How Insects Do Graphic Design

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 09:23:35 GMT

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. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

There is a Garden Climbing the Stairs in Bilbao's Public Space!

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 08:25:53 GMT

Photo: Iwan Baan/courtesy Balmori Associates The New York based landscape and urban design office of Balmori Associates is busy; after the High Line in New York (view slideshow) (where the studio was awarded second place), amongst many projects, Balmori Associates recently designed the "Garden That Climbs The Steps" in Bilbao, Spain. An elegant mass of different colours and textures is literally climbing up the stairs leading to Santiago Calatrava's footbridge. And the mass is alive, made up of a colourful mix of local and exotic plants, making it change with the seasons. (more photos below)... Read the full story on TreeHugger

How SHE Solves One of the Biggest Social Problems in the World. Period.

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 10:11:17 GMT

We first heard about SHE: Sustainable Health Enterprises at the Feast Conference when Elisabeth Scharpf told her amazing story about how she set up this social and sustainable franchise scheme that provides women in developing countries with what should be a basic right: affordable sanitary pads, as well as a sustainable business. The Huffington Post titled their article about her work "When a Period Ends More Than A Sentence". Until Scharpf stepped into the spotlight at the Feast, we had very little idea that for millions of women around the world, having their period is a significant handicap, to their health, their income and their quality of life. And we love what Scharpf came up with to solve this problem in a way that it works so brilliantly for people, planet and profit. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

The US Consumes 1500 Plastic Water Bottles Every Second, a fact by Watershed

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 09:26:48 GMT

MSLK, a New York based graphic design firm, uses art to raise awareness on the consumption of plastics. Their most recent project, Watershed, has been touring New York City during Climate Week and set the scene for benefit performances by Moby, Thom Yorke of Radiohead, and a speech by Kofi Annan during the world premiere of "The Age of Stupid". Guess what the 1500 plastic water bottles used to construct this eco-installation represent? (see video and more images below)... Read the full story on TreeHugger

The DROP, Urban Art Infill: Trees from Hiroshima and Solar Powered DJs in New York

Thu, 08 Oct 2009 09:40:16 GMT

Human Glacier musical performance by Paul D. Miller. Photo by Sergio Carratala A solar powered DJ booth (see photo below), tree seedlings from Hiroshima, a Human Glacier performance and Yoko Ono - all of this is happening under the High Line in New York this month. The Drop and exhibition 2012+ is about art, the city and the environment. Its title is inspired by the Mayan calendar, indicating an upcoming shift from one phase of life to something new about to take shape. Here is how the curators, Alexandra Chang and Mie Iwatsuki, explain their concept:... Read the full story on TreeHugger

The Feast: Full on Good Entrepreneurship for the Long Now

Fri, 02 Oct 2009 16:32:31 GMT

TED Conference has got competition! Yesterday we attended the Feast Conference in New York, where we laughed, we cried, we became passionate about changing the world, we met amazing people and we learnt a thing or two about good decision making and playing poker! It was definitely one of the most inspiring and "full on good" events we have been to. If you don't believe me, check out the tweets of the Feast, an initiative by All Day Buffet. The 12 cross-disciplinary speakers that shared their experience of how to address social innovation and new ways to make the world a better place really left us inspired to go out and do good. The keywords of the day were passion, creativity, community, empathy, curiosity, good, clean & fair, menstruation and entrepreneurship. Read on if you are curious enough, or watch the Feast presentations via Stream57.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Convince Your Boss to Send You to The Feast Conference and Become Empowered to Create Change

Thu, 24 Sep 2009 10:19:05 GMT

Rarely there are conferences so meaningful, important and fun as the Feast, held by All Day Buffet in New York next week. No matter what sector you are working in, creativity, business and social responsibility are valuable things to apply to whatever you do. With conscious consumerism, social responsibility and environmental sustainability becoming more and more mainstream, you don't want to stay behind. So to inspire you to creating world-shaking change, All Day Buffet has organised a full line-up of cross-disciplinary speakers that can provide key insights and teachings regarding challenges, successes and best practices. And of course a good part of the Feast Conference is meeting hundreds of passionate innovators like you. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

PICNIC'09 in Amsterdam: Green Challenge & Cradle to Cradle Amongst Other Inspriations

