Today with lot of environmental developments happening world over like global warming, energy crisis, lifestyle changes, it’s become even more difficult to design houses meeting all these requirements. More and more architectural designs are using digital technologies with respect to modeling, simulation, evaluation and fabrication resulting in complex shaped buildings which incorporates the above challenges. One such project is coming up in Tel Aviv whose primary resources are sun, wind, and land and these are fairly distributed amongst these complex structures thus making an optimum utilization of all. It’s of course high quality housing complete with latest gadgets but run on the natural resources. Architect Yiftach Ben Meir, the designer, is a recent graduate from The Faculty Of Architecture and Town Planning at Technion, Israel Institute of Technology (IIT). His final project SeaO2 was conceived under the framework of Tecnion Computer Oriented Design Studio, T_Code with the instruction of dr. Yasha j. Grobman.


Text from Yiftach :
SeaO2 is an experimental ecological housing project. The project poses an alternative to current plans for Tel Aviv North West coastal district. SeaO2 demonstrates vast use of cutting edge computer software, some being used in the aerospace industry, in order to improve building performance and to ensure the existence of a sustainable urban environment with a minimal ecological footprint. The project final form is a consequence of a scientific approach that calculates numerous of elements: the sun orbit, wind conditions, maximum open scenic views, very high density and more, all in a free-form organic manner.
Advanced Computer Simulations ensure the project’s credibility. The project’s unique morphology enables: optimized solar reception for heating at winter time, self-shadowing and solar reception for electricity generation at summer time, natural lighting, optimized natural ventilation, open looks to the natural coastal environment, public green spaces, rain collection and more. Various passive mechanical systems complement the basic morphology, enable better performance and create an energy efficient, environmentally friendly housing project
Designer : Yiftach Ben Meir
Nissan Nuvu is a concept designed to offer next generation car from Nissan with rear-mounted electric motor and lithium ion battery pack. The design of this concept car is quite unusual and small. For city use, the Nuvu’s performance is more than adequate. Across the all-glass roof are a dozen of small solar panels. Basically, natural, organic and recycled materials are used to make its cabin. The steering of the car is very direct for quickness and maneuverability in the city. No one will have any problem in crowded roads and limited parking slots with this tomorrow’s city car.


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Ovetto Recycling Bin is presented at London Design Festival by an Italian architect and designer Gianluca Soldi. This colorful and beautiful piece of architect is made up of recycled polypropylene offering 3 different containers to make recycling easy and much more organized. This concept is named after an Italian Word Ovetto which means “Egg” and therefore the shape of this recycling bin is also based on the natural shape of egg. The bin comes with appliqué stickers for easy recognition of the compartments. This bin is surely going to make your store or apartment modern and classy.


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Renault Ondelios is a concept car especially designed for long distance travel and will be displayed at 2008 Paris Motor Show. This style of the car is enthused partly by an aircraft. Its slippery and low drag body and a canopy-style will surely catch your attention. You cannot ignore its boomerang shaped tail lights which add to the style and overall look of Renault Ondelios. The butterfly-type side doors are extremely amazing giving it a shape of aircraft. This car can accommodate 6 people and individual seats are arranged in 3 rows of paired seats. Passengers will be having their own Samsung interactive portable multimedia devices for sharing data or playing multiplayer games. So, overall Renault is a luxurious car for those who can afford it.


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The innovative conceptual product by Laura Sink of The Art Institute of Pittsburg is an interesting one. Natura Levo, is a small, vertical-axis wind turbine whose primary purpose is to catch wind from any direction. The beautifully shaped stationary shape is the center axis for the design, which can be mounted to any existing structure like a telephone pole or even the usual backyard and once mounted the device, is used to catch wind. It’s a nice and simple way to make us aware of the need to coexist within the natural surrounding. So it is a nice, sleek and practical educational tool for today’s generation.

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