Inhabitat's Week in Green: algae-powered building, 3D-printing vending machine and the Toyota i-Road concept

<div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;" trbidi="on"><div class="copy post-body" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"> <i>Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green.</i><br /><div class="image-container" style="text-align: center;"> <img alt="DNP Inhabitat's Week in Green TKTKTK" data-src-height="400" data-src-width="620" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2013/03/toyota-i-road-1362861929.jpg" /></div>Now that green design is entering the mainstream, we're beginning to see the design community tackle larger, more ambitious projects using eco-friendly techniques. Case in point: This week, San Francisco transformed the Bay Bridge into the world's largest light sculpture by outfitting it with 25,000 LED lights. Because the lights are so energy-efficient, it will cost just $15 per night to run the installation. In Hamburg, workers are putting the finishing touches on the world's first algae-powered building, which is set to open this month at the International Building Exhibition. A company in Tokyo recently demonstrated a new skyscraper deconstruction technique that harvests energy from the demolition process and salvages almost every piece of the building for reuse. And in Copenhagen, work has begun on a combined ski resort and waste-to-energy plant, which will convert the city's trash into energy that powers the resort.<br /> The week also saw a number of new advances in the realm of 3D printing. At UC Berkeley, a team of scientists created the Dreambox 3D-printing vending machine, which creates and dispenses objects right before your eyes. Germany-based Nanoscribe GmbH unveiled the world's fastest nano-scale 3D printer, which can produce 3D objects that are smaller than the diameter of a human hair. An 83-year-old inventor designed an open-source machine capable of turning resin pellets into inexpensive filament for 3D printing, and model Dita Von Teese modeled the world's first fully articulated 3D-printed gown.<br /> In Switzerland, the 2013 Geneva Motor Show kicked off as automakers unveiled a wide range of features focused on fuel efficiency and safety. On the luxury side of things, Ferrari unveiled the LaFerrari hybrid supercar, which is the company's first hybrid vehicle. Subaru debuted the Viziv hybrid crossover concept, a sporty two-door car with room for four passengers and a new diesel hybrid powertrain. And Volvo unveiled a new collision-avoidance system that automatically senses when cyclists and pedestrians are in a car's path and brakes for them. In one of the most interesting unveils at the Geneva show, Toyota showed off its new i-Road concept, a fully enclosed, all-electric three-wheeler.<br /> In other green energy and tech news, the city of Lancaster, Calif., will soon require all new homes to come equipped with roof- or ground-mounted solar panels. The world's largest solar thermal plant passed its first test in California, proving that it's ready to enter commercial operation. We shared the inspiring story of 12-year-old Sicily Kolbeck, who's building a fully functional tiny home outfitted with solar panels, and in one of the coolest TED talks in recent memory, a 13-year-old Kenyan boy presented an LED system that prevents lions from killing livestock. Lighting company Cree broke boundaries by launching an affordable new LED light bulb that looks like an incandescent bulb and casts a pleasing light. But the invention we'd most like to try out is the Ocean Wings wetsuit, a new suit designed by Guillaume Binard that allows its wearer to glide through the sea like a manta ray.<br /> </div></div>

Inhabitat's Week in Green: algae-powered building, 3D-printing vending machine and the Toyota i-Road concept

Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Wee...

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Inhabitat's Week in Green: portable fission reactor, Urbee 2 and the ix35 Fuel Cell car

<div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"><img alt="DNP Inhabitat's Week in Green tktktkt" data-src-height="400" data-src-width="620" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2013/03/mclaren-supercar.jpg" /> </div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"> Silicon Valley dominated this week's news cycle, beginning with Yahoo's announcement that it will no longer allow employees to work from home. Some are crying foul, however, pointing out that Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer recently installed a nursery in her office, and that unlike most mothers, she's allowed to bring her child to work. But while Yahoo's announcement may have ruffled some feathers, Google gave greenies reason to smile, as it announced plans to build a jumbo, green-roofed expansion at the tech giant's Mountain View headquarters. Not to be outdone, Samsung unveiled plans to build a garden-filled, eco-friendly Silicon Valley headquarters of its own.</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"> In the world of green cars, engineer Jim Kor is developing the Urbee 2 -- a lightweight, 3D-printed car that could revolutionize the entire industry. The vehicle has a hybrid engine and three wheels that can reach speeds of up to 110 MPH. Meanwhile, Hyundai just became the world's first automaker to begin assembly-line production of a hydrogen vehicle with the ix35 Fuel Cell car. For those who need just a little more power, there's the McLaren P1 Hybrid Supercar, which clocks in at 903 horsepower and has a starting price of $1.31 million. And for an entirely different kind of ride, this week we peeked inside the charming interior of a van that a Welsh couple transformed into a rustic camper.</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"> In labs across the world, scientists are tackling the question of how to produce clean, renewable energy for a population that is increasingly untethered and on the go. A new startup called Ubiquitous Energy is currently developing see-through solar cells that can be installed on top of tablet screens to keep your iPad running all day long, and Uncharted Play just launched the Soccket energy-generating soccer ball on Kickstarter. Taylor Wilson, the 18-year-old who built a nuclear fusion reactor in his parent's garage when he was 14, is developing a portable fission reactor that could be more efficient than existing nuclear plants. In India, students at Delhi University have received approval to pilot a project that will use the winds generated by subway trains to produce energy. In other renewable energy news, Saudi Arabia announced plans to produce 54 gigawatts of renewable energy, and solar power generation is projected to increase by 35 times in Argentina.</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;"> In other news, scientists have developed a flexible lithium-ion battery capable of stretching up to 300 percent its original size that could have great applications in wearable technology. Peruvian researchers teamed up with an ad agency to create an amazing billboard that generates drinking water from thin air. In a recent TED Talk, MIT's Skylar Tibbits explained the future of <em>4D</em> printing, which involves creating a 3D-printed object that is capable of self-assembling. Scientists from the University of South Carolina are using pine sap to create biodegradable, renewable plastics. And a new study finds that a bracelet-like device fitted around a patient's esophagus could alleviate chronic acid reflux.</div></div>

