Cardboard Creations: 45 Recycled Works of Art
December 19, 2011 by thegreenchildrenfoundation · View Comments
[ By Steph in Art & Design & Home & Garden. ]
Cardboard is just a throwaway material, short-lived and impermanent. But it doesn’t have to be. While cardboard may perform mostly temporary functions in our lives, it can serve as the basis of some absolutely amazing sculptures, furniture, functioning electronics and even entire offices and apartments. These 45 works of recycled and reclaimed art made with corrugated cardboard might just get you to look at the material in a whole new light.
Christmas Trees
(images via: materlialicious, design buzz, cascades, cardboard christmas tree)
What’s the greenest tree of all? Unless you’re simply decorating an evergreen that’s already growing in your yard, a recycled cardboard creation might just be the answer. Cardboard Christmas trees come in all shapes and sizes, from intricate handmade versions to flat-pack kits you can purchase online.
Shop Interiors
(images via: psfk, ecofriend, francescasignori, great interior design, kostavoyatzis, dezeen)
Eco-minded retail stores – whether permanent, or just temporary pop-up shops – utilize cardboard in the most amazingly creative ways. Lulamae used post-consumer cardboard to create its entire flat-packed store, and a shop called Low in Lisbon, Portugal utilized molded cardboard for shelves, benches, tables and stools. The store eBarrito features a cool display made of cardboard tubes, and the Athens boutique Yeshop used edge cardboard to sculpt its walls. Australian apothecary Aesop used cardboard for a product stand, and a Hiroshima boutique called Karis has cardboard tubes suspended from the ceiling.
Incredible Art
(images via: mark langan, village of joy, peeta.net, instructables)
Cardboard has been used to create art of all sorts. Would you imagine that lowly toilet paper tubes could turn into fascinating scrunched faces, or that the corrugated material could be arranged to resemble aerial landscapes? It has been the medium for three-dimensional graffiti displayed on gallery walls. You can even take a crack at it yourself with a very ambitious project: Instructables has the instructions to make a 17-foot-tall cardboard Ghandi statue.
Furniture
(images via: inhabitat)
Painted bookshelves and flat-pack chairs. A table set made of cardboard tubes. Fun furniture items in the shape of animals. Surprisingly comfortable lounge chairs. Even a barely-altered cardboard moving box can become a sturdy bench or table. Check out all of the possibilities at Inhabitat.
Offices
(images via: smarterware, freshome)
Offices tend to be pretty unhealthy places, thanks in large part due to the toxins that are off-gassed by cheap pressed-wood-and-vinyl furniture. Maybe next time, your company should follow the lead of ‘Nothing’, a creative agency in Amsterdam that made an entire office out of cardboard including desks, chairs, shelves, cubicles and even steps and a small loft. This effect is achieved on a smaller scale with ‘Pop Up‘, a mobile flat-pack office that transforms from a sheet of cardboard into a platform with a desk and chair within seconds.
Stereos, Cameras and Computers
(images via: technabob 1 + 2, amazon, better living through design, hyperbole studios)
Actual functioning electronics made out of cardboard abound. You can find speakers systems, boom boxes, cameras, computers and more that use cardboard as a biodegradable, recycled, eco-friendly housing rather than plastic or metal. The Recompute PC was an entry into the 2009 Greener Gadgets competition. The handy portable boombox has an iPod dock and is so realistic, it would take you a moment to realize what differentiates it from others that look similar. The i-Ecko speakers are commercially available on Amazon for just ten bucks. Another cardboard radio has an appealing vintage look, and there are many cardboard cameras that look amazingly complex, like these by Kiel Johnson.
Pavilion
(images via: dezeen)
409 cardboard cylinders of varying diameters and thicknesses were connected with ties to create this beautiful dome-shaped pavilion called Packed. The pavilion was created by design students Min-Chieh Chen, Dominik Zausinger and Michele Leidi of the ETH Zurich in Switzerland using CAAD (Computer Aided Architectural Design) and was exhibited as part of the Shanghai Expo 2010.
Cities Big and Small
(images via: laughing squid, reuben miller, artnet)
You can walk into the temporary communities that make up the Russian collaborative art project Cardboardia, erected November 1-6 every year in the city of Ulyanovsk. Artist Ana Serrano’s Cartonlandia is much tinier but even more complex with little roads, vehicles, trees and people. Another miniature cardboard city was built by director Michel Gondry for his film ‘The Science of Sleep’ and displayed at a New York City exhibition entitled ‘The Science of Sleep: An Exhibition of Sculpture and Pathological Creepy Little Gifts.’
An Entire Cardboard Apartment
(images via: gothamist)
A full-scale apartment was erected in Times Square in November 2010 as part of a fundraising effort for Serving the UnderServed (SUS), an organization that provides housing and additional services to the homeless and disabled. The cardboard apartment featured a bed covered in folded cardboard clothing, framed photos, an alarm clock, a telephone and even slices of bread coming out of a toaster.
