All photos: Vo Trong Nghttp://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/wp-admin/edit.phphia

Bamboo is the stuff of green dreams these days. Not only is it a winning combination of strong, lightweight and flexible; it also scores highly in the sustainable stakes, being super fast growing and easy to harvest locally in many parts of the world. What’s more, it is increasingly being lauded for its aesthetic qualities. None of this is news to any architect worth their salt – but one in particular, Vietnamese virtuoso Vo Trong Nghia, stands out for his exceptional bamboo designs.

In a piece by Vietnamese American writer and broadcaster Nguyen Qui Duc, Duc laments the rushed redevelopment of the Vietnamese capital Hanoi, and calls for preserving the city’s beauty and character without tastelessly replicating the old French-style villas that have been razed to the ground. Instead of the rapidly rising glass-and steel structures being built, modernisation should mean both preservation and innovation – and that’s exactly what Vo Trong Nghia is all about.

As a young man, Nghia was selected to study architecture in Japan. However, his early life in a small village in central Vietnam proved the ideal and natural foundation for what he would learn in the land of the Rising Sun and the architectural projects that have followed in his homeland. “We used bamboo and cane and such materials for everything,” recalls the architect. From farming tools to cooking utensils, it was all woven together – just as many of his buildings are today.

Mingling international inspiration with the influence of his roots, Nghia is big on bamboo. The rounded bar he designed for his Water and Wind Cafe features a 30-foot bamboo frame covered in a local bush plant. Like a giant version of the haystacks that dot the Vietnamese countryside, it is also African-esque, with a pointed open dome that allows light to infuse the interior. Elsewhere, Nghia’s curving bamboo structures are bound together with not a nail in sight.

As proof of his green credentials, Nghia has built a factory in Vietnam where bamboo is treated and given its warm brown colour. It is said his structures will last twenty years. “At the end of the day, if you have to remove or take apart buildings,” says Nghia, “You won’t end up with piles of concrete that’s destructive to the environment.” He is also trying to get more bamboo growing ventures off the ground, an architect weaving homegrown tradition with aesthetic innovation.

Sources: 1, 2, 3

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All images via MySwitzerland

Although often associated with banks, cuckoo clocks, chocolate and cheese, it’s less commonly known that Switzerland is also one of the most environmentally friendly countries in the world. Travelling there offers fresh alpine air and spectacular mountainous scenery, but behind the scenes, less appreciable things are going on to keep it that way. Discover why Switzerland is keeping it green and what you could savour by taking an eco-friendly trip there.

Green wonderland: A typical Appenzell house in typical Appenzell countryside

In Switzerland, you might want to stay in a green resort like Palace Hotel St. Moritz, a luxury hotel that incredibly manages to heat itself by extracting energy from ice-cold water sucked from Lake St. Moritz. As for travelling around the country, low-polluting train travel is easily accessible – the Swiss are the keenest rail users on the planet – and Switzerland is also a bike friendly nation with a growing number of nature parks to explore on two wheels.

One prominent green landmark is Oberburg near Burgdorf’s Zero Energy House, the first building to be heated totally by solar energy. Meanwhile, the soon to be completed, high-tech Monte Rosa Hut, overlooking Zermatt 3000 meters up in glacier country, will be up to 90 percent energy-independent. Add an abundance of organic products to buy and lake water of such good quality that you can safely drink it, and Switzerland begins to sound pretty darn green and clean.

Green Fantasy: Spring in the Swiss canton of Thurgau

Compared to most countries, Switzerland takes a pretty tough stance on pollution. A record-setting 96 percent of the glass used in Switzerland is recycled, and it also boasts a unique and pioneering system whereby old batteries are turned into raw materials for manufacturing new products. Switzerland’s electricity-generating network is almost CO2-free, and it has brought in ground-breaking legislation to help further reduce the amount of pollution.The Swiss also charge fees for their water and waste management services and apply environmental taxes to promote personal responsibility.

It’s refreshing to hear about Switzerland’s environmental policies; some green lessons are there to be learned and shared.

Learn more here: sustainable Switzerland

Source: 1

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Image via prochoiceva

Especially in the eastern parts of the world, there are some really whacked out ice cream flavours – like ox tongue, raw horseflesh, seaweed, shark fin, whale and goat – that will just take a teeny while longer before they catch on in the West. Here we focus on ten unusual flavours with potential instead. Weird today, mainstream tomorrow. Wouldn’t be the first time.

