Polish designer Katarzyna Okinczyc and photographer Remigiusz Truchanowicz have designed the 60Bag, a carrier-bag that degrades in 60 days.

60Bags are made of non-woven, flax-viscose fabric, produced with flax fiber from industrial waste.

This technology makes the bags naturally decompose in about 60 days after being discarded by the user.

The bags can be composted or safely burnt, which means they don’t require expensive recycling processes.

More information on the project website.

Here's some text from the designers:

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60BAGs are biodegradable carrier bags made out of flax-viscose non-woven fabric. It is a Polish made, scientifically developed and patented material. The flax-viscose fabric is produced with flax fiber industrial waste, which means it doesn’t exploit any natural resources and minimizes the production energy use. This highly innovative technology makes the bags naturally decompose in about 60 days after being discarded by the user. The bags can be composted or safely burnt, which means they don’t require expensive recycling processes.  They are the perfect natural answer to the environment’s needs.

60BAGs are available in different shapes and sizes to fit customer’s needs. They are the breakthrough answer to polypropylene-made “green bags” and to thick plastic bags given away by most clothing retailers. 60BAG is a great commercial opportunity for the companies truly supporting the eco-friendly lifestyle.

The people behind the project are product designer Katarzyna Okinczyc and photographer Remigiusz Truchanowicz.

Katarzyna Okinczyc born in Poland, graduated from the Universitaet der Kuenste in Berlin, Germany. After a 2 year work experience in the United States returned to Poland to work independently and search for new exciting project opportunities with bannerina, dogenvol and 60bag as the result.

Remigiusz Truchanowicz, professional photographer and brand specialist, graduated from Academy of fine art in Poznan, Poland. His work includes art and commercial photography as well as branding practices. Owner of the Devon Visual Group studio.

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Remigiusz Truchanowicz appeared first on Dezeen.

London architects Riches Hawley Mikhail have completed an affordable, sustainable housing scheme within an existing village in Suffolk, UK.

The buildings make use of use a spray-on material made from a mixture of hemp and lime, which captures carbon from the atmosphere. A biomass heating system using locally-sourced woodchips heats all the homes from one boiler.

Called Clay Fields, the development consists of 26 homes.

"It combines contemporary design, sustainable construction with low energy use and innovative local materials," say the architects.

Photography by Nick Kane. The following is from Riches Hawley Mikhail Architects:

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Eco-minimal housing completes in rural Suffolk

Riches Hawley Mikhail Architects’ new affordable housing scheme, situated within an existing village in Suffolk will be officially opened on Friday 28 November. Clay Fields consists of 26 affordable homes - nine three-bed houses, 13 two-bed and four one-bed flats for local people. It combines contemporary design, sustainable construction with low energy use and innovative local materials.

For example, the project sees the first UK sprayed application of Hemcrete®, a mix of lime and hemp, which captures carbon from the atmosphere – making it a less than zero carbon material. It helps to make the construction airtight by embedding the timberframed structure in the insulation.

Riches Hawley Mikhail were commissioned in 2006 following a RIBA design competition led by Orwell Housing Association in partnership with Elmswell Parish Council, Mid Suffolk District Council and the Suffolk Preservation Society. The competition was a response to the lack of affordable housing for local people in a rapidly-growing commuter belt. The brief demanded a high quality, low carbon homes without any ‘greenwash’ or highly visible environmental interventions.

There are no solar panels or wind turbines extruding from the houses. It is above all, the thoughtful design that gives the project its eco-credentials. This is eco-minimalism. Riches Hawley Mikhail has designed a terrace consisting of three houses at Clay Fields. These terraces have been carefully positioned in distinctive groups staggered around open space and adjacent to the neighbouring housing.

Update 19/11/08: Riches Hawley Mikhail have provided the following three interior images.

The homes are designed to be low, in keeping with the surrounding buildings to minimise the visual impact and avoid overshadowing. Orientated northsouth to maximise the heat of the sun and generate the best possible light, even the low winter sun (typical of the area’s flat landscape) will reach everyone.

The front facades are clad in continuous wooden weatherboards. Variety is brought to the elevations through the different positioning and size of windows, punched out of the wooden cladding. The arrangement of the windows was determined by engineers Buro Happold, who worked out the optimal relationship between solar gain and daylight, as well as making the most of the beautiful views out. All homes get a view – they do not look onto each other but onto open space.

The landscaping was born out of a desire to make a series of enjoyable places for people to look at and use as well as being a vital contribution to village life. The landscaping includes four communal green spaces that can be used by both the residents and the neighbouring community: a low maintenance wildflower meadow, a Suffolk-apple orchard, allotments with composting facilities and a kick-around area. This mix of landscape treatments and a series of ‘swales’ (dips and hollows like those made by medieval ploughing), provide natural drainage to the site which was previously prone to water-logging.