Bicycle
(images via: inhabitat)
Does making a bike out of cardboard make it less tempting to thieves? The novelty factor alone may negate that intended effect, but then again, it would only cost you $30 to replace it. That’s the biggest perk of this project by Sheffield Hallam University design student Phil Bridge, which can hold a rider weighing up to 168 pounds. The bike is all cardboard except for the tires, seat, chain, gears and pedals.
Bridge by Shigeru Ban
(images via: inhabitat)
Japanese architect proves the strength and durability of cardboard by erecting a cardboard bridge across the Gardon River in Southern France. Made of 281 cardboard tubes, the bridge is strong enough to carry 20 people to the other side of the river all at the same time. Ban has figured out how to engineer the bridge so that the tubes can stand up to the weight. “It is a very interesting contrast, the Roman stone bridge and the paper bridge. Paper too can be permanent, can be strong and lasting. We need to get rid of these prejudices,” Ban said.
Cars
(images via: design boom, reuben miller)
Can you guess the size of each of these two cardboard vehicles? It’s hard to tell, but the top one is a full-sized cardboard sculpture by artist Chris Gilmour while the second is a miniature made by South African Kasi Custom Rides. The scale of Gilmour’s works doesn’t quite come across until they’re placed in context.
Musical Instruments
(images via: oddity central, tjonglolongo, impactlab)
A musician named Hilary Grist built a full-sized cardboard piano and covered it with a miniature cardboard city to use in one of her music videos, and artist Chris Gilmour is responsible for the piano hanging from the ceiling as well as the guitars.
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Disaster Relief for the Digital Age: 13 Innovative Ideas
October 7, 2011 by admin · View Comments
[ By Steph in Art & Design & Technology & Gadgets. ]
What if an unmanned robot that looks like a distant cousin of Optimus Prime could respond to a meltdown at a nuclear plant, reducing the number of human lives lost? Imagine all-terrain emergency response vehicles that can shift from ultra-fast two-seaters to trucks full of precious supplies within minutes, and prefabricated shelters that can hook onto the outside of damaged skyscrapers with the help of a helicopter. Is this the future of disaster relief? These 13 incredibly creative concepts inspire hope for the ways in which we can deal with catastrophe as technology progresses.
Digital Origami Emergency Shelter
(images via: evolo.us)
Design firm LAVA bases this concept for a prefabricated emergency shelter on the water molecule. The modular design can either be shipped flat-pack, dropped off fully assembled by helicopter or built on-site out of local plywood. Each unit houses two adults and one child with sleeping, eating and reading space. By night, the shelter is illuminated by way of an LED light, shining as “a sign of hope.”
Fractal Prefab Eco Village
(images via: shradhabhandari.com)
Highly versatile, sustainable and self-sufficient, the fractal structure of this prefabricated emergency shelter concept by Shradha Bhandari enables it to adjust to nearly any landscape, fitting in among trees or clinging to uneven terrain. It includes openings for light and air, and its sloped rooftop panels enable both solar panel installation and collection of rainwater, which would be channeled into underground reservoirs.
Healing Bench by Adrian Candela
(images via: tuvie)
Incredibly compact, the Healing Bench converts from a backpack to an operating bench, and it even holds a blanket and medical kit so that emergency workers can carry important tools to disaster sites hands-free. It’s made with the same materials and construction as a kayak so that it’s durable and able to float.
Cardborigami Corrugated Fold-Out Shelter
(images via: envirogadget)
We don’t tend to think of cardboard as being water-resistant, flame resistant or particularly strong – so it’s not a likely candidate for disaster housing. However, designer Tine Hovsepian has figured out a way to defy these assumptions with Cardborigami, a corrugated cardboard structure that has been scored so that it can fold flat or expand into a tent-like shelter. While extremely basic, it is meant as a temporary place to sleep until better shelter conditions are available.
Self-Contained Mobile Emergency Unit
(images via: evolo.us)
One of the biggest challenges for emergency responders is a lack of water and power on-site. The EDV-01 solves that problem by collecting up to 20 liters of potable water from the air each day – enough for two adults to live on. A rooftop solar system and fuel cell generates power for the unit. Even more impressive is the fact that this stainless steel container requires no on-site construction at all; a hydraulic pump raises the walls to form a second floor with the flip of a switch. Four hydraulic feet allow it to sit on uneven terrain.
A.N.T. Disaster Response Vehicles
(images via: tuvie.com)
Inspired by an ant’s ability to carry 10-50 times its own body weight across broad distances at a fast pace, A.N.T. – Aid Necessities Transporter – could help the United Nations and other relief organizations to reach remote disaster locations. The ground clearance of the three-wheeled vehicle can be adjusted either for speed or rough terrain, and a small passenger pod lifts up to accommodate a large load of supplies.
Reaction Housing System – Rapid Response Shelter
(images via: reactionhousingsystem.com)
Made up of compact pre-fabricated individual living units for four people called Exos, the Reaction Housing System can be assembled into interconnected spaces and costs just $5,000 per unit, much less than many other similar disaster housing solutions. Four beds fold against the walls when not in use, and there are four generator-powered outlets for electronics. 20 flat-pack Exos can fit on a single 53-foot semi-truck trailer and 1,940 can be transported via one freight train to provide housing for an impressive 7,760 people.
