Green Racer: Elegant Eco-Car With Throw-Away Body

Old cars and car parts make up a huge part of the worldwide waste stream. A team of designers in the Philippines has developed a rather sophisticated response to that problem with this car, which they’ve named The Phoenix. The prototype has a body made of biodegradable materials that you can simply throw away when you no longer need the car.

The gorgeous design looks like some kind of space-age bed, but it’s definitely built to rule the road in true environmental style. While most people only keep their cars for five to ten years, the biodegradable body of the Phoenix is meant to completely break down in the same amount of time – so within a decade this car could go from factory to the road and back to the Earth. While the body is simply thrown away, the metal chassis can be reused again and again until the parts wear out.

The body is made of a mix of bamboo and rattan, so it’s doubtful that it would ever pass safety tests and make it onto the road. But it’s a lovely concept that underlines the type of creative solutions some designers are coming up with to solve our seemingly overwhelming waste problem.

Comments

Modular housing concept boasts 64 possible combinations

Italian Designer Gabriel Aramu has conceptualized a modular housing system that seems to offer endless possibilities. Dubbed "Sliding Hub," these prefabricated cubes join together to create a temporary housing solution for multiple situations. In the event that emergency shelters are required, the modules can be packed and transported to any destination. On arrival, the modules are easily joined together, with the flexibility to house individuals, small groups or large numbers without limitation. Each module incorporates an insulation system suitable for all kinds of weather conditions. In addition, the temporary accommodation units provide a comfortable standard of living, important to natural disaster victims. Constructed with steel reinforcements, numerous modules can be assembled together to create various sizes and shapes, whilst sliding them open creates large internal spaces. According to Aramu, the system can be configured 64 different ways, wh...

A Father and Son

Father and son relationship are typically formed like this.

Stick ‘Em Up! Clever Concept Adds Number Pads to Laptops

On a lot of laptops, the numeric keypad is usually the first thing to be sacrificed in order to save space. For those of us who just can’t get used to using the numbers above the alpha keys, this concept is a stroke of genius. It’s called Number Pad Film for Touchpad – despite the cumbersome name, it’s a really clever object + program that makes it simple for even laptop users to enter long lines of numeric data. The Number Pad Film is a small piece of plastic film that fits on over a laptop’s touch pad. Accompanying software maps out locations of the virtual “keys” on the touchpad. Switch to the number input with the use of hotkeys and math away to your heart’s content. Another activation of the hotkeys sends the touchpad back to its original function. The virtual keypad lacks the tactile feedback of a physical numeric keypad, but people who do plenty of touch typing on numeric keypads might not mind. They’ll probably just be grateful to have the freedom to ...

Infotainment

Search This Blog