Without further ado, here’s our Top Ten list of most promising ice creams:

You can’t get more health-conscious than eating green tea ice cream. Green tea is not only a healthy and invigorating drink (antioxidising), it also makes for enjoying ice cream without feeling guilty.

10. Green tea ice-cream with sweetened red beans at Yamaya, Surfers Paradise, Australia:

Image: Avlxyz

Garlic is just garlic. Healthy and stinky, there’s a somewhat rebellious element to eating it. Not to forget the repellent qualities against those pesky visitors from Transylvania either. A sure winner.

9. See, they’re already queuing up – at the Garlic Festival in Saugerties, NY:

Image: dreammymo

Takers galore for garlic ice cream at the Gilroy, CA Garlic Festival – three spoons!

Image: mela sogono

Stilton cheese ice cream is an acquired taste in the UK, only waiting to make its way to anglophiles across the Atlantic. Just wait and see.

8. Stilton cheese ice cream – calls for a second bite to make up one’s mind:

Image via worldmysteries

Established in 1780 – about time it caught on:

Image: Erik Stattin

Viagra has divided people since it was first available in 1998 – you can be for it or against it. In ice cream form, it opens up whole new avenues. Why sneak to the pharmacy when it’s available over the counter? Not that they’d actually put that stuff into it – or would they? We dig the confidence it would take to consume it openly.

7. Seen in Italy – Viagra ice cream. What’s that smeared across the glass?

Image: Andrew Bossi

Licorice might stain your teeth and colour your lips and tongue black but it is supposed to be healthy. Licorice root has been used in Ayurvedic medicines since ancient times. It is also supposed to be good for all kinds of stomach ailments. Even though in its candy form licorice is an acquired taste for many, we think we have a winner here.

6. Colour me black – licorice ice cream:

Image via biggestmenu

In the age of bacon mania, bacon ice cream shouldn’t really be a hard sell. After bacon salt, baconnaise and maple bacon doughnuts, it just seems the logical next step.

5. Candied bacon ice cream with bacon pieces inside:

Image: Kimberly Vardeman

Sauerkraut has a growing and dedicated following – die-hard ‘kraut fans so to speak – and we think they’re just waiting to dig into sauerkraut ice cream as well. Eins, zwei, drei and you’ll be convinced too. Oh, and did we mention that it’s healthy? Sauerkraut is an excellent source of vitamin C, eliminated scurvy during James Cook’s times and is claimed to be an effective aphrodisiac in the book, Nutrition of the 21st Century. Sauerkraut ice cream would be the perfect desert after eating a nice bratwurst, as you could savour the sausage taste will enjoying something sweet. We think it’s brilliant!

4. No pictures yet of sauerkraut ice cream but just wait and watch:

Image: Alina Zienowicz

After guacamole took everyone by storm, avocado will be the new trendy ice cream flavour of the season, just mark our words. We can already imagine the slogan: the avantgardo eats avocado!

3. Avocado ice cream, stylish:

Image via weeklydish

Chili will be the new macho flavour among the ice creams. Guys (and gals) who think ice cream’s for sissies can now prove their toughness with the new chili flavour. We can just image pub talk now: “Dude, I just ate eight scoops of chili ice cream. Gotta wash it down with some brewsky.” Now, if that’s not a good excuse.

2. Prepackaged chili ice cream – a staple in Finland:

Image: Micky Aldridge

Wasabi’s strong point is that it’s exotic but not too exotic. With everyone and their mother nowadays getting their tongues around this spicy Japanese condiment, we think it’s only a question of time until it’s going to top the ice cream charts.

1. Wasabi ice cream as served at Yaku’s in Pagin, the Philippines:

Image: Puck Goodfellow

And now the topper, the icing on the cake, the sprinkles on the cone. If you live in New York City, you can even top your funky ice cream flavours with all kinds of weird toppings – just catch the Big Gay Ice Cream Truck in the East Village (so called because eating weird ice cream toppings makes you happy and gay, like the Smurfs)! The homemade toppings include bacon, sea salt and olive oil, cayenne pepper and wasabi pea dust – yum! You can also follow them on Twitter to stay up-to-date on the latest flavours.

One ice cream truck whose annoying tune you won’t mind:

Image via jazzhostels

Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

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The Montreal International Jazz Festival – the largest of its kind in the world – has just pulled the curtain down on its annual mix of music and visitors from all over the globe. To celebrate its 30th anniversary, this year there was something extra-special about the Jazz Fest. Not only were the jazz notes as blue as the deep sea, but the festival boasted a green ethos matching the lushness of the city’s many green spaces.

