pligg - published

Waste Wise

MarcoZ — Sat, 03 May 2008 22:15:50 +0200

Waste Wise is a practical, step-by-step program inspiring Victorians (Australia) to minimise waste and maximise the efficient use of valuable resources. Joining Waste Wise is entirely voluntary and there are no costs involved in participation. Waste Wise shows you how to integrate sustainable principles into everyday operations, as well as how your organisation can benefit from the tangible results that flow from commitment to responsible waste management practices. » original news

12000 windscreens blown away

cesare — Fri, 02 May 2008 13:45:32 +0200

Each year the pilkington glass factory pays by the kilo for discarding about 12000 perfectly new wind screens; car windows. Cars last about 15 years, after 15 years most of them are on the scrapyard, the ones still driving are repaired with second-hand parts. So all stored spare parts older then 15 years are considered 'dead stock'. Interesting about the material is that you can get big quantities of exactly the same object, they are clean and ready to use! Front windows are made of layered glass and can hence be used as safety glass. If hit on the side they break easily, but they do not fall apart. Back and side windows are made out of hardened glass, they do not break easily, but if hit hard by a pointy object they get scattered to pieces. The black edge is a ceramic non transparent layer to protect the glue against UV-light. Because the company has to pay to get rid of the glass, they are very willing to help you if you need a lot, you might get them at your project for transport costs, or a bit more. This comes down to about 10 euros each. See how 2012 used 300 car windows in a shoe shop http://www.2012architecten.nl/projecten/duchi.html http://www.flickr.com/photos/2012architecten/sets/72157594181404156/ http://www.2012architecten.nl/new/index1.html www and how rural studios used them as a facade http://cadc.auburn.edu/soa/rural%2Dstudio/projects_glasschapel.htm And where to get them in Europe http://www.pilkington.com/europe/uk+and+ireland/english/default.htm pilkauto@pilkington.com this entry was made possibe thanks to a contribution by the netherlands foundation for visula arts, design, and architecture » original news

folkewall from used cartyres

fuli — Fri, 02 May 2008 13:43:52 +0200

A common principle in permaculture is that every unit should perform serveral functions. By growing plants in a porpos wall, you get both an efficient space use by vertical plant growing and purificaltion of the percolating water, which may be greywater. One way of building such a permaculture "folkewall" could be from worn out tires and plastic bags. » original news

motoart > airplane furniture

jan — Fri, 02 May 2008 10:20:51 +0200

We thought you would enjoy our work. To date, weaEUR(TM)ve produced over sixty different product line series made from authentic vintage aircraft. You can see additional pieces by downloading our 2007 catalog at http://motoart.com/html/0207pdfdownload.html » original news

The Air Bear

john — Fri, 02 May 2008 10:19:38 +0200

On the streets of New York, Joshua Allen Harris creates inflatable animals by tying plastic shopping bags to the subway grates: Air Bear: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0dF5aTn7WM&feature=related Air Zoo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ir0U3VNYg_w&feature=related Joshua Allen Harris (ca. 1977) Air Bear (2008), Air Zoo (2008) Plastic shopping bags New York, USA Air Bear video made by Joshua Allen Harris http://www.youtube.com/user/harrisdanger, Air Zoo video made by Marc Schil http://www.youtube.com/user/MarcSchil » original news

guidelines reuse building

jan — Fri, 02 May 2008 10:10:56 +0200

Guidelines for Building with Reusable Materials This project of Aaron Tvrdy foresees waste materials gathered in bulk, refurbished, and stored in regional design centers where designers can create components out of the former waste. One example uses discarded railroad track and ties to create a superstructure for a wood pallet wall system. With a creative design approach, reclaimed material kits can be used to create attractive components that can either celebrate or conceal their original identity. this entry won the student tier of the lifecyclebuildingchallenge 2007. » original news

Lifecycle Building Challenge

theoriginalsas — Fri, 02 May 2008 09:56:49 +0200

Enter the Lifecycle Building Challenge 2 Lifecycle building reduces construction waste and conserves the embodied energy of buildings. Construction waste totals more than 100 million tons per year, and the embodied energy of building materials accounts for 12% or more of the total energy used in a building. » original news

PAPERLESS Architecture Book

ethel.baraona — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 19:02:33 +0200

