Architecture & Web Art

SkyCottage / archimania

SkyCottage is a progressive home whose design is informed by the view of the Mississippi River, embraces the challenges of a tight site, and enhances the community fabric of one of the earliest examples of New Urbanism.

Architect: archimania
Location: Memphis, TN, USA
Client: Barry Alan Yoakum, AIA, LEED AP
General Contractor: Barry Alan Yoakum, AIA, LEED AP
Structure: Poe Engineering
Mechanical consultant: Haltom Engineering
Electrical Consultant: De Pouw Engineering
Lighting Advisor: Benya Lighting Design
LEED for Homes Provider: AEC
Project year: 2007
Budget: US$ 416,387
Project Area: 238 sqm
Photographs: © Jeffrey Jacobs Photography

House Tour: Mike’s Apartment Grows with Him

Mike’s home may look familiar. He first made our acquaintance in a recent house call. Mike is lucky enough to live in an amazing neighborhood in a great sized one-bedroom apartment. Luckily, he had the forethought to move in during college!

Dream dining room

Called dream dining room, because the photographer Pentra Bindel, wanted to gather some information about the subject. “My dream dining room shown above right. I already own some of these things, it’s just a matter of finding a new apartment with an adequate dining space and making it my own. I also love all the storage options, I could easily have a dining room/craft space in one with a dining table that doubles as a work table for sewing and crafting. This gives me ideas as I begin my new apartment search…”

BMW’s Stunning Energy-Efficient Production Plant

In a perfect world we’d all be getting back to our zero energy, prefabricated homes by foot, bike or public transport, but on a planet where cars won’t be disappearing anytime soon, it’s nice to know that some car companies are trying to reduce their carbon footprint when producing new vehicles. In 2003 BMW set out a design competition for a new building and distribution center located in Munich, Germany. The results were more than grand; not only is the new BMW Welt aesthetically pleasing with its sinuous curves and gleaming façade, but it was also consciously designed to save energy in its production of cars through efficient solar heating and natural ventilation systems.

I like to give an analogy of a car (cars = themes, bear with me). When building a new car, everything isn’t reinvented. Your not going to find innovation in tires or in a steering wheel from the new Dodge Grand Caravan. Instead, you’d probably find innovation through the features it sports. What results, is a lot of cars using the same parts. So can WordPress themes. It’s all about being more efficient in your craft. Factor out all the essential theme parts and use them as the bases for the framework. In doing this, you’ll dramatically speed up the time it takes to build recurring themes from scratch.

ThemeHybrid – WordPress Theme Framework

Theme Hybrid themes are created with a lot of special care. Hours upon hours of testing, debugging, and planning are put into each theme. Feel free to browse around and choose one to use for free.

There are many avenues open to you when looking to find the best bathroom suite for your bathroom. You can browse through the magazines that come through your door, you can watch the infomercials on television, go to the showrooms or look on the internet. There is a series of that just seem outstanding. Here they go:

1. 2 Beautiful bathroom glass tiles, you might find unique

2. Oliver Heath on designing your eco bathroom

How to create eco–bathroom walls

Due to the destructive qualities of water and condensation, walls in the bathroom must be scrupulously protected. A cheap quick–fix is to coat all surfaces with thick gloss paint, but this will fill the space with high levels of VOCs that off–gas toxic residues and lead to breathing problems and allergic reactions. In addition, paint only protects a surface for a short time before it starts to peel and crack.