Japanese Precut Timber Construction The traditional wooden construction of Japanese architecture is extremely detailed. Its exacting precision and craftsmanship has stood the test of time for centuries. However, the process of handcrafting each wooden beam with mortises and tenons is quite labor intensive, and with an aging workforce, automation of the production process is key to continuing the tradition. A recent example of this fully automated technology at work is Bakoko’s Onjuku Beach House, which was erected in 1 day by a small construction team led by two carpenters. It all starts at the factory, where the architectural drawings are turned into shop drawings that the computers can read. Check out the video to see the manufacturing process and construction in action. Photographs: Bakoko.com, Flickr user: Bakoko References: Bakoko.com
Israeli Company Turns Trash Into Biogas The Western world may have grown accustomed to microwave ovens and electric burners, but the majority of developing populations still cook their food and heat their homes over an open fire. While that may seem like a more “pastoral” and healthy way to live, the World Health Organization reports that up to four million people die from the direct and indirect effects of cooking with solid fuels, like wood, charcoal and coal. This staggering statistic hadn’t come to the attention of the Israeli inventors of the HomeBioGas system, until the information was pointed out to them by none other than United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. During a visit with Israeli President Reuben Rivlin last year, Ban expressed the global need for a sustainable and safe solution to this dire issue, naming Israel’s HomeBioGas’s bio-digester as a very viable answer. The HomeBioGas team meets with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon From trash to treasured cooking oil
Måla miljösmart och hälsosamt | Kloka Hem Vad är färg? Färger uppkallas vanligen efter sitt bindemedel, till exempel plastfärg, kalkfärg eller linoljefärg. Höstens färger från Pure & original. Varför inte vattenburen plastfärg? Den mest använda färgen idag är vattenburen plastfärg, latex/akrylatfärg. Ibland felaktigt kallad ”vattenbaserad färg”. • Den är petroleumbaserad. • Färgen innehåller miljö- och hälsoskadliga tillsatser som mjukgörare, konserveringsmedel, filmbildare, konsistensgivare, tensider och skumdämpare. • Färgen är statisk och drar åt sig smuts. Nanopartiklar ny fara? Nanopartiklar blir allt vanligare i produkter som färg och spackel. Fantastiska färger från Byta-yta av Malin Allbäck. Miljömärkta färger Många plastfärger är miljömärkta till exempel med EU-blomman eller Svanen. Farliga konserveringsmedel och bristande innehållsdeklarationer Hälsomässigt är tillsatserna värre än plasten. Plastfärgerna avger också ämnen till inomhusluften, framförallt de första månaderna efter målning. Vad kännetecknar en bra färg?
About Worldchanging "Architecture or Revolution. Revolution can be avoided." Le Corbusier, Vers une Architecture, 1923 Le Corbusier had it wrong. One billion people live in abject poverty. The U.N. The Open Architecture Network aims to be just such a catalyst for change. What is the Open Architecture Network? The Open Architecture Network is an online, open-source community dedicated to improving living conditions through innovative and sustainable design. • Share their ideas, designs and plans • View and review designs posted by others • Collaborate with each other, people in other professions and community leaders to address specific design challenges • Manage design projects from concept to implementation • Communicate easily amongst team members • Protect their intellectual property rights using the Creative Commons "some rights reserved" licensing system and be shielded from unwarranted liability • Build a more sustainable future Who is behind this? Who else is behind this? What is our goal?
