Australian Energy: Greening ‘Oz’ Infographic – Australia has punched above its weight in the global energy sector for years, with its huge natural resources providing a platform for the country’s economy that allowed it to outperform much of the world throughout the lingering post-crisis recessions in the developed world.
Venticool | The European platform for ventilative cooling – This is a just-launched website. See articles on the energy-saving potential of ventilative cooling at the end of the FAQ section.
Henry Ford Hospital West Bloomfield greenhouse producing food – and wellness – about hospital’s new $1 million hydroponic greenhouse. Dozens of kinds of vegetables and herbs — five types of kale, 23 kinds of tomatoes, five varieties of basil, eggplants, squash, hot and sweet peppers, fresh herbs, microgreens and …
A Little Bit of Data, A Lot of Building Energy Saved – new software uses utility bills to measure building energy performance and displays it in clear, well-designed graphics. Here’s WegoWise’s website. WegoWise can compare how individual buildings compare to benchmarks they’ve created with data from over 10,000 …
New fluorescent lighting won’t flicker, shatter, or burn out – It’s called FIPEL technology (stands for Field-Induced Polymer ElectroLuminescent). Scientists at Wake Forest University have developed “an entirely new light bulb” that’s quiet, won’t shatter, is efficient, and lasts a very long time. The device is made of three …
New technology is piping sunlight into windowless rooms – South Korean and British scientists have developed patented technology that delivers “natural daylight to windowless spaces … without heat gain or loss.” A mirror tracks the sun throughout the day, reflecting its rays onto a parabolic dish, which then focuses …
Predicting material fatigue – about a concept developed by a team of German scientists for “self-reporting composite materials,” i.e. materials that detect fatigue, failure (for example cracking), or mechanical stress that’s happening inside the material. The concept utilizes zinc oxide tetrapod crystals as a filler material for composites which at …
The Right Way to Engage Residents in a Neighborhood Redesign – from The Atlantic Cities: Denver’s rejuvenated South Lincoln neighborhood, being redeveloped in phases, will be walkable, transit-oriented, equitable, green, and perfectly located in close proximity to downtown jobs and services. It’s a terrific new model-in-the-making of how to …
The Application of Color in Healthcare Settings – 78-p PDF from The Center for Health Design. Authors are Sheila J. Bosch, Eve Edelstein, Rosalyn Cama, and Jain Malkin. Saw it on the HERD LinkedIn discussion group. From the Executive Summary (p. 9): This paper’s value is as a reference …
Flexible working provision and uptake – a survey report (May 2012; CIPD – Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development; 38-p PDF) on the state of flexible working in the UK. Lots of graphs. Via Wisework, From the Conclusions section (p. 36): “The survey finds that employees working for larger organizations …
5 meta-trends underlying almost all of modern marketing – wonderful infographic of marketing technology firms illustrates one of the five trends. All the others have good graphics as well. The great digital migration of marketing (and business). The convergence of paid, …
Microsoft Recycles Waste to Provide Clean Power for Data Center R&D – from Microsoft’s Global Foundations Services Blog: Microsoft is excited to announce its research and development of the first zero carbon data center – called the Data Plant – that will be completely independent of the grid and will …
Climate Change Among Top Sustainability Priorities for Business, Poll Finds – overview of the BSR/GlobeScan State of Sustainable Business Poll 2012. 500 business leaders were asked to rank 14 sustainability challenges. The poll looks back 20 years, forward 20 years, “and identifies the top priorities for companies in the coming year.” …
The Architect and the Plantsman – short piece on the collaboration of Peter Zumthor and Piet Oudolf, first on last year’s Serpentine Gallery (2011, image shown below; source) and now on the transformation of a former factory, De Meelfabriek, in the Dutch city of Leiden into high-end lofts. From Zumthor on …
Cities as self-organizing systems – I’ll let the author of this Urban Times Daily Digest post, Andrew Mackenzie, explain: The following ten propositions about cities are based on the work of Brian Walker and David Salt in their new book, Resilience Practice. Written for resource managers in particular, Resilience Practice offers much for urban …
Check out Kevin Kelly’s Asia Grace page for wonderful photos from all around the Asian continent, as he says it’s “a showcase for the textures and traditions of Asia.” The blog page gives a list of all the Asian countries included. Definitely worth a look. Shown here is Tibet farmstead windows.
Le Corbusier meets Albert Einstein – Corbusier relates a conversation he had in 1946 with Einstein about Corbu’s Modulor. The architect appreciated the scientist’s clear insight.
The History of Hashima, the Island in Bond Film “Skyfall” – transcript of PRI spot on the Japanese island, devoted solely to coal-mining, that was “recognized as the most densely populated place on earth…ever” until 1974 when it was abandoned. Includes a 15-min video documentary.