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.
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30 Eco-Chic Houses Made of 10 Types of Recycled Materials

[ By Steph in Art & Design & Home & Garden. ]

Waste materials that are reclaimed for new structures can be as simple as a bunch of stacked tires or a boat that’s no longer seaworthy, or as complex as old stone bricks re-sculpted to look like new. They can be roughly cobbled together into rustic cabins, or masterfully incorporated into stunning modern residences along with new materials. Sometimes they’re left as-is, their signs of age providing a sense of history, and sometimes they’re processed into something that leaves no hint of their origins. These 10 recycled building materials were saved from the landfill and transformed into the following 30 green homes, and many more around the world.

Bottles & Cans

(images via: treehugger, inhabitat, green upgrader, beercanhouse.org)

To some, they’re junk, but to others, discarded bottles and cans can be the main materials of a recycled home. Flattened tomato tins were turned into protective exterior tiles on a mountain home in Patagonia, and one million brown and green beer bottles were formed into an absolutely breathtaking Buddhist temple in Thailand. The ‘Beer Can House’ in Houston, Texas was was crafted over 18 years out of 39,000 cans of beer. The cans were cut up and applied to just about every surface, used as siding, decorative trim and fencing. Plastic bottles were used to build a schoolhouse in San Pablo, Philippines, resulting in a structure that’s three times stronger than concrete.

Ships & Boats

(images via: strangebuildings.com, sea-fever.org, mr38)

Decommissioned ships and boats can be brought on land and transformed into unusual residences that become the talk of the town. While it’s looking a little worse for the wear, ‘The Ship House’ of Dalmatia, Croatia is certainly a creative example of a recycled house. The sight of ‘The Ship Residence’, top right, might just cause you to run your own boat aground as you stare. Located on South Bass Island in Lake Eerie at Put-in-Bay, Ohio, the home consists of a  former Great Lakes Shipping Boat that was built by Henry Ford and saw 50 years of service before it was moved onto the lot.  Or, you could just craft recycled wood into an amazing house that just looks like a ship.

Glass Panels & Windows

(images via: plentyofcolour, design squish, inhabitat)

Recycled glass windows, plexiglass panels and even waste glass are transformed into light-filled homes. Kolonihavehus by artist Tom Fruin may not be a functioning house, but it’s certainly a source of inspiration for people looking to build green reclaimed houses; it’s made entirely out of used plexiglass panels, which the artist colored to create a stained glass effect. Another home in Freetown Christiania, a commune in Copenhagen, was built in the ’60s using reclaimed windows – bet they’ve never had to turn on a light in the daytime. And finally, though it might not be pretty, the bottom house is an inexpensive modular home with a build time of less than a week that was made from processed waste glass.

Barns

(images via: scdlp.net, trendir.com)

With cities expanding ever outward, farms are fewer and farther between – but that doesn’t mean that big beautiful barns should just be torn down. Many barns have been turned into stunning, spacious private homes, whether by simply insulating them and adding utilities or by completely disassembling the wood and crafting it into something new. Belgium’s reclaimed barn house, top, maintains the traditional shape of the barn it was made from, with lots of new glass and a fully functioning shutter facade for natural light and ventilation. Below, the heavy beams of a dairy barn were separated to form slats that protect rippled glass walls, making a formerly dense structure seem light and airy.

Shipping Containers

(images via: containercity, astorideponti.it, dornob)

Compact, stackable and found in great abundance all over the world, shipping containers are an ideal material for building homes and other structures. While they used to sit abandoned in shipyards once their short 5 years in use were over, now they’re configured into houses small and large. Individual shipping containers with pre-cut openings are simply lifted by crane and dropped onto each other in a pre-determined design. There are lots of DIY used shipping container house plans for those interested in giving this cheap, eco-friendly building material a shot.

