September 26th, 2008 by andrewksu
The Swilken Bench is one of my favorite designs, but it always has felt unfinished to me. I pulled out the sketch pad, working to make the design a bit more crisp, without losing the flowing form and simplicity. A short storming session resulted in this:
Here is the old bench:
May 30th, 2008 by andrewksu
I am currently showing furniture on a handy tool for architects and designers, Archiexpo.com. Check out the showroom at the link below and after you are done you can browse some great designs from other manufacturers.
September 6th, 2007 by Andrew
Here is a little clip about life at PGH and the personal as well as environmental benefits of living green. After training for the MS 150, I can confirm that crunching a bunch of miles on the bike and eating well is great for the spirits. Catch more here: http://www.healthination.com/greenhouse.php
August 14th, 2007 by Andrew
The Huffington Post
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August 9, 2007 10:58 AM |
| The Hamptons are better known for Puff Daddy’s White Party, but some residents of the profligate hamlet are swaying decadence to the green side. Case in point: Project Greenhouse in East Hampton. |
| Acronym Designs is another noteworthy furniture company for the green generation. The company was started by Andrew Bennett Dickson to satisfy his passion for design, but disdain for waste. Acronym pieces simple in form, but created from reclaimed, recovered, or otherwise sustainably managed wood–such an approach to sourcing reduces the use of virgin trees and reduces waste sent to landfills. In addition Acronym only uses recycled and recyclable metals, concrete, non-toxic glues, and non-toxic/low VOC finishes. Added bonus: Acronym pieces are manufacture in the United States. That’s local for many HuffPo readers. |
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July 28th, 2007 by Andrew
This article supports my thought that solar power is the best solution in the near future. Solar panels are currently somewhat inefficient and still expensive, but this is rapidly changing (see post below). The main benefit of solar is that you can produce the power where you need it, therefore there is no need to transmit power over lines where resistance causes over 7% of power to be wasted.
Also, if you produce you’re own power for the most part, electricity is no longer a commodity, but more of a product. This is why many of the power companies support wind turbines, where they still control output, and can send you a monthly bill.
In my opinion, bio fuels are only a temporary patch at best, they are still energy intensive to produce, and are all still carbon based, so do little for that cause.
Hydrogen on the other hand is looking up, check this out
| I have done a lot of research lately into various alternative diesel technologies as I was working on my renewable diesel chapter. One thing that became very clear to me is that the world will not be able to displace more than a fraction of our petroleum usage with biofuels. I already knew that this was the case with ethanol, but now I believe that is true of all liquid fuels. Consider this sneak preview (still in draft form) from the book: |
There are approximately 4 billion arable acres in the world. There are many different feed stocks from which to make renewable diesel, but most biodiesel is made from rapeseed oil. Rapeseed is an oilseed crop that is widespread, with relatively high oil production.
Consider how much petroleum could be displaced if all 4 billion acres of arable land were planted in rapeseed, or an energy crop with an oil productivity similar to rapeseed. The average rapeseed oil yield per year is 127 gallons/acre. |
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July 27th, 2007 by Andrew
Solar cell breakthrough: 40% efficiency achieved
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| If that silly Hummer O2 concept vehicle we just saw didn’t sate your appetite for environmental friendliness, try this on for size: researchers at Boeing-Spectrolab have just succeeded in building a multi-junction solar cell that achieves an incredible 40.7% efficiency, or — to the best of our knowledge — about twice that of the reigning champ in this space. To put this Department of Energy-backed breakthrough in perspective, it was less than two months ago that Silicon Valley-based SunPower announced a 22% efficient cell, and even that model was claimed to produce 50% more power over a given space than previous iterations. |
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July 27th, 2007 by Andrew
| Ford says hydrogen engine is getting close to consumer ready |
 Ford is really playing in all the alternative energy fields these days. They just had a big announcement (or a small one depending on how you figure it) about plug-in hybrids and said these PHEVs should be ready in 5-10 years. Ford was also proud of its Fusion 999 racer, powered by a hydrogen fuel cell. Aside from biofuels, what’s left? hydrogen-powered ICEs. And guess what? Ford recently said this engine, which has been tested for a while in E-450 Hydrogen shuttle buses, will soon be ready for customers. It was almost exactly one year ago today that Ford announced it would start selling these shuttles. |
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July 17th, 2007 by Andrew
Project GreenHouse is a green lifestyle showcase home highlighting the best of green architecture, design, and technology for green living. Check out more at the jump. Also, there will be daily postings coming soon about switching to a sustainable lifestyle.
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Here in the Hamptons, we are feeling the same excitement and the forefront of Hamptons green living is a house in Springs called Project GreenHouse. The house has quite a story. It was designed by Edvin Karl Stromsten, an architect who decided to build a completely sustainable and environmentally friendly house as a personal experiment. He mortgaged his Manhattan co-op and began building on a one-acre piece of property that he bought eight years ago for $75,000 on Copeces Lane in East Hampton.
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The house is a three-bedroom, two-bath masterpiece. Everything from the furnishings to the heating systems, to even the guy that is living in it, is completely sustainable. The goal of the house is to keep it from having any “footprint” on the earth. The house has a geothermal heating system, as well as solar paneling and luxurious furnishings, some that are made from recycled seatbelts.
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July 17th, 2007 by Andrew
July 17th, 2007 by Andrew
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