“Eco-Pillows”
Wednesday, January 28th, 2009When I first read in O Globo of the latest offering from Campinas-based Les Coussins to be shown in mid-February at the annual trade fair of Brazilian Association of High Decoration Furnishing Industries (ABIMAD), I contacted their owner/designer, Fátima Queiroz, to ask for pictures and permission to blog about it. Fátima was not only nice […]
McDonald’s Claims First “Ecological Restaurant” in Latin America
Tuesday, December 16th, 2008McDonald’s just inaugurated what it claims to be the first “ecological restaurant” in Latin America — well, at least, the first one of their chain, anyway. Take a look at why McDonald’s calls this an ecological restaurant and see if you agree: Arcos Dourados (“Golden Arches”), the company that manages the franchise network of McDonald’s […]
Toward a Green Building Rating System for Mexico
Tuesday, October 2nd, 2007Quiz time, folks. Did you know that Mexico has one of the two Latin American buildings that are Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified? That nine other Mexican projects await LEED certification by the US Green Building Council (USGBC)? That Mexico has had its own green building council since 2005? That the Council […]
Attention Eco-designers! Eco-diseñadores, ¡atención! Eco-desenhistas, atenção!
Wednesday, March 21st, 2007For those interested in eco-design in a developing country context in general, or in sustainable design for Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) in particular, listen up! The First International Symposium on Sustainable Design (ISSD), slated for Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil 04-06 September 2007, has issued a call for papers and speakers. Those wishing to present […]
The Stove of the Future May be Mexican
Thursday, December 14th, 2006Every year Electrolux Design Lab sponsors a competition aimed at producing greener appliances and accessories that are also stylish. In 2004 the winner was a waterless dishwasher, in 2005 a waterless washing machine. This year the theme was healthier lifestyles, and the first place winner was a multi-layered food carrier. But we’re not going to […]
Brazilians Seek to Design the Eco-Efficient Home
Sunday, November 19th, 2006In a prior entry I introduced you to the experiments of the Federal University of Santa Catarina’s (UFSC) Construction Systems Laboratory with constructing homes using PET bottles. Today I’ll introduce you to the work of another innovative part of the UFSC, the Energy-Efficient Construction Laboratory (LabEEE). LabEEE’s main mission is research and development in improving […]
“Trash Photos” III: Houses Made of PET
Monday, September 25th, 2006Photo: Rodrigues Moura, in Eco-Pop I mentioned in my prior “Trash Photos” post some of the creative ways Brazilians are thinking about reuse and recycling of materials from end-of-life products and their packaging. Here’s another one: constructing houses utilizing empty PET bottles. Yes, those plastic bottles everyone’s soft drinks come in these days, particularly the […]