Environmentally-friendly designed straw bale houses are energy efficient and earthquake resistant. Pakistan's poorest groups rebuild lives through Pakistan Straw Bale and Appropriate Building (PAKSBAB) micro-financed project.
Made mostly from used and vintage scraps of fabric, Timo Handmade’s new creations have a warm, old-world feel. Fabric scraps can be used for lots of things, and we’ve seen designers refashion them in all kinds of ways – like use them to make repurposed fabric shoes, purses made from upholstery fabric samples, and even […]
Upcycled, easily recycled and sturdy cardboard is the base material for Nokka’s furniture. Cardboard is one of those miracle materials that has recently been rediscovered and used widely by sustainable designers. It is easy to come by, easy to upcycle, and easy to recycle – and no less importantly, it is surprisingly strong and durable. […]
Lightexture’s lamps are beautiful and energy efficient. Sustainable designers interested in the field of light fixtures often focus on making the lamp base out of recycled or repurposed materials, and don’t necessarily think about energy efficient light. We’ve seen lamps made out of industrial pipes and chandeliers made out of ice cream spoons, but when […]
Hipcycle, a new online marketplace for upcycled products, shows mainstreamers that upcycling can be hip. Shopping local and sustainable is always best, but when you can’t find locally made, sustainably made, or upcycled products around – sometimes the internet is the best way to go. Online marketplaces such as Etsy, Mideast ecostore Ekotribe, or the […]
A starchitect from Japan? As Israel’s oldest and leading arts academy, shouldn’t Bezalel be a locavore when it comes to hiring architects? The Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design, established in Jerusalem in 1906 as an institution that would help form a new visual language for the Jewish people, is now synonymous with Israeli art. […]
Studio Ubico has upcycled found wooden pieces back into their original form, a tree. Studio Ubico, an upcycling and environmentally conscious design studio working in Tel Aviv, joins the ranks of other sustainable designers who are trying to make good use out of materials that are already sourced (instead of going out and taking more […]
Ron Arad’s bike is up for the auction block: These wheels will add some spring to your ride. Unlike the car, which comes in many shapes, colors, and sizes, the bicycle has not been subject to as many design transformations and over the years has pretty much retained its classic shape. Here and there there […]
Green It is Tel Aviv’s new one-stop-shop for green urban living. As the ecological movement becomes mainstream, more and more businesses cater to the green lifestyle. We’ve seen this trend develop in the Middle East, with eco-friendly shops popping up in Beirut, fair trade shops in Masdar City, and even specialty stores focusing on one […]
Instead of standard apples and honey, put some creative green thought into your Rosh Hashanah gifts this year. The Jewish New Year, or Rosh Hashanah 2011 is quickly approaching next week on September 28, and for many Jewish people this is a time of gift-giving in the new Jewish calendar year 5772. Gift giving is […]
Inspired by last year’s Sukkah City in NYC (see one of the past designs above), St. Louis is hosting its own sukkah design competition this year. With the Jewish high holidays fast approaching, some of us are thinking about honey recipes, sustainable festive meals, and sukkahs (or temporarily erected shelters). The folks over at Washington […]
Industrial designer Michael Tsinovsky brought together Israel’s many local styles in his ‘asli’ furniture design. When it comes to consumerism, local is almost always better for the environment and for the local economy. Local is better when you’re buying produce at the farmer’s market, when you’re supporting local artisans and craftsmen, and when you’re purchasing […]
To all of you out there who used to make seashell necklaces on the beach as kids – did you ever think of making one of these? Beautiful beaches can be found all over the Middle East, but unfortunately many of them are plagued by unnatural waste. During the hot summer months it is a […]
Find a good spot and plop down in your picnic dress for an impromptu meal on the grass. Picnics are great because they allow us to appreciate the great outdoors (sometimes motivating us to take more efforts to protect it). But sometimes picnics are not so great because they result in picnic littering, or the […]
Candlesticks that have lost their partners find a home in this upcycled menorah. Most flea markets and second-hand stores have them – candlesticks either with or without their partners. Solitary candlesticks often tend to be left behind, since they usually come in pairs. But thanks to this menorah design from Reddish Studio (the same people […]