Fuori Salone 2011 - ReFILE, use & re-use

Rubbish hotel opens in Madrid

Created by renowned trash artist HA Schult to raise awareness about polluted beaches, the "Save the Beach Hotel" was made from 12 tons of garbage gathered from European beaches in a few days.
Art installation took up residence outside the Vatican in June last year and is now on tour to raise awareness about Europe's trash-covered beaches, currently you can find the hotel in Madrid.

Toyota Prius C concept in Detroit

Toyota has expanded the Prius badge into a brand, unveiling a family of vehicles at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. The Prius c concept is one of them. The ‘c’ represents the “city”-esque features of the new hybrid vehicle – has the automaker trying to appeal to the younger generation of drivers with its impressive fuel efficiency, compact styling, spacious interiors and slew of advanced techologies. The Prius c Concept is expected to hit the roads some time during the first half of 2012.

Recycled art by Aurora Robson

“Deeply concerned about the natural environment, Robson sees herself as an eco-activist who uses her art to address urgent issues poetically, not polemically. She is best known for assembling cast-off plastic bottles, which she colorfully paints, into wildly inventive hanging sculptures the smaller ones sometimes containing LED lights and large works that fill entire rooms.” (Art in America Magazine Oct. 2009)

Via Notcot and Daily artfixx 

Copper phone uses heat for power

Patrick Hyland is working on creating a "charger-free cell phone future." This means lowering electricity consumption and no annoying chargers anymore. He's proposed a cell phone that charges with heat. A conductive copper skin transmits heat to a thermogenerator inside, producing electricity when the phone is placed on a radiator or inside a pocket. 

Via Core77 

Japan’s Namba Parks Has an 8 Level Roof Garden with Waterfalls

Namba Parks, a massive retail and office compund in Osaka, Japan, has an eight level rooftop garden that spans several city blocks and features tree groves, rock clusters, cliffs and canyons, lawns, streams, waterfalls, ponds and even space to grow veggies!

Via Inhabitat 

Eco-Inspired Rain collecting Garden Table

More and more people are harvesting rainwater in their gardens and a new eco-inspired garden table by Simon Davies can help stylish gardeners do just that. Rain water that lands on the outdoor table flows directly into a tank located below the table top.

Via Treehugger 

KIA's electric POP concept

Its Electric Pop concept looks like it's just an ambitious rendering, but apparently the automaker will be pulling the wraps off of a physical version of the car in less than two months at the Paris Motor Show.

Its goal, says Kia, is to bring "innovative design chic and dramatic styling to the city car segment." ...The front bench seat holds a driver and one passenger, with space for a third rider in a single central seat behind that. The Pop's single-piece windshield and panoramic glass roof shows an interior of purple and chrome.

Via Core77 

Four Electric Vehicles Embark on 80 Day Trip Around the World

Is it possible to travel the globe in electric vehicles powered by renewable energy offsets? We’ll find out soon — the “Zero Race”, an 80 day around-the-world excursion, just launched today. The race pits electric vehicles from Australia, Germany, South Korea and Switzerland against each other on a journey through Mexico, Europe, Russia, China, Canada, and the U.S., ending in January 2011.
There are stringent rules, of course. Teams can charge up wherever they please, but all EV charging must be offset with credits from sustainable energy producers. Even so, the trip will be cheap — Australian team TREV estimates that the whole journey will cost just $360.



Via Inhabitat 

Renault unveils Green Supercar

Renault just unveiled a striking green supercar, DeZir, that embodies the company’s new slogan — “Drive the Change” — and its new commitment to the future. Sensual curves and an all-electric motor.

Via Inhabitat

Betacup competition

Every industry these days is thinking of how to proceed to do something good for the environment. Just thinking of food and drinks alone, how much waste do we trow out when getting a cup of coffee or just some snack to eat. The Betacup competition tried to find solutions but being environmentally friendly and at the same time saving money or even spending the money better.
See here the 1st and 2nd prize.


