Sustainable home in a German village employs a late 19th-century construction practice that uses straw bales

Posted on 02/05/2023 by Srishti Mitra

Located in the district of Pfaffenhofen, Germany is a small house called Haus Hoinka. Designed by Atelier Kaiser Shen, the Haus Hoinka is nestled in a little village that is dominated by half-timbered 16th and 17th-century houses, a rustic church setting, and vineyards. The village center is being re-populated with residential buildings that attempt to follow a cubature that is commonly seen in the region. Haus Hoinka is a part of this plan – to revise residential construction in rural regions.

Designer: Atelier Kaiser Shen

A major initiative of this project is to utilize and encourage sustainable building construction using simple and clean materials that can be easily and efficiently recycled separately. The project aims to use natural and renewable materials that can be released into the natural cycle once again later. Bales of straw and a mixture of clay plaster were employed as the materials of choice for this initiative. The straw bales were used for the main framework, while the clay plaster mixture was utilized as a thermal envelope for the floors, roof, walls, and ceiling.

Straw is an extremely renewable and recyclable material and has a much lower climate impact as compared to other traditional insulating materials. The late 19th-century construction practice used by the architects focuses heavily on straw for this very reason. Also, straw can be sourced locally and is quite easy to handle. The straw bales are pressed into a wooden framework of 36.5 cm thickness, and any excess is cast off using hedge cutters. The straw bale construction is spread out throughout the entire framework – including the roof, floor slab, and the six facades.

The entire house has been raised by a floor to protect the straw bales in the floor slabs from water and to also dispense with elaborate sealing. As you can see the home has been placed on a concrete cross and four supports. Much like the other home surrounding it, the Haus Hoinka features a stone base and a cantilevered wooden building and also adopts the grain and roof shape seen in these other homes. The floor plan of the home is pretty flexible, allowing for multiple living constellations, and changes in the future.

The post Sustainable home in a German village employs a late 19th-century construction practice that uses straw bales first appeared on Yanko Design.

Razer’s new stainless steel reusable straw makes sustainability ‘sexy’!

Posted on 31/03/2021 by Sarang Sheth

Why does a gaming tech company need to launch a reusable straw? I imagine it’s vertical integration of some weird sort, given how much time gamers spend sipping carbonated beverages. Or maybe there isn’t really any logic to it – like the time Tesla sold surfboards, or The Boring Company sold flamethrowers. The point is that logic aside, Razer’s unveiled a series of collapsible, portable, reusable, stainless-steel straws. They retail for $19.99, come with a cleaning brush, and are capped with a silicone tip so you don’t accidentally burn your lips off hot beverages.

The Razer Reusable Straw comes made from food-grade 304 stainless steel, with a telescopic design that allows it to be disassembled when not in use, for easy storage. When put together, the straw measures 230mm – optimally long enough for a Venti-size drink at Starbucks, although it isn’t diametrically wide enough for a McFlurry or Boba Tea (so don’t bother trying). For hot drinks, the anodized black straw comes with an acid-green silicone sleeve that prevents your lips from accidentally touching hot metal. The entire straw is infinitely reusable, and comes with its own cleaning brush for maintenance-purposes, all packaged in a nifty silicone carrying case with a carabiner, so you could strap your Reusable Straw right to your belt loop like EDC, or tuck it into your pocket and carry it with you everywhere you go.

Designer: Razer

Drink from this bottle without tipping it over!

Posted on 03/12/2020 by Sarang Sheth

Combining bottle and straw into a singular device, the Double Drink Bottle lets you easily sip water without needing to lift and tilt it. The bottle comes with a straw-like channel built right into its body, working a lot like a straw would. Potentially, this means being able to drink on moving vehicles without potentially dropping liquid on yourself, or better still, sipping water while driving, so you don’t need to obscure your vision by tilting the bottle upwards.