RISE: Post-Disaster Parasitic Shelters
(images via: evolo.us)
If a natural disaster hits a highly populated urban area with very little ground space – like, for example, Sao Paulo, the most populous city in the Americas – standard emergency shelters may not be much help. This innovative design by Mike Reyes actually hooks new temporary living space onto existing high-rise structures. The units would be flown in via helicopter and, with the help of survivors inside the skyscrapers, would be hooked onto the interior lip of a window, held securely by the force it creates on the exterior walls of the building. Each unit contains 4 beds, desks, skylights, windows, a water funnel and purer and the option of solar cells. They even have outdoor patios that allow neighboring units to connect.
Portable Disaster Pod by Jonathan Ferrer
(images via: coroflot)
A protective, portable egg-shaped pod could be dropped down to disaster sites, quickly folding out into a tripod shape with a second layer of legs. An orange nylon rip-stop shield resists water and wind, enlarging the space.
Containers to Clinics: Shipping Crate Medical Complexes
(images via: inhabitat)
Already providing much-needed care in Haiti, Containers to Clinics could represent the future in economical, easy-to-deploy medical complexes that save the lives of disaster victims. Two separate shipping containers make up one full-service clinic with examination rooms and labs; the 8′ by 20′ crates are, of course, easily transported by ship.
SEED: Shipping Container Emergency Housing
(images via: cusa-dds.net)
Another concept that makes use of shipping containers – in this case, reclaiming used ones – is SEED, a project of researchers at Clemson University in South Carolina that aims to provide safe housing for disaster victims as quickly as possible. Shipping containers are naturally resistant to earthquakes and are fit as long-term housing, making them an ideal solution for seismic events in poor Caribbean nations like Haiti where survivors may not be able to afford to rebuild.
Bull Frog: Mobile Medical Supplies for Any Terrain
(images via: tuvie.com)
Not only does this seemingly simple pull-cart help doctors carry crucial medical supplies into disaster areas, even over rough terrain, but it folds out into a work station, allowing victims to take a seat on a bench while being treated. This compact clinic-to-go could make the work of emergency responders much easier and more efficient, and seems as if it would be fairly economical to produce.
GSR Disaster Relief Robot
(images via: coroflot)
Like something out of Transformers, the GSR Disaster Relief Robot is by far the most futuristic concept on this list. Designer Daniel Shankland II imagines a towering machine that can enter dangerous situations to aid disaster victims without putting disaster responders at risk. Imagine the lives that such a creation could have saved if it were deployed, for example, to the failing Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan in the wake of this year’s tsunami.
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Sky High: Stunning Observation Tower Shoots Upward
September 30, 2011 by thegreenchildrenfoundation · View Comments
[ By Steph in Art & Design & Geography & Travel. ]
Towering above the Dzintaru Park in Jurmala, Latvia, this sky-high structure by ARHIS rewards all those who take the time to climb its many steps with a stunning view of its natural surroundings, including the sea, and even the high rises of the nearby city of Riga.
Reaching nearly 120 feet into the air, the observation tower is made of galvanized metal and pine wood trusses that help it blend in with its wooded environment. 203 stair risers take visitors to subsequent platforms, 12 of which feature cage-like balconies from which to enjoy the views along the way to the top.
The structure opened to the public in May 2010 after a long delay in which its intended location was changed from one park to another, requiring a redesign. A discreet cellular antenna was added, providing two functions in one and preventing the eyesore of a free-standing cellular tower.
Illumination at night takes the tower from a natural-looking structure in a similarly-colored forest to an almost urban, clearly man-made creation standing like a beacon in the intimidating darkness of the woods.
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Dark Towers to Beach Bunkers: Architecture of Hugon Kowalski
September 9, 2011 by admin · View Comments
[ By Steph in Art & Design. ]
Rising from natural surroundings, the towers of ‘Instant House’ are harsh and spare, a far cry from the often lush biologically-inspired visuals of eco-friendly architecture. Just from this one example, it’s clear that Hugon Kowalski of Polish firm H3AR Architecture and Design has a uniquely urban and utilitarian approach to sustainable structures that inevitably stands out from the crowd.
Kowalski’s proposals, including the aforementioned Instant House, temporary residential units made of styrofoam concrete cylinders, stand like visions for a post-apocalyptic future. Although they are often described as bleak and reminiscent of the harsh clumsiness of now-abandoned Soviet structures, Kowalski’s projects are, above all, practical, meeting the challenges of the future head-on.
Instant House is designed to be constructed quickly and easily; in 2014, Kowalski says, it will be possible to produce concrete from rice husks, reducing carbon dioxide emissions during the manufacturing process. Another project, House on the Beach, above, is inspired by the design of the four-legged concrete tetrapod, which is meant to prevent beach erosion – essentially giving beach houses a function. Rather than being little more than inevitable casualties during a tsunami or other disaster, they serve as the front line in a battle against the ravaging forces of nature, breaking up the waves.
