Reclaimed wood raft features an origami paper canopy

The innovative team at U.K.-based Inclume has come up with a unique way to take a break from the stresses of life. Its latest design is a reclaimed wood raft that accommodates two people. The Tetra raft even features a peaceful shading canopy made out of delicate, origami paper forms.

Inspired by the shape of an abstracted sail, the volume of the raft incorporates multiple tetrahedron shapes. Entirely constructed out of reclaimed materials, Tetra achieves its buoyancy thanks to three old barrels that were donated to the team. Atop the barrels is the main platform, which is made of salvaged shipping pallets provided by a local carpenter. Several discarded garden bamboo canes comprise the frame and canopy. Even the boat’s oars, which were sanded and painted with a triangular motif, were donated from a local boat club.

Related: Floating ICEBERG creatively confronts global warming

With its tiny size and rustic nature, the reclaimed wood raft is perfect for an escape on the water. Adding a bit of serenity to the design is a beautiful, handcrafted canopy. This canopy consists of several triangular frames, which are crafted from thread entwined with recycled paper. The canopy is then covered in origami paper forms that add whimsy to the overall design. Intricately folded by hand, the paper forms sway gently in the wind and allow natural light and shade to dance across the raft.

The Tetra raft was a temporary installation that took place on a local lake. During the day, passersby were encouraged to help the team construct parts of the raft on the shore. According to the designers, the aim of the event was not only to build a temporary, water-based shelter out of reclaimed materials, but to also encourage people to participate in similar projects in their communities.

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Images via Inclume

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First home solar pavement installed on a driveway

Solar tiles aren’t just for roofs anymore. Platio, a Budapest, Hungary-based tech company, has just installed the first solar pavement for use on a residential driveway.

“Roofs are not the only surfaces that can be used for solar energy production,” said Platio co-founder and engineer Imre Sziszák. “Paved areas absorb solar radiation all day long as well. The walkable solar panels of Platio can utilize this new source of clean energy.”

Related: New recycled plastic sidewalk harvests energy from the sun

The system consists of interlocking units called Platio solar pavers. Each paver is made from 400 recycled PET plastic bottles for a product more durable than concrete, according to the company’s product video. Pavement can be installed in sizes of 10 to 30 square meters and is suitable for driveways, terraces, balconies and patios.

The energy generated by Platio tiles is fed back to the household’s power network. A 20-square-meter solar pavement can cover the yearly energy consumption of an average household, according to the video.

The developers aimed for aesthetically pleasing tiles that would look good in a driveway and would increase a home’s energy efficiency. The solar pavers are available in black, red, blue and green. Hardened glass tiles protect the solar cells. They are anti-slip, so people can safely walk on them, and the tiles are designed to be able to bear the weight of a car occasionally driving over.

Electric car drivers can also use the solar paving system to fuel their vehicles. Inhabitat previously reported on a 50-square-foot solar sidewalk Platio installed at an EV charging station in Budapest. Other uses include connecting a Platio solar paver system in an outdoor square to benches equipped with digital boxes, from which people can charge their mobile devices. Pavers could also fuel streetlights on nighttime walking paths. Unlike roof-mounted solar tile systems, paved areas with good sunlight access have a larger-scale potential for energy production.

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Images via Platio

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Electric motorboat features a sleek Danish design

Copenhagen-based Rand Boats has earned an international reputation for developing modern, affordable motorboats that are designed to be respectful to nature. Now, the company has unveiled the Leisure 28, a sleek motorboat built out of recycled plastic that runs on an all-electric motor.

For many people enjoying a bit of fun in the sun, putting up with the hostile sounds and polluting smoke generated by motorboats is just a regular inconvenience when it comes to spending time on the water. Whether small lakes or large seas, these whirring beasts have ruled the waterways for decades, often at the cost of clean water and air.

Related: Cool retro boats restored with electric motors

Now, boat manufacturers are looking for a better, more eco-friendly way of boating. For Danish company Rand Boats, this means building sleek, minimalist boats with all-electric systems. Already well-known for its sustainable boat designs, Rand Boats’ latest project, Leisure 28, is outfitted with an electric propulsion system that lets it run up to 45 mph for up to two hours.

