Recycled plastics in bridges – courtesy Keith Daly

A visit to Peeblesshire, Scotland allows an up-close look at the record-setting 90 foot bridge made of recycled plastics. This is no experiment in classroom crafts with plastic bottles held together to merely resemble a bridge. Britain’s Vertech Composites was behind this feat in modern engineering, making use of a material composed of recycled plastics that was developed at Rutgers University. Not only is this a green design as it employs recycled materials, but it is more durable than traditional design materials and will not require as much upkeep due to the fact that plastic does not rust. The fully functioning bridge can hold 44 tons, and can be crossed by trucks hauling heavy materials. The successful employment of the revolutionary composite plastic has since been adapted for use in creating railroad ties and other building materials.

Europe’s first plastic pedestrian bridge goes up – courtesy inhabitat

At the opposite end of corporate design and planning, is the legendary man-made Spiral Island, with the entire base made of recycled plastic bottles bundled together in nets. It is literally an island built on a plastic foundation, moveable and mythical all at once. The first Spiral Island project was started in 1998 by Richart Sowa with a reported 250,000 plastic bottles supporting his man-made beach and two-story home that featured solar power and other green living features.

Unfortunately, Hurricane Emily in 2005 destroyed this project in alternative, natural living. Sowa claims it took only a week to clean up the scattered debris from the storm, as a destroyed environmental design cannot be left as wreckage to pollute the water and nearby land. 2008 saw the completion of a second similar island. Sowa has dubbed this one as Joyxee Island, although many refer to it as Spiral Island II. The new design floats atop 100,000 plastic bottles and features impressive extras such as a solar powered waterfall, a wave-powered washing machine, and more. It is open for tours, and can currently be found floating near Cancun, Mexico.

Taiwan’s impressive EcoARK makes use of 1.5 million recycled plastic bottles in its nine-story structure. The idea is said to have evolved from the realization that the plastic tea bottles were the main component of the trash. PET bottles were converted into POLLI Bricks which allow the building to be deconstructed and reconstructed easily, explaining why it receives so much praise for being a light-weight, movable structure with a small carbon footprint. Another awe-inspiring component of this environmental design is that it has been created to withstand natural disasters such as typhoons and earthquakes, playing on the durability of using plastics as a building material. Solar-power supports the LED lighting featured at night, daytime light easily enters through translucent material, and the building employs water falls for insulation.

Original House of the Future from Monsanto 1957 – courtesy Pubsub and Gorillas Don’t Blog

The recycling theme will continue once the building, which was commissioned to use during the 2010 Taipei International Expo, is no longer needed. Plans to take the building apart and distribute the parts to school children to study green design will only add yet another leg to the many cycles of these plastic bottles which once were used to hold beverages, then showcased in an award-winning green design, and lastly used to educate future builders and innovators.

About the author: Erik Dries has extensive experience working with cast polyurethane for multiple applications. He enjoys sharing his experiences on various blogs.

Recognize nationally for superior design in single family home plans, these California homes afford incomparable seaside views with the very best in architectural thinking going in. Bella Vista received the Silver Award for Architectural Design, Best Interior Merchandising of a Model of 3,000 square feet, and two Silvers for Best Outdoor Space.

Situated on spectacular home sites, these extraordinary homes offer not only ocean views, but the very best in luxury amenities as well. Each floor plan is a unique rendition of a near perfect 3700 plus square foot home. Gourmet kitchens to the best home automation possible, Ryland has left no stone upturned.

For further information about Ryland Homes’ new single-family homes in Bella Vista at San Elijo Hills, please phone (760) 744-5620 or visit Ryland.com via the links above. Readers may also want to visit the original press release here.

These Houzz “Best Of Houzz” awards for 2013, are awarded in two categories: Customer Satisfaction and Design. The satisfaction awards are voted on by members of the Houzz community from experiences working with remodeling pros from architects to contractors. As for the Design award, that one is based on the popularity of designers among the so called “Houzzers,” those community members having saved more than 124 million pro images of interiors and etc. via Houzz’s award winning website, iPad, iPhone, and Android apps.

Office library at an Orren PIckell home

Orren Pickell, President and CEO of Orren Pickell Building Group, offered this on having received the award:

“It is an honor to be recognized by this discerning audience with the 2013 ‘Best of Houzz’ Award. We recognize the Houzz community has a plethora of options for their design needs and we are thrilled they’ve selected us as one of the best in the industry.”

For those who have never used the Houzz apps, this award winning platform offers the most complete and usable digital experience possible today where refining projects for the home are concerned. From concept, to hire a contractor, to purchasing the finest array of products for projects, and onward, Houzz has literally though of everything digital to help people do projects.

Orren Pickell Building Group creates distinctive and memorable residences. From architecture to carpentry the Illinois firm provides expertise at every step of the home building process. Readers interested in their work may visit the links or call the firm directly at:  847-572-5252

Marsh view from Courtesy Dyal Compass LLC Facebook

Ethan Allen Interiors Inc., one of America’s most respected interior design and furnishing companies, has announced their role as the primary home furnishings provider for the ever popular HGTV® Dream Home series for 2013 (pictured below). But the best news in the press release is that YOU can win this wonderful Kiawah Island vacation paradise residence. (See below)

Out front of the HGTV Dream Home the 2013 Acadia by GMC

It’s not all that often I get really excited about a press release,  but the showcase home at the Indigo Park community on beautiful Kiawah Island outside my hometown of Charleston, SC, is actually situated within the Island resort’s first sustainable neighborhood. This year’s HGTV® Dream Home, is the epitome of seaside living in the modern age. And I love Kiawah, in case you begin to wonder.

