[ By Steve in Art & Design & Home & Garden & Uncategorized. ]
Uranium Glass, a form of glassware known for the vivid green glow it exudes under ultraviolet light, contains from 2% to 25% uranium oxide by weight. Also known as Vaseline Glass and negligibly radioactive, these pale yellow to jade green pieces were popular home and tableware items from the mid-nineteenth century through the start of the Cold War.
Uranium Glass Marbles
(images via: The Marble Connection)
“You’ll put someone’s eye out with those uranium glass marbles!” You don’t know the half of it, mom. The USAF’s A-10 “Warthog” ground-attack jet makes mincemeat out of enemy tanks firing a Gatling gun loaded with depleted uranium slugs. Translation? All your aggies are belong to us.
(images via: Marbles Galore and eBay/Vnauck)
Seriously, a marble that looks like a miniature Loc-Nar just can’t be beat. Imagine showing up in the schoolyard with these bad boys, then lighting ‘em up with a mini blacklight keychain… now that’s all kinds of awesome.
Uranium Glass Atomic Rooster
(images via: Collectible Glass and Tozour Family)
OK, they’re actually uranium glass hens but an Atomic Rooster reference was mandatory in this case. Uranium glass hens are surprisingly common, acting as lids for salt cellars, sugar bowls, even cookie jars. Heck of a place to keep cookies, if you ask me.
(image via: Look in the Attic & Co.)
Contrary to your probable first assumption, uranium glass glows green under ultraviolet light, not due to any residual radioactivity. Under normal lighting uranium glass objects can range from pale yellow to medium green in tint, and can vary from opaque to transparent.
Uranium Glass Crookes Tube
(images via: The Cathode Ray Tube Site)
What’s a Crookes Tube, you ask? I’d tell you, but then I’d have to kill you… OK, not really, come back and sit down. Crookes Tubes date from the era of real steampunk and Film Noir when electricity was a novelty and radioactivity even more so. The early Crookes uranium glass discharge tube above didn’t have to be made of uranium glass but aren’t you glad it was? Paging Marvin the Martian, I think we found your Q-36 Explosive Space Modulator.
Uranium Glass Bulldog
(images via: Bonanza.com)
Hellhound, you say? This li’l guy creeps me out even without the aid of a blacklight. Notice how his eyes glow red when the blacklight is on… that’s not supposed to happen, is it??
(images via: Globe Antiques & Collectibles)
Here’s another uranium glass bulldog, made by the Mosser Glass Company. Stated to be a “Bulldog Vaseline Glass Doorstop Figurine,” this pug-ugly pug deserves better than being a lowly doorstop, and he sure knows it.
Uranium Glass Shoes
Ruby slippers, meh. Uranium glass slippers, yeah! Skipping down the Yellow Brick Road in a pair of uranium glass slippers would have served Dorothy (and her little dog, too) very well indeed. What flying monkey would dare to go up against these bodacious bilious booties?
Uranium Glass Juicer
(images via: The Estate Store and Thomas A Durston)
When life gives you lemons, make lemonade… on a glowing green juicer made of uranium glass! Most any kitchen implement has been given the “vaseline glass” treatment, which seems strange as neither vaseline nor uranium belong anywhere near most any kitchen.
(images via: Thomas A Durston and eBay/Flowernme)
The above selection of uranium glass juicers illustrates the variety of tints and grades of transparency that made this type of glass so popular for so long… and we’re talking roughly 2,000 years: the Romans made uranium glass and used it in their mosaics. Of course, they didn’t have blacklights or UV lamps back then but uranium glass gives off a slight green glow in ordinary daylight, courtesy of the sun’s natural UV rays.
Uranium Glass Dog Button
(images via: Cairn Rescue Network)
These Vaseline Uranium Dog Glass Buttons are hand-made in the Bohemian town of Jablonec where the arts of glassmaking and button-making go back many centuries. Wear a glowing glass button with a dog’s face on it? Czech!
Uranium Glass Box
(images via: Etsy/Tiedyehut, Codiyioti and MrVaselineGlass)
The mere concept of a “Uranium Glass Box” sounds like something out of sci-fi; the perfect place for Lex Luthor to keep his Kryptonite (he probably keeps his Uranium in a Kryptonite Glass Box).
(image via: eBay/BarberShopShaving)
A uranium glass box to store your razor blades and hone them fiendishly sharp… I’d trade my Gillette Fusion for one any day. They say Jack the Ripper conserved his deathly implements of horror in one of these boxes. Sounds like a cool place to store one’s post-cremation ashes.
