Categories

Sitting comfortably?

Two mega trends will continue to have a major impact on our lifestyles over the next years – the continued growth of information technology and the challenges and opportunities arising through the development of low carbon economies. The COMPOS chair responds very well to both of these trends.  

Through mobile technologies working has become more [...]

Copenhagen Parts for your bicycle

About half of all car journeys in urban areas are shorter than 5km and for such short distances a bicycle is, in most cases, the fastest means of transport. Bicycles need far less space than cars, they are quiet and – taking manufacturing into account – their CO2 emissions are very low. Copenhagen is one [...]

Shanghai in Depth

A programme on sustainable innovation in China

CITIES            

More that 50% of the world’s population now live in urban areas and the pressures on infrastructure and well being are immense. The growing population and the urbanisation on our planet offer huge opportunities for design, innovation and sustainable development.

CLIMATE        

The growing population as well as our growing [...]

A drop of water

The gardening season has just started and we are all hoping for a long and warm summer, which means we will have to water our gardens. Water however is a scarce resource, even in many parts of Europe including the UK. Harvested rain water is free and it takes a little pressure from the main [...]

Sustainable Housing

More than 50 % of the world’s population now lives in cities. Cities cover less than 1% of the Earth’s surface, but generate 80% of the world’s CO2 emissions. Housing alone is responsible for nearly one third of the UK’s CO2 emissions and it poses a huge challenge in reducing CO2 emissions.  The Larch Garden [...]

Surfaces from recycled glass

In  2002 each person in the UK generated 167kg of packaging waste per year – a lot of it is glass. In 2001 2.5 million tons of this material was taken to landfill. Currently 752,000 tons of glass are being recycled annually in the UK. Every ton of glass recycled into new items saves 315 [...]

Only wallpaper?

Wallpaper is made from a number of different materials and built up in layers. The top layer is normally printed or structured. About 50 per cent of all wallpapers are made from paper or recycled paper, the other 50 per cent is made from fleece and other synthetic materials. The materials used define the quality [...]

Design for longevity

The cylinder in the office chair recently broke, which means it can no longer be adjusted and seat has sunk to its lowest level. The result is a very uncomfortable sitting position, which is not good for posture and health. What to do? Buy a new chair?

Obsolescence is designed into most of our products: flat [...]

Good architecture for the fringes

Most of us now live in urban or semi urban areas. For decades the fringes of our cities have been sprawling out into industrial estates characterised by functional, often cheap and ‘one way’ architecture. The transportation of goods and the use of cars have been the key denominators in the development of these areas: accessibility [...]

Solar Collectors

Every year the sun delivers 15,000 times more energy to the earth than is consumed by the human population. Short to midterm a lot of the solar energy is locked up in land surface, plant material and bodies of water. Solar collectors allow us to copy the principles of nature and to generate hot water [...]