Small wooden home sits like a modernist mountain in the countryside
Inspired by arthropods, this minimalist all-wood home features a spacious-feeling interior and energy-efficient, passive heating and cooling strategies.
Handcrafted 'holistic' bike uses 40 layers of wood (Video)
Sporting an attractive unibody frame, this meticulously handcrafted wooden bicycle is made to be strong yet flexible.
The Bagobago backpack has a built-in stool. Hit or miss?
We love transformers, those things that serve multiple functions. But I wonder about this one.
Blushing pink 635 sq. ft. micro-home cleverly uses ramps, not stairs
Embedded in a hillside, this eccentric dwelling uses a series of functional ramps that connect all the spaces together.
Bohemian forest retreat balances incognito on boulder
This woodland cabin in the Bohemia region of the Czech Repbulic keeps it simple but clever, with one end perched on a large rock.
First wolf in a century spotted in the Czech Republic
These apex predators play a much bigger role in ecosystems than most people suspect, and their absence causes all kinds of problems that we aren't always able to solve.
Small House In Czech Republic Recycled From Ruins of Barn
The architects call it a "Conceptual Object" but it is pretty and real.
Czech Out This New Small Prefab Design From Architect Marek Štěpán.
The Freedomky is a nicely done modular design
Beautiful Black Teahouse In Czech Republic Uses Traditional Japanese Finishing Technique
Charred wood never looked so good.
Open Source Permaculture On Its Way to the Internet
Prague-based permaculture activist Sophia Novack is raising funds to create a free online resource that can teach 'anyone (including you!) ... how to grow an incredibly productive backyard permaculture garden.'
Old Chapel Is Made into a Giant Musical Instrument, Controlled with Laser Pointers (Video)
A Czech church was 3-D mapped and made into a one of a kind musical instrument, controlled by visitors' laser pointers.
Mesmerizing Chandelier Mimicks Deep Sea Bioluminescence (Photos)
Using mouth-blown glass and energy-efficient LEDs, this stunning chandelier looks like a creature from the ocean's depths.
Floating Pool To Filter Prague's Polluted River For Swimmers
How a floating pool could help filter this city's contaminated waters so residents can once again enjoy them.
Hanging Mini-Greenhouse Also Doubles As Pendant Lamp
Short on space for growing herbs? Well, this graceful pendant lamp -- which doubles as a mini-greenhouse -- could be one way to add more luscious greenery to one's space and diet.
Another Problem with Carbon Credits: They Get Stolen
At least $40 million worth of carbon credits have been stolen in recent weeks from various registries across Europe, in what some are calling a growing black market for carbon credits.The Wall Street Journal explains that there are
Celebrating Safer Cycling in Prague
Heavy traffic, aggressive drivers, few bike lanes, and fear of theft made the Czech capital a place where cycling was "only for the brave," as an article for Radio Prague put
A 'Mosaic' of Green Features at New Prague Hotel
Count Prague in on the trend toward green hostels and hotels: The opening late last week of a cool new central-city accommodation not only provides a fresh option for eco-conscious travelers, it also marks a green "first" or two
12 Hip Green Hostels Around the Globe
Whether your traveling tastes run rural or urban, green hostels offer an inexpensive and character-filled -- not to mention sustainable -- alternative to bland hotels.
Does the Environment Win When Economic Crisis Sends Immigrants Home?
Turkish cities have been the stage for culture clashes in recent years, as residents of rural areas moved to urban areas in large numbers, bringing what many urbanites see as
Blob Architect Jan Kaplicky 1937-2009
Architects are often late bloomers. Frank Gehry is in his prime at 79; Ralph Rapson died at his drafting board last year at 93.