Grain Bins

(images via: dornob, natural home magazine, gruenhomesteadinn.com)

Strong and sturdy, grain silos form the basis of round houses, left rustic or given a contemporary touch. Two silos were joined by a hallway to form a home in the rural American Midwest; another forms the main internal structure for a home in Greensburg, Kansas. The silo has been disguised in the latter home, so you would never even guess that it’s there. At the Gruene Homestead Inn in Texas, a front porch gives a silo used as guest chambers a homey feel.

Tires

(images via: globalgiving.com, earthship.net, makingthishome)

Tires are the main building component of ecological houses known as ‘earthships’. These homes, common in the deserts of the United States, are also ideal as low-cost housing in third world countries. Tires are plentiful and, when packed with mud, provide thermal mass to regulate the building’s internal temperature. They are often plastered over with a mud mixture that resembles adobe, though sometimes, they’re left visible. The top image shows a school in construction in Guatemala; the second depicts a wall in a Virginia earthship. The third image illustrates how tires have been used to make strong, inexpensive houses in earthquake-ravaged Haiti.

Pallets

(images via: loftenberg, tinyfreehouse, inhabitat)

Did you know that shipping pallets are often made of hardwood? Once they’re used a few times to transport heavy loads, they’re cast aside, but this wood can make up the building blocks of a home. In Curacavi, Chile, a large modern home was given cladding made of pallets painted white, which provide natural cooling and ventilation, and let in light. Unmodified pallets could even be used to create quick and cheap disaster housing, used for everything from the front deck to the furniture inside. The modular Paletten Haus, designed by two students from the University of Vienna for a sustainable architecture competition, is modular and energy efficient; the students are working on smaller, similar designs that could be built for just $11 per square foot.

Reclaimed Wood

(images via: ethanhc, dornob, designmilk)

Reclaimed wood from various sources including demolished structures can add character and a sense of history to a home, whether it is used as an accent among more modern materials or as the main event. The ‘Treehouse of Hyeres’, top left, was made of wood and found objects and is clearly rustic in style; the reclaimed wood still retains the varying shades of tint and paint. Alternately, reclaimed wood makes up the core structure of a home which was finished with paler, newer wood for a beautiful contrast. The third home, also made of mixed new and used wood, achieves a similar effect.

Stone

(images via: feildenfowles.co.uk, dezeen, mauelribeiroarchitect.com)

Recycled scraps of slate from buildings no longer in use were reclaimed for both the roof and the north facade of the Ty Pren residence in South Wales (top). A crumbling stone villa in Portugal was rebuilt, the time-worn stone blocks juxtaposed with new wood and glass for a modern look, in a luxury country villa conversion by Manuel Ribeiro. The beauty of stone is that it can be carved back into new-looking bricks if an aged look is not desired. British architect John Pawson used reclaimed stone to create The House of Stone in Milan, which appears brand new.

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10 Surprising Reclaimed & Recycled Building Materials

Old airplanes, shipping containers, silos and beer bottles are just a few of the surprising reclaimed and recycled materials that can be used in green building.
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Filed Under: Green Things
Tagged: art & design, artist, eco housing, furniture, green-building, guatemala, home & garden, homes, houses, philippines, portugal, texas, united-states

Private Islands: Homeowners’ DIY Flood Deterrent

May 22, 2011 by admin · View Comments 

[ By Delana in Home & Garden & News & Politics & Tricks & Hacks. ]

As the waters of the Mississippi River continue to rise, thousands of homes are at risk of flooding. Past floods have taught us that dams, levees, spillways and other water diversion tactics can not always be counted upon to save towns or individual homes. As a result, some enterprising homeowners in the flood area are taking matters into their own hands with amazing DIY solutions for fending off the waters.

(all images via: Popular Science)

These incredible images, posted at Popular Science, show the inventive steps homeowners are taking to keep their homes out of harm’s way. Building up hills of earth around their homes, these residents are doing everything they can to keep their homes safe from perpetually worsening flood waters.

Some of the DIY dams are impressively effective, keeping the river well out of the yards and away from the homes. Others were unfortunately too short to hold back the swelling water.

