MTV and Wal-Mart Present "Everyday Green"

"MTV and Wal-Mart recently announced "Everyday Green" — a unique joint initiative designed to demonstrate how people can incorporate green techniques into their lives. Yahoo Finance reports: "MTV's New York City store, located in the heart of Times Square on the corner of Broadway and 44th Street, has been transformed into an eco-friendly exhibit using environmentally-conscious products." The exhibit will run from October 23 through November 10 and is free to consumers. "Everyday Green" was conceptualized and designed by Pompei A.D., a New York based architecture, design and experience branding firm. The store will also feature organic t-shirts, recycled paper products, re-useable water bottles and coffee mugs, Toshiba RoHS laptops, Phillips LCD TVs and more. In addition to this exhibit, MTV has also arranged to offset 100% of the store's 2006 (or annual) carbon footprint with renewable energy credits through NativeEnergy." More at TH :: VIA

More on The Critical Mass - A Sustainable Dance Club

The Sustainable Dance Club

"The idea of green clubbing may seem like an oxymoron, but on October 14, environmental NGO Enviu and architectural firm Döll will host an event at Rotterdam's Off_Corso to present their concept (titled "The Critical Mass") of an environmentally responsible dance club. Among the features envisioned for the green club are energy-generating dance floors (see the video), toilets flushed with rainwater, walls that change color in response to temperature fluctuations, and a rooftop garden where clubbers can enjoy an organic beer with friends. Organisers, Enviu and Döll, believe the idea can not only lessen the environmental impact of an activity that's traditionally pretty unsustainable, but also build awareness among the young and hip." ::VIA

Get Down at ::The Critical Mass



Presentation of the Sustainable Dance Club in Rotterdam (NL). For more information, visit www.sustainablerotterdam.com

Green Fortune's Plantwall

"Plantwall from Green Fortune is a new way of integrating greenery in public spaces. This vertical application of greenery provides a powerful impact on the envirnonment where it is built. It is almost like being outside inside. Plantwall can be varied both in size and shape. Depending on the size of the wall and the impact you want to create the choice of plants can be adjusted. It is possible to create a sophisticated wall that keeps its look over time, as well as a wild, heavily growing wall." Via DS.

A Hobbit Would Be Jealous

"The house was built with maximum regard for the environment and by reciprocation gives us a unique opportunity to live close to nature. Being your own (have a go) architect is a lot of fun and allows you to create and enjoy something which is part of yourself and the land rather than, at worst, a mass produced box designed for maximum profit and convenience of the construction industry. Building from natural materials does away with producers profits and the cocktail of carcinogenic poisons that fill most modern buildings." VIA.

the Elevated Wetlands

"Central to their eco-meaning is the fact that these
animal-like containers are filled with a mulch of industry's leftover
plastics -- plastic bottles, shredded plastics, waste auto plastics --
that become, within the containers, a hydroponic soil matrix, which is
then used to maintain plant life. As Harding explains it, water from
the Don River is pumped, by means of "solar Voltaic systems," into
adjacent ponds from which it is cycled "as an ongoing cascade" through
the containers. It is then returned to the river, "significantly
cleansed," as his website assures us." VIA.

Modern Earth Sheltering

"Using earth to shelter a building is optimal. It is perhaps the most effective ways to regulate temperature in a home. It works well in almost any climate. Just below the frost line, the earth stays a fairly constant temperature: 50 degrees F, plus or minus a few degrees, depending on where you live.

In the winter, earth-sheltered homes require very little additional heat to warm them. In the summer, the interior stays cool — while it may be 100F outside, the house will stay at comfortable 70F, thanks to it’s earthen wrap.

There is also an additional advantage: earth shelters absorb rain water. This means less water runs off the building. You also get all the benefits of having plants grow in this micro-habitat: e.g. temperature and humidity regulation, and a green space supporting plants and animals.

If it’s just the walls that are sheltered with earth, it’s called “earth berming”. When the roof is covered, it's called or a "green roof" or a "living roof". When the entire house is covered, it's an "underground home"." VIA.

USA Today On Organic Design

USA Today article about organic design with a picture of... a curtain? Huh?