atohmsFiled under: biomimicry & Ecology, interior design, Product Design | Tags: multifunctional, sink, toilet
The Roca W + W (wash basin + water closet) is as eco-friendly as it is good looking. Designed by the Roca Innovation Lab and Italian architects Gabriele and Oscar Buratti, the W+W fuses a washbasin and lavatory into a single piece and applies new Roca “Reusing Water” technology. This new technology reduces water consumption by 25% when compared with standard dual-flush toilets by re-using water from the washbasin to fill the lavatory cistern. It also employs for the first-time an automatic cleansing system which prevents bacteria and odors from entering the water cistern.
via:: Roca
Filed under: biomimicry & Ecology, Product Design | Tags: harvesting water, playpump
Water For People began implementing this solution in 2010 as a way to improve school water solutions. A spinning merry-go-round pumps water out of a borehole and up into a tank.While children have fun spinning on the PlayPump merry-go-round, clean water is pumped from underground into a 2,500-liter tank, standing seven meters above the ground. A simple tap makes it easy for adults and children to draw water. Excess water is diverted from the storage tank back down into the borehole. Capable of producing up to 1,400 liters of water per hour at 16 rpm from a depth of 40 meters, it is effective up to a depth of 100 meters.
via :: waterforpeople
Filed under: biomimicry & Ecology, Product Design | Tags: bottle, collector, dew, Ki-Tae Park
The onymacris unguicularis is a beetle found in the Namibian desert and has the most unique way of procuring water. Early in the morning, when the dew enriched fog is settled over the dunes, the beetle goes to the peak and positions its body in such a way that it helps in dew formation, and slurps up the water thus formed. Using this technique is the Dew Bank Bottle. It’s made is such a way that the steel body helps to assimilate the morning dew and channel it into the bottle immediately. That’s what you get for watching those BBC documentaries and good inspiration 🙂
via:: yankodesign
Filed under: biomimicry & Ecology, energy, Product Design | Tags: bio-battery, Coke, Daizi Zheng, phone
As a general rule, cell phone batteries are costly, resource-intensive, and difficult to dispose of properly. So why not ditch them and run our cell phones on soda? That’s the thinking behind designer Daizi Zheng’s concept phone for Nokia. Instead of running on traditional batteries, the concept phone uses a bio battery that generates electricity from carbohydrates. Fuel cells powered by sugar are nothing new — they’ve been in use for years — but Zheng’s point seems to be that we shouldn’t overlook innovative uses for the products we consume everyday. And of course, maybe Coke does belong in a battery more than it belongs in our bodies. It doesn’t hurt that the bio battery can operate for three to four times longer than a lithium-ion battery on a single charge, either.
via:: inhabitat
Filed under: biomimicry & Ecology, technology, Uncategorized | Tags: human energy, Hyejin Lee, Song Teaho
Mind you, this is not a product yet, just a concept. But It could be a helpful solution for a tricky situation. The situation being: you running out of juice on your mobile phone. So what do you do? Remove the battery from the back of the phone; give it a few good turns around your index finger and its gathered enough power to last you a conversation or a safe trip to your charger and electric point.
via:: yankodesign
Filed under: biomimicry & Ecology, interior design, Product Design | Tags: carpet, drip, La Chanh Nguyen, moss
This bathroom carpet is made of imputrescible foam called plastazote. Each cell welcomes a piece of moss (ball moss, Island moss, forest moss). The humidity of the bathroom and the drops flowing from the body, water the mosses. This vegetable carpet procures a great feeling to your feet.
via:: coroflot
Filed under: Architecture, biomimicry & Ecology, interior design, technology | Tags: cables, optical, solar
The SolarPoint™ Lighting system, also called hybrid solar lighting, consists of a roof-mounted SolarPoint™ Platform, a 45’ long plastic fiber optic bundle, and a number of special “hybrid” luminaires. The technology concentrates natural sunlight into a small bundle of optical fibers that “pipe” sunlight directly into a building or enclosure. Special lighting fixtures called hybrid luminaires diffuse light throughout the space, delivering up to 25,000 peak lumens. The hybrid luminaires blend the natural light with existing artificial lighting to provide controllable interior lighting. As sunlight levels increase and decrease, a daylight harvesting controller automatically increases or decreases the co-located artificial lighting proportionally, providing significant energy savings during daylight hours.
via:: sunlight direct
Filed under: Architecture, biomimicry & Ecology | Tags: grow, roots, structural strenght, trees
In the depths of northeastern India, in one of the wettest places on earth, bridges aren’t built – they’re grown. The living bridges of Cherrapunji, India are made from the roots of the Ficus elastica tree. This tree produces a series of secondary roots from higher up its trunk and can comfortably perch atop huge boulders along the riverbanks. The War-Khasis, a tribe in Meghalaya, long ago noticed this tree and saw in its powerful roots an opportunity to easily cross the area’s many rivers. Now, whenever and wherever the need arises, they simply grow their bridges. So unlike our modern bridges, who need regular maintenance this bridge only gets stronger in time.
via:: rootbridges
Filed under: biomimicry & Ecology, Product Design | Tags: deep fryer, goldfish, oil, water
Another fish-bowl idea. Albeit a radical one 😉 Because oil floats on water, despite the massive heat (163 degrees Celsius) the goldfish simply stay away from the surface and all is well. They eat the crumbs of croquettes and other fried foods that fall to the bottom, and can live in there for 5-10 years** as they happily clean away, ignorant to the fact that certain death awaits any potential escapees.
via:: japan trends
Filed under: biomimicry & Ecology, Product Design, technology | Tags: gotwind, kinetic element
The Orange Dance Charge portable phone charger relies on kinetic power to help keep your cell phone juiced up. It uses the kinetic movement of a system of weights and magnets, but won’t strain your arms at just 180 grams. The band attached to your arm would be better worn when you’re at the gym for a workout, as wearing it while you’re at work would make you look kind of silly.
via:: ubergizmo
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