Piel.Skin is an experimental web book aimed at architecture students. The book literally surfs on several projects, jumping from exceptional exteriors in Asia to intelligently optimized facades in Europe. The book allows playing a virtual tour dedicated to google-earth travellers: By means of clicking on the coordinates of each project begins a journey where you can jump directly to each site and visualize the project within its environment. » original news

Rowboat Roof

john — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 12:41:14 +0200

A boat turned to shelter: The same quality that keeps boats, ships, yachts and the like afloat, also makes it a perfect roof. Rowboat Roof Wooden rowing boat Calgary (bay), Isle of Mull, Scotland Picture placed with kind permission of Jamie Bassnett: http://www.flickr.com/photos/trekkingbritain/2147842962/ » original news

Free Your Mind

john — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 00:14:06 +0200

Nick Georgiou found his muse in trash. With stitched folds of thousands of discarded newspapers he creates sculptures. And they create him: brought to the streets of New York it seems as if the sculptures themselves are posing for the camera and in the studio for his canvas. Check out: http://myhumancomputer.blogspot.com/ for more Free Your Mind. Nick Georgiou (1981) Free Your Mind (2008) Newspapers New York, New York, USA » original news

superuse your toilet

jan — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 01:51:16 +0200

this is a very simple and inventive way to start double using clean water running into your toilet basin. » original news

Little Trump

john — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 01:50:24 +0200

In 1994 Jo Ann Ussery found herself in the market for a new home. A huge storm in winter made huge trees loaded with ice, fall on her 1400 square foot wood-frame house, nearly flattening it. When she was looking for a mobile home, her brother-in-law Bob Farrow, an air traffic controller at Greenwood Airport, suggested she might look for a retired jetliner. After all, she didn't live very far from the airport in Greenwood, where one of the premier aircraft salvage companies in the business regularly parted out airliners: the Memphis Group. Here Ussery paid a visit, where Richard Cordle, the Greenwood facility manager, took her on a tour. Upon seeing the scrapped Continental Airlines 727, she responded, "I want it; how much?" It took several months to get the aircraft released. When it was available, she paid $2,000. Transportation cost another $4.000. To make it into her dream home another $24.000 were spent. Armed with a borrowed 9/16 wrench and a screwdriver from Cordle's toolbox, she would periodically go back for various missing parts. Ussery was allowed to remove interior panels and other odds and ends she needed from other 727s being salvaged. Cordle still refers to her as "that gutsy little grandma." When the plane was set up, the tail was anchored in 18 inches of concrete. The nose extended out past the shoreline of the lake, giving the 727 home a dynamic look, as if it were flying, this can be seen on the picture. The 11-foot-wide cabin looks roomy with the high-density airline seats removed. The 76 side windows and 10 cockpit windows provide ample illumination. The floor plan consisted of three bedrooms, a living room/dining room, a fully equipped kitchen, a laundry area and her favorite room, the master bathroom with a Jacuzzi, in the part of the fuselage where once was the cockpit. The cockpit control wheels were retained to maintain an aircraft look. Most of the interior remodelling was done by Ussery. Floors had to be built up in the bathroom and kitchen because they were uneven. Conventional padding and carpeting were installed, and linoleum was laid down in the kitchen. One original lavatory was kept functional as an aircraft lavatory. A garage door opener was used to open and close the rear air stairs. Overhead luggage compartments were retained, providing an abundance of storage space. Lighting was converted to house current. Ussery named her dream house "Little Trump," as reference to Donald Trump's $16-million corporate jet, which happens to be a Boeing 727 as well. When asked why she lived in an airplane: "simply cost effective, once it was set up, it required no maintenance'. Repairing the roof of replacing rotten boards or having it eaten by termites are all out of the question. Living in a jetliner, to her grandchildren, makes her the coolest grandma on the planet. Jo Ann Ussery Little Trump (1994) Boeing 727-200 (1968), Continental Airlines Benoit, Lake Whittington, Mississippi, USA (1994 - 1999) Sources: http://www.airportjournals.com/Display.cfm?varID=0305005 (picture made by Jo Ann Ussery) » original news

Beer+sunshine=hot water

jan — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 01:49:11 +0200

A Chinese farmer has made his own solar-powered water heater out of beer bottles and hosepipes. aEUR » original news

sleeping in residues

cesare — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 01:48:02 +0200

Hotel Transvaal uses the surplus of empty spaces in the neighborhood. In houses soon to be demolished, not yet sold newly built on derelict land and in unused spaces that have been refurnished by merchants from the neighborhood and artists into 1 to 5 star hotel rooms. The supply of rooms is very diverse in terms of furniture, luxury and price, so that anyyone, businessmen, students, tourists, residents and other guests can rent a place. When homes are sold or the torn down the hotel rooms move on. » original news

