1. Anupama Kundoo – India’s Anupama Kundoo blends traditional Indian techniques with radical innovation. Her work in Auroville, including the “Wall House” and lightweight ferrocement structures, proves that low-tech can be high impact. Her philosophy centers around local materials, self-sufficiency, and zero waste, offering a path to sustainable urbanism rooted in community and place.

“My buildings grow out of the place. The idea is to make architecture a catalyst for social change,” says Kundoo.

2. AMUNT – Germany Winners of the AR Emerging Architecture Award, this German studio creates emotionally rich, low-carbon homes using passive design and recycled materials. Their JustK House shows how eco-housing can be beautiful, efficient, and emotionally sustainable, with hand-crafted timber and thoughtful details woven into every inch.

3. Alejandro Aravena / ELEMENTAL – Chile Pritzker Prize-winner Aravena leads ELEMENTAL, a public interest architecture studio famous for its incremental housing: homes that families can build onto as resources grow. These projects are affordable, expandable, and community-based—an essential counterpoint to the high-gloss, high-cost world of global architecture.

4. Patkau Architects, based in Vancouver, is known for their minimalist approach to eco-design, seamlessly blending architecture with the natural environment. They use innovative materials and sustainable techniques in a way that creates spaces that are at once functional and awe-inspiring.

Their projects, such as the Polygon Gallery in North Vancouver, showcase how sustainable design can elevate community engagement while respecting the natural surroundings.

Bjarke Ingels is the founder of BIG, a renowned architectural firm based in Copenhagen. His approach to architecture blends bold, forward-thinking design with sustainability and social impact. BIG is known for creating structures that balance aesthetics with environmental and social responsibility.

Their iconic projects like the Amager Bakke Waste-to-Energy Plant in Copenhagen, which doubles as a ski slope, and the 8 House, a mixed-use development focused on sustainable urban living, show how architecture can address climate challenges while being playful and functional. Ingels’ work embraces the idea of “hedonistic sustainability,” where green solutions are not only efficient but enjoyable. His website reads: BIG.dk, so you figure out where he’s going with this.

Green Prophet readers know that architecture isn’t just about buildings—it’s about systems, ethics, materials, and how we relate to the planet.

Curious about eco-architecture in the Middle East?

? Read about desert-smart Nubian vaults in Egypt

? Or the zero-energy oasis by Tamer El-Sawy that rethinks how we live with heat and scarcity.

The post 5 Brilliant eco-architect alternatives to Foster + Partners appeared first on Green Prophet.

If the story sounds reminiscent of the Holocaust, that’s what I thought too. Apparently another zoo in the UK had offered to take Marius and give him a home. An online petition had already collected 25,000 signatures.

Video of Marius (graphic):

But no. In order to maintain a healthy giraffe population (locally, worldwide?), the Copenhagen Zoo went ahead with its plan to kill the 18-month old male. He was then cut up into pieces and fed to the lions.

Consider that earlier in the week six lions in the UK were killed for excessive violence.

Marius was shot while reaching down for a bite of rye bread – his favorite. The whole act was documented in front of children, and a local video company called Localize has it all on tape.

Mads Bertelsen, the zoo veterinarian in Copenhagen told reporters: “I stood behind with a rifle, and when he put his head forward and ate the rye bread, then I shot him through the brain,” he said. “It sounds violent, but it means that Marius had no idea of what was coming. He got his bread, then he died.”

This is a very sad day for animal rights. We cry all the time here in the Middle East – about animal rights in Jordan, animal rights in Israel, animal rights in the United Arab Emirates where wild animals are kept as pets. But in an enlightened Europe?

And in the Middle East, and I say this with no sarcastic intent, it is a common practice for first cousins to marry to keep it all in the family.

What do you think of all this?

The post Danish zoo kills healthy giraffe to avoid inbreeding [video] appeared first on Green Prophet.

In a surprising article in the Israeli business newspaper Globes today, Israel’s electric car network company Better Place seems to have lost its new CEO, Evan Thornley from Australia. This is after a short three months on the job. Thornley was put in place to start a recovery program for the flailing company which has been burning through millions of investment capital with little more than 500 of its Renault built battery-swappable cars sold in Israel. The company was hoping to gain 1 percent of the market in Israel by now, and has set up an electric charge network in Denmark to do the same. 

