How to Pack Your Suitcase More Consciously
Here is how to pack your suitcase more consciously, from choosing a compostable phone case to prevent your iPhone from becoming e-waste to packing reef-friendly sunscreens.
sustainable design
Svenn wooden watches are the sign of our times
Svenn wooden watches are the sign of our times
Can clay jugs filter water?
Cool, fresh drinking water. Westerners turn the faucet on and take it for granted that good water will flow out, but in many countries fresh water is a treasure, gained by hard work. In rural villages all over the globe, people – usually women and children – fill buckets and jerry cans from a communal […]
3 Arab architects worthy of being called sustainable builders
Green is sort of a buzzword nowadays. People will say they are going green (like Zaha Hadid), but are they as good as their word? Usually not. In the world of Middle Eastern architecture and engineering, rest assured that there are several who are fighting for green choices. Clients often see lots of green – […]
Morf shirt transforms to 24 shirts in one!
There’s a movie called 27 Dresses about a woman who finds love and finally gets to wear a wedding dress after serving as a bridesmaid, 27 times. You might think that “24 shirts” refers to a similar movie about a 24-time groomsman – but not so. It actually describes a recent fashion innovation by Israeli […]
Solar retreat in the Liwa Desert – futuristic functionality or rich man’s folly?
An unnamed client hired London-based Baharash Architecture to design a luxury home that could fully function off the energy grid. That’s a tall order for any residence in Abu Dhabi, now consider the challenges for one sited in the punishing clime of the hyper-arid Liwa Desert where summer temperatures top 100°F.
Colonel microbrewery built with recycled materials opens in Lebanon
While many Muslims don’t drink alcohol, the people of Batroun, Lebanon love their beer. At least according to Jamil al-Haddad, the visionary behind Colonel beer and a new microbrewery built out of recycled materials.
Would stackable B-and-Bee festival shelters work for refugees as well?
When we first presented the solar-powered woven refugee shelters that have now been seen all across the world, many people suggested they’d also make great festival tents. Well, now we’re wondering the opposite. Could these B-and-Bee shelters designed for Belgium festivals provide temporary housing for refugees in the Middle East?
Car sensing cycling jacket with LED lights – when design gets silly!
Have you ever read an online story where the comments best the content, turning your idle news-scanning into a mini-meta experience? A recent piece on some new bike-safety gear caught our eye – (what’s not to love about designs to encourage pedal power!) – but it was the readers’ response that snapped the story into perspective.
Modern mashrabiya is Arab architecture made in the shade – check out these stunning photos
Thousands of folding glass panels cover the southern facade of the Al Bahr Towers in Abu Dhabi (above). Reacting to sunlight, they form a protective skin to decrease interior solar gain. It’s a modern riff on the best known element of Arabic architecture, in play since the Middle Ages. Meet the modern mashrabiya.
Studio Cheha’s awesome optical illusion makes flat LED lamps look 3D
Studio Cheha’s Nir Chehanowski has designed an extraordinary flat LED lamp that looks three dimensional. Called Bulbing, the lamp is made of high quality materials and manufactured locally in Tel Aviv. It looks like a bulging three dimensional bulb, but actually it’s only 5mm thick and 100 percent flat. Studio Cheha uses a laser cutting process to cut out […]
Cliche Arab references in Libyan bank design by Henning Larsen Architects
We don’t mean to pick on any one firm here, but a string of repetitive competition proposals has culminated most recently in the Central Bank of Libya design for Tripoli by Henning Larsen Architects. Although they and other foreign foreign firms are making an effort to be culturally relevant, how many desert-like “flowing facades” do we need?
IRIS sea pods make energy and a social statement in Beirut
Remember the old days in Beirut when you could actually see the Mediterranean Sea? The crew over at Najjar & Najjar Architects remember, and they want it back! Their Kinematic IRIS sea pods are designed to not only provide refuge for residents living in the shadow of urban regurgitation, but to generate energy as well.
Floating Majlis meeting rooms made of recycled fishing nets in Dubai
Majlis are the boardrooms of the Arab world. A traditional ‘place of sitting’ often adorned with cushions on the floor, they are used to receive guests and exchange ideas. In the past, nomadic desert dwellers used special tents. Intercon takes a modern approach to this special meeting room with floating Majlis that are moved daily.
The edible Ooho water bottle could save us from plastic
Plastic. No word assaults our sensibilities more. Plastic in the bellies of baby birds; plastic strangling marine animals; plastic leaching chemicals into our water supply. Plastic everywhere. But with Ooho, an edible water ‘bottle’ that just about anyone can make, we could get a handle on the plastic mess – at least a little one.