Archive for the ‘green’ Category

UCX Architects’ Urban Cactus

The proposed structure, dubbed ‘Urban Cactus’, is a 19 story residential building containing 98 units, which are stacked and rotated in such a way as to allow each unit to have [basically] a two story exterior garden/terrace space. Designed by UCX Architects with Ben Huygen and Jasper Jaegers, the building will be located in the Vuurplaat section of Rotterdam, on the harbor.

Link [with some more image] via archidose

[Ed: I wanna live in that thing!]

Ample Cooling and Storage For a While

make a coolidor from stogiereview

Fun in the Sun

So I thought about trying to explain this in my own words, but I realized that treehugger says it best:

There are all kinds of mechanically operated blinds and vents that need power to operate are are complex to build. Inventor Greg Blonder has a better idea: take the principle of the bimetal strip (found in thermostats) where bonding two materials of two different coefficients of expansion bend or change according to temperature; make it out of plastic: "a plastic analog of the bimetallic strip is possible- which I’ve named "c))motion". Plastics have ten times the expansion coefficient of metal, and thus exhibit ten times the range of motion for the same range of temperatures. Plastics can be colored, stamped, rolled out into sheets the size of football fields, never rust and are very inexpensive." Patent it and think of all kinds of useful and fun things to do with it. Think of a window with a blind that rolls down when the sun comes out ; a roof venting system that opens automatically when it gets warm; Schmoo and Scoop, two toys that don’t do anything but move strangely in the sunlight. Watch the movies of them all at C))Motion Design.

Cardboard Laptop Case

Found this over at Inhabitat. Designed by Giles Miller, the case is made of 100% recycled products [mainly cardboard] and, as shown in the photos, can be imprinted with personalized lettering/images. Looks pretty fly…

link from Inhabitat

Wire Tap

from shopping cart to art from forums.canadiancontent

Cabin in a Shipping Container 2.0

"Take an easy-to handle 20′ ISO container frame. Outfit it with folding walls and the best in Canadian design. "The result is as smart as it is efficient, suitable for a family of four and a pet to live off the grid in comfort and contemporary style. It travels by train, truck, ship, airplane or helicopter, folded up and indistinguishable from any ordinary shipping container. Once it arrives, it unfolds rapidly to 480sf of self-contained, sophisticated living space with all the comforts of home." It is an exhibition piece rather than a real living space,-" Its main purpose is to raise awareness internationally of Canadian capabilities, not just for Canadaa€™s sake, but for the sake of those who want to learn from us about how to live softly, smartly, and stylishly on this shared planet." Nicely done.::Bark ATC "

Solar Powered Nation

A new solar powered backpack and 9 of the most unusual solar gadgets.
AA

from gizmodo and aboutmyplanet

Audi Electric Supercar

"Based on exterior design alone, you would expect that such a concept would involve a V6 (or bigger) engine with a huge displacement and outrageous horsepower numbers. Instead, the designers envision the R-Zero being "powered by an electric motor yet offer a supercar level of performance." To be able to generate the 800 volts of output and rocket around the test track, the R-Zero is said to deploy around 1,200 kilos (about 2,645 pounds) of "high-tech lithium-ion batteries" and a quad of engines weighing 85 kilograms (187 pounds) in total."

Original Article Via Hugg

The one comment was interesting too:
Geepie says

#1 Welldone Audi but people wait to see more approachable electric cars for you

Tesla and Tango cost 1OO thousands $ in US and God knows how much does it cost in Europe

So if R-Zero is targeted only for Audi CEO or an Arab oil Prince what’s the deal ?

Circle of Protection: Afghani! Troops Lack Mana to Burn 10ft Tall Plants

"Sir, three years ago before I joined the army, I never thought I’d say ‘That damn marijuana’."

The Canadians have recognized the evils of battling the evil herb as viewed pictures from this personal web-journal.

The few, the proud, the blazed as sh!t. It can’t be that much different than Canada is for real, though. This just goes to show that where there’s ninjas…

"We tried burning them with white phosphorous — it didn’t work. We tried burning them with diesel — it didn’t work. The plants are so full of water right now … that we simply couldn’t burn them," he said.

This should be telling you something guys… they just ain’t ready to be picked yet.

I’m reminded of a John Holt song. Why do I feel like every time I plant a seed, they say, "kill it before it grow"?…. so I shot I shot I shot.

"The challenge is that marijuana plants absorb energy, heat very readily. It’s very difficult to penetrate with thermal devices. … And as a result you really have to be careful that the Taliban don’t dodge in and out of those marijuana forests," he said in a speech in Ottawa, Canada.

And who’da thunk the Taliban would ever reach ninja status? Thanks to Jay for sending this in!