Czech President & Climate Denier Vaclav Klaus To Preside Over EU In 2009
Just when we thought there was a chance for a rationalist US Administration to mesh with the Climate-action oriented EU and with an increasingly open-minded China...[Vaclav] Klaus has called man-made global
Effects of Global Warming Inspire Alterations to Famous Aalto Vase
The vase designed and named after Finnish designer Alvar Aalto is an icon among the design-savvy. The now-classic piece was released in 1937 at the World Fair in Paris. Today, the vase is produced by Iittala, which has slightly changed the size and
Stair of the Week: DNA Stair from Studio P-H-A
As we noted in our review of the New York Times Building communication stair, a standard principle of design today should be comfortable, bright stairs that serve as more than fire escapes, that encourage people to take the stairs instead of the
Wood House Sits Lightly On Landscape
One can build a house out of wood and cover it up, or one can celebrate the nature of wood, as this one in Slavonice, Czech Republic does. Designed by E - M.R.A.K. | Martin Rajniš, Kamila Amblerová, Václav Horecký, it is built out of unplaned, uncut
Stair of the week is a shifting workspace with alternating treads
These multi-talented stairs do more than one thing in this apartment renovation in Brooklyn.
Skinny Brooklyn rowhouse renovation makes room for family of four
From an existing two-storey transformed into four compact floors, this 11 ft. wide house is redone into a much more spacious home.
Two dead because trucks don't have side guards and cyclists apparently can't stay upright
In Brooklyn and Toronto, the same story: "accidents" where cyclists somehow lose control, fall under rear wheels.
Norman Oder on The World's Tallest Modular Building and the Phantom 20 Percent Savings
The Brooklyn Journalist covered this project like a blanket, and looks at some of the detailed claims.
Successful coworking spaces should be built like 'intentional communities'
Great coworking spaces aren't just about "sharing desks" -- just like other intentional communities where people share resources, they need a common vision and more.
Brooklyn's modular tower: What a long strange trip it's been
FC Modular, that "cracked the code" of tall modular, is no more.
Here's a modernist desk that grows with a child into adulthood (Video)
Hand-made with high quality, sustainably harvested woods, this is one desk meant for both kids and grown-ups.
Futuristic Urban Farm Pod grows food at home -- from cell cultures (Video)
Tomorrow's home urban farm may not need soil, just an Urban Farm Pod that doubles as an extra living space (emphasis on the "living").
Brooklyn's new community micro-grid will allow for peer-to-peer renewable energy sharing
Solar panels, distributed energy, resilient microgrids, and blockchain. Oh my!
Striking natural furniture weaves geometry with traditional craft techniques
Featuring eye-catching geometries, local and non-toxic materials, these unique furniture pieces meld a medley of traditional weaving and woodworking techniques.
A writing pavilion grows in Brooklyn
Architentions design a lovely "parallel imaginative world"
Lovewild Designs crafts beautiful confetti and stationery that blooms
A sustainably-minded designer makes cards and paper coins that you can plant.
Tour a Brooklyn treehouse built from an old water tower
A charming treehouse is made from recycled wood and glass.
Brooklyn Fashion and Design Accelerator welcomes its first entrepreneurs
A new collaborative space dedicated to sustainable fashion design is now open for production.
IceStone recycles glass into countertops in Brooklyn’s Navy Yards
We take a tour of a sustainable factory that turns discarded glass into durable building materials.
Brooklyn building shows that Passive Houses can have apartments too
Although the term “Passive House” might seem to refer to single family homes, these concepts can be applied to all kinds of buildings.
Common Good cleaners want to help you to reduce and reuse
Common Good was started by Sacha Dunn and her husband Edmund Levine out of their personal desire to have refillable and eco-friendly option when it comes to cleaning supplies.
Marlow Goods offers farm-to-table purses
These designer bags from Brooklyn are made with local leather.
Construction halted on world's tallest prefab in Brooklyn
It's the usual fight between the contractor who wants to be paid for cost overruns and the developer who claims it's all a fixed price contract.
Salvage Supperclub teaches us how to eat everything
A Brooklyn dinner party turns "dumpster diving" into an informative meal.
Artists create a tiny house in a loft
They also build a "tree house" for themselves. It's almost an indoor community.
Zero Waste blogger Lauren Singer lets us look into her drawers and cabinets
We visit the writer behind the Zero Waste blog TrashIsForTossers.com.
Photo: Great gray owl goes hunting
Our majestic photo of the day comes from Quebec, Canada.
These deaf moths defy bats using stealthy acoustic camouflage
Some moth species have evolved noise-cancelling abilities that are more efficient than today's sound engineering technology.
African grey parrots surprise researchers with their altruism
Few other animals are known to be intrinsically motivated to assist others in need.