Shelter - Global

submitted by Samuel Bendett

inhabitat.com - by Tafline Laylin - September 18, 2012

Unlike most homes we've visited so far at the 2012 Solar Decathlon in Madrid, Team Romania's enchanting plus-energy PRISPA house already feels like home. The prototype has a comfortable, lived-in look and feel - no wonder it has already been sold! It's a good thing the team opted for simplicity and a modular design, because after the competition ends on 29 September, they will disassemble and reassemble the PRISPA for the third and final time.

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Image: A render of the low-carbon Omotenashi House.

submitted by Samuel Bendett

inhabit.com - September 5th, 2012 - Peter Leah

Later this month the Madrid Solar Decathlon will welcome the only Japanese entrant, the Omotenashi House designed by students from Chiba University. The house has been designed for two people to lead a self-sufficient lifestyle, incorporating modern technology with inspiration from—and respect for—traditional Japanese architectural practices. Following the earthquake and subsequent Fukushima disaster, Japan has been looking for inspiration to create a low-carbon future.

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www.echale.com.mx - June 4, 2012                                  (photo courtesy of viviendaechale.blogspot.com)

Ecoblock International offers families the opportunity to build their house through a self-production and self-construction program aided by means of its ¡Échale! A tu casa program. This program makes use of all the benefits of stabilized adobe creating a thermal, acoustic and ecological home that meets the needs of every family, with a competitive edge in the sector of aided self-construction.

http://cehi.org.lc - Karen Alleyne - June 1, 2012

ABSTRACT

This project is based on the development, testing and evaluation of lightweight aggregate
cementitious products utilizing shredded Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and High Density
Polyethylene (HDPE) from shredded plastic bottles and crates. The innovation for this project is
twofold. Firstly, thousands of PET and HDPE plastic materials, particularly plastic bottles, are
improperly disposed of each day resulting in large volumes of plastic waste entering and
remaining in the natural environment. This has become a solid waste management challenge in
Guyana since it is estimated that over 10,000 tonnes of waste plastic are discarded yearly, in
Georgetown alone. Secondly, efficient means of re-using waste plastic, particularly PET and
HDPE must be found since in developing countries it may not be economically viable based on
the volumes of plastic produced, to recycle.

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