Internally, the layout is carefully designed to maximise space, light and through-ventilation. The floors are staggered with an open stairwell running from the kitchen to the rooflights allowing a through-flow of air, so the homes are ventilated naturally in the summer. In winter, an additional mechanical system removes 80 per cent of heat from outgoing air and uses it to heat incoming air.

The project features a number of systems that have helped to make it an energy-efficient build and will keep the energy bills low when in use. Innovations include the use of Isonat – a hemp/ linen insulation material, a biomass community heating system (fuelled by locally sourced wood chips) that heats all the homes from a single boiler and rainwater recycling. Site waste was minimised with the use of Hemcrete®, pre-fabricated timber frames and topsoil has been stored and redistributed across the site.

Residents have been consulted at every stage. The local primary school has been involved in the project from the beginning, with site visits and talks encouraging a real sense of ownership of both the homes and the spaces where the children will play. Residents will be given a user-friendly guide, “How to live in your eco-home”, containing helpful tips like when to and when not to open windows, to ensure that the green aspirations of the project are continued in practice. Buro Happold will carry out an evaluation of energy consumption, once all the households have moved in.

Stephen Javes, Chief Executive, Orwell Housing Association comments: "We are very proud of this new development at Elmswell, not only because of its sustainable and energy saving features but because it fulfils our major aim of creating affordable homes which are attractive and good to live in and which add value to the local community."

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Car brand Chrysler have re-designed the GEM Peapod, a battery-powered electric car.

The Peapod has a top speed of 25 miles per hour and a range of up to 30 miles per charge. Battery charge is extended by regenerative braking and recharge time is approximately six to eight hours.

"GEM vehicles are used in settings such as city centers, planned communities, military bases, college campuses, corporate and commercial centers, and city, state and national parks," say Chrysler's designers.

The interior includes mesh seating and an iPod dock, and incorporates recycled and recyclable materials.

The re-designed vehicle is due for production in 2009.

The following information is from Chrysler LLC:

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GEM Introduces Peapod Neighborhood Electric Vehicle – the Next Generation of Clean and Green Transportation – No Gas. No Emissions. Pure Electric.

Clean and green transportation gets a new look and feel as GEM, a Chrysler LLC company, introduces the next generation of clean, gas-free and emission-free, battery electric vehicles.

The vehicle’s innovative, groundbreaking design, with its striking pod-like shape and sleek lines, reflects the environmentally friendly nature that has been the hallmark of GEM since its founding 10 years ago.

The user-friendly mood of the vehicle, named the GEM Peapod, is enhanced with the newly designed center console that will offer iPod integration, as well as hands-free operation of the customer's iPhone. Other innovations include ergonomic, supportive, mesh seating, which enables air circulation for comfort and uses eco-friendly recycled and recyclable materials.

“We have evolved the GEM design language to better reflect its eco-friendly performance and its upbeat, positive image,” said Peter Arnell, Chrysler LLC’s Chief Innovation Officer who led the design process. “These vehicles use no gasoline and emit no pollutants. So whether it’s a trip around the neighborhood or the drive to school or work, the GEM Peapod is the ideal way to contribute to a greener planet, and a healthy lifestyle."

GEM will also get a new name – GreenEcoMobility, Arnell said, signifying the company’s goal to redefine environmentally friendly vehicles. Chrysler will show the styling model for the production 2009 GEM at the company’s headquarters Sept. 23. The re-designed GEM is scheduled for production in 2009.

The Peapod represents the first in a series of product launches that will redefine the future of electric vehicles, said the company’s CEO Bruce Coventry. “With this next generation GEM, we will broaden the market for this clean, emission-free technology,” Coventry said.

In addition to the 2009 GEM Peapod neighborhood electric vehicle, Coventry said, GEM has plans to market a new light-duty, battery electric commercial truck and a larger city electric vehicle, with more range and performance.

These vehicles are scheduled for production within the next year, he said. Today’s GEM is the nation’s No. 1 zero-emission electric vehicle, with 38,000 produced and in use. GEM vehicles are used in settings such as city centers, planned communities, military bases, college campuses, corporate and commercial centers, and city, state and national parks.

“Over the past decade, GEM has established itself as the nation’s leading battery-powered, pure electric vehicle,” said GEM President and COO Rick Kasper. “We have done that by responding to the needs of our customers for safety, utility, versatility and performance in environmentally friendly vehicles."