Uranium Glass Skull
(images via: Artskulls)
Move over, Indiana Jones, there’s a new kid on the glass block and (unlike your last effort) he’s getting glowing reviews. Yes, it’s a phosphorescent skull fashioned from uranium glass. If it didn’t already exist, someone would have to make one.
(images via: Glasskulls.com)
Any budding Colonel Kurtz’s out there should take note: all you really need to lord it over some primitive, undiscovered tribe is one of these uranium glass skulls and a pocket blacklight. Somebody starts up, you flick on the UV… let the kowtowing begin!
Uranium Glass Keyboard
(images via: Dovetail Designs)
Steven Klein has built the ultimate steampunk keyboard & stand, featuring hand blown uranium glass keys and space bar infused with around 3% oxides and uranates of uranium by Mark Matthews. Eureka, break out the lead foil finger-cots and let’s do some isotope typing.
(images via: Matthews Marble Interest Group)
One can easily imagine Edgar Allan Poe, H. G. Wells or Ray Bradbury hunched over Klein’s so-called Celestial Keyboard, which is housed in a cabinet crafted from cherry, quilted maple and ebony wood. It’d also look right at home on Captain Nemo’s Nautilus.
(image via: Janne Moren)
Collecting uranium glass is a popular hobby and can be quite lucrative as well due to the age and rarity of some pieces. Perhaps it’s not a good idea to accumulate too many pieces in a single location, however, as you never want to have a critical mass.
Want More? Click for Great Related Content on WebEcoist:
Earth in a Bubble: Unique Flipped Landscape Photography
The world looks different through a bubble. One young photographer is showing his fans how incredible a simple landscape can be from a different perspective.
2 Comments – Click Here to Read More
Plastic Fantastic: Cracking Art Group Colors Our World
[ By Steve in Art & Design & Geography & Travel & Uncategorized. ]
Cracking Art Group seeks to change art history by taking an ethically responsible approach to ambient art. Founded in 1983, the six artists that comprise CAG expertly evoke the strict relationship between natural life and artificial reality through the innovative use of outsized animal assemblages expressed in brilliantly colored recycled plastic.
Art Group on Crack?
(image via: Mosaic Art Source Blog)
Cracking Art Group was founded in 1993 and their first poke at the public eye took place later the same year at the Epocale exhibition in Milan, Italy. The group’s six members (William Sweetlove, Renzo Nucara, Marco Veronese, Alex Angi, Carlo Rizzetti, and Kicco) all hail from west-central Europe, specifically Italy, France and Belgium.
(images via: Amazing Data, Kicco Cracking and Corriere Della Sera)
What’s in a name? Much, if you’re Cracking Art Group. Take “Cracking,” for instance. By invoking the process of splitting, breaking, separating, and expanding “the gap of the contemporary man, struggling between the primary naturalness and a future more and more artificial.” Nice work if you can get it!
(images via: Kicco Cracking, Victor.Showoff and WST)
The word “cracking” has another meaning as well, in that it’s the name of the chemical refining process that breaks the long-chain hydrocarbons of crude oil into short ones which then become the building blocks of a wide range of petroleum-based plastics.
(images via: WeHeartIt and Profimedia)
According to Cracking Art Group, “Artists belonging to this movement believe that cracking is that kind of process which converts the natural into the artificial, the organic into the synthetic”. Where would our modern technological society be without such processes?
Living in the Plastic Age
(image via: Unconsumption)
Every silver lining has its cloud, however, and Cracking Art Group believes that the process of transmuting natural to artificial, if not controlled, splits our species from our evolutionary path and confronts us with new realities beyond our experience. We are not who we used to be, it would seem, and the hard-wired humanity inside us conflicts with the overly processed lives we’ve created to “better” ourselves.
(images via: MonPuteaux.com, The SOP and 500blog)
By selecting recycled plastic and adapting it to their own purpose, Cracking Art Group is attempting to wrench back control of the process and turn it towards fulfilling the movement’s social and environmental commitment to reinstating humanity as part of nature, not apart from it.
(images via: Whorange, Haute World and Praha Graffiti)
Can one separate Modern Man from his history and in doing so, change his future? Cracking Art Group thinks they can, and their modus operandi involves leveraging a unique, creative, conceptual formula that challenges the rules of contemporary art.
