's outside ringing their doorbell. It might seem a little too Big Brother for some - I prefer the Danish Flower Pod approach - but one of the test dwellers told Metro he's gotten much better about turning off the lights, the TV and the stereo in the hopes to see the green smiley face that denotes comparatively low energy consumption. Via ::Metro.se

Drysystem by Tau Allows for Ceramic Tile Reuse

by Petz Scholtus, Barcelona, Spain on 03.25.08
Design & Architecture

tau-drysystem

A new technique for construction caught our eye at Barcelona’s material library Mater (more about that below): Drysystem. Drysystem is a new tile laying system, developed by the Spanish ceramic company TAU, that doesn’t require getting your hands dirty. This new way of putting tiles doesn’t require any kind of adhesive; the pieces simply slot into each other. 45x90 cm tiles can be slotted seamlessly into a polymer base.

Article continues: Drysystem by Tau Allows for Ceramic Tile Reuse
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