bPSE Structural Engineering

Images unless noted: Findhorn Foundation While following the development of small green prefabs, It has become increasingly clear that you cannot separate the home from the context, and that what we really need is a sort of green trailer park, where people can own their unit but share common resources. It turns out that it exists, and has since 1962; Dr. Graham Meltzer just built his own home, the ecomobile, in the Park at Findhorn, a "growing eco-village and spiritual community." in North Scotland... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Image by Erin Hanson Erin Hanson's outlet is the Recovering Lazyholic, and she has some great ways of pinpointing the unfortunate condition of so many of us folks, who give in to our slovenly side a little too often. One of her projects is "Need to Want Less," a series of graphics that smartly and succinctly sums up the choices we're given about consumerism. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Image Credit: Nucho via Flickr Bamboo gets used in a lot of ways, from underwear to flooring to windmills. But this summer, the roof of New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art is home to a forest of bamboo that is an aesthetic end in itself. Since April, artists <a href="http://www.starnstudio... Read the full story on TreeHugger

New York Times Everyone in the red state is piling on the redesign of the oval office, complaining it is not patriotic enough, even though George Bush took Bill Clinton's red, white and blue garish extravaganza and turned it into a muted southern living room (and lost the red, white and blue) showing more taste than patriotism. But since... Read the full story on TreeHugger

images from Bustler The HP Skyline 2020 competition "outlined fresh visual imaginations for the skyline discarding preconceived notions" and "allowed students and professionals to partner and elucidate their visions and designs that would change the skyline thereby transforming the city itself." ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

All images from Push House In much of the world, hemp is thought of as a useful building material; Warren recently showed us an interesting house from Australia and it is common in the UK. But in America, it is still the butt of hippie jokes; Matt Hickman of the Mother Nature Networks describes a new house in Asheville, North Carolina with references to Tommy Chong and describes the interior:... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Image credit: Brondell Simple Flush Dual-flush toilets have always been popular here on TreeHugger. After all, it seems insane to use the same amount of drinking water to flush your number ones as your number twos. (It actually seems insane to use drinking water at all, but that's another story.) But rather than just advocating ripping out your old fixture—we've always been keen on adapting your old throne. From the <a href="http://www.treehugger.com/files/20... Read the full story on TreeHugger

At TreeHugger we like cork, that warm material that can be harvested without chopping down trees, is fully renewable and biodegradable and can be shaped into many funky objects apart from stoppers to keep the wine in the bottles. The designers at studio Marina68 in Barcelona have worked with this local material and created a series of furniture, that embrace craftsmanship and eco-friendly materials. Have a look below for some of our favourites.... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Designing a space to serve multiple functions can be a challenge. British Columbia design studio Public had to learn about a whole new range of uses for Xthum, at Kwantlen Polytechnic University, where the Kwantlen, Semiahmoo, Tsawwassen and Katzie Nations needed a space for celebrating, feasting, storytelling, counselling, advising, studying, and relaxing. How do you fit that all in?... Read the full story on TreeHugger

We love the idea of the Swedish TreeHotel, with its Almost Invisible Mirrored Tree House and its The Bird's Nest Tree House that Hides Among The Branches. The bird house designer, Bertil Harström of Inredningsgruppen, has another in the works: a UFO.... Read the full story on TreeHugger