Smart Design

Whether it’s San Francisco, New York, or any bicyclistic city in between, you’re destined to witness biker after biker dancing with danger, especially at night when visibility is uncomfortably low. Many cars, trucks, and buses, like immature kindergartners, don’t like to share and subsequently choose to ignore bikers’ rights to the road. In addition to a high price tag, new bike-lane inhibition is promoted by arguments on a legislative level, such as one in San Francisco that accuses the city’s large bicycle population of creating more pollution than automobiles because they supposedly impede the flow of traffic. In spite of these roadblocks, cities across the country are beginning to get the picture, slowly and seemingly reluctantly adding more lanes here and there, but what are cyclists to do in the extended meantime? read more

Save water and beautify your home. That’s what MOSS SUND Architects and Fig Forty had in mind when they created the CISTA rainwater harvesting system. The system is designed for urban environments and provides 100 gallons of rainwater storage within an 8-foot vertical planted frame, simultaneously conserving water and increasing green space. The vertical arrangement sits beneath an eaves trough downspout where it collects rainwater, the resulting water pressure is enough to operate a soaker hose that can be housed in a storage compartment at the base of the unit. A potted climbing plant such as ivy is placed at the base so it can eventually grow and climb up into the frame. There’s also an LED lit water level indicator, the system can be expanded both horizontally and vertically, and thanks to the nesting design it can be efficiently shipped. Necessity was the mother of invention in this instance; the partners of figlforty were clients of architects MOSS SUND and having recently completed a major modern green home renovation were looking for ways to harvest rain water and were disappointed with the options available. So together they created CISTA, a stainless steel pillar of green that can add beauty and conserve water.

During a backpacking trip to Italy, I watched a fellow backpacker being chastised by our Italian hostess. Said backpacker had picked some lovely flowers and handed them to our hostess as a gift–upside-down, which is a huge no-no as it’s considered bad luck.

Hopefully they’d be a little more tolerant with upside-down potted plants. The Boskke Sky Planter is an inverted pot-and-plant combo, with a special internal reservoir system integrated into the pot that gets water to the roots without leaking. The unique design means you only have to water the plant every 20-30 days, with the end result being that it uses 80% less water!

In addition to the water conservation angle, the Sky Planter has an obvious home-decorating benefit–it takes up less floorspace, and is one less thing for the vacuum or Roomba to bump into. Not to mention you don’t have to worry about Fido rummaging through it, unless he’s got incredible leaping skills and/or you have an extremely low ceiling.
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One of the hallmarks of design innovation is the ability to take something that’s mundane and transform it into something new and exciting. Well we can’t think of a more fitting example of that than the wildly creative and fun dumpster pools that popped up on one of New York City‘s busiet streets, Park Avenue, this summer. Made from actual dumpsters that were cleaned out, painted and fitted with all of the appropriate parts, these unlikely watering holes really made a splash with the public. Talk about taking something that is trash-y (literally) and turning into treasure through the magic of smart design! read more

If you’ve ever owned a swimming pool you know it’s a chore, all the cleaning and maintenance, and you know the chlorine can’t be good for you nor the planet. So what to do? Convert your pool to a natural pond. If you have an existing in-ground swimming pool you can now transform it into a natural swimming pond. More on conversion in a bit. And if you’re considering getting a pool, consider getting a pond, you can eliminate expensive heating and maintenance bills, harmful chemicals, those weekly chores and allergic reactions. There is no need to fear infestations of mosquitoes or an invasion of frogs, a natural swimming pond is nature perfected, all the small creatures live in the plant zone while you relax in the swimming zone. So instead of killing every living thing that comes into contact with your pool, you can now save and encourage wildlife in your pond.

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Even the most environmentally conscious of us have found ourselves tempted to quench our thirst by buying (gasp!) bottled water when we’re out and about and can’t find a place to fill up on clean, drinkable H2O. So wouldn’t it be wonderful if your reusable bottle could also purify tap water from your office, gym or public water fountain, making it infinitely easier for you to avoid purchasing costly and wasteful plastic bottles? Well, that’s exactly what Bobble does — it’s a reusable water bottle with a built-in water filter. Conceived by product design mastermind Karim Rashid, the colorful, modern Bobble is made of recycled plastic, and if that doesn’t impress you, maybe the $9.95 price tag will! This is a great example of smart design — solving a ubiquitous problem that plagues us all.

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The RKS Laundry Pod is a prototype handwash helper that helps cut down on energy use and makes washing by hand much easier. Put dirty items into Pod, add soap and water, soak and then spin by pumping the hand lever. Drain out soapy water, refill and spin to rinse then drain and spin to damp dry. This is perfect for those who hate to deal with their delicates or get hand cramps wringing out.

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Water is our most precious resource. It covers 70% of the Earth’s surface and every living organism is dependent upon it for survival. Less than 30% of people on this planet even have access to safe drinking water – a basic human right. In the coming years, we will likely see that access to clean, safe water will become even more important than the climate change.  In fact here in the US, 36 states anticipate local, regional and even statewide water shortages by 2013. We can all take immediate steps starting in our own households to more efficiently use water so there is enough to go around.

The US EPA estimates that an average family of 4 in the US consumes around 400 gallons of water a day, 280 of which are used indoors. At least 20-30% of that water usage can be reduced with a few simple acts and upgrades. Here are 10 easy ways to save water in your household, starting from very simple and free to slightly more involved with an investment.

Save Water For Another Use – Keep a pitcher on hand near the sink or shower to catch extra water for another use. When you’re waiting for the water to get hot or cold, put the pitcher under the faucet and a bucket under the showerhead. Use that water for your plants, to wash fruit and vegetables, for your pet, or for cleaning. It may seem excessive, but in reality, every drop counts. read more

Could you live without straight lines?

Think about it: The only perfectly straight lines that a caveman would ever see were sunbeams. In short, straight lines are rarely seen in nature, yet our homes and our cities are filled with them.

The maverick Austrian architect Friedensreich Hundertwasser called straight lines “the devil’s tools,” and felt that straight lines “make people sick because, not occurring in nature, they incessantly subject people to an irritation for which the organism is unprepared.”

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Doing the dishes: a thankless job and the dreaded finale to cooking and eating. Couples fight about who has to do them, and how they’re done. The mere mention of the phrase can elicit an audible groan. Which is precisely the reason dishwashers can be so desirable. Though many new dishwashers have a water conserving “eco” setting, these appliances can still be energy inefficient and water wasters, especially if you have an older machine or don’t have enough dishes to fill up. Now, several designers have rethought our approach to hand-washing dishes, making the this option more efficient, interesting, and appealing. read more