The man-made islands create a strange sort of landscape – or river-scape, as it were. As the floods worsen and the water grows higher and higher, all signs of land are obscured all around the home islands.

While history has taught us that humans hardly ever triumph over nature – at least not in the long term – it seems that the homeowners who came up with the idea to build protective dirt walls have temporarily staved off disaster.

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Going Green Underground: 16 Subterranean Eco-Buildings

“Going underground” has never been so eco-friendly. Architects and home builders are taking some of their designs underground to decrease environmental impact.
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Filed Under: Green Things
Tagged: chilling, facebook, going green, green-roof, home & garden, home and garden, homes, houses, mississippi river, politics, tricks

Man-Made Jungle: Exotic Architecture for Rain Forests & More

April 8, 2011 by admin · View Comments 

[ By Steph in Art & Design & Geography & Travel & Nature & Ecosystems. ]

Beautiful and untamed, the jungle can be an inhospitable setting for human inhabitance when dwellings are not designed in harmony with the climate and landscape. These 12 rainforest homes, resorts and communities work with their surroundings – and often very hot and humid weather – using such architectural features as slatted wooden window coverings, yet maintain a vital connection to nature with floor-to-ceiling windows and verandahs aplenty.

Shell House by ARTechnic, Japan

(images via: archicentral)

Making your way through the humid forests of Karuizawa, Japan, a giant shell hovering three and a half feet above the ground is not exactly a sight you expect to see. Architects ARTechnic were inspired by an unlikely combination of natural shell shapes and the concept of humans taking over an abandoned spacecraft. The concrete materials, a mold-preventing floor-heating system and the fact that the building is off the ground all help it stand up to a harsh wet yet cold environment that takes a heavy toll on many other structures in the area.

Tropical Bamboo Home, Costa Rica

(images via: benjamin garcia saxe)

This beautiful bamboo home was designed by architect Benjamin Garcia Saxe for his mother, combining local building traditions with modern techniques to engage the home’s jungle environment. Open to the outdoors, the home features exterior walls made of angled bamboo poles that prevent water from getting in but allow air flow for natural cooling, and

BR House by Marcio Kogan, Brazil

(images via: archdaily)

In the dense rainforest outside Rio de Janeiro lies this angular modernist home, which stands out in stark contrast – quite deliberately – to its natural environment. The BR house has been raised on thick tree trunk-like pillars to place the inhabitants at the level of the forest canopy, making the structure seem as if it’s supported by the trees. Massive glass walls further blur the lines between inside and outside.

Alila Villas Uluwatu, Bali

(images via: contemporist)

Wishing to move away from the traditional ornate dark wood, reeds and thatch roofing of typical Balinese architecture, Singapore-based architecture firm WOHA enhanced this flat-roofed modern structure with bronze, reclaimed wood and marble. The residential villas and hotel features pool cabanas with slatted wood that not only makes a strong design statement, but provides privacy and allows air to circulate.

Lofted Forest Home by Robert Harvey Oshatz

(images via: oshatz.com)

The curving organic forms and natural materials of this structure by architect Robert Harvey Oshatz seems as if it could have grown out of the forest, calling to mind knots of wood and twisting branches. The curves, in fact, are strategically placed to take full advantage of the space in between the trees that surround the building, giving it the feel of a huge treehouse.

Finca Bellavista Treehouse Resort, Costa Rica

(images via: inhabitat)

Treehouses of all sorts are a natural in jungle environments, and Finca Bellavista – an eco village in Costa Rica – is a veritable display of the various styles and designs that are possible, letting residents create their own sustainable structures in the treetops. Described as the world’s first planned, modern treehouse community, Finca Bellavista features a large community complex with a dining hall and an open-air lounge as well as a “Sky Trail” transportation network of hanging boardwalks.

Modern Rainforest Home in Rural Costa Rica

(images via: spg architects)

Placed on an abandoned concrete foundation and core steel structural frame, this ‘refab’ modern home in the jungle of Costa Rica reused the displaced timber that was cleared prior to construction. Floor-to-ceiling windows provide practically uninterrupted views of the forest and the sea, and an infinity pool enhances the balance between clean, contemporary architecture and immersion in the untamed setting.

