... And It Looks Like All My Dreams

Cool Toilet

2012-01-26T22:59:00.000+08:00

88 Backhouse Lane Wentworth Falls, Sydney

2012-01-16T23:32:00.001+08:00

Source

$3,500,000

Property Type:

House

Suburb:

Wentworth Falls (profile)

Region:

Sydney Region

Land Area:

2850 sqm

Elle et Lui Serene Serendipity

A rare flair for the future in this private family complex with outstanding dramatic dual vistas to Mt Solitary and beyond. This double brick beauty, is over 700 sqms of design and detailing and the result is a relaxed and superb retreat. Sited on two huge garden parcels (over 2850sqms) bordering National Park at the end of a cul de sac on the Southside perched above the Valley of The Waters. Enjoy a lifetime of breathtaking sunsets and feel you can almost reach out and touch the stars. Every detail of this impressive 5 bedroom, 5 bathroom home has been done to perfection, with consistently luxurious finishes, combining craftsmanship and skill. A timeless contemporary that can be a family estate or corporate escape! Stunning full length glass windows frame the views from all the sumptuous living areas, and the northern sunroom has vistas from every angle. Along with a massive games room (could be theatrette) there is a spa, sauna and wine cellar, a great internal laundry with stacks of cupboards, a double garage and lots of extra storage.

Features

Alarm System
Balcony / Patio / Terrace
Bath
Built in Wardrobes
Fireplace(s)
Formal Lounge
Garden
Gas
Modern Bathroom
Modern Kitchen
Quiet Location
Renovated
Separate Dining Room
Views

John huntsman Sr's Ski Resort Home

2012-01-16T18:32:00.005+08:00

Source & here

20,000 Sq. Ft. Home On 63 Acre Estate in Upper Deer Valley--Perfect for Isolated Family Compound or Development

Jon Huntsman, Sr. is the founder of Huntsman Corporation and his son Jon Huntsman, Jr. is the Governor of Utah and is nominated to serve as United States Ambassador to China.

This estate/compound is the crown jewel of Deer Valley. 20,000 sq. ft. log home comes elegantly furnished w/10 bedrooms, 2 bunk bedrooms (20 mattresses), 15 bathrooms, large great rooms, dining room seats 20, indoor pool, fitness center, library, children's playrooms, 6 & 22 car garages, and more. Ideal for family compound or development. Contiguous parcels are 40.69 acres with home, 19.53 acres, and 3.61 acres. Potential to develop 20-22 more homes.

20,000 Square Feet
63.83 Acres
12 Bedrooms
16 Bathrooms
4 Fireplaces
Year Built 1989
View: Lake/Pond, River/Stream, Valley, Woods
Ranch Amenities: Creek/Stream, Lake/Pond
Dining Area: Breakfast Bar, Eat-In Kitchen, Formal Dining, Informal Dining
Other Rooms: Fitness Room, Home Theater, Lower Level W/ Walkout, Ski Prep Room, Storage, Study/Office/Den, Utility Room

Its for sale. Originally listed at USD55 Million, now only USD43 million

Samsung Smart Window

2012-01-15T01:04:00.002+08:00

Poland Underground

2012-01-05T09:38:00.003+08:00

Deep underground in Poland lies something remarkable but little known outside eastern Europe. For centuries people have extracted salt there, but left something behind rather unique. Here is the most ujnusual mine in the world.

From the outside Wieliczka Salt Mine doesnt look extraordinary. However, over 200 metres below ground it holds a secret. This is the salt mine that became an art gallery, cathedral and underground lake

It worked as a mine until 1996 but generations of miners did more than just extract... they left behind a breathtaking record of their time underground in the shape of statues of mythic, historical and religious figures. They even created their own chapels in which to pray.

Perhaps the most astonishing legacy is the huge underground cathedral they left behind.

Even the chandaliers are made of salt.

The miners' take on Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.

Hobbit Home – For Only £3,000

2012-01-03T13:24:00.001+08:00

Source and also here

Simon Dale is a family man in Wales, the western part of Great Britain. His interest in self-sustainability and an ecological awareness led him to dig out and build his own home—one of the loveliest, warmest, most inviting dwellings you could ever imagine. And it cost him only £3,000, about $4,700 American dollars!

Can you imagine a more charming entrance than this?

Simon gives two reasons for building the home. The first elegant one, from his website, is:

It’s fun. Living your own life, in your own way is rewarding. Following our dreams keeps our souls alive.

His second reason is a plea for sustainability, in which he states that “our supplies are dwindling and our planet is in ecological catastrophe”. You can read the full and passionate statement here.

Simon is also a photographer, and as you can see throughout this article, a talented one.

A beautiful view in another home that Simon is helping build for someone else. (Originally, this was mistakenly identified as a photo of the home he and his family are living in.)

The tools are fairly simple. The main concession to modernity was a chainsaw, which he used to cut down about 30 small trees. No old growth forest fell to his family’s needs. He focused on tools that used his own energy, like shovel, chisel, and hammer. Yet it took him only four months to produce this lovely home.

The home is constructed from wood, stone, straw, and has a sod roof. It’s heated with a wood fireplace and has a solar panel for power. Most materials were scavenged. The effect, though, isn’t of a run-down get-by-with-second-best sort. It’s creative, artistic, elegant, and cozy.Most amazingly, the home didn’t require years of training or experience. Simon had none. He’s not an architect. He’s not an engineer. He’s not a carpenter. He started from scratch in every sense. He told the Daily Mail:

Being your own have-a-go architect is a lot of fun and allows you to create and enjoy something which is part of yourself and the land rather than, at worst, a mass-produced box designed for maximum profit and the convenience of the construction industry.
Building from natural materials does away with producers’ profits and the cocktail of carcinogenic poisons that fill most modern buildings.

He was fortunate in obtaining the land for his home. The plot, a bit of a large piece, was given to him in exchange for its caretaking.

Simon Dale, his wife Jasmine Saville, and their two children in front of their completed home just 4 months after starting it! This and all photos on this page are by Simon Dale (http://simondale.net).

The attention to making the home eco-friendly extends to a compost toilet, the use of straw over a plastic layer for insulation, and a refrigerator that’s cooled with air that flows from under the home’s foundation. Cement is a high carbon emitter, so the interior walls are finished with lime plaster instead of cement plaster.

Simon is now involved in building another home for the Lammas Project, an organization dedicted to low-impact building. Focus is not only on the homes themselves, but also on planting trees and gardens, and on low impact living in general. Here’s how he sums up his view on his home and the Lammas Project:

This building is one part of a low-impact or permaculture approach to life. This sort of life is about living in harmony with both the natural world and ourselves, doing things simply and using appropriate levels of technology. These sort of low cost, natural buildings have a place not only in their own sustainability, but also in their potential to provide affordable housing which allows people access to land and the opportunity to lead more simple, sustainable lives.

I cannot imagine a home more lovely, appealing, and livable than this one. This could be and should be the wave of the future in home building.

For more information about Simon Dale’s home, plans, and more photos, please go to his website,A Low Impact Woodland Home.

Some key points of the design and construction:

Dug into hillside for low visual impact and shelter
Stone and mud from diggings used for retaining walls, foundations etc.
Frame of oak thinnings (spare wood) from surrounding woodland
Reciprocal roof rafters are structurally and aesthaetically fantastic and very easy to do
Straw bales in floor, walls and roof for super-insulation and easy building
Plastic sheet and mud/turf roof for low impact and ease
Lime plaster on walls is breathable and low energy to manufacture (compared to cement)
Reclaimed (scrap) wood for floors and fittings
Anything you could possibly want is in a rubbish pile somewhere (windows, burner, plumbing, wiring...)
Woodburner for heating - renewable and locally plentiful
Flue goes through big stone/plaster lump to retain and slowly release heat
Fridge is cooled by air coming underground through foundations
Skylight in roof lets in natural feeling light
Solar panels for lighting, music and computing
Water by gravity from nearby spring
Compost toilet
Roof water collects in pond for garden etc.

