Real Beauty...

Your self-confidence shouldn't be dependent on how attractive other people find you, but ... because I know I would have reacted the same way if I'd been part of this project, I'll get down off my high horse just long enough to say, "Ladies, we really need to stop being so hard on ourselves!" Chances are, you'll take a second look in the mirror after you watch this. Or maybe you'll just ditch your mirror altogether. Wouldn't that be nice?

  via www.upworthy.com

Pavegen

We have seen many different "green" solutions for energy production. This is a new one, creating energy from simple footsteps. It seems that we are making progress...

Original Quote Posters

Quotes from great people, with nice illustration.



































via thrashlab

Chengdu Tianfu District Great City

Great City, outside Chengdu, China, is envisioned as a prototype satellite city to be replicated in other locations throughout the country. The development is intended to respond to the problem of overburdened infrastructure in many of China’s major urban centers without contributing to the high energy consumption and carbon emissions associated with suburban sprawl.



Great City will be home to about 30,000 families totaling 80,000 people, many of whom will also have opportunities to work within the development. The distance from any location in the city to any other location will be walkable within about 15 minutes, all but eliminating the need for most automobiles. The city will also be connected to Chengdu and surrounding areas via mass transit to be accessed at a regional transit hub at the Great City center.

Great City will use 48% less energy and 58% less water than a conventional development of similar population. It will also produce 89% less landfill waste and generate 60% less carbon dioxide.



The project has been designed to conserve existing farmland, with more than 60% of the 800-acre site area preserved for agriculture and open space. The 320-acre urbanized area will be surrounded by a 480-acre buffer landscape, whose natural topography—including valleys and bodies of water—will be integrated into the city itself. Within the city, 15% of the land will be devoted to parks and landscaped space, while 60% will be parcelized for construction. The remaining 25% will be devoted to infrastructure, roads and pedestrian streets.



The city’s perimeter is defined by a clear edge, from which the city center can be reached on foot within 10 minutes. An extended recreation system connects the pedestrian network to trails that run through the green buffer and surrounding farmland. The infrastructure and public-realm networks include electric shuttles, plazas, parks and links to the recreation system. As a primarily pedestrian city, only half of the road area is allocated to motorized vehicles. All residential units will be within a two-minute walk of a public park.



In addition to improved efficiencies within buildings, the city will use seasonal energy storage to use waste summer heat to provide winter heating, and a power generation plant will employ the latest co-generation technology to provide both electricity and hot water. AS+GG has worked with the infrastructure consultant Mott MacDonald on plans for an Eco-Park located on the northwest edge of the city will integrate waste water treatment, solid waste treatment and power generation.

More at http://smithgill.com/work/great_city/ 

Deep Thoughts of Carl Sagan

Power Supply Problem Solved

An amazing bridge concept has been presented in “Solar Park South” international competition, on a highway between Bagnera and Scilla in Italy. The design harnesses solar energy through a grid of solar cells embedded in the road surface, while wind turbines integrated into the spaces between the bridge’s pillars would be used to generate electricity from the crosswinds.

The road surface would replace traditional asphalt with 12.4 miles of “solar roadways” consisting of a dense grid of solar cells coated with a transparent and durable plastic coating providing 11.2 million kWh per year. The designers say this system, combined with the 26 wind turbines integrated underneath the bridge generating 36 million kWh per year, would provide enough electricity to power approximately 15,000 homes.

via http://informationfarm.blogspot.gr/

The Creative Finder

The Creative Finder is a photography social network "where finders meet creatives". It's a really interesting site for collaboration and inspiration. 
Take a look at: http://thecreativefinder.com/
Have a taste of some cool pictures:

Common Objects

Dmitri Gerasimov is a photographer from Tallinn, who draws the attention to the things that cross his eyes on the regular. He wants to encourage people to see more, to notice. The objects in his pictures are so common that we don't even look at them in our daily life, but his photography with the strong light and vivid colours draws the human eye to give them extra consideration. Some images are even crude on the eye, but they evoke strong reactions. He says "I encourage people to see more. To take more notice. Sometimes seemingly familiar objects become unrecognizable. And that’s very important."

See more at http://www.dmitrigerasimov.com/Photography

Kinetic Typography - Language

This is a video of kinetic typography about the use of language,by Stephen Fry. Have we lost our intest in it?

Adobe Museum of Digital Media

Adobe Museum of Digital Media is the world's first virtual art museum dedicated to digital art and innovation. A great project that brings art and inspiration really close to anyone.



First take a look at the making of video from Goodby, Silverstein & Partners:

Check it here: http://www.adobemuseum.com/