Pier House, Brazil

(images via: archdaily)

Built to house a sailboat during the week and its owners on the weekends, the Pier House in Paraty, Brazil is divided into two volumes, the low-lying boathouse and the larger white structure of the house itself. The house, designed by Gabriel Grinspum and Mariana Simas, bridges the space between the water and the jungle behind it, utilizing traditional ‘muxarabi’ slatted windows to filter the light and provide ventilation.

V-Houses by Heinz Legler, Mexico

(images via: archdaily)

Open to the warm winds of the Pacific Ocean, the prefabricated V-Houses provide a rustic modern jungle retreat in Yelapa, Mexico, outside of Puerto Vallarta. Three of the resort’s guest houses stand out from the trees, made out of steel, plywood and red corrugated iron roofs.

The Green Village by Ibuku, Bali

(images via: green village bali)

Back to Bali, this beautiful green village of bamboo homes is a master-planned community built along a river by Balinese firm Ibuku. Literally everything in the village’s first completed home is made from bamboo, from the walls and window frames to the furniture and cabinets.

YTL Residence, Kuala Lumpur

(images via: gradient magazine)

A clear glass facade covered in slatted wood – again, for filtering sunlight and providing privacy yet still allowing a view – is among the standout features of the YTL residence in Kuala Lumpur. Designed by Paris-based Jouin Manku for a theoretical ‘Malaysian power family’, the residence is sleek and contemporary, raised above the treetops to provide the best possible view. Greenery planted along the upper deck brings the jungle closer to the home even as the architecture seeks to separate itself from nature.

Ecological Resort Concept, Dominica

(images via: archdaily)

What does the future hold for jungle architecture? This concept for a sustainable future development along Mero Beach on the west coast of the Commonwealth of Dominica, a tropical island in the Caribbean, seeks to promote tourism in a way that is sensitive of the island’s rainforests. Designed by BURO II, which has already completed a project of similar scale in Guangzhou, China, the resort includes a mixture of villas, bungalows and apartments as well as retail, entertainment, a hotel, conference facilities and parking, but integrates these functions with the natural setting using sustainable materials, native landscaping and an architectural scale that does not distract from the beauty of the island itself.

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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.
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Filed Under: Green Things
Tagged: architecture, art & design, brazil, climate, design, homes, japan, modern, nature & ecosystems, rainforests, sustainable architecture, trees

Pretty Smart: Great Green Gift & Product Packaging

April 4, 2011 by admin · View Comments 

[ By Steph in Art & Design & Science & Research. ]

Some people say it’s what’s inside that counts, but the truth is, packaging plays a big role not only in the presentation of a product but in the earth-friendliness of its life cycle. And considering all the plastic that temporarily protects a product and then gets pitched into landfills, we need all the eco-innovation we can get. These 14 sustainable gift wrap ideas & product packages make bulky, wasteful wrappings a thing of the past, choosing reclaimed, recyclable and natural materials for beautiful and efficient results.

360 Paper Bottle

(image via: core77)

60 million plastic bottles are thrown away every day in the United States alone, and it’s not just the waste that’s a problem – plastic is made from petroleum. So what can we do about it? One possible solution is the 360 paper bottle concept, made of fully recyclable food-safe paper. It even has a paper lid!

DIY Gift Wrap by Grey Likes Weddings

(image via: style me pretty)

If you tend to think of DIY gift wrap made of recycled materials as a little too rustic for your tastes, check out these gorgeous examples of creative reuse. Summer Watkins of Grey Likes Weddings created the decorative accents on these gifts using reclaimed items like vintage brooches, thrift store sweaters, book pages, fabric scraps and natural greenery.

Billerud Fiberform Biodegradable Packaging

(images via: below the clouds)

From Swedish packaging designer Billerud comes ‘Fiberform’, biodegradable and recyclable packaging that takes plastic out of the equation for all manner of products from food to cosmetics. This paper-based packaging can be embossed or printed and fits securely around package contents to protect it.