Tabebuia, aka Trumpet Tree = Ipe (Epay) Wood

2011-12-17T23:59:00.002+08:00

Epay Wood Facts

Epay wood has been put through many thorough tests to measure its quality as a building material. Read through these facts about Epay wood and see why you can never go wrong choosing this spectacular and proven building material. I'm sure you'll agree that Epay truly is a naturally, proven-to-last material you can depend on.

Description	Reddish or Olive brown walnut color with a fine to medium texture. Can grow up 150 feet with max trunk diameter of 6 ft. Average height is 100 ft with a diameter around 2 to 3 ft.
Termite Resistance	U.S. NAVAL RESEARCH LABORATORY – Highest Rating was awarded due to 15 years in ground without termite attack.
Fire Resistance	ASTM-E84 tested to National Fire Protection Code, Class A, Uniform Building Code, Class 1; Highest Rating.
Slip Resistance	ASTM-C1028-89 tested; Epay decking surpasses Americans with Disabilities Act requirements for Static Coefficient of friction in a wet environment.
Durability	Very durable. Will last 40+ years without preservative treatments, 100 years with preservative treatments.
Working Properties	Tough on cheap cutters and blades. Use carbide tipped saw blades. Pre-drilling is necessary.
Bending Strength	22,560 psi
Crushing Strength	10,350 psi
Janka Hardness	3680 lbs

A Tiny Apartment Transforms Into 24 Rooms

2011-12-17T23:24:00.000+08:00

A house that produces its own water and energy

2011-12-17T22:28:00.001+08:00

Kohler Sustainable Design - Built Green - Hillside Home

2011-12-17T22:04:00.002+08:00

Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater

2011-12-17T21:23:00.001+08:00

Green home - Texas

2011-12-17T20:55:00.002+08:00

Green home - Greece

2011-12-17T20:51:00.002+08:00

Green home - California

2011-12-17T20:49:00.003+08:00

Hidden Pool

2011-12-17T13:52:00.001+08:00

Earthscrapers

2011-12-09T00:26:00.000+08:00

Sky-scrapers giving way to earth-scrapers....!!! - Introducing... the earth-scraper: Architects design 65-storey building

which plunges 300 metres below ground By Hugo Gye, Last updated at 9:52 PM on 12th October 2011

Architects have designed an incredible 65-storey 'earth-scraper' which plunges 300 metres below ground. The stunning upside down pyramid in the middle of Mexico City is designed to get around height limits on new buildings in the capital. The subterranean building will have 10 storeys each for homes, shops and a museum, as well as 35 storeys for offices.

Deep: The 65-storey 'earth-scraper' is set to plunge 300m into the ground beneath Mexico City

Epic scale: The enormous complex is intended to get round the city's planning laws, which state that buildings can be no more than eight storeys high

Landmark: The earth-scraper would be located in the city's main square, and topped with an enormous Mexican flag

A glass floor covers the massive 240m x 240m hole in the city's main square to filter in natural light from the world above.

The design has been crowned with a Mexican flag.

Esteban Suarez, from architecture firm BNKR Arquitectura, said the building would also house a new cultural centre.

Scary: The core is all made of glass to ensure that all parts of the building receive natural sunlight from the world outside

Relaxing: Designers expect the public areas of the building to become a popular destination for those wishing to escape the bustle of the city

Heritage: The earth-scraper is expected to contain a museum and cultural centre which will explore the history of Mexico and its pyramids.

Future Floating Buildings

2011-11-27T19:17:00.000+08:00

Serbian Eco House

2011-11-27T19:11:00.002+08:00

His website

http://www.veljkomilkovic.com/EkoKuca2Eng.html

Old Pallets

2011-11-27T18:13:00.001+08:00

Finca Bellavista

2011-11-14T23:44:00.001+08:00

Beer Bottle House

2011-11-06T01:09:00.001+08:00

The Plans For Steve Jobs’ New House

2011-11-03T23:51:00.002+08:00

Source

You knew Steve Jobs was tearing down hisold mansion. You didn't know what he was building in its place. Until now.

After nearly a six years of detailed cost comparisons, environmental impact surveys, court appeals, and unrelenting legal kung fu with state and local preservationists, it appears the 1920s Woodside mansion Jobs bought in 1984 will finally have its date with the bulldozers.

In its place, the Apple CEO plans to erect a brand new $8.45 million single family home. And what might a man who's described design as "the fundamental soul of a human-made creation" do when given the chance to build a new residence? Exactly what you'd expect…and also kind of not.

But first, some history. The house that currently occupies Steve's lot, the (now dilapidated) Spanish Colonial Revival home designed for copper baron Daniel Jackling, contains 30 rooms, 14 bedrooms and 13 1/2 bathrooms. Jobs initially purchased the mansion back in 1984, lived in it for about 10 years, and then intermittently rented it out. It's been vacant for almost a decade. Back in 2004, the Woodside Town Council first approved Jobs' application for a demolition permit, but agreed with the preservationist group Save Our Heritage that the building was a historic resource. What's followed has been a fierce legal battle between an unsentimental future-oriented tech CEO and a group focused only on the past. It hasn't been pretty.

As for Jobs' new home? It couldn't be more different than the Jackling estate. Measuring in at about one third the size (4,910 square feet) of the existing main property, Jobs' future residence is the ne plus ultra of utilitarian modesty—even when you remove the billionaire standards.

If anything, the conceptual plans submitted to the Woodside Town Council depict more of a small, private retreat than any towering glass-and-steel tech chapel or totem of wealth. According to these initial designs, Jobs intends to populate the 6 acres with an assortment of indigenous flora; a simple three-car garage; a modest 5 bedroom home with plenty of windows and decks; a network of lighted stone walkways; and even a private vegetable garden. Everything is neat, tight, pragmatic, and in its place.

While the pared down modernist home will occupy the same basic location as the existing George Washington Smith-built manse, nothing will remain of the estate's former grandiosity. In lieu of the 8 bedroom/9.5 bathroom main residence, Jobs has opted instead for an unassuming living/working space that's half the size. No chauffeur's cottage, no cook's cottage, and no tennis courts. In fact, when compared something like Larry Ellison's $70 million feudal Japan themed estate located right up the road, Jobs' new digs seem downright monkish—if not Buffettian.

"The site plan definitely shows unnatural restraint for a person of wealth," notes Christopher Travis, both a managing partner of Austin-based Sentient Architecture and the founder of a start-up that's developing software to predict how people respond to the built environments around them.

"This kind of thing only happens when the client gives the architect specific instructions to be sparse and utilitarian," Travis adds. "The natural tendency is to go ‘McMansion.' I would say this plan is a direct result of a specific requirement by Jobs to make it plain and simple…It's almost Zen, with a vaguely oriental simplicity to it."

That strict adherence to simplicity becomes less surprising when you discover the origin of the plans: Bohlin Cywinski Jackson, the same architectural firm responsible for some of Apple's most iconic stores, was also tapped to work their magic for Jobs' new property.

While initially submitted as part of a legal agreement to quantify the monetary difference between restoring the Jackling estate and razing it to build the new house ($8.5 million vs $13.75, respectively), these rough plans still offer some insight into both the aesthetic tastes and personality of Apple's leader. Homes are, after all, one of the most intensely personal things someone can own—especially when you have more money than God to design one.

