Fungi tweaked to boost industrial enzymes

Mutants of a common fungus produce endoxylanase enzymes twice as potent as the original strain.

Innovative Tree-Like Homes

The architecture firm OAS1S from Holland has come up with a unique proposal for a community of small houses, which would be built to resemble trees. The dwellings would all be made from recycled wood, and would function completely off-the-grid. These homes would be called “treescrapers” and the designers envision that once they are built, it would be like walking through a forest in the middle of an urban area.

The structures could either be single family, multi-family, or even hotels and office spaces, and other leisure and commercial units. Each would sport a green roof. Each unit would measure 19.6 x 19.6 x 39 ft (6 x 6 x 12 m), and have a total floorspace of 1,722 sq ft (160 sq m) across four floors. The interior of each treescraper would feature a lounge, dining room, two bathrooms, and three bedrooms, as well as a deck, hall and storage area and utility room. On the fourth floor, there would also be a fenced balcony and a glass-bottomed hall.

Each treescraper would also be covered in greenery. To function off-the-grid they would also be fitted with green tech such as a solar array to provide hot water and electricity, as well as a grey water recycling system and a composting toilet. The homes would also be fitted with triple-glazed windows. The units would also have a battery array to store the unused electricity collected by the solar panels, and the homes would also be equipped with a rainwater collection system.

In their planning, the company behind the concept envisions a whole community of such houses and structures, which would also be cars-free. The residents would park their cars on the outskirts of the community, and then walk home through this “forest” of buildings. The community would be made up of a maximum of 100 houses per 2.47 acres (1 hectare).

Currently the idea is still in the early planning stages, though the company is hopeful that they will receive the required investor funding. They also plan on offering the units as affordable housing.

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Turning breath into words: New device unveiled to give paralysis victims a voice

A new device which transforms paralysis victims’ breath into words – believed to be the first invention of its kind – has been developed.

Design Your Own Apartment

The task of furnishing a new apartment can be quite daunting for many, given that the walls and windows just about always wreak havoc on your vision of what the place should look like. This won’t be a problem for those inhabiting the Vijayawada Garden Estate, a new apartment building in India, which is currently under construction.

The building will be modular in a way that will allow future residents to create rooms by simply picking and choosing where the walls should be. All that is needed will be a part of a catalog from which they will be able to choose, and then slot the chosen modules into place.

The building was designed by Penda Architecture and Design for developer Pooja Crafted Homes. The complex will measure 387,500 sq ft (36,000 sq m), and the aim is to give residents the power to design exactly the kind of home they want. The apartment building will have the shape of a grid, which will contain an array of separate elements. The only things not customizable are the structural grid itself and the infrastructure. All the other parts of the building, including the walls, ceilings, balconies and more, can all be positioned and built according to the wishes of the residents.

Once the framework is constructed, the inhabitants will be able to pick out prefabricated modules, which can then be slotted into the framework. These modules include various different floor types, façade elements and railings, as well as a whole range of plant pots.

One of the key aims of the project is also creating a building with a clear natural element. To achieve this, vegetation will be planted around the exterior of the grid, as well as along the façade, which will help purify the air, as well as soften the rather boxy and angular look of the building. To water the plants, there will be a grey water filtering system installed, which will collect rainwater on the roof. This water will be used to water the plants on the resident’s balconies.

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Kenya to Receive a Number of Solar Powered Schools

The company Aleutia from the UK is currently in the process of building a school in every one of the 47 counties in Kenya. This will allow for the education of more than 20,000 primary school children, while the schools will also all be powered by solar energy. The company began working on this so-called “Solar Classroom in a Box” project in 2013, and they are finally ready to introduce this all-in-one solar classroom. It ships complete with energy efficient computers, cabling and solar panels.

They initially planned to repurposed containers for this, but they soon realized that such a solution was too expensive. The containers were usually rusty and retrofitting them to create classrooms wasn’t cost efficient. The transport and crane costs were also forbidding.

So, in association with University of Edinburgh School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, and architects in Nairobi, Aleutia developed a low cost structure, which is well-insulated, easy to transport and scalable. Each of the classrooms is now made of locally available materials, for example cinder blocks, a corrugated tin roof, and a light gauge steel frame.

The classrooms can be flatpacked, so they fit on a single pallet for transportation. Due to this, they can also be transported using locally abundant options such as cattle trucks, which can carry three classrooms.

No crane or heavy machinery is needed to install the classrooms and they can be assembled onsite by local laborers. The pieces come in a flatpack package, and are numbered to ease the construction process.

Each classroom can be built in two days, with day one needed to construct the basic structure assembled. Once this is done, the solar panels are attached to the mounting rails on the roof, then the computer equipment is set up.

Each of the classrooms has 10 computers for students and one for the teacher. These are the Aleutia T1 computers, which are fanless, sturdy and economical. The teachers’ computers are pre-loaded with an offline English language version of Wikipedia and Khan Academy.

Kenya is the eighth sub-Saharan African nation to receive Aleutia’s “Solar Classrooms in a Box” of which over 240 have already been deployed. Each of the classrooms costs just $20,000, of which $10,000 is spent on the structure and $10,000 on the equipment.