Kowalski imagines, for the stark deserts of Sudan, watertower skyscrapers that can access water in an existing underground lake beneath Darfur – the tenth largest in the world – and pump it to the surface. Inside these structures are not only the pumps but also a water treatment plant, a hospital, a school and a food storage center. Constructed using compressed dry clay bricks made on site from local materials, the towers would use some of the circulated water to heat or cool the buildings.
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15 (More!) Terrific Towering Tree Houses
August 22, 2011 by admin · View Comments
[ By Steph in Art & Design & Home & Garden. ]
There’s something about human dwellings perched in trees that brings out the child in all of us, gazing up in wonder at seemingly endless staircases and platforms so near the sky. These 13 (more!) tree houses range from rustic cabins that seem like overgrown versions of children’s playhouses to modern interpretations gleaming in glass and stainless steel.
Fairytale-Inspired Forest Tree House, British Columbia
(images via: enchantedforestbc.com)
Deep in the woods of British Columbia is the Enchanted Forest, a fairytale-like theme park filled with ‘jolly fairy folk figurines’, boardwalks, nature trails, castles and BC’s tallest treehouse. The latter is certainly a magical place, spiraling into the air , supported both by tree trunks and added beams.
Reverend Burgess’ Reclaimed Treehouse, Tennessee
(images via: stephanie alice rogers)
Thought to be one of the largest treehouses in the world, this wacky structure located in the small town of Crossville, Tennessee was built over 15 years by Reverend Burgess, who believes he’s on a divine mission. Burgess has built the 10-story, 100-foot structure out of reclaimed wood, and it now occupies six mature trees.
Camp Treehouse
(images via: the lettered cottage)
Camp Treehouse was built by a group of friends for Wandawega Rentals, a private resort in Wisconsin. The two-story treehouse was built on an old dead tree trunk and includes a wrap-around porch, a vaulted ceiling with a loft, a hammock, a ladder and a rope swing. Nearly all materials were reused or handmade.
Lord Northumberland’s Scottish Treehouse
(images via: alister cameron)
Another contender for the world’s largest treehouse was built for an astonishing $7 million in 2006 (compare that to the $12,000 spent by Reverend Burgess!) Scotland’s Lord Northumberland commissioned the treehouse from Treehouse Company. It features disabled access and full facilities for its 120-seat restaurant. The treehouse is suspended between 16 lime trees and is located on the grounds of Alnwick Gardens.
Lifepod by Kyu Che Studio
(images via: kyuche.com)
A traveling yurt that can be placed nearly anywhere, the ‘Lifepod’ by Kyu Che Studio also makes for one incredible (and slightly scary, for those afraid of heights) suspended treehouse. The prefab pod home concept can be shipped worldwide within weeks of ordering, and fits within a 40-foot shipping container.
Sky High Treehouse, Saleve Mountain, France
(images via: curbly)
This unbelievably high treehouse is perched near the apex of a 130-foot Austrian pine in Saleve Mountain, France. The treehouse is supported by a hidden ring; guests who brave the nearly 70-foot spiral staircase are rewarded with views of Lake Geneva.
Home Built Around a Tree
(image via: the chive)
Homes like this unidentified castle-like abode prove that homeowners building on untouched land don’t necessarily have to clear out trees in order to bring their dream home to life. This treehouse appears to be about one story above the ground, with branches poking through the roof and deck.
Nussraum, Dusseldorf, Germany
(images via: cimots)
Supported on stainless steel legs, the Nussraum design by Baumraum, a German company specializing in modern treehouses, could either be assembled around a tree like conventional treehouses, or stand alone. Nussraum, which translates as ‘Walnut Room’, gets its name from the walnut wood used to create it. This one stands in a garden in Dusseldorf.
Towering Twin Treehouses
(image via: edmerritt)
The provenance of this incredible treehouse photo is unknown, but it’s certainly captivating. Two tiny cabins teeter atop fir trees, accessible via spiraling staircases.
Cedar Spire, Fife, Scotland
(images via: erindale real estate)
Located on an estate in Fife, Scotland, Cedar Spire is a castle-like treehouse with stained glass windows, a turret-like main room, a balcony and a suspended walkway leading to a viewing platform on an adjacent tree.
Pharrell Williams’ Eco Treehouse Concept
(images via: oppenheim architecture)
Rapper Pharrell Williams is collaborating with architect Chad Oppenheim on a vision for a treehouse-inspired youth center in William’s hometown of Virginia Beach. The 30,000-square-foot Pharrell Williams Resource Center features three modern volumes set within a dense forest.
Wilkinson Treehouse by Robert Oshatz
(images via: oshatz.com)
Noting the sloped grade of the site, architect Robert Harvey Oshatz saw an opportunity to bring the main level of a commissioned home up into the tree canopy. The Wilkinson Residence is an organic, flowing home with shapes that mimic those in nature. While the home is not supported by trees like a traditional treehouse, it achieves a similar effect with its unusual shape.
