Student’s centers are those comfortable hang-out spots at universities that combine studying with social life during your years of college.

Coventry’s new student center ‘the hub’ (sited at the center of the university campus) designed by Hawkins\Brown Architects is one of the best.

For many students at university, this is their first experience of living away from home. Coventry University in the UK tries to make that a little less of a sudden adjustment to the cruel world with a new student center that exudes cosiness, intimacy and security.

Covering an area of 91,000 square feet and able to comfortably accommodate 1,000 students at the same time, the new student center really gives the feeling of a home away from home in what could be a large and impersonal setting for the 10,000 students enrolled at the university.

The colorful spot provides for students’ key needs for wellness and wellbeing by providing a place to visit during the day for social and informal learning needs while creating a safe environment during the evening for entertainment.

The colors chosen have an effect. The combination – yellow, black and grey – has a hip hi-tech quality that lends an organized air to a clean and modern public space, while also being warm and inviting.

The principle cladding material—a unitized flush glazed curtain walling system—wraps around the building like a taut skin or hard shell.

On the roof, a roof terrace has been created that provides the healing peace of green space in the heart of in the city’s historic quarter famed for the post-war Coventry Cathedral, with views across extensive areas of the sedum roof.

Via Urban Peek

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A Cozy New Student Center at Coventry University

A few years ago, we were all  worrying about how to organize our growing collection of books. Remember bookshelves? But this is 2012, and these days we’re concerned not about organizing books but a growing collection of electronic devices, including our Kindles, Nooks, Ipads, Iphones, Netbooks, cellphones, external hard drives, flash drives and other assorted gadgetry and the cords that come with them.

Are electronic devices taking over your life? Here are 5 ideas to help you get organized:

1) The Door Dropspot (pictured above). Need a safe place to stash your continuously disappearing cellphone? Invest in the Door Dropspot which provides a nifty place to keep cellphones, keys, letters that need to be mailed, etc. Since it all hangs from a doorknob you’ll be reminded of what to take out with you each time you’re ready to leave the house. This handy gadget, called the Doorganizer©

2) The Backpack from TwelveSouth. Got an external hard drive that is eating up a lot of desk space? Well, if you’ve got an iMac or an Apple Cinema Display, check out the Backpack. By clamping down on the mounting arm of the display, it acts as a little shelf, tucked out of the way. They even come with wire ties for cord management, and a silicone mat so that the spinning of the drive doesn’t cause too much noise.

3) Velcro. Here’s another option for tucking away that pesky external hard drive. Try affixing industrial-strength Velcro underneath your desk to hold your drive and any USB cables or USB hubs you may need.

4) The OneLessDrop cord organizer. Has your life disintegrated into a tangle of cords? Check out the “H” which elegantly sits on your desk to keep your cords in place and out of sight.

5) The OXO Cord Catch. It keeps your unplugged cables and cords off the floor and within easy reach. No more crawling underneath desks to find cellphone cords of computer cables!

And here are some other ways to cut down on gadgetry clutter:

• Buy less. Do you honestly need the device you’re considering buying? Will it improve your life or complicate your life?
• Become a late adopter. Instead of running out to buy the latest Kindle, Ipad, Iphone, or what have you, take your time and wait for the products to improve (and come down in price). You’ll get a better product that you can hang onto for longer, you’ll pay less and you’ll save the environment by not making multiple purchases of the same product.
• Edit relentlessly. Are you the type to hold onto all the old gadgets and cords you’ve ever owned, even if perhaps the gadget is now broken and unusable? Don’t be afraid to toss.
• Identify where to send old electronic gadgets before it’s time to toss. Sometimes, we are reluctant to get rid of an old laptop, a broken TV or cellphone because we have no idea how to safely dispose of such items. Make a point of researching when and how you can dispose of your electronic gadgets ahead of time, so that there’s no hesitation about tossing an item when it has reached the end of its useful life.