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Self-healing material could plug life-threatening holes in spacecraft

For astronauts living in space with objects zooming around them at 22,000 miles per hour like rogue super-bullets, it's good to have a backup plan. Although shields and fancy maneuvers could help protect space structures, scientists have to prepare for the possibility that debris could pierce a vessel. One team reports on a new material that heals itself within seconds and could prevent structural penetration from being catastrophic.

Towers Built of Shipping Containers

The city of Mumbai, India is facing quite a shortage of adequate living spaces, so a project has been proposed for a temporary housing solution in the form of a two towers made of used shipping containers. The towers were designed by CRG Architects who decided on a cylinder shape for the structures, which they deemed the best way to take into considerations the terrain and offer all the occupants great views and good ventilation.

The structures were dubbed Containscrapers and will be constructed by stacking the containers in a way that offers a larger façade, and thereby lets more light into the units. Due to the cylindrical shape of the main tower volume, the shipping containers used will also be placed in various different positions, which allows for good natural ventilation via a steady air-flow and will greatly reduce the heat in each apartment. Given the hot climate of Mumbai, and the fact that shipping containers are basically large metal boxes, this is a must.

The core of both towers will be made with containers in a vertical position, allowing elevator units to be housed in one of each of the containers in an upright position. From the renders it appears the shipping containers used to build these structures will not be modified a lot, apart from cutting out windows and doors. The shipping containers will simply be stacked in a way that grants the towers the necessary stability.

The structure will also have a number of vertical gardens placed along the height of the building. These gardens will work to separate the apartment units and aid in the dissipation of heat in the summer. The facade will also be colored according to the orientation of the buildings and in relation to the sun, namely warm colors on the south facing side, and cold colors on the north facing side. This is also meant to offset the heat buildup in the units. Still, I am not convinced that in a hot climate like this, comfortable interior temperatures can be reached without some air conditioning.

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Water Purifying Sculpture

For a few years now, the MoMA PS1’s Young Architects Program has been using art installations to help raise awareness about pressing environmental issues. This year, they are showcasing COSMO, a giant sculpture that also purifies water. It was designed by NYC and Madrid-based Spanish architect Andrés Jaque and aims to raise awareness about growing water shortage and the need for healthy water systems.

COSMO is basically a “moveable artifact” and is made out of normal agricultural irrigation components, which are widely available. The sculpture is able to filter 3,000 gallons of water in four days. The filtration process works by eliminating particles and nitrates, balancing the pH and increasing the level of dissolved oxygen. To signal the end of the filtration cycle, a plastic mesh at the center of the sculpture lights up, which creates a great backdrop to the various outdoor events taking place in the courtyard of the gallery.

The sculpture’s creator maintains that architecture also has a political role, and that his installation is meant to show how urban water ecosystems of pipes and waterways work. He also wanted to emphasize the prediction made by the UN, which states that two-thirds of the world won’t have sufficient access to water by 2025.

The sculpture also relies on less energy-intensive methods of water purification, doing so by using plants to treat the water. The plants are also fed by the water they are purifying. This installation is mobile, and can be easily reproduced anywhere in the world, meaning that it can be used to offer clean water to people who otherwise do not have access to it.

As a work of art, COSMO does a great job of offering an innovative and aesthetically pleasing solution to a growing environmental problem. COSMO will be on display until September 7, 2015.

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Synthesis of a new nanomaterial: Self-assembly may work within the body

Scientists have discovered, for the first time, a new nanocomposite formed by the self-assembly of copper and a biological component that occurs under physiological conditions, which are similar those found in the human body and could be used in targeted drug delivery for fighting diseases such as cancer.

Zero Energy Home Built of Recycled Wood

Dwell Development is constructing a home in Seattle that boasts of having a host of sustainable features, including being built mostly out of recycled and reclaimed materials. They are seeking the Built Green Emerald Star certification for it, and getting it would make this the first home in Seattle to obtain it.

The home measures 2,218 sq ft (206 sq m). It features a rooftop mounted 6.6 kW photovoltaic array, which is capable of producing all the energy the home needs. To further increase the energy efficiency of the home, the roof and window placement were configured to maximize solar gain without sacrificing the aesthetics of the design. The home is seeking a HERS Score of 0 or lower to confirm its intended zero energy status, which the builders are certain will be the case.

The home is also equipped with a heat recovery ventilation system, which expels stale air from the house and draws in fresh air. This system is also used to maintain a comfortable interior temperature. The home also features an efficient hot water heat pump, which uses only 1 kW of energy to generate 4.5 kW of heat. According to Dwell, this is 78 percent less energy usage in comparison to classic hot water systems.

The house also has an airtight seal, achieved by adequate insulation and wood-framed windows and doors. This seal minimizes thermal and sound leaks. On blower door tests the home got a score of 1.17 ACH 50. To achieve an Emerald Star certification this score needs to be below 2.4 ACH 50.

The frame of the home is made of FSC-certified timber, while the exterior paneling is made of reclaimed Douglas fir. For the roof paneling they used steel reclaimed from a cannery in Willamette Valley, Oregon, and this roof also constitutes a rainscreen. All the cabinets, countertops and tile, are made from recycled materials by local craftsmen.

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