Molded Paperboard for Newton Running Shoes

(image via: sustainable is good)

Simple, green and cost-effective, this molded paperboard box made for Newton Running Shoes eliminates the need for tissue paper padding by creating a tight custom fit around the shoes. You won’t even find disposable packing materials inside the shoes – instead, they include a pair of socks and a reusable bag!

Universal Cardboard Packaging by Patrick Sung

(image via: design milk)

Don’t you hate it when you order a small item that comes in a ridiculously oversized cardboard box? Patrick Sung’s Universal Packaging System (UPACKS) could make that problem a thing of the past. This innovative packaging concept not only bends around objects of virtually any shape for packaging that’s easy to customize, it’s strong and durable, too. One drawback, however, is a lack of stackability, which might require further thinking outside the box (literally).

DIY: CD Spindle for Bagel Transport

(image via: blisstree)

Need to keep a bagel sandwich protected while on the go? One genius Flickr user named piwonka came up with this novel idea using a reclaimed CD spindle. If only this would catch on at the neighborhood deli.

Banana Leaves as Natural Packaging

(image via: inhabitat)

Naturally durable and water-resistant, banana leaves could serve as an eco-friendly packaging option for all kinds of applications. In a series called Packaging the Future, Inhabitat outlines the many virtues of banana leaf packaging, especially for food. These tough leaves can even be folded into cute little bowls.

MoMA TerraSkin Treeless Paper Packaging

(image via: sustainable is good)

Made of 80 percent calcium carbonate mineral powder and 20 percent resin, TerraSkin is tree-free and requires 50 percent less energy to create than regular fiber-based paper. It’s got a bright white color without bleaching, is naturally tear-resistant and repels water, requiring less ink when printing. The Museum of Modern Art began using TerraSkin for its gift boxing and packaging needs in 2006.

EcoTubes Recycled Paper Lip Balm

(image via: phoenix botanicals etsy)

Want plastic-free lip balm that still provides tube-like ease of application? Etsy seller Phoenix Botanicals offers a trio of organic herbal lip balms in biodegradable recycled paper containers that contain 20% more product than plastic tubes with no waste.

Mushroom Packaging

(images via: inhabitat)

Renewable, natural and fire-resistant, packaging made from mushrooms can biodegrade even without oxygen and requires little energy to produce. Created by Ecovative Design, ‘Mycobond’ requires just one eighth the energy and one tenth the carbon dioxide of traditional foam packing material and could eventually make its way into our homes cradling electronics, furniture, décor and countless other items. Because mushrooms can grow practically anywhere, this packaging could be produced locally, saving even more energy.

Yves Behar Box/Bag for Puma

(image via: dezeen)

San Francisco designer Yves Behar of Fuseproject created this cool box/bag combo for footwear brand Puma. Called Clever Little Bag, the packaging consists of a flat-pack cardboard tray that fits inside a reusable recycled heat-woven case with a handle. This design uses 65% less cardboard  than the standard shoe box and requires no laminated printing, no tissue paper and no plastic carrying bag. Clever indeed.

Japanese Furoshiki Reusable Gift Cloth

(image via: reuseit.com)

Why use disposable gift wrap at all when you could simply wrap the gift in a beautiful reusable organic cotton cloth? It’s easy to cut wrapping cloth out of any fabric you have on hand, or you could go with an elegant pre-made option like this organic cotton version by Chewing the Cud, inspired by the traditional Japanese Furoshiki cloth and printed with soy inks.

Recycled Paper Envelope from Book Pages

(image via: mistybliss)

A beautiful, one-of-a-kind shipping or gift envelope is as simple as sewing some book pages together. You could also use brown paper bags, as in this tutorial by Natural Kids.