GEM cars are available in six models: two-, four- and six-passenger cars and three utility vehicles. GEM neighborhood electric vehicles have a top speed of 25 miles per hour, a range of up to 30 miles per charge (battery charge is extended through use of regenerative braking) and are street legal in more than 40 states. The vehicles can be recharged anytime, anywhere with a standard 110-volt outlet. Recharge time is approximately six to eight hours.

By replacing conventional vehicles, GEM vehicles can reduce overall emissions of pollutants, particularly during short trips when conventional vehicles create the most tailpipe emissions. GEM vehicles have been driven a combined 200 million miles and averted more than 150 tons of pollutants from reaching the air, while saving 10 million gallons of gasoline.

About Global Electric Motorcars
Global Electric Motorcars LLC is the former name for the Chrysler LLC company that manufactures and markets neighborhood electric vehicles. The 10-year-old company, now called GreenEcoMobility, is based in Fargo, N.D.

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New Designers 08: graduate designer Laura Cahill presented vases and furniture made from unwanted books at New Designers in London earlier this year.

Cahill cuts profiles from the books using a band saw, then wraps the spines around test tubes to form waterproof vases.

She sources the books from local second hand shops. "I discovered that the glue in old books make them extremely difficult to recycle," she explains.

Cahill has also developed a lamp using the technique and a stool made by bolting books together.

Here's some text from the designer:

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My idea of using second hand books came around after doing research into common unwanted objects. One of the most common unwanted objects that can be found at either charity shops, car boot sales and sometimes on the streets are books. I discovered that the glue in old books make them extremely difficult to recycle. Aware of this I challenged myself to turn the second hand books that I had been collecting, into desirable objects such as furniture, lighting and ornaments.

I took a hands-on approach and started experimenting with the possibilities in which books can be used in other ways; I developed a number of delicate yet practical designs. Using traditional methods of book binding I transformed them into valued objects. My designs transform local waste, not only adding value but also creating art forms which are aesthetically pleasing.

I first made a stool called ‘Heavy Read’ by fixing a lot of old books together. Continuing with the book theme I developed a way of creating 3D forms by profiling the edge of the whole thickness of a book, so when opened, the shape follows around into a cylinder shape. I designed a range of ‘book vases’, using test tubes as the central water container, and then stretched the concept to form the upright of this floor standing lamp. In the ‘Reading Light’ I have used traditional elegant curvaceous shapes on the base of the light creating a soft and ghostly effect, which is relatively durable.

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Charles Barclay Architects have completed the Kielder Observatory in Northumberland, UK.

Constructed from douglas fir with larch cladding, the pier-like building has rotating turrets that house two permanent telescopes and an observation deck for private telescopes.

The turrets can be rotated through 36o degrees using a manual rack and pinion system.

The observatory generates its own energy using a wind turbine and photovoltaic panels, and includes a composting toilet.

The following information is from Charles Barclay Architects:

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Completion of Kielder Observatory, Kielder Water and Forest Park, Northumberland, UK.

Charles Barclay Architects' recently completed Kielder Observatory is the latest in a series of interesting commissions by the Art and Architecture programme at Kielder, Northumberland, after the London practice won a RIBA open competition in 2005. Kielder's lack of light pollution makes it an excellent place for astronomers to view the night sky.

The observatory is in the form of an all-timber 'land pier', jutting out over the rough landscape of Black Fell. Designed specifically for amateur astronomers and outreach work, the accessible pier form includes an observation deck for private telescopes at night and for looking over Kielder Forest by day. The observatory is orientated south east towards its sister project, the nearby Kielder Sky Space by James Turrell.

The elevated structure touches the ground lightly while providing an excellent vantage point. The Douglas fir frame and larch cladding serve as reminders of the Kielder Forest's economic role and relate to the timber structures of the former local mining industry, pit props and trestle bridges.

By day, the building is mysterious and formal in its forest setting; when opened up for observing, the rotated turrets and opened shutters make it expressive and dynamic.

The observatory houses two permanent telescopes, a computer-operated Meade 14 inch in the small turret, attached to a warm room where astronomers can operate it remotely, or give talks to groups of visitors. The large turret, the pier 'destination', houses a manual 20 inch split-ring equatorial telescope for the hands-on experience, accessed by a circular ramp.

The observatory is entirely self-supporting, with power generated by a 2.5kW wind turbine, roof-mounted photo-voltaic panels and a composting WC. The shutters are opened by means of servo-operated hydraulic pistons and the turrets, the larger one weighing in at 6 tonnes, are rotated by a manual rack and pinion system.

The observatory is on Forestry Commission land and has been handed over to the Kielder Observatory Astronomical Society who are running regular events there throughout the year.

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