What will architects think of next?
Savannah, Georgia architect Ming Tang came up with the idea of “folded bamboo and paper” shelters after the 7.9 earthquake that struck China in May. The quake killed tens of thousands, injured hundreds of thousands and left millions of people homeless. Which meant the Chinese government needed to find 1.5 million temporary homes.
Enter Tang, who wanted to development a”temporary shelter for the homeless people, a kinetic structure htat exhibits characteristics of umbrella and folded fans, the potential of arranging themselves into various contexts and dwelling requirements.”
If you’re wondering about covering the “roofs” of the shelters (that bamboo frame doesn’t look as if it would keep the elements our), the shelters are to be covered by using “post and pre-consumer recycled paper.”
The shelters are easy to product, relatively inexpensive and environmentally friendly.
Tang designed the shelters for a contest sponsored by San Francisco’s Urban Re:Vision.
There’s no word on whether China has asked for a shipment….
We find them beautiful. They also look like daddy long leg spiders, friendly little fellows (they eat insects) that are quite common here in Southern California.
Which brings us to The Walking House, created by N55, Danish artists and activists.
The idea is that, should the homeowner wishes to move, no need to move into a different house. Instead, move the house to a different spot.
The Walking House requires no permanent use of land and thereby challenges ownership of land and suggests that all
land should be accessible for all persons.
Interesting thought. But we have one question. Does The Walking House come with The Walking Fence, so that we may keep our neighbor’s dog from using our – temporary – front lawn as a toilet?
How Green is Your Toner?
Yes, yes, yes! We all know that a good step in creating a greener office environment is to cut back on the amount of the paper we use and throw away.
But your toner also contributes to your carbon footprint, because toner powder is derived from oil. And producing oil and using oil places carbon into our atmosphere, thus contributing to greenhouse gases and the rise of global temperatures.
But Soyprint.net believes it has a solution for the office that wishes to go greener: Soy-based toner.
From the company’s website:
Industry leaders report it takes about 2 liters of oil to make the one pound of toner powder required for each oil-based
cartridge. Currently, U.S. businesses, institutions and governmental bodies consume more than 100 million cartridges per
year. That equates to 100 million pounds or 50,000 tons of material we currently use petroleum to produce. Now every
office has a choice – they can print black or they can print “green."
They have a nifty tagline, too: "Everyone prints black...Now we can print "Green."
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