Most of the talk may have been of Motown music legend Stevie Wonder kicking things off when he held a free outdoor concert on June 30th 2009, but there was also important work going on behind the scenes to ensure that the festival site stayed clean and green.

Cool where it’s green: Kool & the Gang in concert at the Montreal Jazz Fest 2009

Photo: Anirudh Koul

From Glastonbury to Burning Man, litter, trash, call it what you will, has become a major concern, with each event generating thousands of tonnes of rubbish every year. So, during the course of the Jazz Festival, Montreal kept its streets clean with an innovative vacuuming system that made the city a more pleasant place to be.

Still Cool: Kool & the Gang again

Photo: Anirudh Koul

The Jazz Fest has actually been recovering its on-site waste since 1989, with some 20 tonnes of recyclable materials reclaimed year on year. But this year the new clean-up technology added something different, as underground waste pipes replaced public bins, keeping festival rubbish at a minimum – and making sure nothing distracted from the music.

Proud of the crowd: Electronica collective Bran Van 3000 in concert

Photo: Anirudh Koul

As well as helping the city avoid turning into a refuse tip, the suction machines also relied on electricity rather than fossil fuels, reducing the festival’s carbon footprint. All in all, it sounds like green was the order of the day for Montreal and the more than some 2 million party-goers that descended on the Quartier de Spectacles, from where the music emanated in style.

Solid as a rock: Rocksteady in concert at the Montreal Jazz Fest 2009

Photo: TMAB2003

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Image: Steve Jurvetson

World Population Day is not only a time to reflect on the many ways in which we could improve the lives of the Earth’s 6.7 billion citizens but also a chance to appreciate the power of the people – our energy, determination and ability to achieve when we put our minds together. The following ten images show that even in a crowd, everybody counts.

What makes us gather you ask? Good question. What could be strong enough to make us want to rub shoulders with people we don’t even know? As the following images will show, quite a few things have motivated us in the past and are continuing to unite us in the present. See for yourself.

1. Sports unite – then:

Image: The Brown Brothers

Sports have a great potential for uniting people from various socioeconomic, cultural and religious backgrounds. Here, the World Series filled up New York’s Times Square on 12th October, 1920 when tens of thousands gathered just to listen to updates from the Cleveland Indians vs. Brooklyn Robins game.

2. …and now – a sea of red, white and blue at the University of Florida:

Image: Pedro Alocer

3. People everywhere – the torch relay in Shenzen, China, at the 2008 Summer Olympics:

Image: Steve Jurvetson

Entertainment never fails to unite, even spontaneously when crowds gather on the street or at a planned event like a concert, fair, art event or even a book launch.

4. Houdini’s New York tightrope walk in 1916 united men in bowler hats who believed in magic:

Image via houdini tribute

5. The Woodstock crowd in 1969 united for peace, love and music:

Image via linds3y

6. The releases of the Harry Potter books drew huge crowds worldwide, here at a bookstore in San Francisco, CA:

Image: Zack Sheppard

7. Crowds watching and participating in the carnival in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil:

Image: Ygorrj359

Religion and religious beliefs and rituals, if coupled with tolerance, do unite rather than divide.

8. People bathing in the Ganges in Hardwar, India:

Image: Vikas Ragta

Grabbing an oppportunity and striving for success is something anyone can relate to. Even competitors will admire each other’s determination.

9. Chinese students at a career fair at the Shenzhen convention center in 2008:

Image via China Digital Times

Finally, a shared destination or goal brings people together, whether they want it or not.

10. Japanese commuters spilling out of a crowded train station:

Image via fareastgizmos

Inspired? We are. The motto of this year’s 20th World Population Day is to “build awareness of the importance of educating girls to a wide range of development issues, including poverty, human rights and gender equality.” Investing in the education and health of women and girls has already narrowed the gender gap and contributed to the empowerment and equality of women worldwide, resulting in increased national incomes, productivity and agricultural profits.

Fight poverty – educate girls:

Image via UNFPA

Source: 1

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Image: Green Roofs

Green roofs have been around for centuries in Northern Scandanavia, but they’ve really only become a popular trend in the last few decades. Recognized now for their ability to reduce the urban heat island effect while also reducing heat loss and energy consumption in winter months – among many other benefits – green roofs are really taking off, all around the world. And these aren’t just your average pieces of sod plopped on top of a building, either. These roofs are meant to be seen, designed by the artistically inclined in newfound attempts to express and flex their creativity.