Images: via apartmenttherapy.com

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Design Dilemma: 5 Options for Organizing Gadgets

In New Zealand’s many beachside resort areas that swell up to accomodate four times as many inhabitants during the summers, it is common to have a garden “sleep out” for extra guests: just a room for an extra bed.

Here is an example of that rather unique kind of structure, from Scandinavia.

Prefab greenhouses are available that are modular: they can be constructed to be any size.

Designer Linda Bergroth took a prototype garden greenhouse prefab, added a beautiful floor, a brick pathway and steps leading to the door, painted the wood a chic black, and created a wonderful sleep out bedroom in the garden.

Behind the bed room, but with its doors opening back out towards the garden, is a gardener’s shed for storing gardening tools.

A basic garden solar fixture is sufficient to power the hanging lamp and a lamp on the wall above the bed, as well as the record player.

A simple pine floor completes a simple and delightful garden sleep out/guest bedroom.

It is such a beautiful and serene room that the temptation would be to sleep out every evening.

Via Doornob

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A Greenhouse Sleep-Out Under glass

Imagine you have just walked through this lively and bold shot of color. How do you feel? Invigorated? Like you have just stepped forth into a whole new part of your life, where things are going to be much better? More optimistic?

This doorway is almost Art.

That sensation created is appropriate for this kind of building, because this is the exit for the Centro de Salud, a health care clinic. Hopefully you should feel better when you come out than when you went in.

Designed by MACA estudio de arquitectura, this Centro de Salud is situated in Porreres, in Spain’s brilliant sunbelt island of Mallorca.

The building is a sleepy white cube shaped building woken intermittently by shots of bold taxicab yellow. It is sited in the center of a deep lot.

Within, all is efficient and familiar.

Even the long and tiresome wait.

But the entrance and exit offer a powerful psychological boost to the health care within.

Where clients enter with their health problems – on the shaded side – is as anonymous as any other white block shaped building, but somehow more so, creating a surrealistic and faintly ominous air. Can I be cured?

On the opposite side, the exit side facing the sun; ventilation grilles minimize the blazing Mallorcan heat – to reduce the air conditioning requirements of the clinic within.

But the key feature is the exit.

As departing clients exit out into the sunshine, the sun reflecting up inside the taxicab yellow exit provides a boost of optimism.

Via Arkinetia

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The Clever Psychology of a Health Center in Mallorca

Architects Vidal & Sant’Anna have created a breathable and airy treehouse from light and noble materials on Brazil’s jungle coastline at Praia do Felix – photographed here by Fran Parente.

The owners were committed to the conservation and the preservation of the area, by integrating the house sensitively into the dense forest.

Overlooking the sea below, the minimal house is perched high up on the slopes of the Serra do Mar.

The house itself has been built as narrow as possible for human habitation, in order to preserve and protect the surrounding jungle.

Made of minimal amounts of wood and glass, the rooms are small, to achieve a sustainably minimal use of materials and energy.

Instead of energy intensive air conditioning; well-placed cross-ventilation and air vents in the roof are enough to provide interior comfort.

Although the rooms are tiny, they open on each side to decks that blend seamlessly into the jungle, expanding the space by blending in with their surroundings.

All the stairs are on the outside. Thus all the circulation from the service areas below which connects up with the bedrooms and bathrooms upstairs can be on the exterior, requiring no roof in the mild and temperate climate.

The small house manages to fit three bedrooms, two bathrooms, living room, dining room, laundry area, kitchen and a spacious terrace into 155 square meters.

The result? A local icon; a beach house that is fast becoming one with its environment.

Via Plataforma Arqitectura

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A Sustainable Jungle House on the Sea Coast of Brazil

The first ever submission from Egypt in next year’s solar decathlon is remarkable in its ingenuity.

Temperatures in Egypt’s deserts can range from 114 F in summer to 32 F in winter. This is a passive solar house that can be adjusted to work as a passive solar house in both the heat of summer and the extreme cold of winter.

The house is based on the slide out design of the humble matchbox. The double-layered screen also uses an ancient desert cooling technique, the Mashrabiya screen, a core element of traditional Arab-Islamic architecture – allowing for privacy and controling how much light and heat enters the building.

