Channel: buildings

Wed 02 Dec ∞ Permalink

WHAT IS BREAKAWAY?

To find your way through the storm, watch the clip and follow the tracks for clues to Breakaway Breakout.  Next stop: http://bit.ly/ibmbreakaway

Wed 25 Nov ∞ Permalink

Check out Livestream’s new channel makover for the IBM Global Business Services Video Studio.

We’re putting the platform to work for live events, webcasts and new kinds of online video programming, and also collecting clips into libraries such as Smarter Healthcare, Smarter Cities, Smarter Energy and of course the new intelligence of Smarter Analytics.

You can embed or share the channel, libraries and clips in many new ways, so stop by. We planning more exciting live webcasts and events, so stay tuned!

Wed 25 Nov ∞ Permalink
verymuch: Beautiful Buildings Made From Whole Trees According to the Forest Products Laboratory, a whole, unmilled tree can support 50 percent more weight than the largest piece of lumber milled from the same tree. Putting this principle into practice, Whole Tree Architecture is dedicated to building with materials that lumber companies consider scrap – weed trees, also know as ‘managed forest thinnings.’ The resulting projects are beautiful displays of locally sourced and sustainably managed materials. (via Inhabitat)

verymuch:

Beautiful Buildings Made From Whole Trees

According to the Forest Products Laboratory, a whole, unmilled tree can support 50 percent more weight than the largest piece of lumber milled from the same tree. Putting this principle into practice, Whole Tree Architecture is dedicated to building with materials that lumber companies consider scrap – weed trees, also know as ‘managed forest thinnings.’ The resulting projects are beautiful displays of locally sourced and sustainably managed materials. (via Inhabitat)

Fri 20 Nov ∞ Permalink
electricpower: Solar energy and lithium-ion batteries: Sanyo now builds “green” homes in Japan Sanyo is already being considered Japan’s “greenest” brand in the consumer electronics field (which is the main reason Panasonic is about to acquire the company), but them building complete, eco-friendly buildings is certainly new. Sanyo Homes [JP], a wholly-owned subsidiary, will start marketing all-electric homes with lithium ion batteries providing back up power to Japanese customers as early as tomorrow. (Sorry for the tiny picture, which shows a CGI-model of how these houses look like.) Each house will be equipped with a 3.78kw solar energy system. But buyers will also get 1.57kw Sanyo lithium ion batteries to make sure they’ll have access to eco-friendly energy during the night or during days without enough sunlight. Sanyo Homes says that each of their houses will come with ten LED light fixtures running on direct-current power to minimize energy loss and a solar-powered heat-pump water heater. The company expects these extras to boost the prices for their homes to some extent, but says buyers will be able to recoup the initial plus in investment over time and will also get financial from the Japanese government. A 132sqm Sanyo home, for example, will sell for $355,000, which is $62,000 more than a comparable conventional one (but only eco-friendly homes will get government subsidies, in this case $30,000). Via Nikkei [registration required, paid subscription] (via Crunchgear)

electricpower:

Solar energy and lithium-ion batteries: Sanyo now builds “green” homes in Japan

Sanyo is already being considered Japan’s “greenest” brand in the consumer electronics field (which is the main reason Panasonic is about to acquire the company), but them building complete, eco-friendly buildings is certainly new. Sanyo Homes [JP], a wholly-owned subsidiary, will start marketing all-electric homes with lithium ion batteries providing back up power to Japanese customers as early as tomorrow. (Sorry for the tiny picture, which shows a CGI-model of how these houses look like.)

Each house will be equipped with a 3.78kw solar energy system. But buyers will also get 1.57kw Sanyo lithium ion batteries to make sure they’ll have access to eco-friendly energy during the night or during days without enough sunlight. Sanyo Homes says that each of their houses will come with ten LED light fixtures running on direct-current power to minimize energy loss and a solar-powered heat-pump water heater.

The company expects these extras to boost the prices for their homes to some extent, but says buyers will be able to recoup the initial plus in investment over time and will also get financial from the Japanese government. A 132sqm Sanyo home, for example, will sell for $355,000, which is $62,000 more than a comparable conventional one (but only eco-friendly homes will get government subsidies, in this case $30,000).

Via Nikkei [registration required, paid subscription]

(via Crunchgear)

Thu 19 Nov ∞ Permalink
infoneernet: 33 Excellent OLED Energy Saving & Eco-Friendly Designs OLEDs are like a new type of magical material, self-illuminating and eco-friendly. They are organic and work in a way similar to the bioluminescence that makes a firefly and certain deep sea fish glow. OLEDs can be extremely thin, flexible, varying in shapes, colors and sizes, some are even transparent while providing a lovely ambient glow. The function and creative possibilities of OLEDs in clothing, furniture, jewelry, and art are only as limited as the creator’s imagination. Here are 33 excellent OLED eco-friendly and energy efficient designs, from the super-sly spy to the interactive. Seen at WebEcoist

infoneernet:

33 Excellent OLED Energy Saving & Eco-Friendly Designs

OLEDs are like a new type of magical material, self-illuminating and eco-friendly. They are organic and work in a way similar to the bioluminescence that makes a firefly and certain deep sea fish glow. OLEDs can be extremely thin, flexible, varying in shapes, colors and sizes, some are even transparent while providing a lovely ambient glow. The function and creative possibilities of OLEDs in clothing, furniture, jewelry, and art are only as limited as the creator’s imagination. Here are 33 excellent OLED eco-friendly and energy efficient designs, from the super-sly spy to the interactive.

