The pallet-building revolution continues. Here's a fine example profiled by materialicious who explains: "Paul Stankey of HiveModular, along with family and friends, is building a storage barn using pallets from their pals at Loll Designs. The barn is to store materials for the Stankeys’ Rustic Reuse container cabin. What a great idea."There's more details at the blog of the build (although at time of writing there were access problems so do try again later if it's still playing up).
"At its Geneva offices, Procter & Gamble, the consumer products group, has three EnergyPods [pictured above], which resemble loungers with a space-age half-dome wrapped over the headrest, made by a company called Metronaps. "The pods are designed to provide users with a quick recharge that can help maximise the rejuvenating effects of a brief nap," Metronaps says. "This, in turn, helps users do more with their day from both a professional and personal point of view." The pods have proved very popular, especially with sleep-deprived employees such as those with young children and frequent business travellers.". So take a short nap today and let us know how felt.
Maybe a little larger than most garden offices and even Peter Gabriel's shed, but I think it still counts - this is Romolo Stanco's recording studio Elfostudio in Tavernago, Italy."Let me preface this comment by saying that I really like the look of the Glassbox product. That being said, their website raises a couple of issues in my mind.I'd be interested to know - as would Bill - what you think of the above. Please comment below.
"1) The site states that pricing starts at 18,000 Pounds plus VAT. The smallest Glassbox plan seems to be 3.3m x 3.3m, or 10.89 sq m (117 sq ft). This puts the cost per square meter of this little Glassbox at something above 1,650 Pounds/sq m (~= $302/sq ft). At least by American standards, this puts the cost well into the area of custom (bespoke) projects. So the question is...what benefits does the customer accrue by purchasing a Glassbox rather than contracting for a customized design?
"2) Alex is correct that they "proudly trump their eco qualities." While some of their claims (especially the "usual" ones) are probably good ones, a few others seem to slip into the category of "greenwashing" (a great new term coined by the publishers of an interesting site on the subject at http://www.greenwashingindex.com/ ). For example, the Glassbox site says, "you will be investing in not only your home but in the future of our planet." Huh? Just how does purchasing a Glassbox bring returns for the future of our planet? Perhaps an argument could be made that a Glassbox is a better eco choice than some other structure, but either way resources are being used, not saved or "producing earnings on an investment." I'm not saying that there is anything wrong with purchasing a Glassbox (or any other shed, addition, extension...) or with consuming the resources necessary to produce that structure. I'm just pointing out that the hyperbole of their claims may not reflect the same honesty and minimalism that their design aesthetic reveals."
"In these days of increasing environmental awareness and rising oil prices, telecommuting is gaining mindshare. Yet employers are still reluctant."This follows CIO Insight Research's Mobility Survey which reveals that just over 50% of CIOs and other senior IT leaders claim their companies discourage fulltime telecommuting (although on the up side, almost one half said that their company's policy had become more pro-telecommuting over the last three years).
