Smart Design

Humans have been cooking their food for an estimated quarter million years. After all that time though in still generally boils down to the manipulation of heat, water, and salt. We’ve baked, boiled, and steamed nearly everything we’ve come across, and while we obsess about design constantly at NOTCOT, at our freshly launched Tasteologie, dedicated to the fascinating design of culinary goodness,  we come across a lot, but people are still constantly coming up with new ways to cook things! You may have heard of Pressure Cooking, but have you tried the opposite? See more on the next page…
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Borough furnace is a Tennessee based cast iron cookware company, where they brilliantly UPCYCLE iron from scraps! Think used/broken down radiators and other such junkyard scraps melted back down and molded into gorgeous cast iron skillets! In their own backyard! So both hand made and recycled ~ as well as gorgeously simple designs!

See more pics of the skillets, the process, and videos on the next page…
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Does it get more eco friendly than a light that literally uses sunlight? Sure, by this definition a skylight is a light too… but in a way, isn’t it?

The Tunnel Solare VELUX by Lovegrove is just like it sounds… a sun tunnel! From your ceiling to the outside world… and the light comes in, bounces off the hanging pod, reflecting up to the larger fixture ~ and illuminating the whole room ~ creating anything from an ambient glow to a pretty bright room depending on the weather conditions. Industrial designer Ross Lovegrove in the video on the Velux site seems to take quite a bit of pride in creating something “neutral but not boring… and that’s not easy” ~ and i agree it is certainly key to “not to use energy, when we absolutely do not need to use energy”

Here’s a video of Ross Lovegrove talking about the Sun Tunnel!

See more pics of it in use and close up on the next page…

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Who knew Seed Bombs could become such an art form? For those new to the trend, a seed bombs are bringing out your inner Johnny Appleseed by letting you wander through the world tossing little clay ball mixtures into abandoned, neglected, sparse land/dirt piles/etc… and just add water (or when it finally rains) ~ POOF ~ your seed bomb will explode with beautiful greenery… And if you’re smart and responsible about it, your seed bombs will be filled with seeds of indigenous plants that the area needs more of anyhow! OR, you could be running around playing mother nature mixing and matching to see what might grow where…

Commonstudio has started Greenaid ~ “The Greenaid dispensary makes these guerilla gardening efforts more accessible to all by appropriating the existing distribution system of the quarter operated candy machine. Machines can be strategically placed at various sites across any urban region and filled with micro-seedbombs specially formulated for a specific locale or context.”

See more pics on the next page… and also a how to on making your OWN seed bombs! read more

On exciting water and Kohler related fun ~ Kohler totally called my bluff and sent over the Karbon Faucet i was gushing over and curious about for years ~ which meant, it was time to redo my kitchen! A feat that i have never attempted before now (and yes, i did get contractors and help, but even THEN! it’s a big undertaking!). Basically we took the sink/counter of my small mid 1930′s kitchen, gutted the tile, sink, and faucet, and turned it into absolute black granite counters with the smart divide sink and the karbon faucet.

To jump to the conclusion before i show you a quick walk through of the remod ~ now that i’ve been playing with it for a month or so ~ i know it sounds pretty silly, but doing dishes is way more FUN with the Karbon and Smart Divide combo!!! It really does reach and twist and turn just about anywhere, and combined with the sink set up, and i can have water really low into the sink for minimal splashing all over (perhaps this even helps me save some water being more precise with my washing?)… and i totally find myself wandering past the kitchen and re-posing it into some new sculptural position.

So without further ado ~ see some pics of the remodel on the next page!
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While plumbing isn’t normally my thing ~ since i spent the last two weeks redoing a section of my kitchen, i was kicking myself that Core77 didn’t write about the PermaFlow a week or so earlier! The PermaFlow by PF WaterWorks touts itself as “The First Ever Self Cleaning Drain System: Eliminate the Clogs – Reduce Frustration – Save Water – Save Money”. Basically it is a clear P-trap with a gear/paddle you can turn ~ so you can not only see when its clogged, but how clogged it is, and rotate the paddle to help clear it without having to call the plumber or remove the piece all together! Also helpful if you’re not *sure* whether you dropped your ring, etc down there… now you can see!

It really does seem like such a simple solution to an age old problem! And it has also won the PLATINUM ADEX Award for Design Excellence and is one of Popular Sciences’ Best of What’s New products!

See more images of how it works after the jump!
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“Rainwater HOG: award-winning, re-usable, long lasting modular rainwater storage”… Sally Dominguez has taken the Australian requirement to of rainwater collection and made a system that is not only functional, but both aesthetically pleasing and MODULAR! You can have one HOG, or a dozen! It’s apparently the most compact rain cistern on the market, and much more ready for urban usage, and its incredible to see how its even being incorporated into some of the architectural designs… and will be showing up at various DWRs soon as well.

See more images and information after the jump!
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Not to geek out on you ~ but i admit, i was watching Numb3rs the other night… the one with the Resident Evil/Portal like “OMG the human like copmuter AI has gone rogue and is killing people!”… yes yes, all that silliness aside, the guy who built it was also working on a “smart house” with his wife… and as they interrogate her and show off part of her “high tech automated house”… i totally got excited to see the Kohler Karbon as the focal point of the kitchen! AND they made the carbon fiber, fully articulated faucet make tea on its own! Ok well, more like move around and put water in the pot ~ but it does look so awesome doing it.

I’ve seen (and played with) the Karbon at various tradeshows and events ~ but never in action the context of a real home. I’ve secretly wanted one for a while, and i think it’s spot on TV made me want it just a little bit more… product placement works? Ack! Here’s a peek at some the many different positions it can take on…

See more pictures and videos of this fun faucet after the jump!
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While thinking about the intersection of Water Conservation, Smart Design, Landscaping, etc ~ i couldn’t get the idea of PlayPumps out of my head. It’s brilliant really! The idea of these structures first surfaced to me on NOTCOT.org #18506, where it was described as “The PlayPump, a playground merry-go-round that uses the boundless energy of children to pump water out of the ground. More than 1000 such pumps have been installed in schools in South Africa, Mozambique, Swaziland and Zambia.”

Sure it’s probably not something you’d have in your backyard, but you never know, the concept may come in handy some day… so here’s how it works ~ “While children have fun spinning on the PlayPump merry-go-round (1), clean water is pumped (2) from underground (3) into a 2,500-liter tank (4), standing seven meters above the ground. A simple tap (5) makes it easy for adults and children to draw water. Excess water is diverted from the storage tank back down into the borehole (6). The water storage tank (7) provides a rare opportunity to advertise in outlaying communities. All four sides of the tank are leased as billboards, with two sides for consumer advertising and the other two sides for health and educational messages. The revenue generated by this unique model pays for pump maintenance. ” It seems so simple! Kid energy put to good use, pays for it self through advertising, fresh water for all! See more images after the jump of the PlayPump in use, as well as a map of where some are currently located.
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