Inhabitat's Week in Green: portable fission reactor, Urbee 2 and the ix35 Fuel Cell car

  Silicon Valley dominated this week's news cycle, beginning with Yahoo's announcement that it will no longer allow employees to wo...

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Inhabitat's Week in Green: asteroid mining, a Legoland hotel and the Amsterdam Light Festival

<div dir="rtl" style="text-align: right;" trbidi="on"><div class="copy post-body"> <div style="text-align: left;"> <i>Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green.</i></div><div class="image-container" style="text-align: left;"> <img alt="DNP Inhabitat's Week in Green TKTKTK" data-src-height="400" data-src-width="620" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2013/01/jan-buchel-energy-efficient-amsterdam-light-festival-2012-1.jpg" /></div><div style="text-align: left;"> Of all the technological breakthroughs we've witnessed in recent years, the emergence of 3D printing technology is one of the most exciting. This week saw a number of breakthroughs in the realm of 3D printing, beginning with Deep Space Industries' plans to develop space-based 3D printers that could produce satellites using materials mined from asteroids. Dutch design firm Universe Architecture announced plans to build the world's first 3D-printed house (which is shaped like a Mobius strip), and French sculptor Gael Langevin is currently developing a design for an open-source humanoid robot that you can make at home with a 3D printer. We learned about an inventive DIYer who figured out a way to hack an old inkjet printer and transform it into a bioprinter. And at Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week on Monday, Iris van Herpen debuted the world's first 3D-printed flexible dresses.</div><div style="text-align: left;"> In renewable energy news, this week Inhabitat sent a reporter to Masdar City, which was once billed as the world's first zero-carbon, zero-waste city, to report on some of the new energy-efficient developments there -- including Siemens' new LEED Platinum headquarters and the world's largest concentrated solar power plant. V3solar announced that its spinning cone-shaped photovoltaic cells could produce power at two-thirds the current cost of retail electricity, and a report issued by the World Wildlife Fund found that solar power could serve all the world's energy needs. Belgium announced plans to construct an artificial island to be used solely as storage for wind energy, and Duke Energy recently flipped the switch on what the company claims is the world's largest battery power storage system in West Texas.</div><div style="text-align: left;"> In the world of green transportation, Toyota and BMW announced plans to create next-generation car batteries that will generate energy from thin air. At the World Future Energy Summit, students at Osaka Sangyo University rolled out a sporty new emissions-free fuel cell vehicle that's already licensed to drive on the roads in Japan. We also had a chance to check out the Zerotracer, a closed-cabin electric motorbike that recently traveled around the world in 80 days.</div><div style="text-align: left;"> In green lighting news, artist Anne Militello recently unveiled her Light Cycles LED art installation, which transforms the 10-story atrium of the World Financial Center in New York City into an impressive glowing light show each night. And speaking of light installations, the entire city of Amsterdam has been aglow with light sculptures, LED decorations, fiery boat parades and huge projections for the Amsterdam Light Festival, which just concluded this week. In Oslo, Squidsoup recently unveiled a new installation featuring 8,064 floating LED lights strung from the ceiling of Galleri ROM. And in San Francisco, the Bay Bridge will soon be adorned with 25,000 individually programmed white LEDs to celebrate the suspension bridge's 75th year.</div><div style="text-align: left;"> Lego<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7080182682816192337"> fans will be excited to hear that North America's first Legoland hotel is set to open its doors in Carlsbad, Calif., in April. In other green architecture news, San Francisco-based firm William Duff Architects recently completed a home in Menlo Park that features a layout based on the Fibonacci sequence. Architecture students in Nantes drafted a proposal to create a floating "hydropolis" that would rest on the tide of Egypt's Nile River. And for a bit of eco eye candy, this week Inhabitat featured Virginia-based artist Eric Standley's mind-blowing paper sculptures, which look like ornate stained-glass windows.</a></div></div></div>

Inhabitat's Week in Green: asteroid mining, a Legoland hotel and the Amsterdam Light Festival

Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Wee...

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