1st prize: The Betacup & The Betacup Campaign 
Design: Jesko Stoetzer



The Betacup Campaign 2 from squalidsketch on Vimeo.




2nd prize: Cuptokeep 
Design: Katarina Mattsson & Angelica Lindgren
Cuptokeep is a new eco friendly take-away cup that you bring with you to the coffee shop. Cuptokeep is made of an elastic plastic material with a construction that allows you to collapse the cup to 1/5 of its size.

Via: Core77 

Cork floor tiles

This time not just cork materials, but a proper recycled floor from sliced wine corks. Tile manufacturer Modwalls takes the waste product--neat little cork "pennies"--that comes from trimming bottle corks down to size, and turns them into 1-foot-square sheets of tile called CorkDotz. It's water-resistant, of course, and reportedly even tough enough to use outdoors.

More info on Core77 

Lexus Hybrid Bicylce concept

Lexus introduced its Hybrid bicycle concept. The bicycle has two different modes, Eco and Power. Although the bicycle is made out of carbon fiber it, still weighs 17 kg. Currently, there are no plans to bring this bicycle into production.

Puma and Yves Behar's eco-packaging

After three years in the making, a new solution to the shoebox is announced- and it's pretty sleek too!

"It's hard to imagine something as simple as the shoebox being completely overhauled. But Puma and Fuseproject have done just that, in a design that will completely transform the brand's supply chain—saving millions in electricity, fuel, and water. 

The bag tightly wraps an interior cardboard scaffolding—giving it shape and reducing cardboard use by 65%. Moreover, without that shiny box exterior, there's no laminated cardboard (which interferes with recycling). There's no tissue paper inside. And there's no throw-away plastic bag. The bag itself is made of recycled PET, and it's non-woven—woven fibers increase density and materials use—and stitched with heat, so that it's less manufacturing intensive.

The impact: Puma estimates that the bag will slash water, energy, and fuel consumption during manufacturing alone by 60%—in one year, that comes to a savings of 8,500 tons of paper, 20 million mega joules of electricity, 264,000 gallons of fuel, and 264 gallons of water. Ditching the plastic bags will save 275 tones of plastic, and the lighter shipping weight will save another 132,000 gallons of diesel.

Via The Dieline 

VW Mimio concept

Jacky Wu has envisioned a scenario where all private cars would be prohibited in metropolitan areas by 2032 and major areas in the cities could be accessible only by bicycles. The Volkswagon Mimio car is the only car designed to overcome such scenarios.

Designed by Jacky Wu, the Volkswagon Mimio is a two-seater that contains space for folding bicycles. It contains two engines which ensures maximum performance by distributing power only when needed. The car also contains a rear dynamo to generate power through rear wheels which can prolong the battery life.

Via Trendhunter 

VW Bik.e

Electric-driven micro mobility concept shown at Beijing Motor Show last week.

LEAF concept

Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC) showed its Ye Zi concept at the Beijing Auto Show. The "leaf"  supposedly gathers energy from the surrounding environment the same way a real leaf does. Plus it is shaped like one too. For more info on this eco-friendly car: Designboom 

Recycled cardboard furniture

Lazerian Studio,  a collaboration between furniture designer Liam Hopkins and artist Richard Sweeney, they transform simple sheets of recycled cardboard into beautiful furnishings such as their sofa, giving the material a new lease of life. 

Their Borealis lampshades and Mensa coffee table are created from CNC machined plywood, showcasing the designer’s skill in pushing a wide range of materials to their sculptural limit. The designers aim to create minimal waste through their use of repeated forms.

For more info: Inhabitat 

GM unveils Electric crossover vehicle at Beijing Motor Show

The Chevrolet Volt MPV5 concept will make its debut at the Beijing Motor Show today. GM is definitely planning on extending its electric range. A larger version of the Volt Sedan that seats five and has an amazing amount of cargo space in the rear.
For more info: Inhabitat