But in this case, making this mobile is key. The slide-out perforated facades are part of a passive solar scheme that make it possible to regulate temperatures inside by sliding the exterior faces across each other in various combinations.

In winter, it is a passive solar house warmed by the sun. The perforated screen of the exterior of the building is slid to each side to maximize solar gain through the huge south-facing glass greenhouse curtain wall. The sun’s heat is stored in thermal mass flooring of concrete.

To cool the same space in summer, the south side is closed off to reflect heat back out. The double facades are positioned so as to prevent heat or light getting in from the south, while allowing in light from the north.

The same thermal storage in the concrete floor now acts to retain coolness through the hot day. A ceiling vent helps hot air escape.

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Egypt’s First Entry in Solar Decathlon Based on Matchbox

How do you salvage an old damaged rug and turn it into something special? Numerous carpet companies have hit on an idea.  We’ve seen it up close and think they’ve got something.

ABC Carpet and Home, for one, has overdyed vintage rugs and called them “Aquasilk” as part of the store’s Color Reform Collection. They’ve taken faded and worn vintage Turkish and Oriental rugs that have definitely seen better days. They’ve bleached out all the color and then infused a pop of electric color over what’s left. These are the results:

This would seem to fit neatly into the reclaimed and recycled furniture trend that we’ve been seeing in recent years. Having examined these rugs in person, we think they can fall into one of two categories: either they work brillliantly, or they miss terribly. The dye pattern on some of these rugs looks just a wee bit too runny (hence the aqua name) like a rug that’s suffered water damage. This is particularly true of the rugs that don’t boast much of a contrasting pattern underneath the overdye. But on the right rug, this technique looks really cool and could be the perfect modern interpretation of a tradition. Plus, pink, turquoise, purple and royal blue rugs are always fun.

Problem is, these rugs don’t come cheap. A rug of about 7 x 8 feet runs between $8-$10,000 at ABC Carpet and Home. Check out their collection here. Also, will these rugs stand the test of time, or just seem like a really bad trend a year or two from now? If you’ve plunked out $10,000 for a rug, you better hope it has staying power! Even so, we were wondering if there’s something in this idea that might work for the craft-minded at home. Why not take an old sunbleached, faded rug and try overdying in a pop of bright color? If you’re lucky, you might get these results:

We did a little research and discovered, alas, that the bleaching and dyeing process takes a lot more work than most of us could handle at home (hence the $10,000 price tag on these rugs). The bleaching process requires harsh chemicals that demand good ventilation and special breathing equipment for anyone near by. You will need an acid dye for the overdying and also a stainless steel vat big enough for the carpet and the appropriate amount of hot water which must maintain a temperature of at least 140 degrees farenheit. You will need a carpet steamer to set the dye after overdying. Few of us have the kind of set up at home required to dye an 8 x 5 foot carpet, and the bathtub just won’t work. However, that being said, there are those who have tried it at home, with spectacular results. Check out CentrSource and find great deals for your home design and decoration. Good luck!

Images: ABC Carpet and Home; designholeonline.com; dgpublications.com.

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Design Dilemma: Turning Old Rugs into Art

Costa Rica’s Hotel Punta Islita earns rave reviews from Miss Ecoglam – a jaded professional reviewer of eco hotels – who abandons the resort she should be writing about to enthuse about this one, a spread-out series of small villas comprising a luxury eco resort in Guanacaste.

Raves Miss Ecoglam:“I actually should be blogging about the Peace Lodge right now, which was where I was for the last few days but I am now at Punta Islita and had to write about this place straight away! Oh my god!  This place is incredible!  Hands down wins ‘Best Beach Resort’ from me!

Miss Ecoglam especially loved the cool water Jacuzzi that offers a refreshing dip in the tropical climate, the free mangoes fallen from the trees and looking so pretty on the sandy ground, the yoga class in the treetops…

…and that each cabin gets its own private lawn for naked romps (!)