Spiral House, Rambouillet Forest, France
(images via: independent)
HIdden within Rambouillet Forest in France, the Spiral House is a tiny cabin high up in a tree, accessible only by a tall staircase.
DIY Traditional Tree House
(images via: edmund sumner)
This treehouse, built without help from an architect or skilled carpenter, perches almost frighteningly high in the sky on just a few skinny supports. Used as a tea house in Japan, the treehouse was created by a tea master who harvested the logs for the support from a local mountain.
Takashi Kobayashi Treehouse
(images via: treehouse.jp)
Designed for an advertising agency client, which used it to film an ad for Nescafe commercial, this rustic, playful treehouse resembles a bird’s nest. It was conceived and built by Takashi Kobayashi, one of Japan’s foremost tree house designers.
“What exactly is it about treehouses that would so captivate a slacker like me, a man who could never devote himself to any one cause or finish anything he started?” says Kobayashi. “What is it in treehouses that attracts anyone? I’ve come to think the answer lies in the vitality of the trees themselves. Everlasting life.”
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A Constructive Concept: Growing Germs to Wire the Desert
August 17, 2011 by thegreenchildrenfoundation · View Comments
[ By Delana in Art & Design & Science & Research & Technology & Gadgets. ]
The search for sustainable building materials has led us through all kinds of natural and man-made substances, from wood to concrete to hemp and bamboo. But a new kind of proposed building material could beat the green power of all of these, and it may soon help to bring grid electricity to the deserts of the United Arab Emirates.
(all images via: Evolo)
Ginger Krieg Dosier is an assistant professor of architecture at the American University of Sharjah in the UAE. Her concept for a new, green building material is not terribly far-removed from existing materials, but it could be a simple way to build transmission towers in the desert without relying on materials that have to be transported for long distances.
The method proposed by Dosier is similar to one that has recently been proposed by other architects and materials scientists: use a naturally-occurring bacteria called Sporosarcina Pastuerii to create a sort of bio-cement. The common soil bacteria bonds with sand to create a strong, sustainable natural concrete material. But Dosier wants to take the concept one step further and incorporate 3D printing.
In Dosier’s method, the bacteria would be grown in a lab and then fed into a 3D printer where it would bind sand together into blocks of bio-cement. The bacteria/sand combination would take the place of the resin/lasers and other methods of joining layer upon layer of material until a desired shape is achieved. The bricks could be made into any desired size, shape and thickness depending on the needs of the specific tower. The bricks would completely harden within two weeks, a process which is sped by the hot, dry desert air. The blocks could be built offsite and inexpensively transported to the building site where they would be used to create load-bearing transmission towers to bring electricity to the remotest desert locations.
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Building with Bamboo: 13 Super Sustainable Structures
June 20, 2011 by admin · View Comments
[ By Steph in Art & Design & Home & Garden. ]
It’s 100% natural, thrives in diverse climates, grows up to a whopping 39 inches per day and is super-strong; why isn’t bamboo already used more often as a building material? While bamboo structures have long been common in Asia and the South Pacific, they’re only just gaining prominence in the rest of the world. From schools to disaster shelters, these 13 bamboo buildings prove just how strong, durable, eco-friendly and visually pleasing this perennial evergreen grass can be.
Water and Wind Cafe, Vietnam
(images via: vo trong nghia)
Made almost entirely of bamboo without the use of a single nail, the Water and Wind Cafe in the Binh Duong province of Vietnam is just one example of incredible bamboo structures designed by architecture firm Vo Trong Nghia. The domed structure, dripping with lights, features a dazzling skylight, with the end result resembling a natural cathedral. The bamboo was woven together using traditional Vietnamese bamboo weaving techniques and covered in a local bush plant.
Bamboo Tower, Venice, Italy
(images via: inhabitat)
At the edge of Venice’s grand canal, a tower of bamboo seemed to sprout up organically over a period of a week. Constructed for the Venice Biennale, Stam Studio’s Big Bambu Project involves a 50-foot nest-like bamboo tower with a spiraling walkway that leads from ground level to the pinnacle. The 2010 Big Bambu installation at the MET in New York was the “seed” for the project; the creators used 1,000 poles from that installation in the new project as well as 2,000 additional poles. Artists Doug and Mike Stam lashed the bamboo together by hand with the help of a team of rock climbers.
Green School, Bali
(images via: greenschool.org)
Have you ever seen a school made entirely out of bamboo? The Green School in Bali is unusual in a number of ways, from its sustainable curriculum to the degree of freedom enjoyed by the students, but it is the structures themselves that are often the center of attention for visitors. The Green School chose bamboo because it’s green, renewable and very plentiful in Bali. “Frankly, it is hard to talk to students about sustainability while they are using the last piece of rainforest for their chair and their table. It is the painful truth that they are going to have to stretch to get enough rain forest timber to build their homes,” says co-founder, architect John Hardy.
Solar-Powered Bamboo House
(images via: design boom)
‘Sunshine Inn’, a solar-powered bamboo house, was made by the Chinese team from Tongli University as their official entry into the first European Solar Decathlon in Madrid. Bamboo was chosen as the main material because, as a highly renewable resource that fixes carbon into the soil, it minimizes CO2 emissions throughout the whole production phase. This beautiful structure features two curved solar panel-clad roofs and a solar-facing wall covered which is also covered in photovoltaic panels.
