Where design and sustainability cross paths

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Making Greenburg Greener While Improving Their Community

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Images from the National Geographic Society. Video from KTKA 49 ABC News.

Students at Kansas State University are taking the initiative to make Greenburg more sustainable while rebuilding their community. Their effort is being called Project Cubed and it aims to bring “pavilion cubes of sustainable living to Greenburg”. Every cube they are creating is eco-friendly. One might recycle rain water while another provides a place for gathering bottles and cans for recycling. Perhaps the best aspect of the project is that the students are focused on carefully designing and constructing each cube with the equally important purpose of being able to withstand severe tornado weather. The project was created in response to the massive F5 category tornado that ripped through Greensburg in 2007. It flattened the town and caused 8 deaths. With winds of 205 miles an hour (330 kilometers) the tornado was the first first recorded F5 storm since 1999 in the US.

Kansas State University Architecture student, Melody Meek mentioned that ”it’s one way to connect the world of architecture with people in our community. Design can really help improve lives. This could start to lay the groundwork of how we can respond to natural disasters such as tornadoes.” Their green initiative has been in the planning and development stages for 2 semesters. The students of Project Cubed are scheduled to deliver the finished product to the Greenburg community on the 4th of May 2008, the anniversary date of last year’s devastating tornado which destroyed so much of their local architecture and infrastructure.

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Prius Ad Campaign

There have been some interesting ads on TV, marketing the famous gas/electric icon across the US. We applaud Toyota on their marketing campaign but we’re now dreaming of seeing a fully electric version on the road. With their other product lines, Toyota has been working to bring local manufacturing to the United States. They recently partnered with Subaru to produce the Camry at their established Indiana plant.

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Architects For a Better World

Screening this winter and spring throughout Europe is Architects for a better world by Jacques Allard. It was filmed in 12 locations around the globe and brings many diverse perspectives on the sustainability in Architecture. The movie was filmed in High Definition and will be released in 8 languages. “This film is about people who care about our future, and who want to make a difference.” For more information visit lastcallforplanetearth.eu.