Seen at WebEcoist

Mon 16 Nov ∞ Permalink
Follow Smarter Planet on your mobile device. Recommend or email posts, and share them via Twiiter. http://bit.ly/mobilesp

Follow Smarter Planet on your mobile device. Recommend or email posts, and share them via Twiiter.

http://bit.ly/mobilesp

Fri 13 Nov ∞ Permalink
Digital ‘Cloud’ could form over London for the 2012 Olympics: Engadget …We’re talking about an actual (well, artificial) cloud that promises to be both a real structure and a massive digital display. That’s the bright idea of a team of researchers from MIT, anyway, and it’s now been shortlisted in a competition designed to find a new tourist attraction to be built in London for the 2012 Olympics. Dubbed simply “The Cloud,” the structure would consist of two 400-foot tall mesh towers that are linked by a series of interconnected plastic bubbles, which would themselves house an observation deck inside and be used to display everything from Olympic scores and highlights to a “barometer of the city’s interests and moods” outside (that latter bit comes courtesy of the group’s partnership with Google).

Digital ‘Cloud’ could form over London for the 2012 Olympics: Engadget

…We’re talking about an actual (well, artificial) cloud that promises to be both a real structure and a massive digital display. That’s the bright idea of a team of researchers from MIT, anyway, and it’s now been shortlisted in a competition designed to find a new tourist attraction to be built in London for the 2012 Olympics. Dubbed simply “The Cloud,” the structure would consist of two 400-foot tall mesh towers that are linked by a series of interconnected plastic bubbles, which would themselves house an observation deck inside and be used to display everything from Olympic scores and highlights to a “barometer of the city’s interests and moods” outside (that latter bit comes courtesy of the group’s partnership with Google).

Fri 13 Nov ∞ Permalink
electricpower: Thin-Film Solar Panels to Double their Share of the Market by 2013? A new report by iSuppli Corp. predicts that by 2013, 31% of the solar panel market will be accounted for by thin-film solar panels. These thin-film panels are rapidly replacing traditional crystalline photovoltaic panels. Thin-film solar is being used in a variety of new applications, from solar roof shingles to solar tiles (like clay tiles) to solar panels glued right onto the roof. Its flexibility in use is one major benefit of this technology. Lower cost is the number one factor responsible for its anticipated growth, but there are trade-offs as well. (via CleanTechnica)

electricpower:

Thin-Film Solar Panels to Double their Share of the Market by 2013?

A new report by iSuppli Corp. predicts that by 2013, 31% of the solar panel market will be accounted for by thin-film solar panels. These thin-film panels are rapidly replacing traditional crystalline photovoltaic panels.

Thin-film solar is being used in a variety of new applications, from solar roof shingles to solar tiles (like clay tiles) to solar panels glued right onto the roof. Its flexibility in use is one major benefit of this technology.

Lower cost is the number one factor responsible for its anticipated growth, but there are trade-offs as well.

(via CleanTechnica)

Thu 12 Nov ∞ Permalink

The Tweeting House

sn-stuffnthings:

Twitter + Internet of Things

Stanford-Clark has set up various systems for real-time monitoring of the Internet of Things, many of them using Twitter (he calls the resulting tweets “tweetjects”). One example got a bit of mainstream media coverage lately: a house that uses Twitter to monitor its energy consumption.
Wed 11 Nov ∞ Permalink

Remote Home

un-logic:

The RemoteHome is a flat share that will exist in two distant cities at the same time: London and Berlin. Both spaces are electronically connected through the Internet, to turn furniture and architectural elements into tangible and sensual means of communication.

Mon 02 Nov ∞ Permalink
Smarter Planet |Tumblr : October Roundup Survey all 84 posts this month.  Or check out the Archive to see previous months and sample some of the more than 1500 items we’ve generated in our first year. For a bit of serendipitous search, try the Random button.

Smarter Planet |Tumblr : October Roundup

Survey all 84 posts this month.  Or check out the Archive to see previous months and sample some of the more than 1500 items we’ve generated in our first year. For a bit of serendipitous search, try the Random button.

Mon 02 Nov ∞ Permalink
The enOcean Alliance develops and promotes self-powered wireless monitoring and control systems for sustainable buildings by formalizing the interoperable wireless standard.

The enOcean Alliance develops and promotes self-powered wireless monitoring and control systems for sustainable buildings by formalizing the interoperable wireless standard.

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