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INHABITAT

Future-forward design for the world you inhabit

Lea Turto: Sacred GrovesToday

There’s something about the shock of red in a forest that makes it ethereal and otherworldly. That’s part of Finnish artist Lea Turto’s point. In 2005, she covered a series of tree stumps in Helsinki’s central park with red felt in order to highlight and celebrate their natural forms. The piece is called The Sacred Realm of the Forest Elf, in deference to an old Finnish word and spirit: Hiisi.

The word Hiisi has meant a variety of things: a scared grove of trees, a place between worlds, a guardian spirit or goblin. In all of its incarnations, however, it denotes a connection to the natural world that has faded from modern culture. The tree stumps, as amputated natural forms, serve as excellent reminders of this lost culture.

The felt is held in place with upholstery tacks and in some places is decorated with ribbons. Interrupting the landscape, the felt’s bright color is intended to accentuate forms we might have otherwise overlooked. In this manner, tree stumps become things of wonder: mystical objects with forms demanding of contemplation.

Raindrop Shaped Treetents by Dré WapenaarYesterday

Sylvan housing reaches new heights with these wonderful dewdrop shaped Treetents by Dutch sculptor and designer Dré Wapenaar. Originally designed to ease the lives of tree-sitting activists, they also make excellent treetop retreats for campers, kids, and anyone soothed by an evening spent softly swaying among the branches. Each beautifully formed droplet attaches directly to a tree trunk and is roomy enough to sleep a family of four.

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Frank Lloyd Wright Renovation Receives Merit AwardYesterday

In 1988, Lawrence and Sharon Tarantino bought a run-down house in the Millstone borough of New Jersey. A house that was designed by none other than Frank Lloyd Wright. Turns out, that Wright had been thinking of the environment back then. The home, along with about 100 others, was designed in his “Usonian” style– a style that utilized admirable green building principles, including smaller footprints, lower cost, passive solar and radiant heating. The couple, principals of architecture and design firm, Tarantino Studio, renovated it, which won an award from the New Jersey chapter of the American Institute of Architecture.

IS IT GREEN?: The Laundry BallNovember 20

The GreenWashBall is a device that you toss into the washing machine to clean your dirty laundry in place of detergent. An innovative concept, but not the first of its kind - “laundry balls” like the GreenWashBall are abundant, including the Miracle II Ball, the Laundry Solution ball, and the Mystic Wonder Laundry Ball. They are supposedly popular in Europe and the laundry ball industry is hoping to gain popularity in the U.S. Completely cutting the use of detergent is enticing from both ecological and economic standpoints, but how exactly does the GreenWashBall work, and can it up to its claims?

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Amazon Debuts Frustration-Free PackagingNovember 20

Just in time for the overly packaged holiday season, we are thrilled to see that Amazon is debuting a new eco-friendly idea called ‘Frustration Free Packaging’. If you’ve ever tried to open a plastic package twice the size of the product inside and ended up with box cutters in one hand and carpal tunnel syndrome in the other you may know ‘wrap rage.’ Then once you finally got the plastic off, you still had 18 wires to unwind and a mountain of mostly unrecyclable trash. The folks at Amazon are working hard to remedy this problem with the introduction of Frustration-Free packaging. Amazon is working with manufacturers to eliminate dreadful clamshell packages for simpler brown boxes. Not only will it make wrapping and unwrapping much easier, but these boxes can broken down like any other and recycled.

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