Bamboo House by Benjamin Garcia Saxe, Costa Rica
(images via: world architecture news)
Architect Benjamin Garcia Saxe created this intricate, light-filled, open-air bamboo home for his mother in Costa Rica. Being open to the air allows the house to catch every breeze that comes through, but the bamboo and roof are angled to protect against rain. Inside, a cone-shaped dome gives Saxe’s mother a view of the sun and moon, with the space protected by an umbrella-like second roof.
Mason Lane Farm, Goshen, Indiana
(images via: design boom)
This geometric bamboo structure is not located in Asia or in the tropics, but in the rather unexpected locale of Goshen, Indiana. American architecture practice De Leon & Primmer created the Mason Lane Farm Operations Facility as their entry into the 2010 World Architecture Festival. It houses farm equipment, hay and other stored goods. The bamboo stalks were laid out in a lattice grid fashion and assembled using galvanized rebar wire ties, providing perforated walls that let the wind dry the hay.
Bamboo Forest House, Taiwan
(images via: world architecture news)
This vacation house for an extended family in eastern Taiwan is connected on two sides to neighboring structures, but its two street-facing facades were given an eye-catching bamboo treatment that lets in light and air. This screen also provides privacy and security, and gives the feel of being in a bamboo forest when gazing out the windows from inside.
Zen-Style Bamboo Prefab Home
(images via: bambooliving.com)
Want a bamboo home of your own? A company called Bamboo Living provides prefab bamboo house kits in modern styles including ‘Zen Style Home’, a minimalist one-story design with a large front porch. Bamboo Living Homes are ICC-ES certified and have sold over 150 such structures, which have been assembled all over the world. They also build custom designs and larger eco-villages and developments.
Origami-Inspired Bamboo Folding House Concept
(images via: urbanrevision)
Designed for use as temporary shelters in the aftermath of an earthquake, these origami-inspired bamboo folding houses might just be the most elegant and artistic example of disaster housing ever produced. After a 2007 earthquake in China killed 69,000, Ming Tang was driven to create a shelter that was inexpensive, environmentally friendly and easy to produce. The pre-fabricated structures can be quickly assembled on-site and are then covered in post- and pre-consumer recycled paper for protection from the sun.
Cocoon Houses, Bali
(images via: inhabitat)
They may not resemble any houses you’ve ever seen, but these vertical bamboo structures could offer inexpensive housing in hard-hit places like Haiti. The design, by Saint Val Architect, marries low-tech and high-tech, using bamboo poles and x-shaped metal joints to form the ‘exoskeleton’ of each home. A circular staircase wrapping around the central support beam brings occupants to each successive floor, and canvas seals the home from the elements.
Giant Bamboo Umbrellas at a Japanese Restaurant, Jakarta, Indonesia
(images via: architectoo)
The form of an umbrella served as the basis of inspiration for the bamboo structures that make up the Outdoor Japanese Noodle Restaurant in Jakarta. Designed to be temporary and simple to disassemble, the bamboo umbrellas overlap each other to become one big roof, protecting guests from sun, wind and rain. Rainwater is diverted through bamboo ‘gutters’, poured into the ground through a pipe in the middle of the structure.
Bird-Like Amphitheater, Hanoi, Vietnam
(images via: world architecture news)
Also by Vo Trong Nghia is ‘Bird Wing’, an avian-like bamboo building used for fashion shows, live music, conferences and other public activities. Set beside a pond, the wing-inspired design of the amphitheater paired with the organic, eco-friendly qualities of the chosen material is a fitting tribute to the natural beauty of the setting. It’s made only from bamboo and rope, with no metal or other types of wood used in the construction.
Bamboo Manta Ray Dome, Thailand
(images via: 24h.eu)
Could you guess the sea creature that inspired the shape of this bamboo building, even if it weren’t in the name? Seeming to soar through the sky just as a manta ray gently floats beneath the surface of the sea, the Children’s Activity and Learning Center at the 6-star Soneva Kiri resort in Thailand fits in beautifully with its lush tropical surroundings.
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Man-Made Jungle: Exotic Architecture for Rain Forests & More
These 12 jungle dwellings - from tiny tree houses to entire communities - are uniquely suited for their harsh untamed environments.
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V Tower: Green Park Paradise in Downtown Denver
June 10, 2011 by thegreenchildrenfoundation · View Comments
[ By Steph in Art & Design. ]
Dense vertical housing, community gardens, retail, restaurants, recreation space and lots of lush vegetation come together in this sustainable complex envisioned for Denver by Meridian 105 Architecture. By placing residences in a 240-unit high-rise, the V Tower, Meridian leaves nearly 168,000 square feet for community space that enhances urban quality of life.
The V Tower positions the residential high-rise on a base volume of retail, restaurant, cafe and parking, establishing a new ‘ground’ plane above this volume which functions as a large urban park. From inside the compact swirling tower, residents enjoy beautiful views of the Denver skyline.