Better Place sold the idea that a rapid battery switch for EVs in small countries or tight regions could solve range anxiety, one of the reasons why consumers are not buying into electric cars: run out of charge and it can be hours until you are back on the road.

A few months ago trouble at Better Place started to surface when its visionary founder and global CEO Shai Agassi was canned.

Thornley who was the head of Better Place in Australia was supposed to come in, grab the horse by its reigns and implement a swift new business plan that would work and subsequently drum up more financing. His plan according to media reports included spending cuts, staff layoffs, growth in other countries, which would include battery recharging services to other electric carmakers. A cheaper leasing model was also to have come into effect under his command.

That’s not going to happen, according to Globes: “Sources said that the reason for his departure from the electric car venture is differences with Idan Ofer.”

Ofer is the company’s chairman. Others including Agassi have reported to have a rocky relationship with this mega millionaire Israeli businessman. Ofer serves on the board of directors of Israel Corp.  Israel Corp’s core investments are in Better Place, and fertilizers (from the Dead Sea) and specialty chemicals, energy, shipping and transportation. He is also one of the co-founders of the Carbon War Room, a D.C.-based initiative focused on market-driven solutions to climate change and the development of a carbon-neutral economy.

The company declined to comment, but the speculation on the ground is that Thornley’s new business plan didn’t meet the objections of Israel Corp and other investors at Better Place. A decent recovery plan would be a contingent in order for Better Place to secure more financing a sustainable future in the car business.

Meanwhile, Brian Blum, a buyer of a Better Place car in Israel, and a journalist/blogger wrote about his meeting with the Better Place company last week. In short Thornley gave buyers a “candid” talk, and called them visionaries for being part of a “beta” test of this new electric car program.

“We are now only at the beginning, not the end,” Thornley told Blum and other new car owners, obviously worried about what will happen if their charge networks are no longer supported by the Better Place mother ship.

Thornley went on: Current car owners should be seen for what they are: tech-savvy, risk-taking early adopters; the beta testers of the electric car industry, if you will. 2013 will be the make it or break it year, he addressed to the group.

Blum also pointed out that Better Place hired the Greek marketing guru, Peter Economides, the guy who started Apple’s Think Different campaign. After all, what’s so great about Apple computers? As an owner of a Macbook Pro for many years, I like the design but as functionality goes, a PC is pretty much a PC.

Economides also gave a pep talk: “You are the heroes,” he cheered the crowed on. “You’re the people with the vision and courage and belief to say yes. This is where the ball starts rolling.”

He and Thornley pointed out the obvious problems to car buyers:

The swapping stations aren’t in the right places (“the algorithm for networking planning is very different for electric cars and we didn’t get it quite right,” Thornley said); the batteries themselves don’t get the range initially promised (“what works in the lab is not always achieved in the field”). One owner felt Jerusalem had been abandoned (the opening of the capital’s only swapping station was delayed for months). And parking spots with power plugs and are too often filled with gas guzzlers.”

Better Place’s struggle has always been a marketing one. After all, they don’t really have a new technology to sell, just a new concept that’s not so revolutionary in my eyes. The cars were supposed to be cheaper than gas guzzlers, and now the cost of buying expensive Better Place metered electricity doesn’t really make sense to me when users should just be able to plug in anywhere to get a charge at market rates.

I am not exactly sure how I would feel about laying down tens of thousands of dollars only to be called a hero or visionary. When I sign up as a beta tester for web products I expect to get a product for free or at least a steep discount.

Don’t get me wrong: I do think those who bought the Better Place cars are visionaries and risk takers; and I do hope that Better Place has a good Plan B so these drivers don’t get stranded on the road; and that in the long run the world over is driving electric cars powered by the sun and other renewables. Since I am not a car owner I suppose I don’t really have a say. I would rather take the bus or train, and hope that cities like Tel Aviv spend those necessary millions on making Better  public transit for all.

::Israelity

Image by Maurice Picow for Green Prophet

The post After Pep Talk to Better Place Car Buyers Last Week, New CEO Fired appeared first on Green Prophet.

