ASKNATURE SELECTED AS SEMI-FINALIST FOR THE 2014 FULLER CHALLENGE
by: Biomimicry 3.8, 2014-08-27 15:49:02 UTC

The biomimicry design website AskNature has been announced as a 2014 Semi-Finalist in the Fuller Challenge, a prestigious annual competition named “Socially-Responsible Design’s Highest Award.” Each year, The Buckminster Fuller Institute invites scientists, designers, architects, activists, entrepreneurs, artists and planners from all over the world to submit their innovative solutions to some of humanity’s most pressing problems. A $100,000 prize is awarded to support the development and implementation of one outstanding strategy.

AskNature, a core initiative of the Biomimicry Institute, is an online tool that offers the world’s most comprehensive catalog of nature’s solutions to human challenges. Biomimicry, the study and imitation of nature’s designs and processes, has inspired products such as concrete that sequesters carbon like coral and glass that reduces bird collisions by imitating spider webs.

“A knowledge divide exists for millions of non-biologically trained innovators for whom nature’s strategies would be a deep source of design inspiration. AskNature helps to bridge this gap,” said Ethan Smith, AskNature Project Director. “The Fuller Challenge would help us expand AskNature’s sustainability design tools so that people around the world have access to knowledge and resources that could literally change the way we innovate.”

Twenty Semi-Finalist proposals, including the Biomimicry Institute’s AskNature proposal, have been selected out of an entry pool of over 450 applications and have undergone a rigorous review for adherence to the seven-point Challenge criteria: Visionary, Comprehensive, Ecologically Responsible, Feasible, Verifiable, and Replicable. AskNature’s application went through three rounds of vetting by the members of the Challenge Review Committee, including analysis and evaluation by an interdisciplinary team of experts and advisors.

“Each of these projects deserve the attention of the world for their commitment to ‘solving for system’ – an approach that takes an unusual degree of insight, patience, tenacity and courage,” said Elizabeth Thompson, The Buckminster Fuller Institute’s Executive Director. “The teams behind these initiatives have made extraordinary efforts to define the systemic context underlying the problem they are seeking to solve, and have designed strategies that provide enduring and sustainable solutions. Each is a remarkable example of the transformative power of individual initiative and provide much needed hope and encouragement that solutions to our most entrenched problems are indeed at hand.”

The finalists will be announced in the fall and celebrated at an event in New York City in mid-November.

Pencil Low Tables by Luís Nascimento
by: mocoloco, 2014-08-25 17:06:22 UTC


A 1970′s Concrete Apartment Gets a Bold Renovation
by: design milk, 2014-08-26 17:00:01 UTC

Situated in Chipinque, which is a part of the Sierra Madre Oriental mountains in Northeastern Mexico, this apartment is located within a 1970′s complex that was designed to provide affordable housing during that time. The unit is about 61 square meters (or approximately 657 square feet) and needed a major overall and that’s just what it got with the help of Jakob Gomez.

The concrete structure needed to be reorganized when it came to layout and they wanted to focus on natural light, materials, and finishes.

The main zones of the apartment now center around a central foyer that you can’t miss. They picked a bold yellow, and I do mean bold, to cover the nook’s floor, walls, doors, and ceiling, giving the mostly concrete space a major punch.

The main living area has polished concrete floors that unify the different zones. Stainless steel was used for not only the appliances, but for the cabinets as well providing reflective surfaces in the small space. The floor to ceiling window on the one side makes you feel like you’re living within the trees.

Wooden and neutral furnishings were chosen keeping a bit of a masculine and industrial feel.

The wooden ceiling slants towards the wall of windows. The higher ceiling in the middle of the apartment makes the space feel larger – the windows do as well.

The yellow corridor houses the doorways to the bedrooms and bathroom.

The small bedrooms are void of color providing a cozy place for the residents to sleep.

Photos by GroovyChaos.

With a flash of light, new technology automatically sorts plastics for recycling
by: TreeHugger Science, 2014-08-25 12:54:06 UTC
The technique developed by German researchers quickly identifies plastic types so that they can be more efficiently recycled.

Make a solar powered radio for $5
by: TreeHugger Science, 2014-08-26 11:00:00 UTC
This quick and easy hack will have your old AM/FM radio running on solar power.

M.A.S.S. electric bikes by philippe starck + moustache at eurobike 2014
by: Designboom - Weblog, 2014-08-27 11:50:01 UTC

the collection of four bike concepts - 'mud', 'asphalt', 'sand', snow' - have dedicated technological specifications that offer users the ultimate experience in the various riding conditions from which they are named.

The post M.A.S.S. electric bikes by philippe starck + moustache at eurobike 2014 appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine.

Unilever Tests Solar-Powered Freezers
by: Environmental Leader, 2014-08-27 11:57:47 UTC
Unilever is testing commercially viable solar-powered ice cream freezers in New York’s Central Park. The company, whose brands include Popsicles, Good Humor and Mangum ice cream bars, says when officially rolled out the freezers will be the world’s first. Unilever has already purchased about 1.5 million freezers. The freezers are being manned by vendors in […]

Why is a metal growler better than a glass one?
by: TreeHugger Design, 2014-08-22 18:44:41 UTC
Klean Kanteen to offer shatter-proof growlers.

Broken Collection by Jalmari Laihinen
by: mocoloco, 2014-08-22 07:39:12 UTC

The natural properties of wood are part of the design in Jalmari Laihinen's Broken collection.

How to Design Sustainability
by: Environmental Leader, 2014-08-22 10:00:41 UTC
David Berman speaks on “Making The Planet Your Client: Designing Sustainability” at AGIdeas International Design Week.