We showed them to Sally Augustin, an environmental psychologist who consults with homeowners and businesses to incorporate psychological considerations into the building process.

"Based on these…I would say Steve Jobs and his family are quite comfortable in their own skins and not out to prove anything to anyone," she said. "They have assessed what they need in a home, and will have it built."

In terms of its overall design, the new home is dominated by rectilinear lines, indicative, Augustin says of a strong sense of control. She also notes there's an almost preternatural assessment of what is needed and what isn't.

"The careful assessment of needs is evident in the bedroom wing with the shared bathroom - the one with two toilet/WC rooms," says Augustin. "This design is very efficient and more economical than bathrooms for each bedroom."

Efficient with economical with space? An unflinching devotion to practicality? The distinct lack of garish bells and whistles? Sound familiar? At a time when architect and design firms are just starting to apply to Apple's design principles to the building of homes (clean, tight, nothing unnecessary), Steve Jobs has gone and designed the iPhone of houses.

Travis agrees. Among other insights gleaned from these preliminary plans, he notes that the home was clearly built for a man (there's a distinct lack of a woman's touch here) who likes privacy, a natural setting, and working. Especially working.

"It is functional, not really designed for entertaining, but a home/work environment," Travis says. "This guy likes his work." The low profile of the home in addition to the way the grounds are laid out also speaks of someone who doesn't want or need attention.

"This is not Patton charging through Europe. This is an attempt to be gentle in an existing environment. This guy would want them to knock down that house CAREFULLY. My guess is this is a person whose life if very internal. He does not want what is going on outside to interfere with what is going on inside."

Estimates about the razing and building of the new home put the total construction time around 22 months. And while it's unclear how much of these plans will eventually be implemented, Jobs is expected to release another detailed plan to the town well before things get started.

One thing is almost certain, though: Steve won't be buying another old mansion anytime soon.

The Craziest Megalomaniac Engineering Project Since the Pyramids Is In England

2011-11-03T23:45:00.001+08:00

Source

This is the Thames Hub airport, part of an 80 billion dollar project that would include a railway terminal connecting to England and Europe through high speed trains, huge depots and a port. Total cost: $80 billion.

This thing is crazy. It aims to be a central hub for absolutely everything, with multi-level underground railroads and highways that will connect it with London, the rest of Britain and to Europe through the Channel Tunnel. It will also include a new Thames Barrier that will extend the protection of riverside lands against floods, further expanding the surface available for construction. Designed by Foster and Partners in cooperation with British planners, builders and economists, I don't know if this should be considered a glorious idea or the megalomaniac dream of a comic book villain.

Foster says that the United Kingdom needs "to recapture the foresight and political courage of our 19th-century forebears if we are to establish a modern transport and energy infrastructure in Britain for this century and beyond." Perhaps they should invade India again too. Foster claims that it could be done, just like they "were able to build a major new international airport and all the associated infrastructure including a new island reclaimed from the sea within four years" in Hong Kong.

Maybe he is right. It all just seems a bit too crazy for me. All I know is that I love to look at cross sections of giganormous engineering works. Enjoy.

9010 Hopen, Hollywood Hills

2011-10-18T02:38:00.002+08:00

Source

American Walnut floor
B&B Italia Tufty Time Bed California King
B&B Dado nightstands & cabinet
B&B Maxalto AC170G “circular” couch (rotates)
Oberwork Telescope
Verna Panton “Wire” lamps (nightstand)

Alcohol Fireplace
Creston controlled Somfy electric blinds (blackout and sunshades)
Poliform “wenge” wall units with custom colored cabinet over dressing table
Poliform custom upholstered poufs
Poliform “wall hung” wardrobes (no vertical supports)

Walls finished in “Silestone” slabs
Boffi “Iceland” tub
Boffi “liquid” faucets with custom made polished stainless steel panels
Boffi accessories / fixtures
Antonio Lupi vanity unit and cabinets
Antonio Lupi back lit mirror
“Mr Steam” shower with exterior on/off
Rain shower with seat
Poliform Pouf
Door to private deck

Four Custom made super slim framed slider doors / 10ft x 10ft
Custom made entry pivot door with Aluminum “fins”
American Walnut floor
“Nancy Braver” Column 9 (three acrylic spheres)
“Nancy Braver” Chubby (pink wall mounted acrylic sculpture)
“D’Arcy Huebler “ Los Angeles 001 (large painting)

“D’Arcy Huebler” Beatbox & Profound Sounds (pair paintings)
“Moths” from NW USA (Oregon)
B&B “Harry Large” armchairs in custom velvet
B&B “Harry Large” V‐couch’s
B&B poufs in black Grade 1 leather
Cassina “Utrecht” armchairs in brown Grade 1 leather
Grey Wool “Poliform” rug
Library cabinets with illumination in Wenge
Wall panels with hidden storage / powder entry in wenge
Crestron controlled “Somfy” electric sun shades
Gas fireplace with lava stones
Artemide ‐Ross Lovegrove “Mercury” pendant light (library)

Poliform kitchen units in Walnut and cream lacquer
Gaggenau appliances (2 x oven, steamer, coffee, 2 x warming drawers)
Gaggenau gas 5 burner hob
Poliform stove hood
Sub Zero refrigeration (2 x fridge’s with drawers and ice maker under, wine cellar with beverage drawers under)
2 x Miele dishwasher with soft close door
Dornbracht faucets with soap dispenser and hand spray
Caesar stone counter top
Walnut dining table (Poliform)
8 x Walter Knoll “Mies Van der Rohe” Brnu dining chairs in custom Spinneybeck leather
Wool & Silk rug (under dining table)

Macassar Ebony desk and shelves (custom made East Coast USA)
B&B Maxalto armchairs in Grade 1 leather
B&B Max alto low table
Charles Eames Herman Miller high back desk chair in custom Spinneybeck leather
Anne Sacks “Glass” tiles in bath
Antonio Lupi vanity

Boffi “liquid” faucets with custom made polished stainless steel panel
Boffi accessories / fixtures

Custom lacquered “Bauhaus” bed
Custom lacquered “Bauhaus” nightstands and low cabinet
Walnut wardrobes
Verna Panton “Wire” lamps (nightstand)
LED reading lamps
Anne Sacks “Glass” tiles in bath
Antonio Lupi vanity
Boffi “liquid” faucets with custom made polished stainless steel panel
Boffi accessories / fixtures

There is a full Home automation system with the following:
All TV’s can watch Apple TV, DVD, Satellite from any location
Apple TV
3 x HD Tivo
SAT Radio
Integrated Alarm system
Integrated CCTV with 4 cameras. Can be viewed on “touchpad’s” in every room, as well as on TV’s
Integrated HVAC control in all rooms
I‐pod docks in all rooms – any iPod dock can be played in any / all rooms
Exterior speakers with full touchpad control
Exterior “Sun viewable” TV with full control
High end Blue Ray Players in Theatre and Master Bed
Pioneer 60” Kuro TV (the best Plasma you can buy) for living with $8,000 custom made solid walnut cabinet
Same custom made solid walnut cabinet in master – ready for buyer’s own TV choice
Master bedroom has high end, ceiling recessed 5.1 surround sound with all equipment located in garage central control.
TV in master bath
Theatre has professional ($12,000) 3DLP HD projector with 16:9 screen (fully recessed electric)
Theatre has High end fully recessed sound system with 2 sub woofers

Miele washer and dryer
Poliform Cabinets in wenge
Silestone counter tops / shelf
Dorbracht faucets with soap dispensers and hand spray
Door to side yard

Custom made Renlita garage door (Australia) with “motor car quality" paint job to both exterior and interior. This door has no visible mechanism, and weight over one ton. It is virtually silent in operation. The garage is fitted out to full home interior quality, with regular down lighters as well as LED changing color “2 in Love” lights imported from Europe. Floor up lighters for Wenge paneled wall. Custom painted garage floor Crestron lighting system and all Home automation is in various cabinets in the garage.

