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Le Corbusier had it all wrong. One billion people live in abject poverty. Four billion live in fragile but growing economies. One in seven people live in slum settlements. By 2020 it will be one in three. We don't need to choose between architecture or revolution. What we need is an architectural revolution. The U.N. Millennium Development Goals aim to "achieve improvement in the lives of 100 million slum dwellers by the year 2015." Reaching this goal will require a profoundly new approach to improving the built environment. The Open Architecture Network aims to be just such a catalyst for change.

What is the Open Architecture Network? The Open Architecture Network is an online, open source community dedicated to improving living conditions through innovative and sustainable design. Here designers of all persuasions can:

• Share their ideas, designs and plans
• View and review designs posted by others
• Collaborate with each other, people in other professions and community leaders to address specific design challenges
• Manage design projects from concept to implementation
• Communicate easily amongst team members
• Protect their intellectual property rights using the Creative Commons "some rights reserved" licensing system and be shielded from unwarranted liability
• Build a more sustainable future

Who is behind this? The Open Architecture Network is the brainchild of Architecture for Humanity and the designers who volunteer with us and through our local chapters. It grew out of our collective frustration in sharing ideas and trying to work together to address shelter needs after disaster, in informal settlements and in our own communities. Architecture for Humanity is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization that seeks architectural solutions to humanitarian crises and brings design services to communities in need. To learn more about our work, please visit our website.

Who else is behind this? The Open Architecture Network is the result of a yearlong partnership that began in spring 2006 when Architecture for Humanity won the prestigious TED Prize. Each year the TED community honors three individuals who have positively impacted life on this planet. Recipients are granted one wish to change the world. Members of the TED community voluntarily contribute to granting the wish, by offering their resources and talent. Our wish: To build on our success creating opportunities for architects to help communities in crises. We envisioned a truly collaborative online community and gathering place for those dedicated to improving the built environment. Sun Microsystems, Hot Studio, Creative Commons, AMD and other partners joined Architecture for Humanity in realizing this ambitious undertaking, and at this year's TED conference, together we launched a beta version of the Open Architecture Network: the first site to offer open source architectural plans and blueprints on the web.

Who will the Open Architecture Network serve? Architects, designers, engineers and anyone else involved in the building trades is welcome to share their ideas on the network - but the network is not just for professionals. Community leaders, nonprofit groups, volunteer organizations, government agencies, technology partners, healthcare workers, educators and others are also invited to collaborate on projects and share their expertise. After all if we're to meaningfully address the challenges of building a sustainable future, we'll need (a lot of) help from people of all walks of life.

What is our goal? Far from replacing the traditional architect, the goal of the network is to allow designers to work together in a whole new way, a way that enables 5 billion potential clients to access their skills and expertise. The network has a simple mission: to generate not one idea but the hundreds of thousands of design ideas needed to improve living conditions for all.

Let the revolution begin.  See more www.openarchitecturenetwork.org/

Marmol Radziner Prefab combines the efficiency of factory-built homes with the benefits of custom residential design. Our green homes are not a kit of parts – we build the prefab modules in our own factory and ship them complete with your choice of pre-installed interior and exterior finishes, flooring, appliances, and more. We can oversee the entire process, from design to delivery and installation, so no additional contractor is required. We create our prefab homes with the environment in mind and have designed them to achieve LEED certification. For long-term sustainability, the module structures are made from recycled steel. The homes employ other green materials, including Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs), FSC-certified wood, low VOC Green Seal paint, solar panels, and more. Floor-to-ceiling windows capture natural light, while expansive decks provide shade for passive cooling and promote the best of indoor/outdoor living.Marmol Radziner Prefab specializes in custom floor plans and details to match your site and needs. Five standard models are also available. via Marmol site

see on www.marmolradzinerprefab.com/main.html

and www.marmolradzinerprefab.com/blog/index.php

see bungalowinabox.com/

Bungalow-in-a-box

Weathertight Panel-Frame Structures: Our component kits make durable cottage-camps, garages, home offices and studios. Our unique framing technique joins low-maintenance, natural materials to create beautiful structures that last. Prefabricated interlocking, exterior-finish panels assemble quickly with minimal on-site waste. A Bungalow-In-A-Box goes up on your foundation with a finished exterior appearance in in one or two days.

