TreeHugger.com

Affordable and sustainable housing for urban, low-income areas is much needed all around the world. In order to improve the overall quality of life in these places, architect Vincent van der Meulen together with Enviu, the Dutch organisation behind the Sustainable Dance Club and the Hybrid Tuk Tuk project, have just launched the Open Source House project, a platform where designers, architects and entrepreneurs can share and work together on ideas for people in need. First initiative: an international design competition for young architects and entrepreneurs worldwide to get involved and share ideas. The challenge: design a sustainable house in an expandable way. The winning design will be tested in a pilot project in Ghana.

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Werner Sobek, Worldwide Architectural Reference

Werner Sobek is our Green-Innovative Reference of the week. On the WSI web site anyone can read his thoughts and visions. "How shall we work and live in the future?"- outloud he asks. For him, "the answer requires an unconditional anticipation of what the future holds in store - a method with occasionally may lead us in the wrong direction but which is the only way in terms of being intellectually justifiable". Triple Zero® (zero energy consumption, zero emissions and zero waste) is also part of Sobek's contribution to sustainable architecture. It defines the demands a building must fulfil to satisfy aspirations regarding environmental sustainability.

Sobek's most recognized claim, the R-series, are friendly environmental prefab building solutions. These modern modular homes were built with recyclable materials. But were also designed environmental responsible and adaptable to fit specific contexts without loosing sight of user's comfort.

The R128, R129 and H16 are more than the result of Sobek's architectural vision, but also a feasible solution to face housing and environmental challenges. For a better appretiation and understanding of his work visit http://www.wernersobek.com/