Better Place has certainly been in the news recently. They set an electric car record of 1172 miles in 24 hours with their Renault-made electric cars and robotic battery swap technology. Their lease price in Israel of NIS 1990 a month ($510 USD), for 36 month included enough charged battery swaps to drive 1000 kilometers.

But the company has struggled to go up against the near-monopoly of the internal combustion engine. They may not have the luxury of time to wait for the US market to be ready. Their plans to expand into their home market makes sense.

California led the US in progressive environmentalism and its energy commission recently set aside $3 million for an eTaxi program.

While the compact city of San Francisco is well-served by public transport, Los Angeles is a sprawling city which almost demands a car. But an electric taxi won’t be burning gasoline and adding to Los Angeles’ legendary smog while it is stuck in Los Angeles’s legendary traffic. And battery swap technology is a perfect fit for taxi drivers who stands to lose more than two dollars for each minute they wait for a taxi’s battery to charge.

Better Place certainly faces some risks in entering the US market, but with this risk comes enormous opportunities. The phrase “California or Bust” was once an inspiration “Oakies” who left their drought-stricken Oklahoma farms for a better life in the promised land of California. What better place could there be for Better Place?

Photo of Los Angeles traffic at night from Shutterstock

The post It’s California or Bust for Better Place’s eTaxis appeared first on Green Prophet.

Israel’s iconic CEO Shai Agassi has been fired from his position at the electric car company Better Place. He will be replaced by Evan Thornley, the current CEO of Better Place Australia. This news comes hot on the tracks of the company’s bold move to finally offer an attractive leasing/charge plan for its electric cars, and battery replacement service for long journeys. Shareholders ousted Agassi according to local news reports.

In press announcements the company prepared Better Place says that Agassi will continue as a Board member and shareholder in the company he founded.

“Five years ago, I followed my passion to make the world a better place and founded a company to materialize that vision. Very few people are blessed to see such a grand vision become a proven reality within a relatively short time frame,” said Agassi. “I am proud of the Better Place people and the team that I am leaving behind who will take this company to the next chapter.”

“Under Shai’s leadership, we’ve successfully achieved our goals in the first chapter of Better Place, and we owe Shai our gratitude for turning his powerful vision into a reality,” said Idan Ofer, Chairman of the Better Place Board of Directors.

“It is almost five years to the day since Shai launched Better Place and a natural point in the company’s evolution to realign for its second chapter and for the challenges and opportunities ahead,” he continued. “Our board has long prepared to ensure that Better Place has a strong bench of talented executives in place to support the CEO and a clear succession plan to ensure a smooth leadership transition and we are fortunate to have such a strong leadership team within Better Place.”

Thornley will assume the global CEO role, effective immediately. Since joining Better Place in 2009, Thornley’s vision for the future of sustainable transportation in Australia helped to shape the 2020 roadmap embraced by the government and industry. He was instrumental in the creation of EV Engineering Ltd., a collaborative venture between global automotive leaders, to develop and create switchable-battery electric car technology. An entrepreneur at heart, Thornley founded one of the first Australian technology companies to be listed on the NASDAQ.

“Four years ago, Shai asked me to join the Better Place mission and bring it to Australia. It has been my pleasure to lead that effort along with my colleague CEOs in Israel, Denmark and now the Netherlands. Today, it is an honour for me to step up and lead this fantastic global team on a day-to-day basis,” said Thornley.

Update Oct, 3:
Agassi was fired amid massive financial losses, according to Haaretz headlines this morning. Unfortunately the link is not working and wonder if the article was published prematurely and taken down. We reported earlier this year that Better Place was bleeding capital: no surprise given its intense PR and marketing outreach to the global public. So could this be the reason for the Agassi let-go? The company isn’t opening up.

After launching in Israel a couple of months ago the public hasn’t caught on to the appeal of driving fully electric cars with switchable batteries and only about 500 cars in Israel have been sold, out of Better Place’s 100,000 car promise to Renault – the manufacturer of the electric EV. For the last couple of years celebrities and the public were happy for photo-ops test driving the cars, but they are less enthusiastic about buying them, given the high price and controlled rates at the charge stations. Some 10,000 to 20,000 cars need to be sold in order to make the company profitable. Some $750 million have been invested in it to date, along with a $40 million loan to complete charge stations in Denmark, and to run the Israeli operations.