Landscaped courtyard with Carob trees
Terrazzo floors
Custom made “Blue” glass and aluminum entry with fins
Custom made stainless steel mail box up stand

Terrazzo floors with various up lighters and step lighting
Basalt pool wall
Wet Edge Pool and Spa with Solar and gas heating
Jandy Pool control system for Spa temperature, pool temperature, spa booster pump, pool overflow (for pool wall)
LED pool and spa lighting
Paola Lenti outdoor furnishing (Milan) (4 x sun loungers, couch, ottomans, chairs and rug) all is full outdoor and can be washed down as required
Large Stainless Steel and glass extendable dining table (yacht quality)
Small square Stainless Steel and glass table (yacht quality)
8 Stainless steel and webbed fabric dining chairs with arms (yacht quality)
Santa & Cole over dining table light
Santa & Cole over dining table light
Astor turf (check out the quality – you can see “dead” grasses within when you look closely) – it is like a really expensive rug!
Art installation ‐ “Sprout” by Nancy Braver
Custom made – fascia mounted White glass balustrade with stainless steel fittings for theatre walkway.
Porsche Stainless Steel gas barbecue

2” thick Perspex underwater pool windows with electric blind
Full paneled walls in high‐end acoustic fabric
Recessed speakers and sub woofers (high end)
Wenge cabinet for all AV equipment
Professional grade 3DLP projector and electrically retractable 16:9 screen
Custom designed / made velvet seating for 9 people with scatter cushion
New Zealand Wool carpet

Plastic bottle light

2011-09-19T10:16:00.001+08:00

Hidden Passageways

2011-09-17T14:13:00.001+08:00

The Best Air Purifyinng Plants and They are Nasa Approved

2011-09-17T11:27:00.003+08:00

Source

Breathe easier and better indoors with these top air purifying plants with NASA’s stamp of approval.

When Mom says, “Go outside and play,” she not only gives kids the benefit of exercise but also, cleaner air to breathe. Research says that trees and plants always clean and purify the air and there are plants that are better at purifying the air than most. You can bring cleaner air inside the home or office by adding these greeneries. NASA has done an official study on plant air purifiers (Yes, they don’t just deal with rockets and galaxies!) and the top five are as follows:

1. Areca Palm Tree (Chrysalidocarpus lutescens, Dypsis lutescens)- This plant garnered 8.5 in NASA’s purifying scale. Also known as ”Butterfly Palm”, MetaEfficient.com calls this plant “the most efficient air humidifier”. During very dry occasions, the Areca palm tree not only keeps your home or office pleasantly moist, it also eliminates poisonous chemicals in the air. Come winter time, this could be a replacement for electric humidifiers.

2. Lady Palm (Rhapis excelsa) – This plant tied in first place with the Areca palm tree garnering a NASA purifying score of 8.5. This plant is highly resistant to plant insects and is very versatile. It can withstand heat as high as 100 degrees Fahrenheit all the way down to a chilly 20 degrees Fahrenheit and is fine in dry or humid weather.

3. Bamboo Plant (Chamaedorea seifrizii) – Garnering a NASA purifying score of 8.4, the Bamboo plant flourishes when it is kept with just the right amount of moisture. However, it should not be kept too wet and should be placed in an area with indirect sunlight. With this conditions at its optimum, the Bamboo plant will continuously purify the air indoors.

4. Rubber Plant (Ficus robusta) – With a score of 8.0, the Rubber plant excels at eliminating poisonous chemicals from the air (specially formaldehyde). It outperforms the other ficus plants and requires a lot less light than others. There is one thing to be cautious though: its leaves are toxic, so be careful where you put them and when handling these with pets and small children.

5. Dracaena (Dracaena deremensis) – fifth on the list with a score of 7.8 on NASA’s rating, this plant was nicknamed “Janet Craig” after the daughter of nurseryman Robert Craig. This plant is commonly used in interior scape. The green and yellow colored leaves brightens up any room aside from working hard to purify the room it’s in. It is usually imported from Florida or Hawaii.

Also good air purifiers are English Ivy, Date Palm Tree, Ficus Alii, Boston Fern, and the Peace Lily.

Hardened Structures

2011-09-13T22:26:00.003+08:00

Website

Genesis Series

Contact your local Hardened Structures Office
for pricing and delivery information 877-486-0084

The Hardened Structures "Genesis" series was developed for military applications and due to high customer demand for an Underground Shelter System that surpasses technical specifications offered by current shelter manufacturers to TRULY mitigate a wide variety of potential threats and disasters, including 2012 scenarios, while maintaining a very high level of safety and security.

To meet market demand, Hardened Structures formed a special design and engineering team comprised of leaders in the field of Structural Engineering, Electrical & Mechanical Engineering, EMP, Systems Engineering, and Architecture. This specialized team took over 6 months to design the NEXT GENERATION of Underground Shelter Systems called the "Genesis" series.

The "Genesis" series represents thestrongest, safest, best designed and built Underground Shelter System in the world.Features include:

3 Bar blast overpressure protection
Multiple Seismic Events
100% waterproof
Blast doors
Fully Protected against EMP (Electromagnetic Pulse) and HEMP (High Altitude Electromagnetic Pulse). Fiberglass shelters cannot offer EMP/HEMP protection, see more at the bottom of the page.
100% rust resistance (zinc anodes)
The best military grade NBC (Nuclear, Biological, Chemical) air filtration system available in the world (Temet)
Integrated emergency escape hatch

The Genesis Shelter System can be expanded to unlimited occupant loads and delivered and installed almost anywhere in the world. The "Genesis" series incorporates a modular approach .There are four main components to the Genesis series that can be purchased separately or combined together to form a Genesis community configuration:

Living Pods
Central Gathering / Dining Pods
Power Pods
Central Dome

Single Genesis Living Pods can be purchased to suit small families offering a very high level of safety and security.

To increase capacity or to offer a separate living, eating, and central gather area, the Genesis Gathering/Dining Pod can be added, thus increasing space and comfort for prolonged usage periods. This is a very serious consideration to examine when purchasing an Underground Shelter System.

By adding numerous Genesis Living and Central Gathering/Dining pods, safety and comfort can be provided for a small community.

The following pictures provide a realistic view of the interior space of the “Genesis” units. Interiors can be easily re-designed to accommodate client specific requirements. The technical specifications will not change, only the interior layout.

The Genesis Living Pods can be added to the Genesis "Dome" - thus offering a very comfortable, spacious community accommodating between 50 to 150 people and can be connected in series to allow for an unlimited number or occupants. The Genesis Dome offers the very same technical specifications as the Genesis Pods to form a community that offers safety and security unparalleled by any other shelter product in the world.

By adding on an additional Dome and Living Pods, this community can easily grow to 500 to 1000 people for durations in excess of 8 years - offering a true 2012 structure built in 1/3 the time it would take for a custom design and construction. This benefit alone will make the Genesis Series the product of choice for the residential, commercial and military markets.

Stand alone Dome PG1

Stand alone Dome PG2

Several fiberglass subterranean shelter manufacturers claim that their shelters are HEMP/EMP protected and are MIL-STD-188-125 and MIL-HDBK-423 compliant. THIS IS NOT TRUE! If your shelter is not comprised of a conductive surface (i.e. metal) then it CANNOT be HEMP/EMP protected.