(images via: Kicco Cracking, Artbis.fr and Profimedia)
CAG’s challenge typically takes the form of an invasion: huge, colorful plastic animals interpose themselves into our modern public spaces: highways, supermarkets, office buildings and parks to name just a few. We may not notice discarded plastic water bottles in such spaces but their upcycled and boldly tinted reincarnations? Just try NOT noticing them.
(images via: Milano 2.0 and Journal Des Vitrines)
The key element in Cracking Art Group’s assault on passive modern art and the dual nature of our millenary civilization is their use of recycled plastic. Upcycling plastic is a subversive activity: the artists effectively subtract a vital link in a one-way chain of toxic destruction that cumulatively can devastate our environment.
(images via: Journal Des Vitrimes and Artnet.fr)
Though it might not look natural, “making plastic art works means communicating through an innovative and aesthetic language and expressing a particular sensibility to nature.” What’s more out of place, a flock of gigantic fuschia snails or a scattering of strewn plastic water bottles… are not both unacceptable?
The Dual Nature of Man’s Works
(images via: Galerie 208 and Kicco Cracking)
Active and frequent participants in art events and exhibitions over more than a decade, Cracking Art Group is perhaps best known for their outdoor installations. The larger than life size, scale and strangeness of these installations tends to catch the public eye whether the public wants their eyes caught or not: how can one disregard a commercial building covered by several dozen huge red plastic lizards? Business as unusual indeed.
(images via: Best Of All Worlds, Mrs Wagner’s Art Ideas, Nashville247 and Wired New York)
In some ways, Cracking Art Group’s works bear a strong resemblance to those of the artist Christo (above). Both create immense outdoor installations employing large expanses of brilliantly colored material that co-opt real-world infrastructure to punctuate their impact. As well, both artists are environmentally-minded and use their art as a method of expanding ecological awareness.
(images via: Amy Goodwin and Aliraqi)
“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” Twenty-five years after Ferris Bueller said it, life’s moving faster than ever and FB’s pithy observation is ever more accurate. Our hectic lives and lifestyles rarely afford us the chance to stop, let alone look around.
(images via: Artsfactory, Newer World and KraftyKim)
Cracking Art Group’s oversized, visually intense and eye-grabbing outrageousness works to shake even the most undistractable among us, jarring our routines out of the rat race if only for a moment and prompting serious thought. Is this where we really want to be as a society? Does the march of progress to the current supposed golden age and beyond have a dark side, and if so, should we be ignoring it?
(image via: Kicco Cracking / Panoramio)
The late George Carlin once humorously mocked our frantic concern with “some plastic bags”, positing that plastic was, ultimately, one of the Earth’s children and our planet would eventually incorporate it into a new paradigm: The Earth Plus Plastic. It may yet happen but Mankind will be long gone by then. For the time being, though, ask yourself: what will you do when the big bad wolf comes to blow your plastic house down?
Want More? Click for Great Related Content on WebEcoist:
42 Magnificent Works of Modern Earth and Land Art
Technical and conceptual innovations have liberated creative modern land artists to create ever more amazing works of natural sculpture and earth architecture.
15 Comments – Click Here to Read More
Chic and Natural: 13 More Rustic Modern Interiors
[ By Steph in Art & Design & Home & Garden. ]
Who says you have to choose between rustic and modern interior design? When blended together, these two seemingly disparate styles provide a beautiful balance of sleek, airy minimalism and weathered natural charm. These 13 (more!) renovated barns, mills, lofts and other aged spaces benefit from leaving time-worn surfaces intact.
A Modern Home in a Historic Mill
(image via: freshome)
First constructed by monks in the 12th century, this structure in Extramadura, Spain then became an oil mill and is today a jaw-dropping home. Architect Ricardo Elizondo added modern touches like large expanses of glass and lofts with steel railings, which contrast with the weathered wood, brick and stone surfaces.
Exposed Timber
(image via: lonnymag)
Aging wooden walls are stunning, but sometimes a bit busy. White drywall applied to the large surfaces of the interior walls break up the texture, while the exposed timber beams add geometric visual interest.
A Study in Textures
(image via: 1kinddesign)
A historic barn in Connecticut was renovated and modernized by New York-based architecture firm Russell Groves. The result – leaving most of the original stone and wood of the structure intact while knocking down a few walls and adding plenty of white – is open, airy and richly textured.
Residence St. Hubert
(image via: mocoloco)
Plasse Rasselet Architects painted the wood in this St. Hubert, Quebec home white to open up the interior.”The materials chosen were left in their natural state, as raw as possible, to create an authentic ambiance,” say the architects.