Tired cars

cesare — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 01:46:41 +0200

tires are to be found everywhere around the world, to discard them companies have to pay about so they are very willing to supply them. sources are bikes, scooters, cars, trucks, airplanes, agriculture Normally a tyre has a metal-mesh-wire lining in the thread to reinforce the surface off the tyre, and an eight mm metal wire along the bead to keep it on the wheel. Scooters and airplane tires have threads without the metal lining. the biggest tires come from the 'earth movers', up to 4 m diameter! The thread with steel-mesh lining can be cut with a strong jigsaw with a wood blade. In the sides, the 'cheeks' of the tire you can cut them by hand with a tapestry knife. You can cut the beads best with a special, expensive, wire cutter. They naturally function really well for toys, and furniture, but are also used as a watertight skin for a house and even to build load bearing walls Mille gomme is the specialist in holland. They build amazing objects from tyres on site. www.millegomme.com see mille gommes audio furniture at Worm, Rotterdam http://www.flickr.com/photos/2012architecten/177634459/in/set-72157594181332176/ The earth-ship foundation has used them successfully for more then 30 years now to build walls. http://www.earthship.org/imagegallery/index.php?gallery=./Constructiona,,'=tire_work_composite.jpg this entry was made possibe thanks to a contribution by the netherlands foundation for visual arts, design, and architecture » original news

Fantastic Plastic

lukeritchie — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 01:43:57 +0200

This is a story about a blue plastic bottle and how i changed it's life from an object holding lifes most important element, to a lighter side of life...Light. » original news

pulltab bag

jan — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 01:42:10 +0200

WhataEUR(TM)s better than a beautiful chic handbag made entirely from recycled materials? How about one that is not only eco-friendly, recycled, and supercute - but also engages fair-trade and socially empowering business practices by employing Brazilian craftswomen in hand production of the bags? The word aEUR » original news

The ecocathedral

pwouda — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 01:40:08 +0200

An ecocathedral is a place where culture and nature meet and work together. The builder of the first ecocathedral is Louis le Roy who lives in Mildam (The Netherlands), and it is made by tiles and bricks that are no longer of use in the economic system. The building of 1 ecocathedral takes several generations. » original news

Ethyl Vynil Acetate chairs

Maarten.rotor — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 01:38:25 +0200

you might know this material as foam rubber. it is used for industrial, toys, key holders, and in various sport-equipement. When slicing the blocks of foam, the first sheets are wasted. This is a design we made for an exhibition in beursschouwburg, Brussels You can find out more about EVA on » original news

shiny things of old wood

hout — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 01:35:29 +0200

Oudhout (literally Old Wood) creates monumental art out of old planks. He does not use paint! The wood is found in dumpsters, along faraway coasts and in abandoned farms. All these originally colored planks are sawn into hundreds of small pieces, thus creating photorealistic images of cars (among others Ferrari's, Dodge Chargers and Alfa Romeo's), All Stars sneakers and his now famous 'Drinks' series: a Cup of Coffee, the Coca Cola on the Rocks and Red Red Wine... Oudhout's work has been shown in galleries in Holland and the USA. He will have a show in NYC in April 2008 and will be featured in the upcoming Motoart Gallery in Las Vegas.... » original news

Waste from barcelona

jan — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 01:34:38 +0200

WASTE is a company based in Barcelona that is committed to reducing industrial waste in an original and sustainable way. We create functional, durable and high quality products that combine attractive design with social and environmental consciousness. Waste recycles discarded automotive upholstery to produce unique and limited-edition products. Ideally, no waste would be produced, but as it is, we are committed to transforming the reality of waste into something positive. We are a young team of entrepreneurs making every effort to develop our business using ethical practises to reduce and recycle waste. All our products are handmade in Barcelona; we have no standardized production. We cooperate with a tailoring workshop dedicated to womenaEUR(TM)s social reintegration. This enables us to have a broader control over the final quality of our products. » original news