Electromagnetic fields pass right through fiberglass without attenuation (indeed – many antenna coverings and radomes are actually MADE OUT OF FIBERGLASS – because electromagnetic fields pass right through them! Even if painted with conductive coatings, fiberglass shelters will not protect you against EMP threats.

If you are considering a fiberglass shelter, then you are eliminating any possibility of protecting yourself from an EMP, because an EMP shelter has to be specifically designed and fabricated out of metal (preferably steel, for low-frequency performance) with each and every penetration engineered to keep out EMP energy. IF YOU ARE CONSIDERING BUYING A FIBERGLASS UNDERGROUND SHELTER FOR EMP PROTECTION, YOU ARE BUYING YOURSELF A TOMB!

This is why Hardened Structures provides quality steel enclosures – so that we can protect you from as many threat scenarios as possible – including EMP threats.

If you are going to invest in a shelter, ONLY a quality Hardened Structures steel shelter can protect you and your family from a broad spectrum of disaster scenarios that includes HEMP and EMP protection.

Do your homework on HEMP/EMP protection – here is what the U.S. Military; MIL-HDBK-423 specification says about HEMP/EMP protection:

The HEMP/EMP shield serves three functions as part of the EMP barrier:

1. It prevents potentially damaging radiated electromagnetic stresses from an EMP event from reaching sensitive equipment inside the protective shelter by field reflection and attenuation (HS Comment: this is something fiberglass cannot do).
2. HEMP-induced transients on exposed metal pipes and electrical conductors are deposited on the outer shield surface by the actions of point-of-entry protective devices and prevented from entering the protected volume by the skin effect – (HS Comment: whereas with a fiberglass shelter – the energy is conducted right INTO your shelter through pipes and wires and into your sensitive equipment!)
3. The conductive shelter shield limits the number of ways that electromagnetic energy can enter the facility. (HS Comment: With a fiberglass shield there are unlimited ways in which electromagnetic energy can enter the facility)

The conductive steel shield is the primary element of the electromagnetic barrier. The shield, exclusive of the penetrating conductor and aperture treatments, consists of the metallic enclosure portions of the electromagnetic barrier. The role of the shield is to exclude electromagnetic fields from the protected volume of the facility. The conductive shield acts to reflect the incident fields and severely attenuate those fields and currents that penetrate into the metal. (Comment: in other words, fiberglass cannot be an EMP shield!)

To be effective, the shield must exclude or greatly attenuate incident electric and magnetic fields. To accomplish this, electromagnetic shielding surrounds a volume with a conductive layer that is thick enough so that highly-mobile electrons can arrange themselves and produce surface currents and charges that oppose the incident fields. This is the Faraday cage principle. External electric fields perpendicular to the surface are terminated on surface charges that form on the shield as its free electrons respond to the incident field. The tangential electric field is shorted and reflected by the conductive shield. Magnetic fields perpendicular to the surface induce eddy currents in the shield's surface. This, in turn, produces a magnetic field that opposes (i.e. “cancels”) the incident field in and beyond the shield (inductive magnetic shielding). The tangential magnetic field induces current on the shield, which in turn produces a magnetic field that adds to the incident field (field doubling). (HS Comment: The end result is that with a steel EMP shield – you are fully protected from an EMP, with a fiberglass shield YOU ARE COMPLETELY VULNERABLE TO AN EMP)

The essence of a good shielding layer is the maintenance of good electrical conductivity, or low resistance, over all portions of the surface. Leakage through a shield surface occurs to the extent that voltages develop across resistances or impedances in the surface, and these voltages act as sources to reradiate fields into the interior of the shielded volume. The bulk of the shield surface will be made up of metal sheet. (HS Comment: Fiberglass has high-resistance over all portions of the shield – it optimizes the transmission of EMP energy into the shield enclosure!)

From MIL-STD-188-125-1:

"4.3.1 Facility shield. The facility HEMP shield shall be a continuous conductive enclosure (i.e. NOT FIBERGLASS) that meets or exceeds shielding effectiveness requirements of this standard. The shield is normally constructed of a metal, such as steel or copper. Other materials may be used if they can provide the required shielding effectiveness and are fully compatible (HS Comment: Fiberglass is NOT compatible, nor can it ever be made compatible) with the Point-of-Entry protective treatments and grounding requirements."

Listen to the company with Professional Engineers that build HEMP/EMP protected shelters for the U.S. Military!

Hardened Structures STRONGLY recommends that if you do not purchase a steel shelter that includes HEMP/EMP protection that you make sure you do not make a possibly critical error in your protection and survival plans and purchase a non-conductive fiberglass shelter – it could be the worst mistake you ever make and ruin even the most carefully thought out disaster preparedness plans.

Buy a steel shelter than can be configured to protect you against HEMP/EMP events, Hardened Structures will help you choose the right shelter for you, those important to you, and the components/equipment that will make your disaster preparedness plans work for you.

1 MILLION pounds of Food on 3 acres. 10,000 fish 500 yards compost

2011-09-13T22:25:00.001+08:00

$99 Houses

2011-09-02T22:41:00.001+08:00

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All this can be yours for just $99! Company makes tiny, 65 sq ft build-it-yourself homes

By RACHEL QUIGLEY

For those who are too broke to get on the housing ladder, an American firm is here to help.

Last updated at 7:49 AM on 1st September 2011

Jay Shafer's Tumbleweed Tiny House Company makes cute little homes that start from the bargain price of $99.

The cheapest home is a flat-pack to be built by the owner but, if you're not very handy, there are ready-made versions for $38,997.

Cute: For those who are too broke to get on the housing ladder an American firm Tumbleweed Tiny House Company is here to help with homes that start at the bargain price of $99

Bargain: The cheapest home is a flat-pack to be built by the owner but, if you're not very handy, there are ready-made versions for $38,997

All necessities: The homes all have fully functioning kitchens, bathrooms and sleeping areas

The teeny homes, which start at just 65 square feet are kitted out with fully functioning kitchens, bathrooms complete with composting toilets and sleeping areas.

Some models even come on wheels.

As well as being environmentally friendly the homes are affordable for people on meagre incomes.

As the debt problem in the U.S. reaches tipping point Mr Shafer, who lives in one of his houses in Sebastapol, California, says that less can be more.

'People are starting to get a clue I think,' he said.

'People are starting to understand that excess is not necessarily a luxury. It can be a burden, a liability. People are living in 4,000 and 6,000 square foot debtors prisons.'

Convenient: A lot of the homes have wheels, so you can move any time your heart desires

Mobile: The teeny homes, which start at just 65 square feet, are kitted out with fully-functioning kitchens, bathrooms and sleeping areas - some models even come on wheels

He said that having less belongings is also a pleasure.

'People spend 30 years or more paying for all this space and stuff that they don't really need.'

But one of the main reasons he likes to live small - less cleaning.

'I grew up in a 4,000 square foot home,' he said.

'And my sister and I were in charge of cleaning the house. But my main reason for building such a little home was nothing so grandiose as saving the world, or so pragmatic as saving money.

'Truth be known, I simply do not have the time or patience for a large home. I’ve found that, like anything else that’s superfluous, extra space merely gets in the way of my contentment, for it requires maintenance and heating and ultimately demands that I exchange a portion of my life for the money to pay for these luxuries.

'I wanted a place that would maintain my serene lifestyle, not a place that I would spend the rest of my life maintaining. I find nothing demanding about Tumbleweed. Everything’s within arm’s reach and nothing’s in the way–not even space itself.'

