Author: Kbaumlier

Kristen Baumlier’s work spans the full spectrum of interdisciplinary media, including performance, interactive installation, video and audio works.
The New Look of Solar Panels: SMIT’s Tensile Solar Structures

The New Look of Solar Panels: SMIT’s Tensile Solar Structures

Posted on by Kbaumlier

SMIT is a brother and sister design team, Samuel and Teresita Cochran,  who have been working with architectural designer Benjamin Wheeler Howes to develop new innovative solar applications.

Their new design called Tensile Solar Structures are lightweight, modular systems that produce solar power and have a new look.

Usually the use of large solar photovoltaic panels are considered to be an eyesore, and a necessary evil of clean energy.  Providing solar with a new look, Tensile Solar Structures are light, have a patterned appearance, and look like a piece of modern sculpture.

Tensile Solar is inspired by the intersection of fabric architecture, modern composite materials, and thin film photovoltaic technology.

The panels are supported by posts and high tensile stainless steel cables at their edges, Tensile Solar Saddle structures are free standing canopies and awnings. They span areas up to 850 s.f. and can deliver up to 3 kw of power.

Possible uses for the solar panels could be a shade cover in a backyard, a cover for a parking lot, or in other locations.   The designs are patented, and both preconfigured and custom structures are available.

Image Source:
www.tensilesolar.com

Links:

www.tensilesolar.com

Lights made of Real Dandelions

Lights made of Real Dandelions

Posted on by Kbaumlier

Lights made of real dandelions?   Studio Drift has made electrical light sculptures with dandelions that combine nature and technology. These module light installations are made of modules, each of which is made of 3 “dandelights,” and can setup with just a few modules, or up to 500.  The lights are made with real dandelions that are suspended on a three-dimensional geometric component.

The designers behind the dandelights, Ralph Nauta & Lonneke Gordijn,  often use light as a medium.  On their website they write, “We are curious about the future, not only the new technologies that are changing design, but also the evolutionary developments in nature and human culture. We strive to find the perfect combination of knowledge and intuition, science fiction and nature, fantasy and interactivity.”  They have a variety of light designs that they have made, and do custom sculptures and installations.

Currently, they have an installation on view at the Israel Museum as part of the Curious Minds Exhibit.  Curious Minds explores the social, cultural, and ethical consequences of new technologies and reconsiders the issues of human behavior that have so pervaded art and design since the dawn of the industrial revolution.

Image Source:
Studio Drift

Links:

Studio Drift

Curious Minds

Barbie has a Dream House … with Solar Panels and a Meditation Room

Barbie has a Dream House … with Solar Panels and a Meditation Room

Posted on by Kbaumlier

This past summer, the American Institute of Architects (AIA) sponsored a competition for architects to design their own interpretation of a Barbie® DreamHouse™.  Five finalists were chosen, and then they were put to a public vote.  The winning design, which was submitted by Ting Li, Assoc. AIA, LEED AP and Maja Paklar, Assoc. AIA,  features solar panels, a landscaped rooftop and irrigation system, operable shading devices, bamboo flooring, and low flow toilet and sink fixtures.

It also has a meditation space, a home gym, and a 1,500 square foot entertainment area.  Spaces in the house include a computer-controlled tower closet and a 1,500-square-foot space for entertainment facilities and a chef’s kitchen.  The house is designed to be built on a bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

The contest coincided with the launch of a new Barbie doll – “Barbie I Can Be… Architect Doll” with Mattel, in an effort to engage and inspire young girls to experience the world of architecture and design thinking.  Architect Barbie is promoted with the phrase, “Your daughter can play out her dream of being an innovative, creative architect!” and the doll has a outfit featuring the bold colors and clean lines of the city skyline, has black rimmed glasses, a hart hat, and a carrying case for her latest designs, and a model Dream House.

The winning Dreamhouse is not planned to be built, so it seems like Barbie will still be living in her old place for now.

Image Source:
www.artrick-playground.com
American Institute of Architects

Links:

Architect Barbie Dream House Competition – AIA Contest

AIA Declares Winner of Architect Barbie Dream House Contest – Design Taxi

www.icanbe.barbie.com

 

 

 

 

 

A 10-Story Building Covered With 1,000 Recycled Doors – The art of Choi Jeong-Hwa

A 10-Story Building Covered With 1,000 Recycled Doors – The art of Choi Jeong-Hwa

Posted on by Kbaumlier

Artist Choi Jeong-Hwa often works with recycled and found materials.  When asked about art he says, “I believe that everything is art. Every material found in the kitchen, your room, the streets — everything in everyday life can be art.”

Recently he worked with 1,000 recycled doors to transform a plain 10 story building into a bright patterned building in Seoul, Korea.  These plain medium sized, multi-story buildings are called huh ga bang,  and are everywhere in the city next to the old wooden, shingled houses.

The artist, who calls himself an “intruder,” works with ordinary objects in his installations and public projects.

Choi has worked with other found and recycled materials including trash.  He did a piece called Happy Happy Plastic Stadium, where he collected trash from the Olympic games and made a  large installation made of 1.7 million pieces of discarded plastic which covered a stadium in Seoul.

Image Source:
Choi Jeong-Hwa

 

Links:

http://choijeonghwa.com/

http://thecreatorsproject.com/creators/choi-jeong-hwa

Recyled Christmas Trees Get a New Life – Helping Fish and Wildlife

Recyled Christmas Trees Get a New Life – Helping Fish and Wildlife

Posted on by Kbaumlier

In my neighborhood we are starting to see Christmas trees on the curb, ready for pick up. Last year, In 2010, over 27 million Christmas trees were sold.

More communities are recycling Christmas trees – either using them to create mulch, or habitats for animals.

One newer use for recycled Christmas trees is to recycle them to create a better fish habitat.  In South Carolina, Kentucky, Georgia, Montana – and many other locations in the U.S., fish and wildlife agencies have been collecting Christmas trees and putting them in lakes and waterways to create protective habitats for smaller fish.

In some states such as Wyoming, trees will be dropped in holes in the ice at Ocean Lake later this month.  In South Carolina, the trees will be put in Lake Hartwell.

The trees help provide cover for fish, and help promote the growth of fish by providing cover for smaller and younger fish.  The trees also are beneficial for insects that live near water, which is food for many fish.  Lakes often have woody habitats that rot away, and by adding Christmas trees, these types of habitats are replenished.

Other communities, such as Porter County in Indiana have gathered up Christmas trees and piled them up at a 25-acre wildlife rehabilitation site, which provides cover for birds, chipmunks, and other small wild animals.  The trees protect the animals from predators, and also make a shelter in cold weather.

Image Source:

U.S. Forest Service
Mr. Thomas Flickr Site
www.theflyfishingforum.com
www.escobarshighlandfarm.com

Links:

Christmas Trees Get New Life – Augusta Chronicle

Recycle a Christmas Tree – Save a Fish (Department of Fish and Game)