Biodegradable Packaging for McDonald’s

(image via: inhabitat)

McDonalds will likely never truly earn the right to call itself ‘green’, but it would earn a lot of cred if it picked up this concept for biodegradable packaging by University of the Arts grad student Andrew Millar. The bags are made of naturally grease-resistant grass fiber and fold out into compartmentalized trays for tidy, low-waste meals on the go.

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Don’t Panic: Last-Minute Green Holiday Gift Ideas

The winter holidays are here - are your presents? If not, don’t worry. Here are a some ideas to get the last few green-loving people crossed off of your list.
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Filed Under: Green Things
Tagged: art & design, cool, facebook, gifts, green, homes, organic, packaging, phoenix, plastic, recycled, science, science & research, shoes

Crossing Over: Modular Green Wildlife Bridge Concept

January 5, 2011 by thegreenchildrenfoundation · View Comments 

[ By Delana in Animals & Habitats, Art & Design, Nature & Ecosystems. ]

We’re used to seeing projects that help humans get around (like highways and pedestrian crossings) but it is less common to see projects that help nature navigate around us. This wildlife crossing was designed by Olin Studio for West Vail Pass, Colorado as a way to help animals pass safely over the street. The design, called “Wild (X)ing,” is one entry in a design competition that aims to find a way for both wildlife and humans to travel safely in the same area.

Because a highway runs through the very large White River National Forest, it poses a very real threat to the animals that make their homes there. The green bridge concept would help wildlife in the White River National Forest cross over a busy highway while staying at a safe distance from the vehicles.

The wildlife bridge concept uses a repeating rhomboid shape because of its inherent strength and functionality as a modular component. The bridge is designed to be expandable when needed; if the highway is widened in the future the bridge can easily be widened along with it.

Each rhomboid is actually what the designers call a “habitat module,” which is a segment of habitat naturally found in the area. Six different types of habitats have been identified for inclusion in the project, ranging from xeric grassland to wet meadow to spruce and fir forest.

By combining these modules on the wildlife-friendly crossing, the designers hope to create a landscape that connects the man-made structure to the surrounding wildlife and provides a comfortable environment for fauna. If the surrounding landscape should happen to change in the future, modules can be lifted out by cranes and replaced. According to the designers, this module approach is the safest and most cost-effective way to integrate a wildlife bridge into the national park.

(all images via: designboom)

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Amazing Eco-Walkway Bridges Gap Between City and Nature

In a modern industrialized place like Singapore, one wouldn’t expect to find many open green spaces – especially given the extremely small size of the island coupled with its 3….
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Filed Under: Green Things
Tagged: art and design, between-city, design, designers, ecosystems, facebook, homes, national-forest, nature, photos, project, surrounding, white

Hobbiton Revisited: Hobbit Homes Are Now Sheep Shelters

October 27, 2010 by thegreenchildrenfoundation · View Comments 

[ By Delana in Animals & Habitats, Home & Garden, Nature & Ecosystems. ]

The tiny earthen homes where Frodo, Bilbo, Sam and the other hobbits once kicked up their hairy heels and drank ale have new tenants these days: a flock of sheep. Of the 37 hobbit homes built to represent Hobbiton in the film adaptations of J.R.R Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings series, 17 remain and are today used for shelter by the sheep that live in the area.

These adorable scenes are from Matamata, New Zealand, where the Alexander Family Farm was once transformed into Hobbiton for the filming of the historic trilogy. After the production of the movies wrapped, much of the set was torn down and removed. But parts of Hobbiton still exist and now the partial village hosts tours for die-hard LOTR fans.

Among the former hobbit homes, sheep and their lambs go about their business, using the convenient little structures as shelter from the elements. Sadly, the homes look nothing like they did in the movies, but the sheep don’t seem to mind. This is a splendid example of nature reclaiming an area previously used by humans and finding new uses for man-made structures.

(images via: Recyclart)

Leaving part of the Hobbiton set intact seems to be an ideal arrangement for everyone involved. The land owners are earning money for the tours of their land, fans get to walk in the footsteps of their favorite hobbits, and the animals who live off of the land get comfortable places to sleep. Besides being an excellent creative way to recycle, it’s keeping a part of movie history alive in one of the most beautiful places on Earth.

