bPSE Structural Engineering

We have noted that UltraTouch insulation from recycled cotton is great stuff, but I still get upset when I see their pictures of kids putting their heads on it; it has borax, a known respiratory irritant, added as a fire retardant and to keep out vermin. All cellulose insulations do. Now Alex Wilson at <a href="http://www.buildinggreen.com/live/index.cfm/2010/2/11/Alexs-Cool-Product-of-the-Week-SafeTouch-Polyester-Batt-Insu... Read the full story on TreeHugger

The eVolo Skyscraper competition is always one of the most spectacular speculative ideafests of architecture, with entries from all over the world, this year from 42 different countries. There are always some entries that just pop out, that demonstrate a different way of looking at buildings. They are rarely the winners though; the jury usually is as eccentric as the entries. This year is no different, giving first prize to a design for a vertical prison "where the criminals are taken off the street to a place within that community and while serving their sentences, they continuously contribute to that particular community yet remain separated; a vertic... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Image credit: ManTownHuman "We, in ManTownHuman, believe that a more critical, arrogant and future-oriented cadre of architects and designers can challenge the new eco-centred, bureaucratic, anti-intellectual, fragmentary, localising consensus and in this way can lay the ground rules for overcoming the cosy rut in which architecture now finds itself." Every now and then a subject for a post comes along that is so wrong headed that I struggle with whether I should fan the flames of publicity, or leave it well alone. But as the rece... Read the full story on TreeHugger

A postcard can brighten up your normal mail, but then it just sits there, commonplace and static. That's why A Studio for Design developed the Postcarden, "created to be more playful, curious and interactive. It encourages you to bond, live and grow the greeting on day by day basis. Over time to card reacts to you and your environment evolving in beauty and charm. " You simply unfold these little flatpack wonders, sprinkle water, watch it grow, and then have a salad. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Images via Terreform ONE Mitchell Joachim and Maria Aiolova or Terreform ONE cleaned up at the Zumtobel Group Awards, with their plans to clean up New York City by converting waste into buildings and reinventing transit. The Judges wrote: "This project is a rich source of interesting ideas of real substance. The research team is not afraid to think in whole new directions and presents a range of visionary potential approaches that are already acting as catalysts in the urban development debate." ... Read the full story on TreeHugger