House of Brinson
(image via: remodelista)
“Our aesthetic is about contrast,” say homeowners Susan and William Brinson, “Black and white, light and dark, masculine and feminine, old and new, rustic and modern.” Their New York loft pairs weathered vintage furniture with sleek, chic modern materials.
Stone Dining Room
(image via: colors of life)
Modern furnishings and accessories fit seamlessly into an environment that looks like a castle in this incredible stone dining room.
White & Wood Townhouse by TBHC
(image via: digsdigs)
Mixing modern and vintage elements, this 4-story townhouse renovation in Park Slope, New York earns extra points for pairing a rustic dining table with ultramodern chairs, not to mention the worn sliding wood door.
Beams, Stone & Exposed Chimney
(images via: delight by design)
Rough textured wood and stone are perfectly offset by angular modern cabinets and tabletops in this kitchen renovation. The exposed chimney draws the eye upward to take in the height of the ceiling.
Built-in Niches in Wood Wall
(image via: imgfave)
Asymmetrical built-in niches give this all-wood wall an interesting geometric look.
Dramatic Staircase
(image via: griege design)
A modern, organically shaped staircase with a solid black balustrade gives this natural, rustic home – complete with exposed tree trunks in the ceiling – even more visual flair.
Black and Wood in the Kitchen
(image via: style files)
Matte black paint goes beautifully with a concrete floor and unfinished wood in this stylish kitchen in the Netherlands.
Renovated Dutch Farmhouse
(images via: style files)
This renovated Dutch farmhouse may have been made modern with sleek surfaces and white paint, but rustic touches still come through in the use of knobby wood accents.
Rustic Loft Interior Renovation
(images via: woovaa)
Peeling paint on the aged bricks of this renovated loft, paired with distressed concrete floors, give the space a sense of history that balances nicely with modern decor.
Want More? Click for Great Related Content on WebEcoist:
Funny Farms: 12 Cool Agricultural Architecture Conversions
Traditional rural architecture like farmhouses, barns and carriage houses are converted into bright, modern, livable homes that retain a sense of history.
1 Comment – Click Here to Read More
A Constructive Concept: Growing Germs to Wire the Desert
[ 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.
Want More? Click for Great Related Content on WebEcoist:
Bio-Engineered Bricks Grown from Urine, Bacteria & Sand
Traditional brick manufacturing is wasteful and releases loads of carbon dioxide into the air. This new, greener method could revolutionize construction.
Click Here to Read More
Airy Architecture: 13 Homes Open to Nature
[ By Steph in Art & Design & Home & Garden. ]
Imagine being able to temporarily remove an entire wall of your home – or maybe every wall – to let in cool, fresh air in the heat of summer. That’s the idea behind these 13 open-air houses, which utilize either sliding panels, garage doors or permanently perforated screens to take advantage of natural ventilation and cooling. These airy designs not only lower energy bills, but foster a connection to the outdoors.
The Paraty House by Marcio Kogan Architects
(images via: contemporist)
Truly blurring the lines between indoors and out, this incredible beach house in Paraty, Brazil features massive sliding windows that completely open the interior spaces to an infinity pool and the shore beyond it. The home is made up of two cantilevered concrete volumes which jut out of a mountainside; residents arrive by boat.
Kokopo House, Papua New Guinea
(images via: world architecture news)
With a form inspired by the flow of volcanic lava, the Kokopo House in Papua New Guinea is bold, futuristic and luxurious. Totally off-grid and open to the elements, the home contains no windows and has walls designed to encourage air flow. It also features rainwater collection, solar water heaters and low-wattage LED lights, and was made using local materials.
Fish House by Guz Architects
(images via: best of remodeling)
Mimicking the way the gills of a fish allow oxygen into its body, the Fish House by Guz Architects has openings in its layered roof to usher in fresh ocean air. Numerous large opening windows further open up the inside of the home, and the architects extended the living space into the outdoors with covered poolside pavilions and glassed-in cantilevered living spaces.
Minimalist White Home by Iwan Baan
(images via: iwan.com)
Japanese architect Iwan Baan does away with glass altogether in this minimalist white home, at least when it comes to the exterior volume. A white sheath extending all the way to the property line, punctuated with rectilinear openings that let in air and light. This provides a protected garden space between the outer volume and the interior space.