Relaxed is what coastal life is all about, but not without style and elegance to go along, as you can easily see. The HGTV Dream Home 2013 Interior Designer Linda Woodrum has made brilliant use of what Ethan Allen has always been famous for, crisp and refined modernity, and she clearly knows how to play natural light and surrounds off one another. Kiawah is, if anything, a very green place.

Courtesy HGTV Dream Home

Anyone familiar with the marshlands of coastal Georgia and South Caroline will readily identify with the integration of tones Woodrum has made here. The virulent greens of the dining area shown above, along with the textures of the rugs, mixed with the wood tones and crisp accessory edges, are welcoming to say the least.

The same and more holds true for Woodrum’s treatment of the master suite below. This is all any modern homeowner could expect in intimate and cozy Island sleeping spaces. The Ethan Allen Sydney Paisley Duvet adds just the right finishing touch, don’t you think?

Courtesy HGTV Dream Home 2013

For those who do not know, Kiawah Island offers some of the most pristine landscapes, and seaside homes and villas, anywhere in the United States. For readers interested in more pictures, videos, and looks at the Dream Home, please visit their site here. And, if you’ve ever felt the soft Southern breezes off Charleston’s barrier Island through your hair, the video below from real estate developer Candace Dyal and her company DyalCompass, puts real people like you in the lazy days of Carolina coastal charm.

Dolphins at play off Kiawah – Courtesy Kiawah Island Golf Resort Facebook

As a native of Charleston and the low-country, and also someone infinately familiar with developments and especially Charleston’s design community, if there’s a more intriguing combination of value along the Atlantic coastline, I’d love to hear from anyone who knows. Ethan Allen, Kiawah Island, HGTV, fabulous design minds like Linda Woodrum (at right) of Hilton Head’s TS Hudson Interiors, and developers like Candace Dyal who put it all together – the great combinations are just too perfect for imperfections.

I know because I was a contractor for several homes appearing in everything from Better Homes and Gardens, to House Beautiful and so on. Kiawah is actually a magazine photographer’s paradise. Not to mention the coolest of places to live and play.

So, how you you win the HGTV Dream Home giveaway worth a cool $2 million? Enter twice daily via their entry form here. The Kiawah home you see, $500,000 dollars, and that GMC Acadia Denali in the image up there may be under your feet soon. I am in. As for Kiawah? Even if we don’t get that new home I’ll be testing my 9 iron, fishing pole, and kiteboard there this Summer.

Image credits: Many thanks to Ethan Allen, HDTV, and DyalCompass  and Kiawah Island Golf Resort for these wonderful pictures.

However, when you decide to introduce a new format of construction that isn’t traditional, the mind takes a while to adjust. Prefabricated homes have become all the rage in Queensland and other parts of Australia. Understanding these prefabricated homes, in Queensland, gives you greater confidence in their ability to serve as your perfect home.

New technology has made it extremely simple, quick, convenient and safe for you to buy and live in prefabricated homes. In fact, the technology and research going into this industry is so massive, prefabricated homes are almost becoming the main-stream product. Banks & financial institutions are ready to lend for prefabricated homes and getting a home is so much easier thanks to their acceptance.

Every bit of a prefabricated home is built in a factory. This means, the entire environment is controlled to the last degree. If you are thinking that it can never be as strong as a regular builder home, think about the kind of machinery and space they have access to in factories. The possibilities are limitless because the options for tools are limitless too! Visit a prefabricated home manufacturing factory in Queensland and you’ll see the enormous advantage that manufacturers have when building these homes.

Wiring is more efficient, accurate, effective and safe, as are utilities. This is mainly because of the all-sides’ access that these factory environs provide. There are no restrictions or obstacles – just pure and simple construction tools, people and the home!

Prefabricated homes also have to adhere to the same building standards as regular builder homes. After all, the same people will live in both kinds of homes so the safety & building regulations need to be the same. For those who feel that moving a home, from the manufacturing floor to the plot of land, may weaken the structure, knowing that the building inspection takes place after the home has been moved should bring some sort of relief.

Even if you ignore the fact that building material is cheaper and so is the labour, you cannot ignore the fact that the options in design and utility are unaffected. You will find as many brilliant designs in the prefabricated home variety as you would in any other format of home building.

From paint to paneling to roofing, designers & architects spend as much time in designing the perfect prefabricated homes as they do in regular homes. The added attention to the home’s strength is shown through the entire moving process. Lifting up a module, by crane, and placing it on a truck to be moved many-a-mile, requires the home to be stronger than average. Your builder home cannot stand the bumps and rough-travel on the back of a truck – prefabricated homes can!

If you are building a customized home for yourself or planning to build one along those lines, then you should seriously give prefabricated homes, in Queensland, a thought. They are ideal for all kinds of environments and weather conditions, stronger than builder homes and your prefabricated home will get built quicker compared to a builder home.

With space running out, the environment getting badly hit and the demand for homes breaking through the roof, prefabricated homes are always a safe & cost-effective bet!

ETHAN BROWN – author

Ethan is an architect with a strange interest in prefabricated sctructures, to such as extent that he actually lives in a pre-frabrictaed home in Queesnland Australia.  Although it has been on the site for many years, he loves the idea that one day he could put it on a truck and move home, without actually changing home.

Home image courtesy © IMaster – Fotolia.com