The bottle exists purely as a concept, at the moment. It’s difficult to imagine how it would be constructed if it were to be realized as a product. I imagine cleaning it may also pose some problems, but that isn’t something a little pre-development brainstorming can’t fix!

The Double Drink Bottle is a winner of the Golden Pin Design Award for the year 2020.

Designers: Run-Ze Zhang, Xin-Ru Liu & Hong-Bin Yu

Bubble tea lovers finally get a reusable straw that opens up for easy cleaning!

Posted on 15/07/2020 by Ruchi Thukral

If you are someone using plastic straws in 2020, you need to look up photos of baby turtles and imagine how they feel with plastic in their stomach. Scientists estimate 437 million to 8.3 billion plastic straws pollute the coastlines around the world. So our plastic pollution problem is pretty huge and to be specific how huge, the Great Garbage Patch in the Pacific Ocean is twice the size of Texas. Let’s start making a difference by decreasing single-use plastic usage – one of them being straws!

One bubble straw is designed using 100% recyclable material and is specially created for being bubble-tea friendly. I haven’t seen a paper or metal straw that is wide enough for bubble tea which makes it harder for that demographic to make the switch but not anymore. This straw by Green One has 1.3 cm diameter and measures 21 cm length. What makes it stand apart is that you can actually open it up to clean it and you don’t require any brushes! The design team wanted to create an alternative to the existing eco-friendly straws which was easier to use not only in terms of cleaning but also in piercing the drink – paper straws are too soft and metal straws are too hard. The straw is also super lightweight and wide enough to slurp up the bubble tea pearls which most existing reusable straws don’t accommodate for.

If you don’t want to rinse it by hand, you can simply put it in the dishwasher for cleaning. One bubble straw is made from 100% recyclable food-safe TPE which can be further recycled whenever you are done with it. This is the first step to decrease your single-use plastic consumption tremendously. It is eco-friendly, non-toxic, anti-dust, tasteless, and safe for use in hot and cold drinks. Green One is an HK based company dedicated to developing sustainable products and it shows in the straws packaging as well – it is made from eco-friendly paper with soy ink! Apart from creating alternatives, the brand is also organizing a ‘One Straws’ recycling program where the public can bring their used reusable straws to be cleaned before they are sent to recycling factories in order to educate people and help them reduce waste.

Designer: Green One HK

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Sustainable straws that don’t get soggy and saves turtles!

Posted on 20/03/2020 by Ruchi Thukral

The world, as a whole, has started to care for turtles and has quickly moved on to use eco-friendly straws. The options are metal straws and paper straws. Metal straws are good for homes and for people to carry them to their office but it is an inconvenient option for eateries. So cafes and restaurants have adopted paper straws as they are easily recyclable and don’t require the effort of cleaning. However, the only problem with paper straws is that they get soggy and your drink will taste like wet paper and you might accidentally eat a bit of it – both things don’t leave a good “taste” in your mouth and can deter people from using sustainable straws. Straw Wars – sustainable products vs drinks that taste like paper, who will win?

To solve this behavioral and environmental issue a Warsaw-based company has designed a better alternative straw made with dried stems! It solves the biggest problem we face with paper straws, it does not soak the liquid and it does not add any flavor to the drink – it is true. Stem straws work for both hot and cold drinks so we can make the collective effort to reduce the impact of plastic straws on the environment. The USA alone uses 500 million straws daily so you can imagine what the total global usage would be. According to One Less Straw fund, every year, as a result of swallowing pieces of plastic debris, 100,000 marine animals and about a million seabirds are die. This is why we need to make the switch to sustainable straws, so if you keep losing your metal straw then get a pack of STRAWS which has 50 stem straws and comes in 100% recycled cardboard packaging.

The inspiration behind the STRAWS was an old childhood memory – when you visit your grandmother in the village, go out into the field, grab a spikelet and drink fresh milk through it. Those very children grew up and turned to their roots to make this ingenious sustainable product that reduces the toxic impact of plastic on our environment. The product was inspired by Slavic traditions of making decor dried stems. The wicker shapes on the packaging are called “spiders” because in centuries-old Slavic culture it is believed that “spiders” protect the houses of villagers from fires, hurricanes and other natural disasters which made it a fitting symbol for the straws protecting nature.

