We love treehouses at C&H: in fact, the more luxurious or exotic, the better! So when I first spotted these new designs on Casa Sugar about German company Baumraum, I was excited.
Craftsmen at the company include architects to tree experts when it comes time to pick a site and design. They primarily build treehouses in oaks, lime trees, ash trees, beeches, chestnuts, old fruit trees, cedars, pines, and firs. They use their expertise so as not to harm the tree and will use added structural support if necessary.
Well, I've always wanted an underground lair. Luckily, I've found one that looks more pastoral than evil and gloomy. Made of concrete and earth, this Swiss estate is a cluster of grass-blanketed houses encircling a pretty little lake.
According to Inhabitat, aside from using natural and recycled materials and having a green roof, the structure was built using typical earth house construction, resulting in an insulating blanket that protects it from rain, low temperatures, wind and natural abrasion.
I recently read an article on Treehugger about the successful completion of a passive house in the south. A passive house you say? What the heck is that?
These homes are built without a furnace. They rely on insulation and sunshine to keep it toasty and warm. In the summer they keep cool with a mini air conditioning system and an energy recovery ventilator.
Though you'll reap benefits in no fuel bills, there are some concerns.
Big news - literally. USA Today reports that the Empire State Building is going green, one window at a time. As part of an effort to go green, the 6,514 double hung windows are being replaced one at a time in order to save about $4.4 million a year in energy costs.
"If you can retrofit the Empire State Building, you can retrofit anything", says Kevin Surface, president of Serious Materials. Very true.
Here's how windows are being replaced: Each night, workers remove scores of windows from their frames on the building's office floors. They wheel them to the workroom, where the glass panes are detached from their sashes, pulled apart and carefully cleaned.
