The Whole HOG: Oct/Nov 2013

Water-centric Green Design News

After a historic dry stretch here in California, the skies are full of sweet, sweet rain. Almost as full as our October/November newsletter, brimming with two months worth of water news! We check in with some familiar folks: following Team ASUNM to Irvine, California as they compete in the Solar Decathlon, and visiting a GREENheart Building installation in the Chicago suburbs that showcases the versatility of our HOG tanks in the hands of an experienced builder.

Two separate reports highlight water’s value and risks to the U.S. water system from aging infrastructure to water-guzzling energy production methods. We’re back to the world of whimsy, and clever design with Lampbrella, featured in this month’s B.U.G. Design section. Come on and dive in, the water’s fine!

Oct/Nov 2013: B.U.G. (Beautiful.Useful.Green) Design

Lampbrella

Lampbrella in the rain –  image via Mikhail Belyaev.

Why is it beautiful? This whimsical addition to city streets will have us singing in the rain, and twirling like Gene Kelly on the lamp posts, with one key difference: we’re not high on love, we’re dry under a strategically placed umbrella.

Why is it useful? How handy would it be to shelter under a lamp post umbrella that unfolds when triggered by the rain. It’s a foot-traffic friendly answer to a wet commute, especially in rain-soaked cities of the Pacific Northwest.

Rene Magritte’s hat-wearing “The Son of Man”.

Why is it green? Besides a tip of the hat to artist Rene Magritte and his green apples in the preliminary (and charming) advertising materials, the lampbrella will encourage street use and keep happy pedestrians “laughing at the clouds” just like the song.

Visit Sally’s blog for more B.U.G. Designs.