All-black house in Poland is clad in sustainably harvested durable ThermoWood | Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building Here at Inhabitat, we're all about new advancements when it comes to design. That's why we are so excited about an interesting technology coming from Scandinavia called ThermoWood, a sustainably harvested, extremely durable type of timber manufactured in Finland. Design studio też architekci chose ThermoWood as cladding material for their new residential project in Poland, prompting Treehugger's Lloyd Alter to take a closer look at the product, which combines benefits of both hardwoods and softwoods and offers an interesting alternative to the often hazardous chemically treated wood. We’ve seen some great new developments in the field of sustainable cladding materials, like low maintenance softwood by Norwegian manufacturer Kebony and clever reclaimed Wabi Sabi. Related: How sustainable is wood? According to the company’s website, the manufacturing process for Thermowood includes three phases of heat treatment, and improves the stability and biological durability of wood. + ThermoWood
Bamboo Composites Bamboo Composites Steel is heavy, environmentally unfriendly and corrodes. Actually 70% of today's structural damage is due to corrosion of steel within reinforced concrete buildings. Steel is also not widely available in many developing countries. Enter the super-fast-growing grass - bamboo - renewable, carbon sequestering, lightweight, corrosion-free, stress-resistant and less expensive than steel. Bamboo grows with abandon throughout tropical and temperate zones. Concrete reinforced with bamboo composite rods. Dirk Hebel of Advanced Fibre Composite Laboratory at FCL in Singapore and Assistent Professor at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich believes bamboo could replace steel in the not too distant future. The team is currently also testing the strength of concrete with bamboo composite mixed directly into the concrete. Resources: hebel.arch.ethz.ch sourceable.net
L'immeuble du futur : un écosystème au service de l'homme Depuis l'antique Rome, les humains ont utilisé la superposition des habitations pour concentrer en un même lieu les citadins. L'immeuble n'a été jusqu'ici que cette simple superposition. A l'avenir, l'immeuble devra avoir des fonctionnalités plus variées. Quelques précisions préalables: Dans cet article, nous ne nous intéresserons pas aux constructions neuves, qui répondent à d'autres objectifs, qui sont laissées à la créativité des architectes et qui, surtout, seront limitées par la densité actuelle des agglomérations. Nous nous interrogerons plutôt sur la transformation des immeubles existants qui devront répondre à des exigences et à des contraintes nouvelles à cause des nouveaux enjeux économiques et écologiques. Phase 1 de la transformation, la surélévation: Dans un premier temps, il s'agira de surélever l'immeuble de un à trois étages supplémentaires. Quels sont les objectifs de cette surélévation? Phase 2: l'aménagement des hauts de l'immeuble Phase 3: l'aménagement des sous-sols
Over 670 Feet Of Rammed Earth Wall Made From Local Clay Encloses These Subterranean Quarters The longest rammed earth wall in Australia and – probably – the southern hemisphere, has been selected as a finalist in the (Australian Institute of Architects) Western Australia architecture awards. At 230 metres long, the rammed earth wall meanders along the edge of a sand dune and encloses twelve earth covered residences, created to provide short-term accommodation for a cattle station during mustering season. With their 450mm thick rammed earth facade and the sand dune to their rear and forming their roofs, the residences have the best thermal mass available, making them naturally cool in the subtropical climate. The rammed earth wall (construction) is composed of the iron rich, sandy clay that is a dominant feature of the site, gravel obtained from the adjacent river and (bonded with) water from the local bore (hole).
Mushroom Bricks Stronger than Concrete Mycologist Philip Ross is seriously into mushrooms, but not as a food -- instead, he uses fungi as a building material. Beneath the surface of the ground, fungi form a wide network of thin, rootlike fibers called mycelium. That part of the fungus isn't particularly tasty, but Ross discovered that when dried, it can be used to form a super-strong, water-, mold- and fire-resistant building material. The dried mycelium can be grown and formed into just about any shape, and it has a remarkable consistency that makes it stronger, pound for pound, than concrete. The 100% organic and compostable material has even piqued the interest of NYC's MoMa PS1, where the award-winning Hy-Fi Mushroom Tower pavilion is currently being built. We first discovered Ross’ unique mycelium material at The Workshop Residence in San Francisco’s Dogpatch neighborhood during the 2012 AIA SF‘s month-long Architecture and the City festival. Related: 3D-Printed Mycelium Chair Sprouts Living Mushrooms! + Philip Ross