In addition to providing boaters with a more eco-friendly electric motor, Rand Boats also ensured the materials used to manufacture its boats are environmentally sound. In fact, in most of its boats, the company uses materials developed from recycled plastic and bio-based hybrids in order to minimize the environmental impact of its fleet of cruisers.

Not only is the sustainable boat created to bring a little more peace to the waterways thanks to its quiet motor, but it can also become the ultimate party boat. Leisure 28 was crafted to accommodate up to 12 people who can enjoy a nice outdoor lunch on the built-in adjustable dining table. When not in use, the table can be folded into a relaxing, king-sized sundeck to sit back and soak up some rays. There is also a sufficient kitchen and bar area on the top deck as well as a small cabin with enough room for a queen-sized bed below deck.

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These recycled plastic tracksuits are naturally dyed with plants

Environmentally conscious clothing companies are few and far between, with the fashion industry as a whole being one of the top polluters on Earth. But with the planet in mind, PANGAIA (pronounced Pan-guy-ya) creates fabrics that are responsibly made to the benefit of the environment and your wardrobe.

The newest addition to the PANGAIA lineup is the tracksuit collection consisting of hoodies and track pants. The 15 colors range from standard gray and off-white to strikingly bright shades of orange and green, each of which are naturally dyed with plant-derived colors. The non-toxic, natural dyes are made from food waste, plants, fruits and vegetables to achieve the richly toned hues. As an example, the pink track pants are colored with a natural dye extracted from roots and rhizomes of Rubia cordifolia. The Rennet yellow track pants and hoodies are colored with a natural dye extracted from Gall Nut of Quercus infectoria.

Related: PANGAIA presents FLWRDWN, a down alternative made from biodegradable wildflowers

According to the company, 100 billion articles of clothing and 500 billion plastic bottles are produced annually, with half ending up in landfills. Instead of contributing to the waste, PANGAIA turns discarded plastic, mostly from single-use water bottles, into yarn and then into long-lasting clothing. To add softness and comfort, it combines 45% recycled cotton with 55% organic cotton, grown without damaging pesticides and herbicides that pollute the soil and water.

“The organic raw cotton we use holds the transaction certificate from the Control Union, meaning that the yarn is processed according to the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS),” the company stated. “All trims, labels and threads are either recycled or responsibly sourced.”

Additional consideration is taken for the product packaging, which is part bio-based and able to break down at a compost facility in 24 weeks.

PANGAIA has a history of sustainable material development, with a variety of products made from plants. For example, it has produced a seaweed fiber that is naturally organic and easily biodegradable, and the company spent 10 years developing FLWRDWN, a goose and duck down alternative made from flowers.

Similar products are available as part of the botanical dye T-shirt line, all of which are colored from dyes created from food waste and natural resources. For example, PANGAIA’s Sakura Tee is dyed from excess Japanese sakura cherry blossoms after they are collected for making tea.

PANGAIA reports its “supplier dyes textiles in a way that uses less water, is non-toxic and biodegradable.” To ensure transparency throughout the manufacturing process, each garment tag includes blockchain technology that shows the full history of the garment. A blockchain cannot be altered and provides a record of each stage of the journey, with complete traceability and authenticity. The new tracksuits are made in Portugal.

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Images via PANGAIA

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These adorable fish lamps raise awareness for plastic pollution

Single-use plastics are everywhere. No matter how small they are, these plastics often end up in either landfills or the oceans, taking hundreds of years to decompose. When Heliograf designers Jeffrey Simpson and Angus Ware realized just how many single-use soy sauce packets went into a single sushi meal, the idea for Light Soy lamps was born.

In Japan, a packet containing one single serving of soy sauce often comes in the shape of a small fish made of polyethylene. Similar to plastic straws and other single-use plastics, the packets are too small to be easily recycled. The irony that these single-use plastic containers created to look like fish would later become ocean pollution with the potential to harm marine life was not lost on the designers.

Related: This lamp is a work of art that cleans the air

Heliograf decided to find a fun way to highlight this issue, creating something both beautiful and functional. The resulting design took about three years to develop, including two years that the designers spent learning how to perfect the glass-blowing technique.

Light Soy is a borosilicate glass lamp in the same shape as the iconic, fish-shaped soy sauce packets that have been used in Japan since the 1950s. It features an energy-efficient LED light and powder-coated aluminium accessories, with a frosted glass design that creates a soft glow when illuminated. There are two models available: The Light Soy Table Lamp and the Light Soy Pendant Light. The table lamp is portable and USB-C rechargeable with an aluminum base and a touch-controlled dimming feature, and the pendant version comes with a bespoke aluminium ceiling canopy. The modular components in the lamp make it simple to either repair or replace individual parts as needed. 