Deals on wheels: As well as being environmentally friendly the homes are affordable for people on meagre incomes and can be wheeled anywhere

Mobile: The teeny homes designed by Jay Shafer, right, which start at just 65 square feet, are kitted out with fully-functioning kitchens, bathrooms and sleeping areas - some models even come on wheels

Epic Home Theatre

2011-08-23T14:21:00.000+08:00

Ashton Kutcher's villa on wheels

2011-08-14T09:58:00.000+08:00

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At $8,750 a week it’s just as well Mr Demi Moore is reported to be on a possible $20 million for 26 episodes

With side sections and a second floor that hydraulically emerge from the main body to offer a total floor space of 1,100 sq ft, the 'Baby Girl' boasts seven 60in 3D plasma screens, a vast living area, two bathrooms, a kitchen with granite surfaces and a conference space

Size matters in Hollywood and while Ashton Kutcher might not be able to match the $2 million a show paid to Charlie Sheen, the man he’s replaced on hit TV comedy Two And A Half Men, he has more than made up for it with his trailer.

In fact, the two-storey, 53ft long, 30-ton luxury home from home used by Mr Demi Moore isn’t called a trailer – it’s described as a ‘mobile estate’.

The exterior of the mobile (left); rear entrance (centre); and stairwell - the door halfway up the stairs leading to the bathroom (right)

Ashton Kutcher might not be able to match the $2 million a show paid to Charlie Sheen, but he has more than made up for it with his trailer

With side sections and a second floor that hydraulically emerge from the main body to offer a total floor space of 1,100 sq ft, the ‘Baby Girl’ boasts seven 60in 3D plasma screens, a vast living area, two bathrooms, a kitchen with granite surfaces and a conference space.

After being sacked from Two And A Half Men, Charlie Sheen made a spoof film about trying to ‘rescue’ his beloved trailer from the Warner Brothers lot in Burbank, Los Angeles. Kutcher would be advised not to try anything similar.

Designed by Ron Anderson of Anderson Mobile Estates, these mobile behemoths are built to the stars’ specifications. Previous ‘residents’ have included Mariah Carey, Sharon Stone and Vin Diesel.

At $8,750 a week it’s just as well Kutcher is reported to be on a possible $20 million for 26 episodes.

Cameras mounted on the outside of the trailer offer 360-degree video security and surveillance. When a visitor hits the doorbell, the volume on the stereo system and TV drops inside and the image of the visitor appears on the various screens located throughout. One client insisted on a thumb scanner entry system for the master bedroom.

Retractable furniture (left) and the view from the living area to the dining area (right)

The furniture is specially designed to fold or collapse in order to accommodate the retractable top and side sections. U.S. law dictates that the height of the vehicle must be no more than 13ft 6in when on the road; with the second storey fully extended the ‘Baby Girl’ stands at a whopping 15ft 10in.

A new model called ‘The Sky Box’ featuring a third storey is due to be unveiled soon.

Whilst shooting Men In Black III, Will Smith used a model called ‘The Heat’. It was kitted out with a full recording studio, sound booth for voiceover work complete with glass door that sensors change from clear to opaque, a make-up mirror that doubles as a television (one of five 42in plasmas on board), a play area for his children and even a chess room.

View from the living area at the rear of the vehicle (left) and dining area (right)

The outside patio area is fitted with wind sensors so the electric awning retracts automatically in gusty conditions. Inside, a wireless touchscreen remote controls heat, air conditioning, brightness and the blinds.

In addition to his four rental vehicles – ‘Baby Girl’, ‘The Heat’, ‘Studio One’ and ‘Aspen’ – Anderson has sold nine of the mobile units to people he describes as ‘among the richest on the planet’.

The cost? A cool $2 million each.

The two-storey mobile estate, known as The Heat, is 53ft long. Cameras mounted on the outside offer 360-degree video security and surveillance

Tom Cruise's Survival Bunker

2011-06-23T21:04:00.000+08:00

Tom Cruise has completed his 10 million dollar bunker in preparation for the end of the world at his estate in Telluride, Colorado, with a “state of the art air purification system,” and enough supplies and equipment for around ten people to survive comfortably for years, so that he and his family can live out the coming Armageddon

According to Star Magazine, Scientologists like Cruise believe that the evil deposed galactic ruler, Xenu, is set to attack Earth soon, and he wants to make sure he has a safe place for his family and loved ones when the imminent attack comes

There has been wide speculations in Scientology circles that Xenu will return in 2012

Another 10 Truly Amazing Tree Houses

2011-06-13T01:47:00.001+08:00

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Wilkinson Residence

Architect, artist, magician, Robert Harvey Oshatz is all of that and so much more. He is the organic architect responsible for this magnificent home up in the canopy; the coolest house in the trees that you will likely ever see. The unique Wilkinson Residence graces the wooded landscape outside of Portland, Oregon. This treehouse would turn even the Swiss Family Robinson green with envy. More than likely you too will have a more than a twinge of desire to live in it. (Link | Via)

Spider's Leg Tree house

We're no strangers to Germany's tree house makers extraordinaire Baumraum, so when we saw another brilliant arboreal home design from them, we knew we had to share it with you! The house resides at World of Living , a showspace/amusement park for sustainable housing company WeberHaus and greets visitors with its curvy body perched atop super skinny spider-like "legs". The unusual shape and clean lines are Baumraum's signature, and there are a lot of other cool features, so check them all out in our slide show. (Link | Via)

Teahouse Tree house

Japanese professor of architecture Terunobu Fujimori built his boyhood dream in his father's garden in 2004. It's a teahouse on stilt. (Link | Via)

Tree house Restaurant

The Naha Harbor Diner in Okinawa, Japan, lies at the very top of a huge Gajumaru tree about 20 feet above the ground. Sadly, that is not a real Gajumaru tree, it's actually concrete. Customers actually have to get in an elevator inside the trunk to reach the restaurant. (Link)

Yellow Tree house

The Yellow Tree House by Pacific Environment Architects is built around a redwood tree, which is over 40m high and has a 1.7m diameter at its base, located north of Auckland, New Zealand. The structure is made of plantation poplar slats and used extensive natural lighting throughout. The tree house restaurant was built as a marketing promotion for New ZealandYellow Pages.

The concept of building a tree house on a redwood tree was quite challenging and required a range of consultants to get resources and building consent, and to get construction underway in the limited time of four months. The design is an organic oval form wrapped around the trunk and structurally tied up top and bottom, with a circular arrangement, split apart on the axis with a raised floor portion. The timber binding forms basis of the main structure. Glue-laminated plantation poplar pine has been used for the slats. It is around 10m wide and over 12m high with seating 10m off the ground. The kitchen and toilets are on the ground. It has the capacity to occupy 18 people with all the comforts such as bar, structural soundness, and unobstructed views into the valley. (Link | Via)

Beach Rock Tree house

This treehouse by Japanese builder Kobayahsi Takashi was constructed with the express purpose of communicating with outer space. “A sparkling beacon among treetops, it is easy to imagine the dome succeeding at its mission to make contact with alien life,” writes Nelson. (Link)

Island Wood Bogwon Tree house

The Island Wood "Bogwon" treehouse in Washington is supported by a single tree. Engineer Jake Jacob and his team from the TreeHouse Workshop fixed the house to the trunk with a series of limb-hugging rings. "Our trees are actually perched, as opposed to nailed in," he told us. "The tree might move in the wind and we don't want to inhibit the tree to be able to move in the wind." (Link | Via)

97-Foot Tree house

Horace Burgess's tree house may be as close to heaven as a body can get inCumberland County. It rises 97 feet into the sky, the support provided by a live, 80-foot-tall white oak 12 feet in diameter at its base. Six other trees brace the tower-like fortress, but Burgess says its foundation is in God. Most of his materials are recycled pieces of lumber from garages, storage sheds and barns. The tree house has 10 floors, averaging nine to 11 feet in height by Burgess's reckoning. He has never measured its size but estimates it to be about 8,000 to 10,000 square feet. He did count the nails that he has hammered into the wood — 258,000, give or take a few hundred. And he guesses he has sunk about $12,000 into the project. (Link)

