Pretty good packaging

"good design should be a part of everything we do"

Versadome

The Versadome building system is uniquely designed for easy and affordable transportation, assembly and expansion. It’s a compact structural building system with modular components that creates different types of spaces on different types of terrain. http://www.versadome.com

Robotic Valet

Volkswagen dealership in Wolfsburg, Germany has a fully automated garage that allows it to take up only 20% of the space of similarily sized dealerships.
When cars are ordered, they are robotically fetched down for delivery: "In a fully automated procedure, your new car is brought down to you from one of the 20-story Car Towers."

http://www.autostadt.de/info/cda/main/0,3606,2~172~0,00.html

Compact Kitchen

The Circular Kitchen is a revolving cylinder containing a full complement of kitchen appliances, a sink, drawers, pantry, etc -- the idea is to create a super-compact unit that can serve as a stand-alone kitchen for small spaces. Link

Spray Concrete

Spray Grancrete over a frame and in 20 minutes you have a waterproof, fire-resistant structure that has more than twice the strength of traditional concrete and can withstand extreme temperatures without cracking.

A liquefied concrete-like mixture of sand, ash, magnesium oxide and potassium phosphate, Grancrete descends from a product developed to encase radioactive waste. And since it takes hours instead of weeks to build a home, it’s poised to provide low-cost, high-quality shelter to the estimated one billion people who lack it. $20.50 to coat 15 square feet. http://www.grancrete.net

The Love Plane?

Is this flying building an alternative to the Cruise Ship?

This Aeros-ML cruise ship is expected to begin service in 2010. It has a range of several thousand miles, and flying just 8000 above the ground, would not require a pressurized cabin. The large interior will accommodate such amenities as luxury staterooms, restaurants, and even a casino, while providing a pretty good view of the grand canyon. But will tourists go for it?

http://www.aerosml.com/aeroscraft.asp

The Mini Desk

The Mini Desk, a car converted into a work table, is available from UK-based Mini Statements for £2500. http://www.uberreview.com/2006/01/mini-statements-mini-desk.htm

Intra Design

Many of you will be familiar with Intra, the interiors magazine for the working architect and designer, but we wanted more of you to have access to it, so we decided to launch it as a digital title. This means anyone, anywhere, can download a copy of the magazine for free.

The new digital version looks exactly the same as the print one, with great writing and photography, focusing on what makes an interior successful and how to win work in key sectors.

http://www.intra-design.com/

Samuel Mockbee house on Exhibit

“The goal is not to have a warm, dry house, but to have a warm, dry house with a spirit to it.” —Samuel Mockbee http://www.nbm.org/Exhibits/current/Mockbee.html