Because Denver city regulations don’t currently allow for rainwater collection despite the arid climate, plans for the V Tower include an innovative irrigation strategy that would pull water from alternative sources such as condensation from air conditioning units and condenser dryers which pass moist dryer air through a heat exchanger to extract water. The water from these unusual sources will be gravity-fed from the tower to a storage tank, from which it is piped to the park and garden.
The lattice structure that weaves around the exterior of the base volume provides both ornamentation and shade while still allowing views from inside and natural daylight penetration. Vines will grow up this lattice around the garage to soften it visually and allow clean, fresh air flow. The green space above would be a welcome addition to the city of Denver, which is known for its hundreds of public parks.
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Make it Rain: Precipitation Producing Water Tower
Water towers can’t often be called beautiful or thought of as gathering places. This amazing water tower design, however, is both of those and more.
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All Along the Watchtowers: 18 Tourist Lookouts of Europe
May 30, 2011 by admin · View Comments
[ By Steph in Art & Design & Geography & Travel. ]
There’s nothing like leaning over a railing, hundreds of feet in the air, to feel the thrill of dizzying heights and gaze at a city from the viewpoint of a bird. Mostly modern (with a couple of classics thrown in), these 18 tourist lookouts and towers, from Norway to the Czech Republic, provide an incomparable way to experience cities and natural settings alike.
London Eye on the Thames, England
(images via: wikimedia commons)
Europe’s tallest ferris wheel is also one of the coolest ways to catch a view of London. The London Eye, located on the Thames River, is 443 feet tall and is described by the operators as “the world’s tallest cantilevered observation wheel.” It features 32 air-conditioned passenger pods, and full revolution takes about thirty minutes.
Bahnorama Tower, Vienna, Austria
(images via: wombats-hostels.com, tixik)
The highest walkable wooden tower in Europe can be found in a lesser-traveled section of Vienna. The Bahnorama is a temporary exhibit allowing tourists to get a look at construction of a new train station, but that’s not all you can see – at nearly 219 feet in the air, you can get a fantastic panoramic view of the entire city. You don’t actually have to walk up; there are all-glass lifts that take you to the top in 40 seconds. There’s a cafe at ground level serving breakfast, lunch, beer and wine.
Observation Tower, River Mur, Austria
(images via: abitare.it)
Two polygonal helicoid stairs swirl around each other to a height of 90 feet in this stunning observation tower overlooking the River Mur in Austria. Designed by Terrain: Loenart & Mayr, the tower has a black steel cage and a number of cables and rods to keep it safe in winds or heavy usage.
Bostoren Tower, Putten, The Netherlands
(images via: eikongraphia)
The stunning Bostoren tower by SeARCH architects mimics the colors of the forest in brown, green and copper with a spiraling stair and several cantilevered decks. Just below the bowl-like observation deck that tops the tower is a small screened room with a net floor that lets you look down at the ground below. The tower overlooks the small town of Putten in The Netherlands.
Four Stunning ‘Uitkijktoren’ Towers, The Netherlands
(images via: klaas5)
These images were collected (with little additional information provided) by Utrecht architect Klaas Vermaas, depicting observation towers in The Netherlands and Germany. The towers are located in the following towns (clockwise from top left): Utrecht, The Netherlands; Breda, The Netherlands; Inden, Germany and the Fochteloerveen nature reserve in The Netherlands. Of the German tower Vermaas says: “The Indenmann is a 45m high observation tower overlooking a huge strip-mining operation. It’s in the German Ruhrgebiet near the town of Inden. It was designed by the Dutch Maurer Associated Architects. Not for people suffering from vertigo. It’s all open steel grate foors [sic] and cantilevers!”
TV Tower, Munich, Germany
(images via: ariaski, jasminejennyjen, emdees)
Among the tallest towers in the world, the TV Tower in Munich, known in German as the ‘Olympiaturm‘, is an amazing 954.72 feet tall. In addition to broadcasting analog FM and digital radio and television, the tower features a revolving restaurant that seats 230 people. A full revolution takes 53 minutes.
Korkeasaari Island Lookout Tower, Helsinki, Finland
(images via: coolboom)
Located on a cliff on Korkeasaari Island in Finland, this lookout tower made of wood battens has an organic form inspired by the natural setting, in between a birch grove and the sea. Bolted together with over 600 joints, the tower overlooks both its immediate natural environment and the bustling city of Helsinki.
Trollstigen Overlook, Norway
(images via: pixdaus, channelbeta)
Reiulf Ramstad Architects of Norway designed this overlook in Romsdalen, which provides a view of the Geiranger Fjord, as part of the Trollstigen National Tourist Route Project. Completely inaccessible in winter, the site is only open in summertime. With copper walls, a white platform and an all-glass cap to the cantilevered portion of the overlook, the structure was made to complement its natural surroundings.
