Category: green

Olafur Grimsson: Iceland Bounces Back

Olafur Grimsson: Iceland Bounces Back from PopTech on Vimeo.

“The President of Iceland describes how his country encountered social and democratic upheaval after the economic crisis of 2008. Over the last three years, by combining wide-scale systemic inquiry into governance and judicial systems as well as a long-standing investment in clean energy and technology, Iceland has been able to bounce back with a remarkable economic vitality.”

poptech blog

FooCamp 2011

I’m heading out to SF towards Sebastopol for a new unconference that I have never been to but was incredibly excited to be invited to  FooCamp (Friends of O’Reiley) which is an invitational camp, where 250 awesome people, hackers, designers, creators, makers, and questioners  gather to come up with whatever is on their mind and have great discussions with people from all over the world from different fields to boggle your mind! I’ve had quite a few friends attend and everyone seems to be energized full of ideas and disruptive ones when they return from this 3 day backyard camp gathering. There is not much online about it, but here is a write up from our friends Andrew on his experience a few years ago! I’ll be back next week with lots to write up about, and keep secret at times. Let me know if your in SF. I’m out there right before Foocamp this week.

(picture from laughingsquid)

Jay Walker’s library of human imagination



I’ve been waiting to visit Jay Walker’s incredible “Library of Imagination” for several years now and in about 12 hours I’ll be inside pondering, wondering, imagining, and wishing I could take everyone along. I’d write more about it, but the 2008 TED video above or the Wired article will explain it best until after I return, though I’ll have no photos as this is not allowed during my visit. I’ll have to thank TEDMED for arranging this visit, which is also a must-go-to conference I highly recommend.

Paul Nicklen: Tales of ice-bound wonderlands

My favorite talk this year from TED:
“Diving under the Antarctic ice to get close to the much-feared leopard seal, photographer Paul Nicklen found an extraordinary new friend. Share his hilarious, passionate stories of the polar wonderlands, illustrated by glorious images of the animals who live on and under the ice.”

Thomas Heatherwick: Building the Seed Cathedral

One of my favorite talks this year:
“A future more beautiful? Architect Thomas Heatherwick shows five recent projects featuring ingenious bio-inspired designs. Some are remakes of the ordinary: a bus, a bridge, a power station … And one is an extraordinary pavilion, the Seed Cathedral, a celebration of growth and light.”

via tedtalks

Lego-style apartment transforms into infinite spaces

Wow! Watch this video to learn how to make use of a tiny 258 square foot apartment though the spacious balcony helps out for sure.

“When Christian Schallert isn’t cooking, dressing, sleeping or eating, his 24 square meter (258 square feet) apartment looks like an empty cube. To use a piece of furniture, he has to build it.

Apartment designed by Barbara Appolloni.
Original story here.
Youtube video.

Located in Barcelona’s hip Born district, the tiny apartment is a remodeled pigeon loft. Christian says its design was inspired by the space-saving furniture aboard boats, as well as the clean lines of a small Japanese home.”