Peter Lewis's Tree house

Any kid in Bridgton, Maine, would want to have Peter Lewis's playhouse in his backyard. And no wonder. Lewis has tricked it out with a drawbridge and two spiral staircases. Best of all, the whole thing floats 21 ft. off the ground. Lewis, however, is no kid, and his masterpiece--a two-story, 6000-pound clubhouse slung from an Eastern white pine--bears scant resemblance to the banged-together shacks of childhood. His treehouse is held aloft by a well-engineered suspension system that imparts nary a scratch to the pine's bark. Hearty beams and mortise-and-tenon joints lend built-for-the-ages solidity. Weather-sealed windows, insulation and a coal-burning stove deliver year-round enjoyment, even in icy Maine. (Link)

Crystal River Tree house

There is always a place for fun and frivolity in architecture! David Rasmussen, resident treehouse expert, designed and built this “treehouse” with log columns as the main support, since the trees on the property are not strong enough to build on. (Link)

Family Lives in 320-Square-Foot 'Shotgun Shack'

2011-06-03T22:18:00.001+08:00

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Having trouble qualifying for a home loan? Then consider what this inventive family of three did and buy yourself a Mississippi-style "shotgun shack."

Sick of working two jobs apiece to pay the mortgage on their 2,000-square-foot home, Debra and her husband Gary decided to give it all up and start over – by purchasing a 320-square-foot shack for $15,000 cash.

The video below, first submitted to the blog faircompanies.com on an open call for videos of tiny homes, shows the couple and their teenage son living mortgage-free in their surprisingly spacious abode.

The home includes a walk-in closet, conventional-sized appliances and even a lofted bedroom for their son that, the family boasts, is big enough to host sleepovers. Watch the video below to see just how far a little ingenuity can take you, even in today's prohibitive mortgage market.

Lego House

2011-05-27T22:19:00.000+08:00

james may's toy story ep5

James May's Toy Story

Shipping Container Cabin

2011-05-25T22:36:00.001+08:00

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before

after

Zombie-Proof House

2011-05-14T22:05:00.002+08:00

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There's being prepared for a zombie invasion by keeping a shotgun and some sparebrains in your basement, and then there's being actually eager for a zombie invasion, which is how you'll feel if you live in this absurdly safe house, called the Safe House. And yes, it even has that drawbridge you've always wanted.

I don't know what level of paranoia inspired this house, but thankfully someone had the wherewithal to make it a reality. By day, it has the look of a rather squarish but otherwise mostly normal house. But by night, or when someone hits what I can only assume is a giant red button with the word "PANIC" emblazoned on it, concrete blocks swing over the second floor windows, a concrete door closes on the first floor, a huge wall slides in to seal off most of one side of the ground floor, and a steel shutter drops over the entire front of the house.

What's left is a structure with no doors and, no windows, and in fact the only way in or out when the house is in lockdown mode is across a drawbridge that connects to the top of the pool house. And as for the pool itself, well... If you're busy swimming when the zombies show up, then you're already in a cheap horror flick, and you're undead meat anyway.

Monolithic Domes

2011-05-06T00:04:00.001+08:00

The dome, when finished, is earthquake, tornado and hurricane resistant and will not burn (FEMA rates them as "near-absolute protection" from F5 tornadoes and Category 5 Hurricanes). The Monolithic Dome can also be built completely underground for you fanboys of The Road.

http://www.monolithic.com/

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

Most Expensive Apartment in the UK Sold for $221 Million

2011-04-18T13:39:00.000+08:00

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Max Read — An anonymous Ukranian buyer purchased the most expensive apartment in the United Kingdom in 2007, paying $221 million in cash through an offshore trust to buy the penthouse of the One Hyde Park apartment complex. What does $221 million get you?

Well: In this case, three whole floors in One Hyde Park, which was completed this past January. Plus the building's many amenities, including a "dedicated team of 60 Mandarin Oriental hotel trained staff," a "private cinema" and bulletproof windows. (Because what's the point of being rich if you can't be paranoid?) The building is also made from "15 different types of stone," if that's the kind of thing that gets you going. Anyway: If you want one of these flats, you'd better act now, as most of them have apparently been sold.

Here are some images and a floorplan of a "typical five bedroom"

[Telegraph; images via The Real Estalker]

Parkour Gym

2011-04-06T11:27:00.001+08:00

Weird and Wacky Furniture By Straight Line Designs

2011-04-05T17:36:00.000+08:00

Straight Line Designs is a one-of-a-kind workshop that has been operating out of Vancouver, British Columbia for the past 25 years. In addition to installations, sculptures and private commissions, designer Judson Beaumont and his staff of eight full-time craftspeople have designed and constructed a variety of wacky cartoon-style furniture and projects for public institutions and children’s exhibitions throughout North America and abroad. Focused on quality and custom design, Judson’s studio stays far away from mass production and is as imaginative as children themselves.

Website: StaightLineDesigns.com

1. Little Black Dresser

2. Beaver Cabinet

3. Burnt Table

4. Bad Table

5. Canned Bench

6. Boom Cabinet

7. Accordian

8. Cracked Cabinet

9. Crashed Table

10. Cindy

11. Joined At The Hip

12.Daddy Long Legs

13. Raymond

14. Tear Away Bench

15. Squiddy

16. Oops! Cabinet

17. Brian

18. Jack In The Box

19. Melting Cabinet

Now This is a Tool Chest

2011-04-05T00:39:00.000+08:00

Cloud Playhouse

2011-03-05T00:26:00.001+08:00

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"We experience a contradiction between what our eyes enjoy and what our mind knows."- Dietrich Wegner

At first glance, this happy-go-lucky playhouse could look like any child's dream. But then, the shape reminds us of a mushroom cloud and we're left feeling a little uneasy...

"In Playhouse, I combine an atomic bomb’s mushroom cloud, with one of the safest places one can go, their childhood playhouse," artist Dietrich Wegner tells us. "The playhouse is a place of escape, imagination, and comfort. Often we have used bombs to preserve our playhouse, causing us to be stuck in limbo, between comfort and fear. I question how mindful we are of the consequences of our actions. I search for images that articulate the confusion between the intentions, outcomes and ideals of my nation, while focusing on the spaces between beauty, fantasy, and reality.

"I make my statement from confusion with what I see around me. I want to make images that help me think around my world, so I can, in the end, know what I see a little better. I hope my work helps people think about our collective fears, our innocence and the decisions we make to be safe. My hope is that we climb above our terror enough to think about the reality and consequences of our actions."

When asked what kind of reaction Playhouse has received, here's what Wegner said. "Unfortunately, at least judging from blog reactions to Playhouse , people just seem to think it is cool fun and cozy and I am not sure internet viewers get farther than that."

Ultimate Pirate Ship Bedroom

2011-03-05T00:23:00.000+08:00

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"The rope bridge is connected to the top of the jail cell, built to accommodate evil doers, thieves and little sisters."

Designer Steve Kuhl fulfills every boy's fantasy with this insanely cool pirate ship bedroom. The six-year-old occupant from Minnesota chose between a space ship, race car, castle, and pirate ship. Most of us would probably agree, he made an excellent decision.

The main feature of the room is the incredible floating pirate ship. Kuhl used 2x12 ribs to construct the hull of the ship, covering them with layers of 1/2 inch plywood to act as the planking. A bomb-proof blend of plaster and epoxy with integrated coloring was used simulate an old ship's hull.