Designer: PG Brand Reforming

The CHEW is an Aluminum+Silicone Alternative to the Disposable Straw

Posted on 24/10/2018 by Sarang Sheth

The plastic straw’s been getting some serious bad rap of late, and rightfully so. All single-use plastics are basically clogging our environment and finding themselves in the ocean (and subsequently in our salt too), and the industry is finally shifting to alternatives, with most outlets ditching plastic straws for specialized paper straws, and plastic cutlery for wooden or wood-pulp cutlery. Consumers are becoming more and more aware too, by carrying their own metal straws with them, rather than relying on disposable plastic straws.

While metal straws are most certainly in vogue, there’s a slight experience gap between metal straws and plastic straws. For starters, metal straws aren’t flexible, which means they don’t bend, and they also clink against your teeth. However, they hold up much better than plastic straws, and often help keeping your drink chilled too! The Chew tries to plug that experience gap by introducing a silicone sleeve to the metal straw. Extending upwards out of the aluminum pipe, the silicone sleeve is food-grade, flexible, and feels more like a plastic straw against your mouth and teeth than the aluminum pipe. The name ‘Chew’ comes from a vice that some people indulge in where they chew on the heads of their plastic straws, and while naming the product after that action may not be something I agree with, the fact that it’s a non-disposable, environmentally friendly straw that focuses on UX makes it worth my while!

The Chew comes in a two-part design, that assembles together to form a straw with a silicone head. Designed to be carried and used wherever needed, the Chew comes in its own protective case that keeps it from gathering dirt. Post-usage, the Chew can be rinsed and placed back in the case, while a rather nifty water outlet on the case lets you spin it rapidly, allowing you to instantly dry the Chew out in seconds. With its aluminum and silicone construction, the Chew can last for years, and is even easy to clean and maintain. The materials are dishwasher safe, and if you really want to thoroughly clean the insides, the Chew comes with its own cleaning brush that lets you maintain and reuse the straw over and over again, because unlike plastic straws, the Chew isn’t disposable, and unlike purely metal straws, the Chew actually feels great to sip through!

Designers: Lim Jing Jie, Tommy Cheong & Kevin Yeo

Click here to Buy Now: $14.00 ~~$25.00~~ (45% off)

CHEW is the world’s first pocketable, chewable, and reusable straw that comes with a case to spin-dry your straw for multiple uses through the day.

Designed to be portable, breaking CHEW into two allows you to slip it into any pocket.

Sits snugly inside your pocket.

iPhone 6 Comparison.

Finally! A straw you can chew on!

Chew on food grade silicone tips inspired by nature and classic geometric elements.

CHEW allows you to dry your reusable straw by taking it out for a spin.

If you hate moisture in closed cases or just the idea of moist straws freak you out, don’t worry. You can spin that residual water out of your case.

Struggle no more against that final barrier to your sweet drink as this simple cut allows your reusable straw to slide smoothly into your cup.

Paving the way to your sip.

How To Use CHEW

Uncap and Assemble.

Pop, Lock and Pull.

Slide into your drink and sip!

How To Clean Your CHEW

Just rinse.

Slide CHEW back into it’s case.

And spin!

Click here to Buy Now: $14.00 ~~$25.00~~ (45% off)

A Fish Friendly Straw!

Posted on 19/09/2018 by James Hoare

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Plastic straws take a staggering 500 years to fully decompose, which is a lot for saying they are only used for around ten minutes at a time! But arguably something that is far worse than them ending their life on a landfill, is the fact that many find their way into our oceans and become a significant risk to our fishy friends and their sea-dwelling companions!