Landscape Promontory, Switzerland
(images via: etienne deffinis, architonic)
Designed by Paolo Burgi, Landscape Promontory is a suspended metal platform that almost looks like an insanely oversized, modern version of a carnival ride – except that it (thankfully) doesn’t move. The viewing platform extends out from Cardada mountain in Switzerland and is marked with symbols and explanations that tell of local history and literature.
Leaning Tower of Pisa, Italy
(images via: wikimedia commons)
Who could forget the Leaning Tower of Pisa? Though certainly not modern nor originally built as an overlook, the tower – which was closed for over a decade while engineers worked to strengthen it – is once again open to tourists. The tower is over 183 feet tall and was built starting in the year 1173. The recent restoration, which was completed in 2001, will allow it to remain standing for at least another two centuries.
Aurland Lookout, Norway
(images via: todd saunders)
From WebUrbanist: “You know that stomach-clutching, heart-in-your-throat sensation you get on roller coasters just as you’re coming up to the edge of a terrifyingly steep drop? That moment is drawn out indefinitely at the Aurland Lookout in Norway, a stunning wooden overlook that puts nothing but a sheet of plate glass between you and the countryside below. Designed by Todd Saunders & Tommie Wilhelmsen, the minimalist structure celebrates the region’s natural beauty and exemplifies its spare, modern design sense.”
Nebra Ark Observation Tower, Germany
(images via: dailytonic.com)
This observation Tower is located beside the Nebra Ark multimedia visitor center, which stands near the site where the Nebra Sky Disc was found. The bronze disc is the oldest known visual representation of the cosmos. The tower, which leans slightly to one side, was designed by Holzer Kobler Architekturen as the pointer of a giant sundial.
Petřín Lookout Tower, Prague, Czech Republic
(images via: dale harvey, mediafury)
If this tower looks familiar to you, that’s probably because it’s extremely similar in design to another very famous lookout tower located on the other side of Europe. The183-foot-tall Petřín stands atop a hill to provide an amazing view of the city of Prague. Built in 1891, the tower features two observation platforms that can be accessed by lift or stairs. Once used for radio and television transmission, it is now solely a lookout tower for tourists.
Science Park Observation Tower, Granada, Spain
(images via: picasaweb)
No, you’re not imagining it – those are giant ants on the side of that tower. This quirky structure stands on the grounds of Granada’s Science Museum which houses scientific experiments on meteorology, geography and astronomy. 164 feet high, the tower also provides a beautiful view of the city.
The Eiffel Tower, Paris, France
(images via: wikimedia commons)
Perhaps the most iconic lookout tower in the world, let alone Europe, the Eiffel Tower is an unforgettable part of the Paris skyline as well as the best place to see the city in all its glory. Standing 1,063 feet tall on four latticed iron ‘legs’, the Eiffel Tower was not popular at first with city residents, who thought that its shape was intentionally provocative; however, its design was based on engineering concerns to stand up to strong winds. It’s painted three different colors so that it maintains a uniform appearance from the ground. Originally featuring a very narrow set of spiral stairs, the tower now has several large elevators. It is the single most visited paid monument in the world.
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Got Vertigo? Terrifying Towers & Glass Balconies
Afraid of heights? Even the photos of some of these insanely tall towers, lookouts and glass balconies will make your head swim.
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Sole Survivor: How 1 Japanese Town Resisted the Tsunami
May 27, 2011 by admin · View Comments
[ By Steph in Geography & Travel & History & Trivia & News & Politics. ]
It’s ugly. It’s huge. It cost $30 million. But the 51-foot-tall floodgate that was long considered a “mayor’s folly” saved the village of Fudai, Japan from destruction on March 11th 2011, the day an earthquake and tsunami destroyed much of the nation and left 25,000 people missing or dead. All but one resident of the town survived thanks to this unattractive hunk of 1970′s architecture.
Fudai is a mountainous community located in the hard-hit Iwate Prefecture. While other towns in the prefecture, like Rikuzentakata, below, were practically wiped off the map by the nearly 80-foot-high waves that came barreling in from the ocean, Fudai was mostly untouched. Today, it looks much the same as it did on March 10th, a sharp contrast to the hellish scenes that surround it. If it weren’t for a stubborn mayor haunted by the scenes of death he had witnessed decades before, the outcome for Fudai would have been very different.
(image via: ehnmark)
Kotaku Wamura, who served 10 terms starting just after World War II, had pushed for the floodgate project in fear of a repeat of the 1933 tsunami that killed 439 of the town’s residents and destroyed hundreds of homes. After building a 51-foot seawall to protect homes behind the fishing port, he wanted a floodgate just as tall for the cove where the Fudai River empties into the sea, where most of the community was located. Construction began in 1972 despite the misgivings of city council members, who were concerned about its behemoth size.
(top and above image via: seattle pi)
Wamura died in 1997, but since the tsunami, villagers have been visiting his grave in tribute. His words to village employees at the time of his retirement in 1987 have now taken on a new meaning: “”Even if you encounter opposition, have conviction and finish what you start. In the end, people will understand.”
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When a massive tornado leveled the small town of Greensburg KS, no one knew how the town would recover - until residents decided to go completely green.
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