Cola Gondola

john — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 22:23:56 +0200

The Cola Gondola is made from forty 3-liter PET bottles. Each tube is pressurized to 5 psi* to add rigidity. The Gondola weighs just 14 lbs (6 kg) and is 'really easy to car-top at 12 feet long'. Here is a manual to make your very own: http://www.hometown.aol.com/Sneelocke/Cola_Gondola.htm Andrew A. Kinsman Cola Gondola (2004) 40 3-litre PET-bottles Victor, NY, USA Source: http://www.hometown.aol.com/Sneelocke/ *)A single PET-bottle can, according to this YouTube-movie, take up around 185 psi (12,7 bar), before bursting: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_QvUC3EqxA » original news

PET-bottle Temple

john — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 09:59:21 +0200

At Heijplaat, an old citypart of Rotterdam, during the folly festival Follydock 2007, Salzig Design team created the Temple of Trash. The divined construction consisted of 100 bales of pressed PET-bottles from the nearby recycling company, which is one of the biggest of Europe. The sacred place, had a base of 25 by 10 m and measured 7m high. Salzig Design Temple of Trash (2007) 100 PET-bottle bales Heijplaat, Rotterdam, The Netherlands Freely quoted: http://salzigdesign.com » original news

Planemotel

john — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 17:32:37 +0200

In New Zealand, one of the last allied planes out of the Vietnam war, a 1950's Bristol Freighter, has been refurbished into 2 self-contained motel units. One suite is in the cockpit, the other in the tail. The plane is part of a complex with a converted rail car and boat. Planemotel Bristol Freighter (1946-1958) Woodlynpark, New Zealand http://www.woodlynpark.co.nz/accommodation.html Source: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/01/recycled_hotels.php » original news

Aquarius Catedral

jan — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 11:01:14 +0200

close to madrid in Mejorada del Campo one can visit a man built cathedral made out of urban remains. Youtube shows a documentary on the maker of the aquarius cathedral; Don Justo Allegro via 'damn' » original news

www.thuisvlucht.nl

annekejakobs — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 16:01:36 +0200

I became attached to an old chair I once found on the street, which I took home to use. It has served me well for a long time. Now, the chair has broken down, but it still represents an emotional value to me, accumulated over the years. So I divided it up into 1727 buttons, each of them tagged with a number, a thread and a label, indicating their original location in the chair. In each button the connection with my home lives on. They can be bought trough the internet, www.thuisvlucht.nl, and their distribution indicates my home spreading out over the world. » original news

Victory Kebab Lamp

john — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 09:23:17 +0200

A carefully collage of trash, pilled on top of each other and crowned by a light. Harry Richardson and Clare Page, who form Committee, made a small series of Kebab lamps: A colourful assortment of pottery animals, vases, figurines, boxes and other bric-a-brac. Objects come from the streets, flee markets and junk stalls. 'Looking at these objects, it isn't clear if they are beautiful and noble on their way up to the heavenly rubbish dump in the sky, or a chintzy portrayal of consumption.' Richardson and Page formed Committee in 2001 and work as designers applying 'pragmatism and imagination' to explore 'the drama of the everyday'. 'The drama of the everyday is an important theme for us, and the Kebab Lamp explores the possibility of making a spectacle of attractive qualities out of the random and ordinary. Each one is hopefully a celebration of the very human instinct to aspire to the absolutes of beauty, elegance and sexiness from the jumble of everyday existence.' Committee (since 2001) Harry Richardson (1975) and Clare Page (1975) Victory Kebab Lamp (2005) Trash Design Museum London, England Committee: http://www.gallop.co.uk/ Design Museum London http://www.designmuseum.org/ » original news

can the can house

cesare — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 09:23:13 +0200

Some years ago architect Richard Van Os Keuls of Silver Spring, Maryland started using discarded aluminium drink cans as siding for a house extension. (I also know a guy who had planned on using old vinyl LP records as roof shingles.) Richard washes his cans so ants want find the normally sweet and sticky innards too attractive. Then he stomps them flat, before pounding them with a sledgehammer to round the corners. Aluminium nails secure them in a shingle-like formation, to a plywood/insulation board wall, that is now resplendent with a fishscale look. He expects their various colours to fade over time, but doesn't plan on painting over the surface, because he now likes the way light plays on their many surfaces. Additionally he notes that they aren't noisy during rain, and have yet to develop the common chalky oxidation, which aluminium exposed to the elements can develop. Perversely when he first set out to collect extra cans from his local neighbourhood dump, this enterprising architect was apparently cited and fined for theft of city property and for transporting stolen property! » original news

recycled parachute silk!