I sincerely hope the new Australian CEO can fulfill the company’s vision.

The post Shai Agassi Fired from Better Place Electric Car Company appeared first on Green Prophet.

Where cyclists in Denmark usually bike to work to save time getting caught in traffic, the effect is a marked increase in air quality. About half of the commuting population commutes by bike, and this new cycling superhighway hopes to increase these numbers even more.

According to the Toronto Star, the cycle superhighway, which opened in April, is the first of 26 routes scheduled to be built in Denmark to encourage more people to commute to and from the city centers by bicycle. The project is the brainchild of city planners who were looking for ways to increase bicycle use in a place where half of the residents already bike to work or to school every day.

“We are very good, but we want to be better,” said Brian Hansen, the head of Copenhagen’s traffic planning section said.

The “highway” has been created in natural areas so that people can hear the birds chirping. An air pump is placed at one mile intervals, and in winter the paths which are paved and smooth to ride will be plowed and cleared from snow.

While some areas of the Middle East seem too hot for cycling, think again. If drought-tolerant trees are planted along the pathways and irrigated with greywater, cities in the Middle East could create microclimates of cool biking lanes that offer great ways to get outside and beat the ever-growing traffic and obesity problem (read about the obese Gulf teen who just died of a heart attack).

Tel Aviv already has great tree-shaded boulevards for cycling, and a bike-share program called Tel-O-Fun. Lanes from its periphery cities, formed as a bike highway to Tel Aviv could provide a really innovative and quick way to beat the traffic, and help people get exercise at the same time.

Image via Cyclechick

The post Denmark Gets Cycling Superhighway to Copenhagen appeared first on Green Prophet.

Despite concern that Better Place is losing millions as it slowly brings electric vehicles to market in Israel and Denmark, some in the cleantech industry are also worried that the Israel electric vehicle (EV) company is the only one out there trying to make the business work.

A recent article titled, ‘Does Better Place Have A Monopoly On Electric Cars In Israel?,’ Business Insider analyzed Better Place’s role in the Israeli market, noting that once the company starts to sell its cars in Israel, it will have the only electric vehicle available in Israel and will control the country’s only legal EV charging network. Is this a good or bad thing?

Better Place has gained international fame for its innovative idea of battery-swapping at charging stations, which is intended to solve some of the major problems with EV’s, including relatively short range and relatively long charging times. On a long road-trip, the idea is that drivers can stop at a charging station, immediately have a fully-charged battery swapped in for their spent battery, and then continue on their way.

The idea is so promising that an Israeli car rental company, Eldan, has already signed an agreement with Better Place to offer the electric vehicles as an option for customers.

But the fear is not new that Better Place is building a monopoly, particularly because its battery swapping stations will require all drivers to use the same Better Place batteries. In November 2010, GreenProphet reported on an article in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz that warned of Better Place’s growing monopoly.

The Haaretz article specifically noted a document detailing plans by the Ministry of National Infrastructure, and signed by its Director of Planning and Policy, Nofia Bachar stating that:

“All electric cars imported into Israel will contain a mechanism that will block them from being charged anywhere but at charging stations. Only companies that offer charging stations and a control center will be permitted to provide electricity for the cars.”

The article continued by saying that “since Better Place is currently the only company building such stations, this will effectively give it a monopoly (on electric cars available in Israel).”

Monopolies on public service utilities are almost the norm in the tiny and relatively isolated (in terms of business neighbors) country of Israel. This is particularly true because the country is particularly subject to the whims of whichever government administration happens to control the parliament, which was under the political yoke of the socialist leaning Labor Party during the first 29 years of the country’s existence.

All the Israel’s and the Palestinian Authority’s electricity is still being supplied by the Israel Electric Corporation, a monopoly and has close ties to the government.

But Better Place is not only deploying its cars in Israel. It has already begun to sell in Denmark and is hoping to expand its network globally. The problem is not its relatively monopolistic business plan might not fly as well in the U.S. and Europe.