Leaf House, Rio de Janeiro
(images via: world architecture news)
Leaf-like coverings protect a maze of enclosed and open spaces in this luxury Rio de Janeiro home. Mareines + Patalano architects took inspiration from traditional Indian structures in Brazil, leaving much of the house open to trade winds from the sea which provide natural ventilation and passive cooling.
Costa Rican Home Made of Bamboo
(images vía: benjamín garcia saxe)
Made entirely of bamboo, this beautiful home in the jungle of Costa Rica was made by architect Benjamin Garcia Saxe for his mother. The angled bamboo lets in fresh air and cooling breezes without allowing water to drip inside.
Residencia RR, Sao Paulo
(images via: andrademorettin.com)
At Residencia RR in Sao Paulo, Brazil, massive windows are paired with sliding screens to allow plentiful ventilation and light without welcoming insects, snakes and other jungle creatures into the interior space. The home is contained within a primary ‘shell’ which shields it from the elements and provides shade.
The Bahia House by Marcio Kogan
(images via: archdaily)
Yet another home inspired by the traditional architecture of Brazil is the Bahia House by Marcio Kogan architects. The floor plan of this tropical home is organized around a central patio and the exterior walls are actually perforated wooden screens, which take advantage of north winds off the sea. This keeps the interior cool despite blazing hot summer temperatures.
Elm & Willow House by Architects EAT
(images via: dezeen)
This U-shaped extension to a home in Canterbury, Australia encloses new rooms in a sliding glass ‘skin’ that can open them up entirely to the outdoors. Built on steel columns, the addition is suspended to avoid damaging the roots of mature elm and willow trees around which the extensions are placed to create a courtyard. Opening both rooms creates two separate outdoor pavilions that keep the addition from crowding the yard.
Chicken Point Cabin in Idaho
(images via: olsonkundingarchitects.com)
“The idea for the cabin is that of a lakeside shelter in the woods―a little box with a big window that opens to the surrounding landscape,” says architecture firm Olson Kundig Architects of Chicken Point Cabin in Northern Idaho. The cabin has a massive wall of windows measuring 30 by 20 feet that opens like a garage door, exposing the living space to the wilderness. The chosen materials, including plywood, concrete and steel, were left unfinished to age naturally “and acquire a patina that fits in with the natural setting.”
The Green Village by Ibuku, Bali
(images via: green village bali)
Like many other jungle climates, Bali is warm and humid with cooling breezes that come in off the water. Local architecture takes advantage of these breezes with open-air designs that let residents luxuriate in the temperate climate. The Green Village, a collection of bamboo homes by Balinese firm Ibuku, is a prime example of the beauty of this approach.
Open-Air Outdoor Kitchen
(image via: kbculture)
Showcasing the ideal compromise between a space that’s open to the wind yet protected from the rain, this outdoor kitchen by McInturff Architects is covered by a slanted roof and walled in on three sides, but large openings retain the connection to its natural surroundings.
Open-Air Library by Karo
(images via: dezeen.com)
The only structure on this list that isn’t a home, this open-air building by KARO deserves a mention just for the stark rarity of the design: it’s a library. It may seem illogical to open a collection of damage-prone paper to the elements, but this ventilated design in Magdeburg, Germany actually keeps the books in protected niches, leaving the open spaces for browsers to sit and relax. The library was made from wood, salvaged materials from a former warehouse and hundreds of beer crates.
Want More? Click for Great Related Content on WebEcoist:
Rustic Modern Retreats: 12 Earthy Hotels, Homes & Barns
These relaxing retreats pair modern materials and aesthetics with a touch of nature in the form of reclaimed timber and patina for an elegant, rustic look.
Click Here to Read More
Naturayarte: Nature and Art Meet in Delicate Cut Leaves
[ By Delana in Art & Design & Home & Garden & Nature & Ecosystems. ]
Natural materials are often the most striking in art. Their irregular organic shapes and delicate lines are as breathtaking as any image dreamed up by an artist. These impressive leaf cuttings by Spanish artist Lorenzo Duran combine the best of organic shapes and precise human-made cuts.
(all images via: Designboom)
Duran uses a technique similar to that used all around the world in traditional paper cutting art. The self-taught artist uses his amazing skill to create these small masterpieces which he uses to support himself and his family.
After studying the paper cutting techniques used in Asia and Europe, Duran figured that he should be able to apply the same techniques to leaves. He began experimenting with this unusual medium, making note of which types of leaves provided the best canvas and which resulted in the most precise cuts.