A solution for this is of course to use reusable straws, but unfortunately a lot of people are put off these due to their fiddly cleaning process; this is the issue that designers Chu Hiu Ching and Cheung Wa identified, and their solution came in the form of the rather ingenious Icicle Straw.

Icicle can be split into two separate parts when it comes to cleaning time; the extrusions in the metal body allow the user to easily slide the two parts apart and clean inside, without the need for cleaning tools!! And when it’s time to enjoy another beverage, simply snap the two back together!

The Icicle is a winner of the Asia Design Prize for the year 2018.

Designers: Chu Hiu Ching & Cheung Wa

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Starbucks’ straw ban is a big win for the Earth’s oceans

Posted on 11/07/2018 by Engadget RSS Feed

Those little plastic straws that you get at virtually every restaurant in America have become a huge problem for the world's oceans and Starbucks is finally doing something about it. The global coffeehouse chain announced on Monday that it will immed...

The Straw That Broke the Camel’s Bank Account

Posted on 28/05/2018 by Conner Flynn

These days, there are luxury versions of everything. And such schmancy products usually come in rose gold color, which has been popular with the well-heeled for a little while now. Well, it looks like the rose gold craziness may have officially jumped the shark with this rose gold vermeil crazy straw from Tiffany & Co’s Everyday Objects collection. Everyday object my arse.

So now the high-end jeweler is also selling straws for rich dumbasses. That is the last straw for rose gold items. No, really. When you start to see stuff like this, you know that the trend is on its way out. This straw will cost you $350. I can get a whole truckload of straws for that price, plus some drinks to go with them. If that’s too pricey for you, Tiffany has other options. You can get a silver version for a much more “affordable” $250. I’m glad they have an option like that for those of us whose toilets are not made of gold.

At that price, I can finally upgrade my peasant stainless steel straw. It took me years to go from plastic to stainless steel and now it looks like I have finally arrived. Silver straw here I come!

[via Luxury Launches via Mike Shouts ]

Japan Loves Hamburger Straws

Posted on 24/07/2017 by Shane McGlaun

Oh the Japanese, they love weird foodstuffs. The latest weird thing McDonald’s fans are up to in Japan is something called the Hamburger Straw. For some reason people buy those cheap McD’s burgers and them cram a straw through them.

Image: oym__ @ instagram

It’s comforting to know that even in Japan, the burgers McDonald’s sells are kind of smooshed and gross looking. This reminds me more than a little of that episode of Spongebob Squarepants where he makes a toy from a Krabby Patty and straws, leading to a fight with Patrick.

A post shared by moe (@im_mmoe) on Jul 20, 2017 at 1:46am PDT

This is a weird meme. I don’t get the draw. Seems like your drink straw would get filled with burger and that sounds really gross. Especially the people who stabbed the Big Mac. I don’t want special sauce in my straw.

. 世界中で流行っている「ドリンク×ドーナツ」ん⁉️ 「ドリンク×ハンバーガー」でした❣️ マクドナルドのドリンクにハンバーガーを刺すという斬新な発想意外とインスタジェニックな1枚ですねこれから「ドリンク× ○○」というフォトジェニックな写真が流行りそうですね✨ ＊ ↓素敵なアカウントはこちら [photo by:@______natsuno] ＊ <<✏️=========================>> UWASAではトレンドをキャッチしたお写真を厳選してご紹介しています【 @uwasalabo 】 or 【 #uwasalabo 】をタグ付けであなたの投稿が紹介されちゃうかも皆さんの素敵なご投稿お待ちしています <<=========================>> ＊ #UWASA #uwasalabo #regram #repost #マクドナルド #マック #マクド #MacDonald #ハンバーガー #ドリンク #hamburger #drink #ドーナツ #donut #フォトジェニック #photogenic #ランチ #lunch #ピクニック #picnic #カフェ #cafe #love #instagood #good #instapic #instalike #instagenic #インスタジェニック

A post shared by UWASA (@uwasalabo) on Jul 18, 2017 at 8:29pm PDT