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 11:44:37 GMT

September is PICNIC month in Amsterdam! This year's media, technology, entertainment, art and science festival seems yet a little bit greener than last year, and promises to be inspiring with Cradle to Cradle workshop labs this week.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Pioneers of Change: Repairing Manifestos, Slow Food & Duch Design Shows at Governors Island in New York

Mon, 14 Sep 2009 10:07:38 GMT

Governors Island, New York, sign 'LAND! Pioneers of Change' by Experimental Jetset A Repairing Manifesto, six-feet-long needles knitting sheep wool into a huge rug, the possibilities of urban farming in New York and an original Slow Food cafe (image below) are projects of Pioneers of Change, a group of Dutch designers exhibiting their latest work in new York. No one less than Renny Ramakers, co-founder and director of the Dutch conceptual design company, Droog, curated the show, exhibited in and around 11 officer's houses. Take a walk around and discover a different kind of luxury; that of space, fresh air, respect, caring, silence, slowness and time. Here's what we liked:... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Visual Voltage Exhibition Explores Energy Through Smart Design

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 11:50:24 GMT

Energy Aware Clock, photo by Interactive Institute A lamp that is at the same time a laundry drying rack, a curtain that collects light during the day, an Energy Aware Clock that shows the daily energy rhythms at home and a power cord (image below) that visualises the electricity running through it are just a few object on show at the Visual Voltage exhibition, opening tomorrow in Brussels (Berlin in November). Seeing electricity helps us reflect on our energy consumption, and thus, lower it. And if it's done through fun and well designed objects, even better!... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Green Depot eco-friendly living & building store in Manhattan

Thu, 03 Sep 2009 10:04:11 GMT

Last week we visited the Green Depot store in Manhattan, and wished it was around when we did home renovations. Here you can find everything, from building to everyday green home products, you are spoiled for choice and find friendly staff to help you make the right ones. We love the "green detergent station," which is a bar where you have cleaning products on tap. Just bring you empty bottles and fill them up. The "light bulb box" is also a nice feature where you can see different LED and CFL bulbs and compare them to each other by switching them on and off. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

1 Minute to Save the World, an International Short Film Competition on Climate Change

Thu, 27 Aug 2009 10:06:36 GMT

Watch this, it only takes 1 minute! You can say a lot in 1 minute, and hopefully save the world while you're at it. 1minutetosavetheworld.com is an international short film competition on climate change. Watch, submit and vote until October 5th 2009. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Drying for Freedom, a Film About Clotheslines

Thu, 20 Aug 2009 14:20:46 GMT

Who would have thought that some day someone would make a film about freedom, communities and clotheslines? A good topic though, considering that by 2010 more than 50 million home-owners in the US will be banned from line drying clothes outdoors for the sake of preserving property value and prudishness. ~~Ontario already has a legislation that restricts the use of clotheslines for people who live in a freehold detached, semi-detached or row house.~~ * A ban on using clotheslines does not only rob home-owners of their right, but also contributes to the environmental and energy crisis.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

180 Degree Climate Circuit

Thu, 13 Aug 2009 13:32:47 GMT

Walking through Luxembourg City last week, some big yellow stickers on the capital's pedestrian zone's floors made us curious. The first one we noticed said: "Luxembourg 2009; the richest countries in the world. - Luxembourg 2019; the eco-friendliest country in the world." Such a statement didn't leave us cold so we visited the project's web site at 180grad.lu. Project 180 Grad ("Grad" meaning "degrees" in Luxembourgish and German) is about climate change. 20 people, randomly selected but on voluntary basis, represent Luxembourg's society and lend themselves to a human and intellectual experiment: Be trained, without taboo nor dogmatism, about climate change for 12 months. Half of the group takes part in a study trip to Greenland to see climate change happening under their eyes. The other half goes to Bangladesh to see the human, economic, and environmental impacts of climate change in a particularly vulnerable zone. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Call for Entries: Doing It For The Kids

Mon, 03 Aug 2009 04:15:49 GMT

The first time [re]design hit the London Design Festival was with Good & Gorgeous objects, the second with eco-friendly chairs in an exhibition called SIT UP, and last year they lit it up with a series of green lighting designs. This year, the London-based promoters of sustainable design are Doing It For The Kids.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Dutch Students Have Designed the Cleanest Auto-Rickshaw