Lorenzo Duran calls his craft Naturayarte, and he is kind enough to share his process on his website. After selecting, washing and drying the leaves, he places them into a press. While they are being pressed, he sketches out a one-of-a-kind drawing for each leaf.
Duran then tapes the drawings to the freshly pressed leaves and uses the drawings as templates for his intricate cuttings. Removing the drawing from the leaf is the trickiest part of the process since the leaves are extremely delicate and prone to ripping. Entire days of work can be lost in an instant if Duran attempts to hurry this part of the creation.
Each drawing – and therefore each cutting – is entirely unique. In keeping with the independent artisan vibe of his work, Duran doesn’t set prices for his completed works – he lets the buyers of his art decide what they are worth.
Want More? Click for Great Related Content on WebEcoist:
Paper, Naturally: 48 Gorgeous Works of Paper Art
Coral reefs, lush jungles, butterflies, blooms and birds: nature is brought to life in a most unexpected form by 14 master paper artists.
4 Comments – Click Here to Read More
Cob Creations: 18 Natural Homes, Pizza Ovens & More
[ By Steph in Art & Design & Home & Garden. ]
Cob is a natural building material made using mud, straw and lime that has been in use for millennia. Fireproof, earthquake-resistant and very inexpensive to build with, cob can be used to make stunningly creative homes, sheds, benches and wood-fired bread ovens. These 18 examples of cob creations illustrate the material’s beauty and versatility.
Three Cob Hobbit Houses
(images via: simondale.net, yearofmud, cob cottage co)
For those familiar with cob construction, these three houses represent the most recognizable form achievable with the medium. Cob lends itself wonderfully to rounded structures like the Simondale ‘hobbit house’ (top two images), a green-roofed cob house at the Dancing Rabbit Eco Village (below left) and another at the Cob Cottage Company in Oregon.
Stunning Cob Interior
(images via: greenbuildingelements)
There’s no end to the customization that’s possible with cob. Because cob is so easy to work with, even beginners can create staircases, niches, built-in benches, bookcases and other cob features in home interiors. This home, built by Meka Bunch of Wolf Creek, Oregon, is an incredible example of just how creative cob builders can get.
Cute Cob Cottage
(image via: greenvillages.co)
Is this cob cottage adorable or what? Built in a somewhat more modern design, this home features a curving roof, a second-floor balcony and chains that act as gutters and are also an interesting design detail. Stone is visible along the foundation; this helps to protect the cob from water damage.
Two Indoor Cob Fireplaces
(images via: firespeaking.com, onelessbrickinthewall.com)
Niches, bookcases and stairways aren’t the only interior details that can be sculpted with cob. You can make your fireplace out of cob, two, as illustrated by these two examples.
Cob Building at the Anam Cara Collective
(image via: cultureartist.org)
This sustainable cob house at the Anam Cara Collective in Asheville, North Carolina features lots of windows, a large wooden deck and solar panels for power. Anam Cara holds regular cob building workshops that teach participants how to work with this natural, inexpensive building material.
Adorable Cob Garden Shed
(image via: cityfarmer.org)
Not ready to take the plunge with a cob house? You could give a shed a shot. This one, located in Vancouver, Cananda, has a green roof covered in local vegetation. Its exterior was plastered with clay.
Traditional Cob Houses of England
(images via: supermac1961, buildsomethignbeautiful)
Cob homes are not a new concept; clay bricks have been used to create human dwellings for thousands of years. Cob in particular has been used to build houses in Great Britain at least since the 13th century. Many of those homes, with traditional thatched roofs, still stand today, and the style is experiencing a revival with companies like Build Something Beautiful using it for new construction.
The Hand-Sculpted House
(image via: tinyhouseblog)
This beautiful structure is home to Ianto Evans and Linda Smiley, authors of The Hand Sculpted House and co-owners of the Cob Cottage Company in Oregon. Though cob houses are often round, they can be built in any shape, with or without a wooden frame.
Four Fun Sculptural Cob Ovens
(images via: natural building, designbuildlive.org, ilovecob.com, dayonedesign)
A great way to practice with cob building is to construct a pizza oven. The book Build Your Own Earth Oven by Kiko Denzer explains how with step-by-step instructions, including recipes for wood-fired bread once your oven is done. These four ovens are great examples of cob ovens that double as outdoor sculptures.
