Tag Archives: Sustainability

This indoor micro-algae farm mounts to any wall to grow the superfood right at home!

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Coral and algae have a symbiotic relationship, one that biomimicry design can depend on as a model. Coral reefs provide algae with a safe environment to grow along with the compounds needed for photosynthesis, while the algae produce oxygen and supply coral reefs with the nutrients needed to keep their ecosystems colorful and healthy. The algae convert carbon dioxide into nutrient-rich biomass, allowing coral reefs to still thrive even in nutrient-poor waters. Following this cycle and applying it to human life, the health benefits of consuming algae cannot be overstated. In order to incorporate algae, a nutrient-rich superfood, into our homes and daily health rituals, Hyunseok An’s design team Ulrim designed The Coral, an indoor micro-algae farm that looks as good as it is for you.

Using algae to convert carbon dioxide into energy, The Coral implements the use of a bioreactor to support its micro-biological farm. The bioreactor provides a controlled environment for the algae to enact photosynthesis and produce the nutrients that are then contained within the wall-mounted cell blocks for future consumption. Each cell block is like a microcosm of stagnant ponds covered with a healthy coating of algae, the only difference being that The Coral is a controlled environment. This controlled environment allows each cell block to successfully perform the symbiotic relationship that occurs in nature as we witness take place in coral reefs. Each of The Coral’s 16 cell blocks contains two-grams of algae that darken as the algae grow. Once a cell block reaches its darkest blue-green, typically over the span of two weeks, it can be consumed and taken in as a daily health supplement, as the cycle is then replenished and continued.

The Coral’s gradient look is biomimicry at its best as it’s the result of a living micro-algae farm moving through the natural process of photosynthesis. Algae is quickly gaining traction for the nutrient-packed superfood that it is and in designing The Coral, Ulrim hoped to bridge the health benefits gained from algae with our daily habits and lived-in spaces. By creating a means for harvesting algae in any home, The Coral provides a sustainable means for attaining enduring overall health.

Designer: Ulrim

This ultra modern tiny home comes with a full-sized kitchen and high ceilings to make it feel anything but tiny!

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The recent surge in popularity over tiny homes is arguably the best thing to come out of 2020. Just the other day I noticed a tiny home in mint condition parked right in front of a house for sale and I couldn’t help but consider making the switch myself. Tiny homes on wheels are ideal for smaller families, single households, or couples hoping to ditch lifestyles filled with excess for a type of tiny living that makes thriftiness and sustainability their top priorities. Living Big in a Tiny House, a YouTube channel that documents those who have successfully made the jump from large-scale city living to eco-conscious tiny living, recently showcased a couple’s tiny home in Australia that doesn’t feel so tiny.

Just like the rest of us, Matt and Lisa of Tailored Tiny Co. have been dreaming about tiny homes for quite some time and Living Big in a Tiny House caught up with them soon after they constructed one of their own. Nestled high above an Australian forest, Matt and Lisa’s jet-black, two-floor tiny home was constructed by the couple with help from a few friends. The tiny home’s black metal siding surely stands out, but amidst high eucalyptus treetops, it offers a more inconspicuous appeal, tying it up artfully with recycled hardwood trimming for the home’s protruding gables. Matt and Lisa’s home-on-wheels measures almost 30 feet in length and just about eight feet in width – the ceiling reaches sweeping heights of 14 feet, slightly above average for the conventional tiny home. But then tiny homes are anything but conventional. Coming from a builder’s background, the couple brought modern amenities to their tiny home such as cable, electricity, and running water, as well as a few playful outdoor features like an attached cat’s run.