Thu, 30 Jul 2009 05:00:21 GMT

Last year, Enviu, the innovators in sustainability based in Rotterdam (NL), launched the Hybrid Tuktuk Battle. The challenge was to design a system to make one million auto-rickshaws in India and other developing countries hybrid, in order to improve the living conditions of millions of drivers and their families, and drastically reduce the CO2 emissions. This month the grand prize went to the HAN'ds On Eco Tuk, a Tuktuk with LPG direct injection designed by the students of Hogeschool Arnhem and Nijmegen (HAN).... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Nuclear Waste Can Protect Tropical Forests

Thu, 23 Jul 2009 06:46:52 GMT

Let's just consider James Lovelock's idea for a second: Dump our nuclear waste into the tropical forests and other areas that need protecting from human activity such as as farming or construction, to conserve them. This is one of climate scientist James Lovelock's solutions to the often-asked question of what to do with nuclear waste whenever the originator of the Gaia Hypothesis expresses his criticised support of nuclear power. In his book "The Revenge of Gaia" (2006), Lovelock states: "one of the striking things about places heavily contaminated by radioactive nuclides is the richness of their wildlife." (2007 Penguin Books, p. 116) ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Book Review: Design Activism by Alastair Fuad-Luke

Thu, 16 Jul 2009 03:05:19 GMT

"This book charts the territory of the design activist - a person who uses the power of design for the greater good of humankind and nature. [...] Most of all, this book is for everyone who believes that design (especially when we design together) is an essential human expression that will help us all to move towards more sustainable futures", explains Alastair Fuad-Luke in the preface of his newly released book Design Activism, beautiful strangeness for a sustainable world. The author of the Eco-Design Handbook (2004) has yet again created a kind of bible for eco-designers. This book helps everyone to become a better (or good!) designer. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

84 Recycled PET Bottles to Make ECOALF Cabin Trolley

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 09:03:54 GMT

Here is something that is 100% recycled, but doesn't look it. ECOALF is the new fabric developed by the Spanish company fun&basics, made from recycled PET bottles. It is a high quality textile: flexible, tension resistant, long lasting, waterproof and lightweight. The first bags made from ECOALF are a toilet bag, a small bag, a cabin trolley and a large, wheeled luggage bag. The fun thing about them is the visualisation of the recycled bottles. Each bag tells you exactly how many 75cl PET plastic bottles were needed to make it. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

ZEBRA Recycled Bicycle Path Divider, Safe for Cyclists and the Environment

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 04:46:23 GMT

Most of us agree that cycling is one of the most eco-friendly and healthy ways of transportation, although it can also be dangerous, even if you use bike lanes. Motorbikes swishing past, doors opening, parked cars that need driving around into the car lanes, are but a few nasty surprises you can come across even if you stay on the bike path. Most people agree that bike lanes should be separated from traffic. To make sure traffic also respects those bike lanes, Spanish designer Curro Claret (whose Hat Light was one of the very early posts on TreeHugger) designed the ZEBRA bicycle lane divider, made from recycled plastic.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Spud Plantable Raincoat Made from Potatoes Closes the Loop

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 05:23:49 GMT

More images below Now here's something happy for rainy days: the Spud Raincoat, made from potatoes and designed by the guys from Good for Environment! Under the brand name Equilicua, they make thought provoking products such as the Econo, a water saving device for potted plants. The Spud Raincoat is for times when plenty of water is falling from the sky, and will definitely cheer you up on a grey day. The coat educates every by-passer on bioplastics by telling them "I was a potato". And indeed, this waterproof coat is made entirely of bioplastic derived from potato starch and other natural resources, which makes it a 100% biodegradable and compostable product. And to give it the final touch at the end of its product life, the coat has integrated seeds so that plants grow out of it once it is returned to the earth!... Read the full story on TreeHugger