Two Combination Cob Oven/Benches
(images via: mudsunfun.org, our ecovillage)
Cob ovens can also be combined with benches into one large structure. The benefit of creating a cob oven/bench combo is that in cold months, the oven will heat up the benches, making them a cozy place to enjoy the outdoors.
Want More? Click for Great Related Content on WebEcoist:
Eco Homes from the Earth: 7 Ways to DIY
Build your own beautiful green home on the cheap with natural, eco-friendly materials like cob, rammed earth and straw bales.
1 Comment – Click Here to Read More
Sliding Skin Adapts to Sunlight in Egypt’s SLIDES House
[ By Steph in Art & Design. ]
There’s no shortage of sunlight in the wide open deserts of Egypt, and while that means lots of potential for solar energy, it also makes temperature regulation difficult. But new designs for sustainable architecture, like the SLIDES House, adapt and adjust in order to maximize solar power efficiency while keeping occupants cool.
Representing American University in Cairo’s entry for the 2012 European Solar Decathlon, the SLIDES House combines elements of traditional Egyptian architecture with modern features. Designed in the shape of a matchbox, the house includes a double layered facade of interlocking perforated pieces mimicking the patterns seen in Arabic buildings. The building is made from a recycled material developed by the students, which is a fiber-reinforced polymer made of plastic bags and wood waste.
The perforations control the amount of sunlight that enters the interior of the building, providing a cool, shaded haven from the heat without a need for air conditioning. Solar panels on the roof make use of all the sun while a grey water filter recycles water for irrigation and toilets.
The coolest feature of the building (in more ways than one!) is hinted at in the name. The perforated panels can actually slide out to reveal an inner structure with glass walls. This allows occupants to open up the interior to the light in the winter months; the screen absorbs heat which is stored in thermal mass flooring.
Want More? Click for Great Related Content on WebEcoist:
From Ancient Air Conditioners to Contemporary Passive Homes
The modern air conditioner is only about a century old. So what did people do to survive the summers before then? They used ingenious natural cooling methods.
3 Comments – Click Here to Read More
Wave Hello to the Next Generation of Public Bike Storage
[ By Delana in Art & Design & Technology & Gadgets & Transit & Auto. ]
You put a lot of time, energy and money into your bike, so it is understandable that you would want to protect it when parking in public. Designer Joe Mattley came up with a concept he calls WAVE: Secure Modular Bicycle Parking. It is kind of like fancy public lockers for bikes, and it is far superior to the bike parking methods most of us use today.
(all images via: Joe Mattley)
The WAVE setup includes an L-shaped door that lifts up to access the inside. Once closed and locked, the individual chambers are nearly impossible to open without a suite of specialist tools. The super-sturdy material can withstand all of the physical abuse that rowdy villagers can throw at it.
Because the entire bike fits inside a lockable chamber, thieves can’t take off with just a tire. Vandals can’t slash tires or cause any other harm to the rides. The bikes are safely kept locked away until their owners come back to retrieve them.
According to Mattley, there are a number of locking options: the owner’s own combo lock, a key or even a coin-operated lock. The concept is such a great one that we would love to see them pop up in cities. It seems like it might be difficult to manage the stalls – users could simply park their bikes there and leave them for years – so there is definitely some more work to be done on the practical side of the idea. But as far as a rough concept, the WAVE bike locker is outstanding.
Want More? Click for Great Related Content on WebEcoist:
Vertical Parking Lots: Brilliant Urban Bike Hanger System
Sick of hunting for a space to park your bike? This brilliant concept utilizes unused vertical urban areas (and some people power) to create plenty of parking.
1 Comment – Click Here to Read More
DIY Decor Inspiration: 14 Eco Crafts for the Home
[ By Steph in Art & Design & Home & Garden. ]
Hang a wreath on your door made from the pages of unwanted books, custom-color your own vases and mason jars, turn torn doilies into a pretty hanging lamp or organize your jewelry with a reclaimed rake. These 14 fun, crafty DIY projects for the home transform cast-off materials into stylish new decorative items.
Custom Colored Mason Jars
(images via: creative little daisy)
Vintage blue mason jars can make a pretty addition to home decor, but a single jar – once tossed away as junk – can cost as much as $12 at an antique store. This tutorial, by Creative Little Daisy, shows you how to glaze clear jars and vases in any color you want using nothing more than Mod Podge glue and food coloring.
Branch Candle Holders
(images via: fossil blog)
Add rustic beauty to your mantle with twig candle holders. This DIY project is simple and natural, using just a flat candle holder (check thrift stores!), garden pruners, craft adhesive and dry tree or shrub branches of your choosing. The same concept could be used on vases or other decorative items.