cesare — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 15:21:21 +0200

clothing made out of war remains... » original news

drunk birdhouse

jan — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 18:23:58 +0200

Vine bottle packaging-birdhouse. Recycling concept. The concept consists in giving to packaging the second applicability. Hopefully, it'll help keeping the picnic places cleaner. Designer: Michael Sholk Made in Russia http://www.sholk.com/ » original news

fantastic movie

jan — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 17:55:50 +0200

From its extraction through sale, use and disposal, all the stuff in our lives affects communities at home and abroad, yet most of this is hidden from view. The Story of Stuff is a 20-minute, fast-paced, fact-filled look at the underside of our production and consumption patterns. The Story of Stuff exposes the connections between a huge number of environmental and social issues, and calls us together to create a more sustainable and just world. It'll teach you something, it'll make you laugh, and it just may change the way you look at all the stuff in your life forever. » original news

spoon scissors

oddo — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 17:55:14 +0200

spoon scissors / very good paper cutting author / miho miho212121@yahoo.com exhibition / Redesign your mind , Belgrade concept exhibition / od-do, www.od-do.com » original news

dismanteled planes

jan — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 17:54:23 +0200

At the end of their service life airliners may prove useful in many ways. They often fly as freighters for several years. When finally grounded they are scavenged for spare parts for other aircrafts, or used for training aircrews and firefighters. Sometimes sheet metal is cut off and melted down. » original news

dumped.....

cesare — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 17:53:43 +0200

Eleven unsuspecting volunteers are left marooned on one of Britain's biggest landfill sites for three weeks. Their challenge? To survive off the rubbish the rest of us have thrown out. How will they react when they are delivered to a huge, smelly British landfill site instead of paradise? And how will our volunteers cope when brought face to face with the sheer scale of the typical British landfill? Can they turn the grime and pong of 1000 tonnes of rubbish into a precious resource? Will they manage to eek out a living? Will they be surprised at the quality of life they can carve out of unwanted waste? And will their experience make them think about their own lifestyles? Dumped aims to highlight Britain's mountain of waste. Every year each of us throws away half a tonne of rubbish and with only a little over a quarter being recycled, most of the rest ends up in landfill. The Dutch and Austrians recycle more than twice as much as we do. Why are we in such a mess, and what can we all do about it? Watch Dumped to find out. » original news

Zipper Necklace

john — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 17:53:19 +0200

One-of-a-kind jewelry made from old zippers could, according to herself, become the signature trashion thing from Finnish designer OutsaPop. The model shows her latest design. This collar was made for a friend who took this picture of it. It has been reconstructed from 12 metal jacket zippers. It took 3 hours to pint these onto the mannequin and 7 to sew them together by hand. OutsaPop didn't invent the Zipper Collar, that honor goes to Comme Des Gar�ons. Zipper Necklace 12 zippers OutsaPop (Outi Pyy) trashion: www.outsapop.com/ Photograph: Mikko Rasila, placed with permission from OutsaPop: http://www.flickr.com/photos/outsapop/2339331947/in/set-72157602058853821 » original news

Fokker 100 Canteen

john — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 13:45:22 +0200

In 1996 legendary airplane manufacturer Fokker went bankrupt. The proud Dutch company, founded in 1912 by Anthony Fokker, made once the illustrious Dr.1 fighter plane (1917) (one was flown by the Red Baron), the G-1 (1936) fighter and the Fokker F27 Friendship (1955) perhaps three of the most beautiful planes ever made. The Fokker shown here, is the last, 100 seat fuselage, Fokker made. The bankrupt company failed to sell it as a whole plane so in 2000 the Breda based metal company Stolwerk could buy the fuselage from the warehouse at Schiphol. The wings and engine bays came from elsewhere from the planet and arrived a couple of months later. In 2004 the plane was ready to be used as canteen and meeting place. The airplane can be seen whilst travelling by train from Rotterdam to Breda at the left hand side, just before entering the station. Stolwerk metaal Canteen (2004) Fokker 100 (1986 » original news

747 Dissection

john — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 17:01:48 +0100

This phenomenal picture is related to the Superuse story of the 747 Wing House. (http://www.superuse.org/story.php?title=747-Wing-House-1) This is the actual dissecting of the Boeing 747 that is being used for the building. To give a feeling of the sheer size of these elements check out this Superuse item (http://www.superuse.org/story.php?title=747-Jet-Shed). Here the fuselage is being used as shed, to repair vintage helicopters. The 747 elements for the house are being flown to the construction site by a helicopter. David Hertz 747 wing house (2005 - ...) Boeing 747 Malibu, California, USA www.syndesisinc.com Source: Picture was taken by Alan Radecki, via http://www.flickr.com/photos/telstar/47230867/ Alan shot this image of a 747 being scrapped at Adelanto, near Victorville, California, on Sept 20, 2005. Thanx to Telstar: http://telstarlogistics.typepad.com/telstarlogistics/ » original news

