This is Tech

The Web Urbanist examines seven fantastic green-architecture concepts from around the world.

The most stunning of the bunch is the solar tower. The 377ft tower is surrounded by hundreds of ground level solar reflectors that beam reflected sunlight onto one point of the tower. The tower transforms this concentrated sunlight into steam, which is then fed into turbines:

From a distance, as we rounded a bend and first caught sight of it, I couldn’t believe the strange structure ahead of me was actually real.

A concrete tower - 40 stories high - stood bathed in intense white light, a totally bizarre image in the depths of the Andalusian countryside.

The tower looked like it was being hosed with giant sprays of water or was somehow being squirted with jets of pale gas. I had trouble working it out.

In fact, as we found out when we got closer, the rays of sunlight reflected by a field of 600 huge mirrors are so intense they illuminate the water vapour and dust hanging in the air.

The environmental architecture blog, Inhabitat.com, always has pictures of the most amazing architectural designs. The post below describes a room made entirely of cut cardboard:

Cutting-Edge Cardboard Interior in Greece: ”

We love this beautifully sculpted cardboard mille-feuille that lines the walls of Yiorgos Eleftheriades‘ Yeshop in Athens. Dubbed ‘Papercut’, the project was a collaboration between the fashion designer and dARCH Studio. It takes a multidisciplinary approach to interior design, synthesizing elements of fashion and architecture into a streamlined, self-illuminated, biomorphic installation that was handmade using all eco-friendly materials.

(Via Inhabitat.)

(Via BoingBoing Gadgets.)

Rubber dashboard garden, designed by Bigno+Zanon.

(Via MoCo Loco.)

ZeroHouse, a concept for a prefabricated eco-friendly mini-house is intriguing for a number of reasons. It is intended to be a module based system that can be delivered on two trucks and erected in a day. The 650 square foot concept house is self sufficient, meaning that it doesn’t need to be connected to sewers, electricity or water. Water is collected from rain, power generated from solar cells, and waste composted with the need for disposal only twice a year.

ZeroHouse is possible due to a variety of technologies. Led lighting lowers power consumption. High efficiency insulation in the walls and windows allows the climate to be controlled (both heating and air conditioning) without the need for outside power. Advances in solar technology allow enough power to be collected for a family of four to live, and batteries allow storage of up to a week’s worth of electricity for when sun isn’t available

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I am a big fan of science inspired art, so I was particularly interested in this neural network art project by Phil Stearns. Stearns has created an Artificial Neural Network using electronic components that produce sound and light in response to the stimulus in the sculpture’s environment. The piece is a complex mess of wires and components responding to nearby conversations and changes in lighting. The neurons also respond to each other, meaning that once it gets started, the sculpture converses with itself for a time.

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PREFAB FRIDAY: The Magic Box gets creative with prefab:

A new prefab from Jun Ueno brings a fun, modern aesthetic to accessory spaces for garden, courtyard or rooftop. The Magic Box is an extension room that can be used as an office, studio or serve any purpose that the user imagines. We haven’t gotten the whole scoop on how sustainable it is, but we can say that this creative foray into the design of a small prefab space makes prefab look a lot more spacious, interesting and appealing than the typical ‘Modern Shed’ style box.

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(Via Inhabitat.)

The TED Conference is underway in Monterey California. Those those unfamiliar with the conference, TED brings together forward thinkers from around the world to give short talks on technology, entertainment and design. Past TED talks are available for download from their website and through iTunes. The short length of the speeches makes them easy to digest and get you thinking expansively about some really cool stuff.

There are several bloggers reporting live from the event, including Mark Frauenfelder from BoingBoing.net, one of the best blogs on the web. I will post links to coverage of the talks that look most interesting here. TED releases the talks onto iTunes slowly over time, so you probably wont be able to watch this most recent round of talks for a while. The good news is that their are lots of old ones posted, and you will have plenty to watch while you wait. If you have favorite TED talks, post links in the comments below.

Other Bloggers Covering the Event: Ethan Zuckerman’s blog | Renny Gleeson’s blog | Michael Parekh’s blog

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These Costa Rican tree houses look incredible. Read more at www.inhabitat.com:

Inhabitat: “ECO EWOK TREEHOUSES: Finca Bellavista Rainforest Village
by Abigail Doan

Finca Bellavista sustainable rainforest community, Eco costa rica community, green rainforest architecture, rainforest ewok huts, sustainable rain forest design, finca bellavista, tree houses, rainforest tree houses, costa rica tree house community, costa rica eco-architecture, green design

If you been dreaming of picking up roots, living on the edge, or literally going out on a limb in terms of eco-lifestyle possibilities, then Finca Bellavista: A Sustainable Rainforest Community might be just the thing for you. Located on the base of an almost 6,000 foot primary rainforest mountain on the South Pacific Coast of Costa Rica - not far from the Pan American Highway, Finca Bellavista was created with the sole purpose of preserving 300 acres of local rainforest by offering a unique opportunity for ecologically minded property owners to live sustainably in and steward a managed rainforest environment.”

(Via Inhabitat.)

Freshome.com has posted a really amazing gallery of unique and creative bookshelf designs.

30 of the Most Creative Bookshelves Designs: “30 of the Most Creative Bookshelves Designs
Published February 25th, 2008 in Furniture

Here on Freshome we try to find things that will inspire you, give you ideas and make your home a better place to live. You can find on Freshome all kind of stuff that will inspire you like : beautiful pieces of furniture, pictures that will inspire and provide you new and fresh ideas for your home, latest home architecture news, home gadgets, tips and tricks for improving your home, and many more. Today we decided to make a collection with the best bookshelfs that we gathered here on Freshome in almost an year since the first post was posted, and here is a beautiful collection with the 30 best bookshelfs that we found until now.”

Here are a few of my favorites (Check out Freshome.com for the artist details and full descriptions):

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