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Hobbit Houses: 15 Grassy Hill-Shaped Dwellings

“In a hole in a ground lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing to sit on or eat: It was a hobbit …
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Filed Under: Green Things
Tagged: animals, animals & habitats, developments, garden, hobbiton, homes, movies, recycling, shaped-dwellings

From Reservoir Ruins to Stunning Urban Park in Sydney

September 24, 2010 by admin · View Comments 

[ By Steph in Art & Design, Geography & Travel. ]

First, it was a failed urban reservoir, closed after just twenty years due to its weak flow of less-than-sparkling water.  Then, the crumbling remains of whitewashed brick, barrel-vaulted ceilings and graceful arches was incongruously used as a commercial garage. But today, those 132-year-old ‘ruins’ in Sydney, Australia have new life as a stunning urban park that captures a captivating combination of ‘ancient’ and modern architecture.

(images via: the city of sydney)

Architects Tonkin Zulaikha Greer added a minimal amount of new structures to the old, in a limited palette of materials – steel, aluminum and concrete – to give the original brick, stone and timber center stage. Opened in March 2009, Paddington Reservoir Gardens gives city residents a grassy park above the water chambers as well as a “sunken garden” in the western chamber featuring a water garden in acknowledgement of the site’s aquatic history.

Far from obliterating all signs of the reservoir’s decades of disuse, the design actually preserves some graffiti art on the walls in the eastern chamber. The urban street art, modern additions and the original structure reminiscent of ancient Greece or Rome come together in a fascinating juxtaposition that is not often seen in renovations of historic sites.

While similar structures across the world have simply been demolished and disposed of, TZG and the City of Sydney chose a sustainable strategy that not only reuses old materials imbued with history and a sense of the city’s identity, but gives local residents access to much-needed green space in an inner-city environment. Paddington Reservoir Gardens won the International Architecture Award in July 2010.

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Floating Cities: 15 Last-Hope Homes for a Watery World

With so many visions of humanity’s future involving the devastating effects of climate change, architects are looking toward a life without land: entire self-contained cities purposefully built…
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Filed Under: Green Things
Tagged: art & design, facebook, floating-cities, geography, green architecture, homes, public parks, reuse, sydney, urban, water

Literal Lawn Chairs: Grass Sofas Brighten up British Summer

July 30, 2010 by admin · View Comments 

[ By Delana in Art & Design, Home & Garden, Nature & Ecosystems. ]

Summer means more time spent outdoors in the sun, but the National Trust of Great Britain found that British families are spending an average of 43 hours per week inside and on the sofa. That’s a grand (or not-so-grand) total of 13 weeks per year. To get people out of the house and into nature, the National Trust has unveiled ten huge grass sofas in locations all across the UK. There are no TVs, no laptops – just unique spaces for quality outdoor family time.

The massive furniture was grown in about a month using all natural materials: straw bases covered with blankets of green, growing grass. These peculiar outdoor living rooms all consist of a sofa and a coffee table, letting British families get out of their homes but still spend time together in a familiar setting.

The growing living rooms were placed in a handful of picturesque natural locations, with some even making appearances in town centers. The National Trust endeavor uses humor rather than stern authority to coax families out into the beautiful British landscape this summer.

(all images via: Inhabitat)

Relaxing on a sofa in the sun, in some of the UK’s most beautiful outdoor spots, might be the best way we can think of to spend the summer. With a mug of tea and a plate of biscuits, a family outing to one of these living rooms would make for a splendid afternoon.

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Literal Tree Houses: Amazing Homes Built with Whole Trees

There’s something primitive about the sophisticated homes designed by Whole Trees Architecture: they use whole, young-growth trees in amazing, beautiful ways.
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Filed Under: Green Things
Tagged: art & design, british, garden, gardening, great britain, homes, houses, national-trust, outdoors, plants, recycle

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