Mountain Retreat 12′x24′ with porch (above): $20,600

Pond-Side Studio 12′x16′ with entry (below): $13,700

see more on www.fabprefab.net/smf/index.php

Built by himself, friends and neighbors, using off-the-shelf materials. Board-and-batten siding and a standing-seam, terne-coated steel roof sit atop a wood platform. A ladder unhitches and swings down, providing access to the entry door. Oil lamps provide light and a woodstove heats the space. Hand-powered, gravity-fed plumbing system, and water is heated using the woodstove. Rainwater from the roof supplies the outdoor shower. The front wall is an overhead-acting aluminum and glass garage door, opening to a cantilevered deck. This little shack is built by Architect Jeffery Broadhurst for his family in a 27-acre mountaintop property in West Virginia.

via www.materialicio.us/2008/06/13/the-shack-at-hinkle-farm-jeffery-s-broadhurst-2/#more-1329

archrecord.construction.com/residential/quarterly/0801shack-1.asp

see more www.materialicio.us/tag/cabins/

Konarka’s proprietary photo-reactive materials can be printed or coated inexpensively onto flexible substrates using roll-to-roll manufacturing, similar to the way newspaper is printed on large rolls of paper. Konarka’s roll-to-roll process simplifies manufacturing scale up and has significantly lower capital and labor costs than previous generations of solar cells.  The process is non-toxic and environmentally friendly, and because it’s conducted at low temperatures, is less energy intensive than 1st or 2nd generation technologies.  Another significant advantage is that it can be produced using existing coating and printing equipment, and thus does not require construction of a new facility.  The simplicity and modularity of the process means that finally, solar material can be manufactured and used virtually anywhere in the world where there is demand for power.

Konarka has the in-house ability to produce material for use by our technical team and application partners for prototype testing and development, and is building additional US-based capacity.  For larger scale production, we have established licensing agreements with manufacturers in Europe, and will seek additional partners in the US and Asia.  see read more  here www.konarka.com/index.php/site/tech_roll_to_roll_process/

and www.konarka.com/index.php/site/tech_solar/

[via Doedelsdorfer]

This is a demonstration of iPhone to Lego NXT Robot communication via the Safari browser and Lego's Light Sensor. To build this, you'll need a laptop, two iPhones, and a Lego NXT Robotics Kit. First, build your robot. Second write some Java LeJOS Robot code. Third write some Google Web Toolkit web application code. Fourth, plug in your iPhone into the robot, and use either a browser or another iPhone to drive the Lego Robot! Full details on building your own, and using this approach for other robot ideas are below. Now wouldn't it be great if the next Lego Mindstorms Robot Brick had Wifi? See and read more  www.battlebricks.com/iphone-lego-nxt-robot/index.html

OAKVILLE & HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif., MAY 29, 2008– Napa Valley wine producer Far Niente has gone live with its ‘Floatovoltaic™’ solar array. The Floatovoltaic installation, developed by Thompson Technology Industries, Inc. (TTI), creatively couples solar power with water, saving valuable vineyard acreage from being sacrificed for land-mounted arrays; this innovative solar system was installed by SPG Solar, using solar panels from Sharp, a world leader in solar electricity. Far Niente’s Floatovoltaic system involved securing nearly 1,000 Sharp solar panels on pontoons, then floating the pontoons on the winery’s vineyard irrigation pond.  Combined with a section of another 1,300 panels located on land adjacent to the pond, the array is generating 400 kWs at peak output, significantly offsetting the winery’s annual power usage and provide a net-zero energy bill.

“Napa Valley is making tremendous strides in its efforts to achieve sustainability,” said Ron Kenedi, vice president of Sharp Solar Energy Solutions Group, the U.S. solar arm of Sharp.  “By adopting clean, reliable and renewable solar power, Far Niente is making a commitment to the long term sustainability of this magnificent region.”  Read more www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/partner/story

made by www.spgsolar.com/

MAKE volume 14
makezine.com/14/

Keep an eye-out for Make Vol. 14, which has a special section on optics. You'll learn how to make an inexpensive but powerful digital microscope that will allow you to display bacteria colonies on a video monitor, a vintage-looking opaque projector that can display artwork from books onto a wall, a model of a crazy-angled room that makes things appear to change size, and a cool kaleidoscope. Also in the issue, we'll show you how to build the following: a mesmerizing taffy pulling machine, a remote control dune buggy with a built in video camera, a dollar-store parabolic microphone, and many more fun and fascinating

makezine.com/13/
makezine.com/12/
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makezine.com/09/
makezine.com/08/
makezine.com/07/
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makezine.com/05/