The FlatPak House is a factory-built house designed by Charlie Lazor. The house design is based on principles the designer acquired while doing work for his award winning modern furniture design company, Blu Dot. Furniture is of course increasingly being designed to minimize the cost of material, labor and transportation which are the major [...]
Wal-Mart Uses LEDs in Food Refrigerators!
Wal-Mart is installing LED lighting combined with occupancy sensors in it’s refrigerated food cases as part of an effort to save money on both energy and maintenance. The trials have done so well that per the guidance of CEO Lee Scott and based on the companies “ambitious vision for the future operations of the company [...]
WattStopper
“(WattStopper / Legrand)… makes buildings and homes more efficient through lighting controls.”
WattStopper / Legrand is a company based in Santa Clara, California, that designs and markets lighting control systems for both commercial and residential applications. Their website cites their convictions about “the importance of providing energy efficient, convenient, and accessible controls for the work environment.”
The [...]
DuctSox
DuctSox is an innovative product designed as an easily installed, cost effective and attractive alternative to metal ductwork. The ducts are constructed of fabric shaped into shapes including cylindrical tubes, half-rounds or quarter panels. The DuctSox is used to distribute and diffuse heated, cooled, refrigerated and make-up air into a space. A variety of product [...]
Clivus Multrum Composting Toilets
Recently, I had the good fortune to take a tour of the sustainable design holy site that is the Philip Joseph Merrill Center in Annapolis MD. It is a great example of the successful implementation of sustainable design and besides it is on a strikingly beautiful piece of land on the edge of the Chesapeake [...]
Sun Tracking Umbrella
Architen Landrell Associates Ltd. was presented with a unique design challenge when asked to “combat the glare from sunshine and heat which built up within the…” glass dome atrium in the Jardine Insurance building in Oval, London. The designers immediately recognized the benefit of solar shading for the space, but also realized the difficulty inherent [...]
LV Series - Rocio Romero (Prefab)
The LV Series home is designed and produced by Rocio Romero LLC. The design seeks to maximize livable space and minimize clutter. The homes are factory-built as a kit of parts by Branstrator Inc. that is delivered to site as a flat pack by trucks. Rocio Romero states that the homes employ the principles of [...]
Clinton Library Gets LEED-EB Platinum
The William J. Clinton Presidential Library & Museum was recently re-certified the USGBCs highest honor of Platinum as LEED-EB (previously the building was rated LEED-NC Silver). The original building by Polshek Partnership was upgraded with the help of The Leonardo Academy, The Rocky Mountain Institute, and Powers of Arkansas to meet the Platinum standards of [...]
Glidehouse by Michelle Kaufman Designs (Prefab)
General Description: The Glide House is a factory-built modular home designed by Michelle Kaufman Designs. The house is an example of clean simple modern living with an emphasis on both the internal and exterior environment. The design is available in several different configurations which are all based on common dimensions to facilitate factory-construction, easy transportation, [...]
Bo Klok by IKEA (Prefab)
Bo Klok, which translates to “clever living”, is a factory-built modular house design by IKEA which is currently sold in Sweden, Great Britain, Finland, Denmark, and Norway. The house is desined to be extremely affordable to allow low-income families the ability live in a clean contemporary environment similar to the lifestyle marketed through IKEA furniture. [...]