Walking through the home’s front door, it’s obvious that Matt and Lisa took full advantage of the interior space to include a spacious den, bathroom, dual storage area, and full kitchen. The den features a roomy loveseat and flat screen, along with a biophilic lighting fixture that laces plantlife between grids on a recycled steel barricade. At the opposite end of the home’s single hallway, the bathroom is impressive for a tiny home as it appears larger than most – broad mirrors reflect the bathroom’s double-door shower – and comes equipped with an underground septic system to provide flush for the toilet. Matt and Lisa also enjoy a full kitchen with a deep sink, compact dishwasher, four-burner gas stove, and microwave on one side, and then an oven and refrigerator merge snugly into the open space beneath the staircase. Occupying the full 14-feet available, Matt and Lisa integrated a cozy loft, where the master’s king-sized bed for Matt and Lisa and the guest loft are kept. Plenty of skylights also offer warm, natural lighting to permeate the home and an expansive outdoor deck provides this tiny home with enough space to accommodate visitors. And yes, we’d like to visit, please.

Designer: Tailored Tiny Co.

Microsoft’s sustainability report is a lot more interesting as a ‘Minecraft’ map

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Let’s face it: sustainability reports are important, but they’re usually quite dry reads. Microsoft might have a way to reel you in, however. According to The Verge, Microsoft has released a free Minecraft map that brings the goals of its latest sust...

Samsung’s Galaxy Upcycling turns old phones into IoT devices

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A few years ago, Samsung announced a sustainability initiative called “Galaxy Upcycling,” an effort to repurpose and reuse older smartphones. We haven’t heard much about it since then, but today at CES 2021 Samsung announced an evolution of that prog...

This electricity-free cooler is made using traditional Malaysian clay modelling techniques!

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Sometimes the ways of the past inform modern solutions better than any hi-tech, futuristic design ever could. Generally considered Malaysia’s ‘most famous secret,’ Labu Sayong is a traditional water pitcher that forms a natural cooling system through the use of ground material like earth clay. While we live in the modern world with access to units like fans and air conditioners, some have easier access to those units than others. Sustainable cooling methods like the one that comes from Labu Sayong offer insight into providing cooling systems for everyone. Kuan Weiking and Theodore Garvindeo Seah were recently recognized by The James Dyson Award group for Kuno, a sustainable, miniature refrigerator that requires zero electricity for operation.

Kuan and Seah recognized the urgency felt around keeping perishable food items cool in hot and dry climates with limited access to electricity. With over 16% of the world’s population, approximately 192 million people, without access to electricity, Kuno was designed for those in need of a cooling system requiring zero electrical power. Furthermore, Kuno was designed to help reduce our larger carbon footprint that led us to the problem of limited electricity in the first place. Designed using traditional clay-making methods and natural resources, Kuno solves modern needs through local ancient practices. Kuno’s zero-electricity cooling is achieved by utilizing double-wall potting. Sand fills the area in between the two clay pots, which is then watered in order to create a cooling effect by removing latent heat through evaporation. The sand’s cooling effect works in tandem with Kuno’s outer clay wall, which is kept porous so that it can draw additional latent heat from the inner chamber. Simply, the evaporation of water between the two pots draws heat away from the inner chamber, which stores perishable food items like fruits and vegetables. In order to keep the sand moist Kuno comes equipped with a soil planter which, when watered, distributes cool water to the sand, drawing more heat away from the inner chamber, maintaining the evaporation cycle for continued use.

The world of design draws inspiration from every corner of the globe, from science-fiction cult fantasies to fishermen’s dinghies. In a world where so many designs are possible, only a handful might feel inspired by the trouble faced by poverty-stricken communities to create better solutions. Kuan Weiking, one of the designers of Kuno, says, “As a product designer, it is important that we look to design solutions that tackle societal challenges or problems — solutions that are both practical and widely accessible.” Kuan Weiking and Theodore Garvindeo Seah began with mind-mapping to identify how they best could help improve the livelihoods of those living without electricity. Then, through temperature testing, sustainability research, and pulling building material from exclusively natural, renewable resources, this team of student designers artfully created their own proven ideation of a very possible answer for an energy-efficient cooling system.

Designers: Kuan Weiking & Theodore Garvindeo Seah