design
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Play chutes and ladders on public transportation
The designers of this "Transit Accelerator" in the Dutch city of Utrecht have the right idea about making public transportation fun: turn it into a board game, or recess. What other inspiration can public transit take from childhood? Personally I'd like to see merry-go-round train cars where you ride on My Little Ponies.
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Environmental education center built out of recycled materials
An LA-based design think tank called APHIDoIDEA has an idea about how to build an environmental education center that practices what it preaches. The designers imagined an Environmental Center of Regenerative Research & Education -- or eCORRE -- Complex that would teach visitors about green ideas like solar energy and passive cooling techniques. It would have classrooms, offices, an exhibition hall and a public plaza. Here's the cool part: the building would be made of 65 shipping containers.
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Solar-powered bikini lets you charge gadgets with your boobs
Everybody knows you're not supposed to get a tan anymore. So what's the point of lying out on the beach, if you're just going to wear SPF 800 sunscreen? Well, if you're sporting designer Andrew Schneider's solar bikini, you can at least be charging your iPod while you nurse your pale yet cancer-free flesh. The […]
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The art of campaigning for high-speed rail
What if we recruited artists and designers to help sell the American public on the idea of high-speed rail?Illustration: Chris MurphyEarlier this week, the federal Department of Transportation announced $2 billion in new awards for 22 intercity rail projects that will improve the speed, aesthetics, and range of our existing rail system, while also studying […]
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Awesome concept design makes buildings into bike racks
Floor space is at a premium in cities — everyone wants to walk, bike, drive, and park their various human- and gas-powered vehicles on the same precious real estate. Vertical space, on the other hand, is available in abundance. And while the obvious use for this space is crazy-ass trompe l'oeil murals, the second-best option […]
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Turn a month of trash into a month of treasure
A couple of Austrian design students have issued a challenge — to themselves, but you can get in on it. They're posting an upcycling project every day for 30 days, and for every guest submission they post, they'll extend the project one day. Send in your upcycling ideas and help them rehabilitate a month — or […]
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Hemp chair is not just eco-friendly, it’s eco-kind
You know those hiddy plastic stackable chairs that you see on basically every porch, stoop, and backyard? (I have some. They came with the house.) Well, what if they were biodegradable, made with sustainable materials, and kind of awesome looking? And also made out of pot? TOTAL DREAM CHAIR, right? Okay, so Werner Aisslinger’s stackable […]
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Sustainable Apparel Coalition delivers the eco-skinny on your skinny jeans
Wheredja get those jeans?I spend a lot of time shining a light on murky areas of the food system, but what about the industrial-apparel complex? Just as the food we eat has a material basis and a history, so do our clothes. It turns out that I know a lot more about the (grass-fed, local) […]
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New number quantifies greenness of your unitard
Something in the water.Photo: Google MapsDenim sucks — at least, environmentally speaking. If there’s any doubt in your mind, check out the image to the right. New York Times writer Tom Zeller Jr. found the Google Maps photo of Xintang, China, the No. 1 denim producer in the world. That dark blue stuff? That’s dye […]