Customers can only choose from one EV model and must subscribe to the Better Place service, which includes lease of the Better Place battery and the cost of operation and maintenance of the car, the batteries, and electricity for charging the batteries at home and in public charging stations. That’s a lot of money and it will all be fed directly to Better Place.

It’s the equivalent of paying General Motors for the car you purchase, the gas you buy each time you fill up the tank, and the cost of fixing the transmission and engine parts when anything goes wrong.

The post Is Better Place Building An EV Monopoly? appeared first on Green Prophet.

After more than four years in the making, media reports and hype, visits to the Better Place Education and Test Drive Center and final delivery prices, Better Place Renault Fluence ZE electric cars are finally on their way to purchasers in Israel. In a high profile ceremony on Sunday, January 22, which we were invited to but could not make because of the rain, Better Place launched its first 100 cars sent off to customers from the Better Place Israel headquarters near Tel Aviv. The cars, all Renault Fluences that had been specially built for running exclusively on electricity were sent off in a ceremony that included Shai Agassi, Better Place USA CEO, Idan Ofer Chairman of the Board, and Moshe Kaplansky, CEO for Better Place Israel.

Left to right:BP Board Chairman Idan Ofer, Israel CEO Moshe Kaplansky, and Better Place founder and CEO Shai Agassi. On right, Better Place cars ready to roll.

Besides private owners, the cars were also delivered to at least two rental car companies where the cars will be available for either tourists or local people wishing to try them out in normal road conditions. One of these companies the Eldan Group signed an agreement with Better Place in December to make the cars available for either rentals or on a long term lease basis.

The entire project was merely a dream in 2005 when Shai Agassi expressed his vision that one day electric cars would be seen on the roads of both Israel and the world at large. As contrasted with other electric car companies, including General Motors with their Volt electric-hybrid model, Better Place is not only offering a total electric car but also an infrastructure to run them.

This infrastructure, which is already in place in both Denmark and Holland, consists not only of special “charging posts” to recharge the car’s lithium ion batteries, but special battery pack exchange stations that enable the car’s battery pack to be exchanged for a freshly charged one in only about 3 minutes.

One of the big concerns involving electric cars is their rather short driving range of only around 140 km between charges. This is why the infrastructure being offered by Better Place will not only provide numerous charging posts for these cars (including one at the residence for those owing or leasing one of them) but also the battery exchange stations as well.

When asked how many of these stations are now available, Moshe Kaplansky Israel Better Place CEO smiled and told reporters at the car send off event at Pi Glilot: “There are enough such stations already in place to take care of this first ‘wave’ of electric cars. This many cars going off is already proof that the change to electric cars is already here.”

The sheer newness of electric cars in places like Israel is reminiscent of when gasoline powered cars began plying the roads more than 100 years ago. The owners of these “horseless carriages” were often ridiculed by people who would say “get a horse” when the newfangled contraptions stalled on the roads.

One might wonder if people nowadays will say “get a normal car” when electric cars are stalled on the road when their battery runs out of charge. Even so, there’s no turning back to what may now be heralding the future of driving on our roads and highways.

More about Better Place and other electric cars:
Better Place EV’s Priced in Israel at $35,623 for Summer Delivery
Chevy Volts Already Rolling into dealerships
Electric Cars Are Coming; Are Israelis Ready for Them?
Maurice Test Drives the Better Place Electric Car: “Like a Dragster”
 

The post Better Place Puts 100 Electric Cars on Israeli Roads appeared first on Green Prophet.

Better Place’s electric car project in Denmark will finally get going in that country after all, says easyecar blog author Martin Thomson, who is an authority on several electric car models that are vying to be introduced into Denmark.

Thomson, who earlier said that Better Place’s electric car network  might not be suitable to the Danish market ,  appears to have softened his views on the network, which requires car owners to use only their system of battery charging posts and exchange stations on a monthly “subscription” basis.

In an updated Green Prophet interview with Thomson, he said that despite earlier issues surrounding the Better Place idea of having its own network of battery recharging and exchange stations , the concept may work out in his country as long as the company’s infrastructure is developed enough to service these cars.