The lamp packaging is free of plastics; it is made using a recyclable and biodegradable bagasse sugarcane pulp and cardboard. To negate the need for a plastic carrying bag, the packaging also comes equipped with a cotton cord as a handle. Heliograf is a member of 1% For the Planet, with 1% of the Sydney-based design studio’s revenue going toward nonprofits aimed at preventing plastic pollution from entering our oceans.

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Photography by Daniel Hermann-Zoll via Heliograf

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Fully circular office can be sustainably dismounted and rebuilt in weeks

In its latest example of circular construction, Dutch architecture firm cepezed has completed Building D(emountable), a modern structure that can be fully dismounted and is currently located in the heart of Delft. Designed as a building kit of prefabricated parts, the office raises the bar for sustainable architecture in the Netherlands, which aims to make all construction activities fully circular by 2050.

Building D(emountable) was created as part of an office complex mostly housed in historic buildings on a centrally located site that cepezed purchased from Delft University of Technology in 2012. Over the years, the architecture firm repurposed the existing historic buildings into offices; however, it opted to demolish the site’s single non-historic structure due to its poor condition and to make way for new construction. Completed in late 2019, Building D(emountable) provides a modern counterpart to its historic neighbors. The building houses office space; the current tenants are app and website developer 9to5 Software and game developer Triumph Studios.

Related: Amsterdam’s new circular archives building sustainably generates all of its own energy

“Building D(emountable) has exactly the same footprint as the existing building that was no longer good and was demolished,” cepezed said of the four-story building, which encompasses nearly 1,000 square meters. “In addition to being demountable and remountable, the structure is also super lightweight: the use of materials is kept to an absolute minimum. The building is also completely flexible in its arrangement, has no gas connection and is equipped with heat recovery.”

Apart from the concrete ground floor, all of the building components are modular and dry-mounted to allow for speedy construction, which takes a little over six months. The building structure — from the steel skeleton to the lightweight Laminated Veneer Lumber (LVL) floors — was assembled onsite in just three weeks. Double-glazed panels were mounted directly onto the steel structure to create walls of glazing that give the building the appearance of a large, glass cube.

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Photography by Lucas van der Wee via cepezed

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Sustainability for York National Railway Museum Central Hall

London-based architecture practice Feilden Fowles has won an international design competition to create the new Central Hall for the National Railway Museum in York, England. Slated for completion in time for the museum’s 50th anniversary in 2025, the new centerpiece building will vastly improve the visitor experience while introducing an ambitious energy strategy to dramatically cut the site-wide operational carbon footprint by 80%. Following the firm’s low-tech philosophy, the design will minimize reliance on concrete and steel in favor of prefabricated timber materials while emphasizing passive design strategies. 

In winning the two-phase design competition organized by Malcolm Reading Consultants, Feilden Fowles beat 75 other design firms with their Central Hall proposal that pays homage to the site’s former uses. The building’s central two-story rotunda is directly inspired by the history of locomotive roundhouses and railway turntables. Recycled patinated copper will clad the structure, the interior of which will feel warm and inviting thanks to a predominately timber palette and the abundance of natural light that flows through high clerestory glazing and a skylight fitted in the center of its beautifully engineered roof structure.

The new welcome and orientation space will host a wide variety of programming, including gallery spaces for the museum’s world-class collection, recreational areas, retail and public-facing community spaces. The Central Hall also connects to the five museum portals: the main entrance, Great Hall, Wonderlab, Exhibition Hall, the shop and a new cafe. 

Related: Kengo Kuma unveils bold timber museum in Turkey that pays homage to the region’s Ottoman heritage

Sustainability is a major driving factor behind the Central Hall, a timber-framed building that will be built with traditional, locally sourced materials wherever possible. In addition to the creation of a new energy center with air-source or ground-source heat pumps powered by solar energy, the building follows passive solar principles to enhance thermal comfort and reduce reliance on mechanical systems. Larger spanning and prefabrication of timber elements will also be used to ensure higher quality control and to reduce construction waste. 

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Images by Feilden Fowles

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