Managing the Transition

For the first time since its inception in 2002, the U.S. Department of Energy's Solar Decathlon is being held at a location other than the mall in Washington D.C.

The competition challenges collegiate teams to 'design, build, and operate solar-powered houses that are cost-effective, energy-efficient, and attractive', and the twenty projects featured this year do just that by showcasing innovative green building technologies, products and strategies that visitors can incorporate into their own homes.

Via Lauren Moss

Using salvaged stuff not only has a positive environmental impact by reducing waste, it also offers architects materials typically unavailable.

According to the National Association of Homebuilders, “If all the lumber used to build the 1.2 million new homes constructed in the U.S. each year were laid end to end, it would extend 2 million miles—a sobering statistic.

Dutifully sorting waste, separating the metal and plastic from the paper for different recycling streams is part of modern life. Some areas even have food waste collection for community compost.

Architects and designers are taking notice of the opportunities offered by recycling and reuse. Using salvaged materials not only has a positive environmental impact by reducing waste, it also offers architects materials typically unavailable, such as old growth lumber.

Visit the link for some prescient products and projects using recycled materials for architectural purposes.

Via Lauren Moss