Eco Factor: Fuel-efficient three-wheeled vehicle for Shell Eco-Marathon.
A team of mechanical engineering students at California Polytechnic State University is working on a three-wheeled vehicle for the Shell Eco-Marathon student competition, which according to the team gets a whopping 2752MPG. The vehicle, dubbed Black Widow, is the same which took first place in the 2007 Eco-Marathon and second place in 2008 and 2009.
Eco Factor: Supermarket proposal will grow food onsite to reduce emissions.
Usually in a supermarket food items are transported from hundreds of miles away before they are sold to the end consumers. Rotterdam-based firm Van Bergen Kolpa Architects are trying to reduce emissions related to transportation of food items by designing a supermarket, where all food items are cultivated onsite.
Eco Factor: Concept bicycle with unique levitation properties.
All those who love to ride a bike to work always hope that somehow the gravity lowers and they can ease their legs a little bit. While gravity won’t lower in any case, industrial designers Hoyoung Lee, Youngwoo Park and Jungmin Park have come to the rescue. They have designed a concept bike that literally levitates to reduce friction.
Eco Factor: Device collects water droplets from thin air.
The United Nations estimates that by the year 2025 more than 66 percent of the world’s population will be suffering from water shortages. Though a waterless future is believed to be inevitable by many scientists, there is no shortage of brilliant minds that are working to save the world.
Eco Factor: Sustainable building designed to generate renewable energy.
Oppenheim’s proposal for a mixed-use tower in U.A.E is designed to maximize the quantity of units on the beach. This new approach will permit the introduction of new unit types with spatial adjacencies of a village. The project’s fluidity will merge the sky and water to allow for a more varied living experience.
Eco Factor: Pavilion designed to be powered by solar energy.
Naco Architectures have unveiled the designs of the Monaco Pavilion that is under construction for the Shanghai World Expo 2010. The building expresses the identity of the client and combines hard construction with soft media creations.
Eco Factor: Engineered cactus generates renewable energy using photosynthesis.
In an effort to find new sources of renewable energy, researchers at France’s CNRS have developed a unique biofuel cell that can be inserted into a living cactus to generate energy using the two main products of photosynthesis – oxygen and sugar.
Eco Factor: Zero-emission armored vehicle runs on electricity.
After the Mumbai terror attacks in 2008, Indian soldiers were in need of specialized vehicles that can operate in narrow corridors, hotel lobbies and other confined spaces, either to engage terrorists or extract civilians. Metaltech Motor Bodies Pvt. Ltd saw the solution in an all-electric bulletproof vehicle that resembles a golf cart.
Eco Factor: Low-emission car powered by a hybrid engine.
The Opel Flextreme GT/E is the newest concept by Opel/Vauxhall that has been built on the foundations of the Opel Flextreme concept from 2007. The concept is designed to illustrate the usefulness of extended-range EV systems in large or midsize cars. The Flextreme GT/E features aerodynamic shape and a low drag coefficient to maximize speed and performance.
Eco Factor: Sustainable spa to be made using recycled materials.
Studio Noach along with Anne Holtrop has designed a floating spa exhibition that will be on display during the Architecture of Consequence in the Netherlands. The spa has been envisioned as an extension of the land into the water to create a serene environment.
Eco Factor: Houseboats designed to be powered by solar energy.
Magma Design has unveiled LoftFloat houseboats for the fluvial surroundings of Barcelona. These unique floating lofts measure 45 square meters and are entirely powered by solar energy. These energy self-sufficient houseboats also look pleasant enough to dot the landscape.
Eco Factor: Energy positive office building generates solar and wind energy.
Designed by Coop Himmelb(l)au, the Town Town Tower is a proposal for a sustainable office building to be developed in Erdberg, Austria. The crystalline building is the architect’s implementation of an ultra-efficient building system, which upon completion will generate more energy that it consumes, offsetting about 1,100,000kg of carbon emissions annually.
Eco Factor: Off-grid classroom is powered entirely by solar energy.
Blue Forest has designed a ground-breaking Eco-Classroom for Benenden School in Kent that will provide an innovative teach space that is surrounded by mature parkland. The unique education facility is designed to be entirely off-grid, relying only on solar energy for electricity.
Eco Factor: Electric car to be powered by solar energy.
A team of students at the University of Virginia earlier converted a Honda accord to run clean on electricity and now they’re trying to better their ride with renewable energy. Students in James Durand’s mechanical engineering class will now be fueling their 1994 Accord with solar power.
Eco Factor: Lamp designed to harvest solar energy.
Designed by French architect and designer Stéphane Maupin, the Saint Clair lamp is a solar-powered lamp that was one of the winning entries for the VIA Project Assistance Grant. This sustainable lamp features an array of solar cells underneath its base.
Eco Factor: Plan to reduce carbon emissions by 30 percent by 2020.
Norway has outlined plans to cut carbon emissions 30 percent in the next decade, which are one of the deepest emissions cuts of any nation ever. The plan includes infrastructure for electric vehicles, use of biofuels, creating more bike paths, strategies for carbon capture and more.
Eco Factor: Sustainable pavilion for World Expo 2012, portrays oceans using solar energy.
MVRDV has unveiled the design of “The Water Cube Pavilion” for the World Expo 2012 to be held in Yeosu, Korea. Designed under the theme of “The Living Ocean and Coast”, the Water Cube Pavilion will focus on the power and beauty of oceans by making a pure visible block of water that seems to be extracted from the ocean. The hollowed out block will create a great water space, where the visitors will be surrounded by water. Natural light will filter through to illuminate the interiors. This space will be used for exhibitions and gatherings during the World Expo.
Eco Factor: Cost-efficient solar cell generates more electricity.
Researchers at the California Institute of Technology have created a new type of flexible solar cell that is both inexpensive and more efficient than conventional cells available on the market. The new cell is made using arrays of long, thin silicon wires that are embedded in a polymer substrate.
Eco Factor: Low-emission supercar.
Mostly all sports car manufactures try to pack their vehicles with powerful engines, without worrying too much about the emissions. Lotus is trying to change the opinion in the upcoming variant of the Elise, which will now feature a new engine that emits 13 percent less CO2.
Eco Factor: Kinetic energy-recycling prosthetic foot.
On an average, walking on a prosthetic foot requires 23 percent more energy that walking on a natural foot. Researchers at the University of Michigan are trying to make it easy for amputees to move around normally by recycling the kinetic energy generated while walking.