Eco Factor: Pavilion made from sustainable materials.
Rryuichi Ashizawa Architects have designed a series of temporary wooden buildings for the Aqua Metropolis Osaka Event. The sustainable buildings have been designed to provide shelter for various activities at the event.
Eco Factor: Device fabricated to produce and store renewable energy and supply free electricity to residential homes.
The Solar Tree by industrial designer Matthew Seibert is an artificial tree that has been fabricated to withstand all weather conditions, and is made from molded fiber-reinforced plastic and tempered stainless steel. The overall height of the tree spans 50-75 feet, with greater efficiency as it reaches further toward direct sunlight and higher velocity winds.
Eco Factor: Vertical axis wind turbine concept.
Three blade wind turbines do help in generating green electricity, however, they use up a lot of space and must be set against prevailing wind to operate at a peak efficiency of about 30%, which causes them to be far removed from the general public.
Eco Factor: Concept car powered by a hybrid engine.
BMW has been working on low-emission hybrid vehicles with recent launches of the ActiveHybrid X6 and 7. The company is now expected to launch an all-new ActiveHybrid 5 at the Geneva Motor Show to be held in March 2010. The car is expected to debut as a concept with the production version probably arriving by the end of 2010.
Eco Factor: Robotic devices to prevent leaky water pipes.
Fibrwrap Construction Inc. and FYFE Company have teamed up with robotic experts at the University of California to develop robotic devices that can lay carbon fiber material in over two million miles of aging water mains. Funded by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Technology Innovation Program, the team will build devices that can lay carbon fiber material 11 times faster than a human crew.
Eco Factor: Zero-emission transportation vehicle powered by batteries.
Nissan VanNEXT is the work of industrial designer Victor Romero who has tried to make some deep changes in small transport vehicles in use today. The all-electric concept vehicle features a simple and efficient exterior design, with rounded frontal surfaces that better the vehicle’s aerodynamic properties.
Eco Factor: Emergency shelter designed to be powered by renewable energy.
GEOTECTURA Architectural Studio has come with a concept emergency shelter that is both green and easy to deploy. Dubbed the X2Shelter or X2S, the emergency shelter can be airdropped to unreachable disaster zones and is powered by renewable energy. The X2S can be used as a standalone tent for dwelling, sanitation and health care and can also be connected with other X2S shelters to provide shelter for many people.
Eco Factor: Biomass plant to generate 49KW of green electrical power.
Heatherwick Studio is designing a sustainable power plant that will run on biomass and generate up to 49MW of green electrical power. The project will be led by Bio Energy Investments and will be constructed on the banks of River Tees in Teesside.
Eco Factor: Christmas tree created from recycled materials.
Sarah Wigglesworth Architects has designed a sustainable Christmas tree for developer Igloo, which will be displayed at the Bermondsey Square in London. The ecofriendly Christmas tree is composed of 35 recycled bike wheels, which are on loan from UK charity Re~Cycle.
Eco Factor: Sustainable development to harvest renewable energy and rainwater.
With a population of about 500,000 inhabitants, the Gold Cost is expected to grow at a rate of 16,000 inhabitants each year, doubling the population by 2030. Recognizing the need for sustainable developments, Super Colossal has come up with a green master plan for the Gold Coast Cultural and Civic Precinct.
Eco Factor: New research points at solar panels that are up to 67% more efficient.
Scientists at Boston College have built solar cells that successfully use hot electrons to increase the cell’s power output, which could be used as a concept for better solar cells that break conventional efficiency limits. These researchers have come with solar panels that allow hot electrons to pass through before cooling, thereby increasing the cell’s output.
Eco Factor: Sustainable city proposal to get powered by renewable energy.
It is predicted that by the year 2020 the city of Gothenburg will grow with 8000 new inhabitants each year. Kjellgren Kaminsky Architecture has started a project to design a master plan for a self-sufficient city for Gothenburg that will be powered entirely by renewable energy.
Eco Factor: Artificial leaf, to water plants automatically.
We all love to have some plants in our living rooms, but watering them regularly is a different issue altogether. Industrial designer Jacky Wu has come up with a concept device that makes sure that your indoor green friends never go thirsty. Dubbed the Dew Drop, the device extracts water from thin air to water plants.
Eco Factor: Self-sufficient pavilion harvests solar energy.
BIOS Architects are proposing to build a self-sufficient pavilion inspired by the self organization and symbiotic behavior of coral. Coral is known to exist in a widely varied form and behavior, however most corals share the same basic characteristics. The ColoniaTechne pavilion for 2010 San Jose Biennial by BIOS Architects merges complex biological systems with the collaborative distributed networks found in the electronic culture.
Eco Factor: Sustainable office building relies on renewable energy for heat and power.
Sauerbruch Hutton has been announced the winner of the international competition to design a new home for Hamburg’s BSU office of urban development and environment. The building will be constructed in Hamburg and is slated for completion in 2013.
Eco Factor: Pavilion designed to make the best of natural resources.
Shanghai Expo 2010 will see the largest ever Japanese Pavilion covering an area of about 6000-square-meters. The 24m high pavilion will also be among the largest pavilions at the Expo. Dubbed the “Zi Can Dao”, the sustainable pavilion is designed as a breathing organism.
Eco Factor: Road printing machine runs on solar energy.
The Road Printer by industrial designer Hoyoung Lee, Doyoung Kim and Hongju Kim is a conceptual device that can be used to print signs onto the road surface by harvesting solar energy by an onboard solar panel.
Eco Factor: CEA partners with EarthEra for the implementation of sustainable solutions.
The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) has partnered with EarthEra to implement sustainable and energy-efficient solutions at the 2010 International CES. Owned and produced by CEA, the 2010 International CES, the world’s largest tradeshow for consumer technology, is scheduled January 7-10, 2010 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Eco Factor: Prototype vehicle designed to run on electricity.
Volvo has announced that the company will be showcasing an updated version of the all-electric C30 at the Detroit Auto Show to be held in January 2010. The company plans to produce at least 50 units for a group of selected users who can test drive the car in 2011.