Here’s a roundup of eight great green roofs for you to admire:

1. GENO Haus, Stuttgart, Germany

Image via Metropolis Magazine

The government sponsored the building of this roof in 1969; made of a Styrofoam base, this green roof remained functional until it was renovated with improvements in 1990. Germany was an early green roof adapter in the 1960s and continues to lead the way today, with an estimated 10% of all German roofs being “green”.

2. Nine Houses, Dietikon, Switzerland

Image via Metropolis Magazine

This set of nine houses built in 1993 by architect Peter Vetsch were made out of concrete and buried in earth and grass. They remind of modern hobbit houses.

3. The Solaire, New York, United States

Image via Metropolis Magazine

Built in 2003 with two green roofs by designer Rafael Pelli and landscape architect Diana Balmori, The Solaire was the first green residential building in North America. Residents live steps from the Financial District and Tribeca, and have the opportunity to experience a beautiful rooftop oasis when they come home each day.

4. Fukuoka Prefectural International Hall, Japan

Image: KnOizKi

Emilio Ambasz found a home for a 100,000-square-foot park in the form of 15 terraces atop a government building in Japan. This green roof features a whopping 35,000 plants representing 76 different species. A window office in this building will get you the best view the of the city, hands down.

5. Historial de la Vendée in Les-Lucs-sur-Boulogne, France

Image: Simon Garbutt

Nearly two acres of green space featuring native species was incorporated into the roof at Historial de la Vendée in France. The museum opened in June 2006.

6. Chicago City Hall, United States

Image: TonyTheTiger

One of the examples of green roofs built in the United States is the one that exists on top of Chicago City Hall. Although the roof is not normally accessible to the public, views from surrounding buildings reveal an organized sunburst pattern that is in keeping with the symmetry of the building’s architecture.

7. California Academy of Sciences, United States

Image: Adam Kuban

A visit to San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park must now also include a tour of the outstanding 2.5 acre green roof of the California Academy of Sciences. The Academy claims that the building consumes an amazing 30-35% less energy than required by code.

8. School of Art and Design, Singapore

Image: Green Roofs

Wouldn’t you like to study here? A curving green roof protects a five-story glass building that allows for ample sunlight to shine in and pretty views to look out to. Simply inspiring.

For more pictures of amazing green roofs, check out Green Roofs Australia.

Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

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Image via Tiscali

Earth Day is not only a time to reflect on the many ways in which we could improve our environment but also a chance to appreciate the beauty of the world we live in. The following ten artistic renditions of our planet demonstrate that how we look at the Earth is up to our imagination.

1. Belgium artist Jan Fabre’s “Globe” (1997) made of bugs:

Image via Kiwisphere

2. Brick artist Nathan Sawaya’s rendition of the Earth in Lego bricks:

Image via Brickartist

3. “Eartha,” the world’s largest revolving and rotating globe, weighing almost 3 tons, at DeLorme headquarters in Yarmouth, ME:

Image via Stagestrucktours

4. A globe many would like to visit at least once in their lifetime: North Cape or Nordkapp, Europe’s most famous northernmost point:

Image: Marc Jetzkowitz

5. This author’s all-time favourite hangout, the Unisphere in Flushing Meadow’s Corona Park, a beautiful remnant from New York City’s World Fair of 1964/65:

Image: Magnus Manske

Or how about a globe you can walk into? It is actually a 30-ft bridge covered with a stained-glass dome that has brought more than 10 million visitors to the middle of the earth since 1935. But don’t get confused, it also depicts the world as it was in 1935!

6. A walk-in Earth at the Mapparium in Boston’s Mary Baker Eddy Library:

Image via Mary Baker Eddy Library

7. Here’s a globe many would love to dig into – the Earth made of chocolate. Created for a United Nations meeting in Switzerland in 2008, that’s one sweet reminder of global warming:

Image via Excellence Bakery

Hiroshi Matsui, professor at Japan’s Otemae Confectionary College, had the same idea. His students created a 3 m-diameter chocolate globe for a college festival in 2007, using 35,000 coloured chocolate truffles for decoration. Sweet!