Hotel Punta Islita has been the recipient of numerous eco awards including Condé Nast’s Most Excellent Eco-Resort.

But most importantly, the resort has earned a 4 leaves rating in its groundbreaking Certificate for Sustainable Tourism (CST) from the Costa Rica tourism board for:

1- Proper stewardship of our natural and cultural resources;
2 – Improvement of the quality of life of the local communities; and
3- Economic success, that can contribute to other programs of national development.”

CST isn’t an ecotourism seal. It is a set of performance-based standards that create guidelines that any country would want their development to follow, whether based on an ecotourism model or not.

Developing real eco tourism without destroying natural beauty demands imagination and hard work, and the government of Costa Rica has put long-term sustainability and social justice at the forefront of its planning.

Costa Rica has decided to use its resources to preserve, rather than exploit, the riches it was endowed with. As more and more travelers are looking for natural areas to visit, Costa Rica is reaping the fruits of its far-sightedness.

Over a million people now visit the country annually, and part of what they’re coming to experience is one of the very few nations in the world that is run on almost 100% renewable energy.

This is a post from Home Design Find

Another Eco Hotel in Sustainable Costa Rica

This amazing open-air bedroom could only be in the tropics. Full length windows slide all the way back to make sleeping completely open to the air.

The contemporary treehouse in Nigeria is audacious in its embrace of completely open air architecture throughout, with a roof that hovers above the structure itself. So, what does hold the roof up?

The amusing idea of the house is that the roof canopy is supported by the “tree trunks” like the top of a tree — and is entirely unsupported by walls.

In fact, some the interior spaces do have glass clerestory windows, but their generous proportions, and the fact that they continue around the entire house, gives the impression that the open balcony continues throughout.

Both wood and metal are used sparingly, to define a structure that refers to a canopy of trees above.

The kitchen is spacious, but spartan, at the far end of the upper floor which spans from the open balcony at the front, continues through the open stairways to the lower floor, the living space and art gallery, and ends here at the kitchen at the back.

On the middle floor suspended underneath are the bedroom and bathroom, still close to the adjacent jungle.

These afford the opportunity for a bath luxuriating in the open air, yet in complete privacy.

On the ground floor is just the garage, and a cool sliver of a lap pool. The exterior is clad in blue slate tiles and a chalky white limestone cools the feet as you enter the water. Above can be seen the bedroom and bathroom.

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This Jungle Treehouse Apes Trees

A revolutionary modular housing invention from Mima Architects could change the way we buy houses. The approachable appeal of clean universal design is just one aspect of the genius of their invention; the MIMA House.

Their beautiful prefab – inspired by the traditional Japanese house, the perfect paradigm for lightness, flexibility, comfort and pleasing lines – is very easily re arranged, in any way that you want, to change the layout.

The exterior window panels can be interspersed with solid panels, in any combination.

The restrained order of Japanese standardized building components appealed to MIMA architects. Based on the modular Japanese Tatami mat, Japanese construction is informed by a deeply rooted culture, confirmed over the centuries, that can easily adapt to new requirements.

Mima have come up with something revolutionary. Finally, a house you can practically put together yourself in an afternoon or two. Really. The MIMA House is modular (see the grooves in the floor?) Walls just snap in. Then the rest is about the details. You can paint the walls yourself. If you are looking for some painting tips check out the vancouver painting guys.

Extraordinarily, the quality of the component parts is superb. Mima was determined to create a flexible, light and cheap yet high quality product, that could be put together quickly.

MIMA starts from the clean sophisticated design and bright open spaces of the IKEA-like sensibility of sensible democratic frugality.

The exterior shape, a simple square, cannot be changed. But the complete flexibility of the internal walls and windows mean that the house can be customized to work in any site.

The idea was to try and launch a house which could cost as little as a mid-range car.

It’s not much bigger than a car either. At just 36 square meters, the dwelling is pretty compact.

But as a result, the MIMA House is a starter home that will not have you in hock to the bank for the rest of your life.

Via Dezeen

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You Just Snap Together the MIMA House