MAKEA your life, other furniture is possible

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 05:52:30 GMT

MAKEA stands for fixing it, customising, personalising, tuning things, adapting or basically making it beautiful yourself. It is an alternative to the throwaway culture (hence the reference to IKEA!). MAKEA, active since 2006, is a multidisciplinary group from Spain, fed up with our current way of consumption, the brands and their products that loose personality when they are not associated with the brand name any more. But MAKEA is a brand that sells nothing, they are doers and warn us about the infectiousness of the MAKEA virus (see MAKEA video on YouTube).... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Barcelona Forever Goes Copenhagen, a Recycling Project

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 06:00:41 GMT

In a local recycling station, Mette Bak Andersen from Copenhagen Forever is surprised about the lack of interest to recycle plastics in Copenhagen and shows Mayor Klaus Bondam a piece of recycled plastic made in Barcelona. After Barcelona Forever in 2008, a design installation of a house built from materials found in the streets of the city, designer Mette Bak Andersen and her team are now moving north and planning Copenhagen Forever. Barcelona Forever's aim was to draw attention to those materials that have become waste but which could easily be given a second life though a creative approach. Now the team wants to see what materials and products in the Danish capital can be rescued from ending up as landfill.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Singer Kimya Dawson at Primavera Sound Festival: "Our choices are powerfull"

Thu, 04 Jun 2009 05:26:43 GMT

Photo Credit: Sergio Carratala Although we missed the actions Barcelona's Summercase Festival took last year to green their music events (reusable cups, recycling schemes, LED lighting, etc.), two singers really got their message across at this year's Primavera Sound Festival. On the Saturday, Neil Young performed Fork in the Road in front of 30.000 fans, telling the story of his journey in the converted energy-efficient 1959 Lincoln Continental. Read more about the Canadian musician's -Make a Neil Young video' project. On Sunday, Kimya Dawson, known as the one half of The Moldy Peaches, surprised Barcelona with a wonderful gig in the park, good-humouredly singing her socially-conscious songs for kids of all ages.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Ecocity, Environmental Solutions for Cities and Industry

Thu, 28 May 2009 09:43:18 GMT

This week the seventh edition of Ecocity & Industry, a fair all around the environmental future of industry and cities, is held in Barcelona, Spain. It is all about waste management and recycling, air quality monitoring, renewable energies and urban cleaning.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Watch the Falcons Living in Sagrada Familia Cathedral via Web Cam

Thu, 21 May 2009 11:02:15 GMT

One of the tours of architect Gaudi's famous cathedral La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona has now become the home of a family of falcons. Peregrine Falcons had disappeared from the city in the 70ies, but reappeared in 2005 by moving into the unfinished church, under construction since 1882. Since the (recorded) birth of four falcons last month, the citizens and tourists can observe the family with binoculars or via the web cam. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Galpshare, a European Carpooling Platform

Thu, 14 May 2009 11:17:13 GMT

Lately, individual car ownership has become less and less attractive in cities, whilst carsharing services have become more and more inviting: more commodity (no need to hunt for parking spaces, less bills,...), less expensive and greener. Gulpshare is a new European carpooling platform launched in Portugal (see ad below), by the oil company Galp Energia.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Book Review: 34 kg of CO2 to make a book

Thu, 07 May 2009 11:20:41 GMT

At Construmat this year, the international building and construction trade fair held in Barcelona every two years, the Government of Catalonia presented their project "34 kg of CO2", along side Casa Barcelona. 34 kg is the exact quantity of CO2 that was emitted in order to make one of the book with the same title. So the questions the project addresses are: If 1.050 grams of paper produce 34 kg of CO2, how much does my car emit? Or my home? And how can we build and construct in a more sustainable manner?... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Construmat 2009: Casa Barcelona Housing Project Fits Everyone

Thu, 30 Apr 2009 11:00:43 GMT

Last week, Construmat, the leading construction fair held in Barcelona, Spain, every two years, attracted some 153,000 visitors. Amongst the most interesting works exhibited was the Casa Barcelona,an innovative, social and sustainable housing proposal.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Sustainable Construction - one of the main themes at the 30th Construmat in Spain

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 10:56:02 GMT

Construmat, one of the biggest construction trade fairs in Europe, held this week in Barcelona, Spain, has chosen sustainable construction as one of the main remedies to successfully tackle the crisis in the sector this year, as well as other challenges of the future.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Recent Posts by TreeHugger's Petz Scholtus, Barcelona, Spain