Image via Tiscali

Landscape architects Tracy Taylor, Lisa Gregg, Jennifer Simokaitis, Jeaneane Quinn and Hoerr Schaudt used 2,000 colourful seed packets for their project, “Be Inspired,” in which the Earth grows out of a flower pot. Viewers might indeed feel inspired to get in touch with their inner gardener by growing fruits, vegetables, herbs and flowers at home, thus reducing the number of packaged and shipped store-bought produce.

8. “Be Inspired,” the Earth made of seed packets at a U.S. Botanical Garden exhibition in Washington, DC:

Image: Kimberley Faye

And, in a similar vein, “Green Roofs Save Energy”” by Deborah Adams Doering at the same exhibition:

Image: Kimberly Faye

9. The Earth carved out of wood at an exhibition in Goettingen, Germany:

Image via Nepalese Society

10. Here’s a lovely homemade globe crafted from a potato; after all, the tuber is called an “apple of the earth” in many languages:

Image: Ilia Chentsoy

Staying with the do-it-yourself idea, here’s a historical paper globe from 1881 that one can make at home:
Image via Myweb

So what are you waiting for, get creative this Earth Day!

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Images via Crooked Brains

We really try hard to give our readers new ideas on what they can do with stuff gathering dust in their cupboards like old x-rays, cardboard, cassette tapes and old t-shirts. Today, we’ll show you a stylish way to recycle your old taps. That’s right, taps. How about turning them into cool table lamps?

Piles of unused stuff clogging up people’s houses seem to be a serious problem – so serious, in fact, that the designers of DEMO Studio have made zero manufacturing costs their motto. They use ready-made materials and objects to give them “new life and meaning” through their designs.

The KOZO lighting series recycles old taps or parts of them, wires them up, puts in a bulb and voila, there’s a stylish table lamp. In fact, the bulb coming out of the tap looks so natural that one might get confused during bathroom visits.

Way to go, KOZO lights! In fact, this concept might start a new trend: show me your junk and I’ll see what I can create for you.

We first spotted the KOZO lighting series on Crooked Brains. Here’s more on recycling old x-rays, cardboard designs, cool artworks made from cassette tapes and hybrid clothing.

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Image: Earth Hour Global

The bright idea of Earth Hour resulted in a good kind of darkness in Sydney, Australia in 2007. Since then, the yearly event to turn the lights down low (and preferably off) to raise awareness about climate change and the perils of unchecked greenhouse gas emissions has become a worldwide observance. Over 4,000 cities in more than 80 countries took part in this year’s event on March 28. With many a major city participating, just what did those famous skylines and landmarks look like before and after the lights went out?

Boston.com has collected some pretty cool animated pictures that gives you the power to turn the lights “on” or “off” with just a click of your mouse in 17 cities around the world, including Shanghai, Jakarta, Paris, Ahtens, London, Toronto, Lima and Los Angeles. While the differences were not so great in some cities, others had a great showing, with quite dramatic drops in light levels. In any case, it’s a compilation of some nice, big pictures of some of the world’s most recognizable places!

If you’re interested in some great video footage, check out the Earth Hour site.

Sources: 1, 2

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All images via Trendir

Cross-country road trips could become a thing of the past if the designers at Kingsley Architects have anything to say about it. The UK firm’s modern twist on the camper van has resulted in a compact, earth-friendly floating home that efficiently uses the sun’s rays as its power source. Melting glaciers or not, owners can rest assured that the SolarHome will provide shelter enough to survive on the water for up to a year at a time in Self Sufficient Mode. The home is also designed with the option to dock in a mobile floating home community (just like a park for camper vans) outfitted with infrastructure for power, fresh water and sewage treatment.

Designed with nature in mind, the SolarHome is just one example of how Kingsley Architects are dedicated to upholding sustainable and energy efficient practices in their work:

“At MKA we instinctively address sustainability and energy efficiency ensuring our designs are climate responsive not climate rejecting. We take time to ensure that clients and members of the design team understand what is meant by the terms ‘Sustainable’ and ‘Energy Efficient’ and that these objectives are benchmarked against current best practice and British / EU standards.”

The SolarHome allows for ample views of the surrounding environment from almost anywhere within its small, 75 square metre frame. The little house on the water features an open-air kitchen/living area and enclosed sleeping areas in the back.

Interested in living in one of these? The proposed prototype mobile floating home community would be located in the Lusatian Lakelands in Germany.

If you think the SolarHome is cool, you’ll probably like this house by MOS Architects too.

Sources: 1, 2

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