A Thread for Fine Design

[dale]

Another imaginative design for using the rainwater footprint. http://www.urbanlab.com/urban/ps1.html

[Mike Lucey]

Interesting finds there Dale.

And on the subject of water ..... gray water!

Advance could turn wastewater treatment into viable electricity producer

http://www.gizmag.com/wastewater-treatment-microbial-fuel-cell/23700/?utm_source=Gizmag+Subscribers&utm_campaign=7f4ab4176d-UA-2235360-4&utm_medium=email

[dale]

This is really interesting Mike. We are currently working on a community of 25 dwellings,with common systems, rainwater harvesting, geo exchange, off grid PV, and a biodigester which will convert the septic into bio-gas. We are in the engineering discussions right now. It is very fascinating.

[Mike Lucey]

.... anything eco friendly interests me as we need to get into gear pretty soon before we push things past the point of no return ...... we are close to that

[solo]

@mike lucey said:

.... anything eco friendly interests me as we need to get into gear pretty soon before we push things past the point of no return ...... we are close to that

Then you will love this, from one of my most admired (and alive) architects, Norman Foster:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masdar_City

[Mike Lucey]

Yeah, Foster gets stuff done

[dale]

Pete, Great find. I am amazed a project like this can fly under the radar.

http://www.masdarcity.ae/en/

"One of the most sustainable communities on the planet, Masdar City is an emerging cleantech cluster that offers a creative and entrepreneurial atmosphere where businesses can thrive and innovation can flourish, in part because the city itself serves as a model of what green urban development can be. This is especially the case because Masdar City is being designed and operated to provide the highest quality of life with the lowest environmental footprint – all in a manner that is commercially"

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[dale]

And while on the green theme.http://www.gatesfoundation.org/Pages/home.aspx

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[Mike Lucey]

Dale, you should have shown the picture of Bill G. staring at the substitute turd

[bmike]

^^ here's hoping you never get a 'blue screen of death' when needing the gates potty.

(to be fair, i have been impressed with the gates foundation's efforts on health care, tech in school, libraries, etc...)

[Mike Lucey]

Little Printer

While there are strong moves away from using up paper these days, I feel there is still a need for those little notes that we like to pin up and have 'in our face!' as reminders. Smart phones are good but 'out of sight, out of mind!'

I think the Little Printer by Berg will prove popular as it allows for just the right size prints for the wallet or pinning up. It looks that the Little Printer is in the pipeline and only taking pre-orders at £199! A bit pricey on first slight.

There is also an other option, one that looks equally well designed. Its the mPrinter , a KickStarter project. The prices are also a lot less

One of the mPrinter prototypes

[Mike Lucey]

@bmike said:

^^ here's hoping you never get a 'blue screen of death' when needing the gates potty.

(to be fair, i have been impressed with the gates foundation's efforts on health care, tech in school, libraries, etc...)

Yes, I agree. Bill G and the Missus do great work AND get personally involved rather than just throwing cash around. Apple and Google could take note rather than continuing to try and put their hands around the World!

[boofredlay]

[david_h]

Eric. .. that's one of your renders I bet. . .

[boofredlay]

Ha, nope. I wish I could get my hands on one of those though. All sold out.

[thomthom]

I can't not see tiny faces in every power socket you lot got. I remember the first time I saw them, I visited Boston and NY, the day I woke up after my first night there I lied there staring at these two little faces opposite the room.

[mitcorb]

an appropriate expression in that one discovering things are not so status quo
I believe penicillin could cure his ills
and then you could have a field day on the name of that medicine, hee hee

[boofredlay]

@thomthom said:

I can't not see tiny faces in every power socket you lot got.

And around this part of the country they are installed upside down, I think just to annoy me.

[mitcorb]

Actually there may be madness in their method. sic
I read somewhere that they invert them so that it does not look like a face so that toddlers won't fool with them.

[thomthom]

@mitcorb said:

Actually there may be madness in their method. sic
I read somewhere that they invert them so that it does not look like a face so that toddlers won't fool with them.

...or people like me.