A modern home in India stays naturally cool without AC

When Surat-based architect Ankit Parekh of Parekh Collaborative was asked to design a family home in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, one of the prerequisites was for a comfortably cool residence without air conditioning. In response, Parekh turned to ancient, low-tech methods for natural cooling, from decorative yet functional jali screens to stack ventilation. As a result, the house, named Rambaugh, maintains a temperature variation of 6 to 8 degrees year-round. Crafted...

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/a-modern-home-in-india-stays-naturally-cool-without-ac
via Inhabitat

European parliament supports the ban of single-use plastics

The EU adopted new plans last week to ban single-use plastic items like plates, straws, cutlery, balloon sticks, or cotton buds - which make up over 70 percent of marine litter - by 2021. Under draft plans approved by Parliament, MEPs also added items to the banned list that contained products made of oxo-degradable plastics, like bags and fast-food containers made of expanded polystyrene. There is also a plan for several other items that do not have an alternative, like single-use burger boxes,...

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/european-parliament-supports-the-ban-of-single-use-plastics
via Inhabitat

Human activity has decimated 60% of animal populations since 1970

In a new report from WWF International claims that humans have wiped out 60 percent of the world’s mammals, birds, fish, and reptiles since 1970, and experts are now warning that wildlife annihilation is an emergency that is threatening civilization. This new report involved 59 scientists from around the world, and they found that the growing consumption of food and resources by Earth’s population is destroying the web of life that humans depend on for clean air and water. “We are sleepwalking...

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/human-activity-has-decimated-60-of-animal-populations-since-1970
via Inhabitat

Garden-facing timber home uses highly efficient SIPs to minimize waste

When asked by a long-time friend to build a garden-facing retirement home in Hobart, Australia, Brunswick-based architectural practice Archier created the Five Yards House, a timber-clad abode that takes its name from the numerous “yards,” or gardens, integrated into the design. To minimize waste on site and to ensure rapid installation, the design firm turned to SIP (structural insulated panel) construction, a high-performing methodology that “provides structural, insulative and aesthetic...

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/garden-facing-timber-home-uses-highly-efficient-sips-to-minimize-waste
via Inhabitat

Sasaki designs Chengdu Panda Reserve to protect the giant panda

Thoughtful urban development and wildlife conservation go hand in hand in Sasaki’s winning proposal for the Chengdu Panda Reserve project, a series of three sites spanning 69 square kilometers in the western Chinese city known as the panda capital of the world. With approximately 1,800 pandas left in the wild, the city leaders of Chengdu have launched an ambitious plan to grow their city—partly in hopes of making a bid to host the Olympics—and provide greater tourism infrastructure to fund...

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/sasaki-designs-chengdu-panda-reserve-to-protect-the-giant-panda
via Inhabitat

7 tiny homes to get you in the Halloween spirit

Tiny homes are a popular trend that allow people to live simply and affordably, while being eco-friendly. But, just because they are small spaces, it doesn’t mean that the owners can’t be creative. To get you in the Halloween spirit, here are seven tiny homes that don’t need any spooky decorations because the home itself represents the holiday perfectly. Outer Space House If you have dreams of going to outer space, you will love this tiny home inspired by the Apollo 11 mission to the moon....

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/7-tiny-homes-to-get-you-in-the-halloween-spirit
via Inhabitat

A dark, timber home rests peacefully among evergreen pine trees

Related: + Via Freshome

from Inhabitat - Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building https://inhabitat.com/a-dark-timber-home-rests-peacefully-among-evergreen-pine-trees
via Inhabitat