Tiered Cupcake Stand
(images via: giverslog)
Cupcake stands are a fun and dramatic way to show off these confectionery creations, but it makes no sense to spend a lot on one if you’re not a frequent baker. Thankfully, it’s cheap and easy to turn the plates of your choice (preferably secondhand, to make this an eco-friendly project) into a tiered display rack that’s customized to your tastes. A tutorial from GiversLog uses decorative drawer pulls and items from the hardware store to create an interchangeable stand, so you can switch out the plates according to the occasion.
Round Lace Lantern
(images vía: dos family)
Lace doilies aren’t exactly fashionable home decor any more, but if you’ve still got some laying around – even if they’re ripped and otherwise unusable – they can be turned into a pretty globe lantern using glue and a balloon. Other items that might work include lace handkerchiefs and tablecloths.
Recycled Barrel Planter
(images via: design sponge)
Design Sponge will show you how to create this rustic tiered planter for your porch or deck using a half barrel and wood from old pallets. You’ll need a jigsaw, a compound miter saw and a power screwdriver. The result looks almost identical to those pre-made ones that can cost hundreds of dollars.
Fabric-Covered Pots
(images via: ashley ann photography)
Got old, ugly flower pots hanging around? You can totally change their look with some scrap fabric and Mod Podge glue. This is a great way to use small fabric leftovers or clothing items that have been torn or otherwise damaged beyond repair. Each one takes just a few minutes to create, using the instructions by Christine Chitnis.
Crocheted Swiffer Sock
(images via: crafty stylish)
Yes, those Swiffer pads work really well to get things like pet hair up off the floor. But that shouldn’t mean you have to keep buying the disposable cotton pads, creating unnecessary household waste. Just crochet your own, if you’re handy, using this tutorial by CraftyStylish – or try any of these other 13 ways to make your own Swiffer socks, listed by Consumerist.
Wine Cork Bath Mat
(images via: craftynest)
As if you needed another excuse to crack open a bottle of wine as often as possible, this cool project from CraftyNest gives you a way to use all of those corks. A naturally soft, water-resistant material, cork is perfect for bath mats. CraftyNest’s instructions involve hot-gluing the corks to a non-adhesive shelf liner, which acts as a floor-gripping base.
Magazine Baskets
(images via: how about orange)
Out-of-date magazines can be given new life as colorful baskets simply by folding the pages and weaving them together. The website How About Orange explains how to use narrow strips of magazine pages and glue dots or double-stick tape for baskets that can be tailored to your preferred color scheme.
Rose Wreath Made of Book Pages
(images via: by stephanie lynn)
Love all things literary? Proclaim it to everyone who enters your home with a gorgeous wreath made of book pages. Crafter Stephanie Lynn explains how to cut pages from an old, unwanted book into swirls that you can shape into roses and secure to a wreath form with hot glue. The same idea can be used to create individual roses for other projects, like adorning wrapped gifts.
Upside-Down Planters
(images via: design sponge)
Upside-down planters are an eye-catching way to grow plants indoors or out, but the ones on the market tend to be less than aesthetically appealing. Design Sponge will show you how to make your own using coffee cans or plastic bottles, wire hangers and the fabric scraps of your choice.
Rake Jewelry Organizer
(image via: sarahndipities)
What a brilliant way to wrangle that tangle of jewelry that’s likely clogging up your drawer or sitting in a messy pile on top of the dresser. Old rake heads are easy to come by in flea markets, antique stores or at the junkyard, and turning them into jewelry organizers is as simple as adding a piece of string.
T-Shirt Grocery Bag
(images via: ecouterre)
Making your own reusable shopping bags has never been easier than this. Old t-shirts with moth holes, stains or unwanted designs make stretchy, colorful totes with minimal sewing. Check out the tutorial at Ecouterre.
Vintage Trophy Coat Rack
(images via: design sponge)
Can you imagine how many trophies with sayings like ‘Potato Sack Race Champion’ there are poking out of landfills around the world? This fun coat rack salvages the little metallic figures that adorn unwanted vintage trophies for a quirky addition to the foyer or mudroom.
Want More? Click for Great Related Content on WebEcoist:
Novel Ideas: Books as Furniture & Functional Décor
Books that are out-of-date and just plain unwanted are given value as decorative and functional objects in the home including lamps, sofas, desks and planters.
Click Here to Read More