But that's not all. The room is also decked out with a rope bridge that connects the pirate ship to the top of a jail cell, and a rope suspended from the ship's hull provides drop-in access to the closet. There's also a completely hidden spiral slide, that lets you travel downstairs in a more adventurous way.

"This is what it looks like when you enter the bedroom. You will notice the side of the hull is peppered with cannon ports. They also serve as peep holes for watching the uncool masses below."

"Our client wanted us to build a one-of-a-kind bedroom for a one-of-a-kind son. We concepted a space ship, race car, and castle before landing on this design. What self-respecting six year old wouldn't want a pirate ship?"

"The base of the rope bridge is anchored on top of the jail cell. We welded a custom steel door for that real jail feeling. Invite Bubba to complete the effect."

"As with many of the things we build, this is was a first. Ultimately we derive great satisfaction out of overcoming odd design challenges. It's sort of like that good pain you feel the day after a heavy workout."

"We constructed the crows nest using a ten inch hand-hewn timber for extra strength. Not seen here is a bed where important friends may get to sleep."

"Tell your pal to put her coat in the last locker and watch her reaction as she discovers the hidden room within. A motion sensitive switch triggers the light to turn on, revealing an odd yet intriguing orange hole in the wall at waist height."

"Steve Kuhl tests the slide for accuracy. Also, he is carefully calibrating important features along the way. This procedure needed to be repeated for the better part of a day to insure proper slide operation."

"Steve is ejected with great speed into the sport court at the bottom of the slide. The slide itself ran a total of 55 lineal feet and was procured from a local community center looking to upgrade."

"Here you can see how the slide is built. We housed it in such a way that it is completely hidden with the exception of the entrance and exit. The adjacent staircase allows the less adventurous to go the old fashioned way if they prefer."

"Looking down the rope into the closet below. For upper body workouts climb up the rope a few times each morning as your are getting dressed. You will be inspired by the echoes of you six grade gym coach in your brain."

"View from closet up through the hull of the ship."

"Steve Kuhl sits at the helm of the ship. The rope descends into the closet below for quick wardrobe changes."

Biogas from organic waste

2011-02-27T13:48:00.002+08:00

Welcome to the onsite power systems UC Davis Biogas Energy Project.An advanced technique that will take organic waste and create sources of renewable energy and biofuels that will help reduce our state's and country's dependence on foreign oil. The biogas energy project demonstrates an advanced anaerobic digestion technology capable of processing high solid and high liquid waste matter. The advantage of this system is that traditional digesters can only handle high-liquid waste, and this system can handle high-solids, including grass clippings and food waste without any sort of pre-processing. The waste goes through two stages in the anaerobic digestion process. The first stage breaks down the material and makes water and organic acid. The second stage takes those organic acids and makes methane gas. The two stages of the digestion process have different types of bacteria strains. The first step's bacteria is very hardy and can survive under almost any conditions, whereas the bacteria in the second stage that make the biogas are very sensitive to temperature and pH. This process separates those two stages, allowing each bacteria type to have an optimal environment. First we load the organic materials into a tank, allow it to break down at its own rate. As the material breaks down it produces water and organic acids. We take the water from the tank and decant it and feed it to a second tank where the bacteria that make the methane gas are housed. In that tank, or the gasification tank, we keep the optimal environment for the bacteria: 135 degrees Fahrenheit and a neutral pH level. At regular intervals we'll take water from the first stage tanks, along with the right amount of acids to feed it to the gasification tank. With this we get a very steady production of biogas. Typically food waste will break down in 5-7 days, green waste in 10-12 days, and we let the material stay there as it creates the water and the acid, and then we feed it to the gasification tank.

Pune, one of India's silicon cities. An unlikely home for biogas development, a fuel usually linked to cow dung and rural energy supply. But one man's vision is turning conventional wisdom upside-down, proving biogas may yet be an option for the city dweller.

The Appropriate Rural Technology Institute, ARTI, has developed a revolutionary approach to produce methane. The new method is much more efficient than the traditional one and doesn't need dung. Our system is four hundred times more efficient than the dung-based biogas plant. This is like any normal biogas plant where you have a fermenter here and a gas holder here. ARTI has found that the bacteria will eat leftover food instead of dung. This household has expanded their system to two inter-connected tanks, allowing them to use biogas as their main energy source. "I only use the LPG now to heat bath water. I cook all our meals just using biogas." Mohan Carti collects leftover food from his neighbors. The leftovers have to be left to ferment for a few days or mashed to a pulp before being fed to the bacteria in his rooftop biogas tank, providing the perfect solution for organic city waste, which is just left to rot as landfill space is limited. "We use that effluent as fertilizer." It takes just two days to produce the gas rather than a month. There's another advantage to not using dung that really appeals to city dwellers. "We are studying here, just a few feet from the plant, but can you smell anything? No, there's no odor."

Sustainable Ideas From Nature

2011-02-26T23:27:00.001+08:00

Michael Pawlyn: Using nature's genius in architecture

Janine Benyus: Biomimicry in action

... And It Looks Like All My Dreams

Cool Toilet

88 Backhouse Lane Wentworth Falls, Sydney

Features

John huntsman Sr's Ski Resort Home

Samsung Smart Window

Poland Underground

Hobbit Home – For Only £3,000

Tabebuia, aka Trumpet Tree = Ipe (Epay) Wood

Epay Wood Facts

Description

Termite Resistance

Fire Resistance

Slip Resistance

Durability

Working Properties

Bending Strength

Crushing Strength

Janka Hardness

A Tiny Apartment Transforms Into 24 Rooms

A house that produces its own water and energy

Kohler Sustainable Design - Built Green - Hillside Home

Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater

Green home - Texas

Green home - Greece

Green home - California

Hidden Pool

Earthscrapers

Future Floating Buildings

Serbian Eco House

Old Pallets

Finca Bellavista

Beer Bottle House

The Plans For Steve Jobs’ New House

The Craziest Megalomaniac Engineering Project Since the Pyramids Is In England

9010 Hopen, Hollywood Hills

Plastic bottle light

Hidden Passageways

The Best Air Purifyinng Plants and They are Nasa Approved

Breathe easier and better indoors with these top air purifying plants with NASA’s stamp of approval.

Hardened Structures

1 MILLION pounds of Food on 3 acres. 10,000 fish 500 yards compost

$99 Houses

All this can be yours for just $99! Company makes tiny, 65 sq ft build-it-yourself homes

Epic Home Theatre

Ashton Kutcher's villa on wheels

At $8,750 a week it’s just as well Mr Demi Moore is reported to be on a possible $20 million for 26 episodes

Tom Cruise's Survival Bunker

Another 10 Truly Amazing Tree Houses

Wilkinson Residence

Spider's Leg Tree house

Teahouse Tree house

Tree house Restaurant

Yellow Tree house

Beach Rock Tree house

Island Wood Bogwon Tree house

97-Foot Tree house

Peter Lewis's Tree house

Crystal River Tree house

Family Lives in 320-Square-Foot 'Shotgun Shack'

Lego House

Shipping Container Cabin

Zombie-Proof House

Monolithic Domes

Most Expensive Apartment in the UK Sold for $221 Million

Parkour Gym

Weird and Wacky Furniture By Straight Line Designs

1. Little Black Dresser

2. Beaver Cabinet

3. Burnt Table

4. Bad Table

5. Canned Bench

6. Boom Cabinet

7. Accordian

8. Cracked Cabinet

9. Crashed Table

10. Cindy

11. Joined At The Hip

12.Daddy Long Legs

13. Raymond