Here is an Idea for the Sketch-Up and Guggenheim shelter competition. It is a fold up beach shack, where all the wall and floor panels are constructed off site from galvanized steel C and H sections with crushed bamboo sheet cladding. The roof has been designed to collect rainwater from the fixed and moving roof panels. Solar panels on the roof allow for power generation. A loft space accessible from the built in wall ladder allows for 2 people to sleep comfortably. The selected site is a rocky headland just off the surf break at Nai Harn beach, Phuket Island, Thailand. The design responds to the all year mild climate by being completely op-enable catching all the cooling breezes and allowing for uninterrupted views of the magnificent Andaman Sea. www.guggenheim.org
bamboopower.com bamboopower.com Pandas are known to eat it, but bamboo is fast becoming the latest renewal resource. Bamboo is actually a grass, but industries are seeing the potential for multiple uses, particularly in hardwood and household flooring. Since bamboo is a grass, it makes for an aesthetically pleasing and attractive addition to any garden. Bamboo has two types: clumpers and runners. Runners, as their name suggests, will run as far and wide as they possibly can. Clumpers clump around the center of the bamboo and grow slowly outward. Some varieties of bamboo have both types of bamboo, while there are varieties which only have one type. There are plenty of varieties to chose from, many that can grow in full shade to full sun gardens. Unlike many household plants, bamboo requires a great deal of water, which is why is grows so well in tropical regions. If your yard is not a moist area, or does not have an area of water collection for your bamboo, you will need to water it more often than your other plants. Bamboo is also great for the house, adding lovely greenery to any room regardless of lighting. Just makes sure to get a variety of bamboo which does not require a significant amount of light, if you do not have a sunny spot to place it in. In Chinese cultures, bamboo is considered good luck and placing it in the house ensures luck living in your house with you! Currently bamboo is used as an environmentally friendly hardwood floor alternative. It is also be …