747 Wing House

john — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 00:23:52 +0100

'This project is a 55 acre property in the remote hills of Malibu with several sites and unique topography with panoramic views looking out to a nearby mountain range, a valley, and the ocean with distant island views. The client, a woman, requested curvilinear/feminine shapes for the building. The progenitor of the building's form was envisioned as a floating curved roof. It soon became apparent, that in fact, an airplane wing itself could work. In researching airplane wings and superimposing different airplane wing types on the site to scale, the wing of a 747, at over 2,500 sq. ft., became an ideal configuration to maximize the views and provide a self supporting roof with minimal additional structural support needed. The wing structures are conceived to float on top of simple concrete, shot-crete, and rammed-earth walls that are cut into the hillsides. The floating roofs will derive simple support from steel brace frames, which will attach to strategic mounting points on the wing where the engines were previously mounted. Frameless, structural self-supporting glass will create the enclosure from the concrete slab on grade into the wing as roof. As we analyzed the cost, it seemed to make more sense to acquire an entire airplane and to use as many of the components as possible, like the Native American Indians used every part of the buffalo. Therefore, the property is to consist of several structures all made with components and pieces of a Boeing 747-200 aircraft. As a structure and engineering achievement, the aircraft encloses a lot of space using the least amount of materials in a very resource efficient manner. The recycling of the 4.5 million parts of this "big aluminum can" is seen as an extreme example of sustainable reuse and appropriation. American consumers and industry throw away enough aluminum in a year to rebuild our entire airplane commercial fleet every three months.' Ms Rehwald has to obtain various permits to go ahead with construction. In particular, she has been asked by the civil aviation authorities to mark the elements of the plane visible from the sky to show that they are not part of a crashed aircraft. David Hertz 747 wing house (2005 - ...) Boeing 747 Malibu, CA, USA http://www.syndesisinc.com Picture: a computer rendering of the Wing House's art studio interior, http://www.mensvogue.com/design/slideshows/2007/06/david_hertz?slide=1#showNav also more renderings of the house. Pictures of the cutting of the actual 747 on Superuse: http://www.superuse.org/story.php?title=747-Dissection More information: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4926216.stm » original news

Lamborghini Countach Pin-Up

john — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 15:25:54 +0100

The poster car of the 80ies was the Lamborghini Countach. It was designed by Marcello Gandini of the Bertone design studio. The young designer was not very experienced in some aspects of automobile design, such as practicality and ergonomics. Except perhaps for one of the trademarks of the car. The doors have horizontal hinges, so they lift up and tilt forwards. This is done because the car is very wide, a normal door wouldn't be practical in confined spaces. The outrageous supercar is also legendary for breaking down. Richard Moriarty, millionaire, ex legendary costume party host and now vineyard farmer, got tired of the car failing on him. Instead of bringing the Italian masterpiece to the scrap yard, he pinned his poster car onto the wall: 'I have a Lamborghini and a I've got a big wall.' The weight of the car got lowered by removing the V12 engine. Moriarty turned it into a '200 mph coffee table' for guest who prefer their drinks 'shaken and stirred.' He than hired a 70 ton crane to slide his Countach through the sunlight of his house. Here it found it's final resting place above an all glass staircase leading to Moriarty's wine cellar. To keep things domestic, the Lamborghini's electrical systems are connected to switches on the wall, so now the pin-up supercar functions as a lamp. Richard Moriarty (1948) Wall lamp (2006) Lamborghini Countach (1974-1990), type LP 400 S (1978-1982) Newport Beach, California, USA Source: http://www.italiaspeed.com/2006/cars/lamborghini/05/countach_wall/1405.html Picture made by Rick Loomis, LA Times » original news

Recycling and home design

recyclist08 — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 20:14:55 +0100

Renowned British eco-designer Oliver Heath - former presenter of the TV series Changing Rooms - explores the uses of recycled materials in the home - what can be recycled, how to reuse materials in diy projects, and what sort of products made from recycled goods are available. » original news