He told Green Prophet that “one of the problems facing Better Place is the availability of only one car model, the Renault Fluence EV, that will be offered in Denmark at special prices due largely to the Denmark government’s lowering of purchases taxes on electric car models.

The Fluence is a family sized car that may be too large for some people who may prefer a smaller car model that is lighter weight and easier to park. Thomson said that despite this issue, Better Place may have an advantage over other companies, such as Nissan, whose Leaf electric model will only be available in Denmark sometime in 2012. The leaf may not be available in the Middle East , however, due to problems in establishing an infrastructure for them.

MUTE EV: Not for sale but with possible suspension innovations

Thomson also explained that he plans to attend the Fall Frankfurt Motor Show that will run September 15-16. A number of electric car models will be on display at this show, including a small, “dune buggy” shaped experimental model, the MUTE EV that weighs only 500 kg.

Although not intended to be put into actual production, this EV car prototype features special handling abilities due to a unique suspension system that could easily be incorporated into actual production models. Despite the appearance of many EV models, the main theme of the Frankfurt show will still be fossil or bio fuel models, including a European made 5 door Honda Civic hatchback model, said to have much better ride and handling capabilities than four door salon models.

Honda Camouflage 5 Door: not electric

Thomson said he will let us know about Better Place’s progress when the actual debut takes place. In the meantime, Israel is still waiting for an actual Better Place launch date; although there is talk that some cars may be given trial experience tests in a few selected company lease fleets.

MUTE EV Photo: AutoBlog.com

More on Better Place and other electric car issues in Denmark and elsewhere:

Easyecar’s Martin Thomson Says Better Place’s EV Plan Problematic for Denmark

Better Place Reveals Danish Electric Car Prices

Denmark Plans to (Slowly) Enter Electric Car Network

Middle East Will Remain “Leafless” as Nissan Puts Electric Car Efforts Elsewhere

The post Better Place Denmark Hopes to Get Electric Car Venture (Finally) Going in October appeared first on Green Prophet.

Want to get rid of the clutter from your home office? Cozy up in the Rewrite desk.

Even when I had a large two room open-concept flat in a Templar’s house in Tel Aviv, I still craved the intimacy of small spaces. Those were the days when I was writing for newspapers, and found my thinking cap worked best when I was tucked into my home office under the stairs. Living alone, I didn’t need to create my own little study bubble to keep out the noise and distraction, but there, I felt safe and protected. As more of us migrate from the traditional setting of office to home, we can expect to see more of these products like the Rewrite desk created by an Italian-Danish couple. WAN calls it “a little jewel of modernity and softness.”

Covered in sound absorbing woolen material, the desk designed by GamFratesi is also a sound barrier for those who might be in shared office spaces or sharing the home with kids and other work-from-home people.

Above image via designboom

Made from walnut and Kvadrat Divina wool, the materials writes the architecture magazine “reinforce the overall feeling of softness and security.”

Put your Rewrite desk in the center of your loft, the center of your porch, living room, bedroom or as an efficient use of space under the hallway.

I might just get my own and install it under the stairs! It also reminds me of the cubicles that the grad students got in university – ones that inspired me to want to continue post-graduate education.

No news on availability in the Middle East, but the Rewrite desk which lovingly hides cords, and cleans the “clutter” of an office in your kitchen, has already been on display at the Danish Museum of Art and Design, Copenhagen.

The designers write that it’s been in production since Jan 2011 with Ligne Roset:

“The idea behind Rewrite began as a study of the desktop and especially an atmosphere and feeling we believe is needed even in the middle of an accelerating communication and technology. Rewrite is thought of as a kind of isolating working-bubble, that can work as a satellite-desk anywhere one can feel the need of concentration and shielding – in open space offices, public spaces or at home.

With its rounded shape it can be placed freely as dots in a room. A private base in the group without being a denial of it, but an addition to it causing an alternative.

It has a cave-like shape and creates a secure and intimate sphere, which partially closes out disturbing light and sounds. It has a doublesided acoustic function that protects against noise from the outside as well as from the inside.

::World Architecture News

The post Rewrite’s Soft and Cozy Study Bubble by GamFratesi appeared first on Green Prophet.