February 11th, 2008 categories: Design, Home Buying
Donating money to charitable causes is all very well and good, but there’s usually an abstractness about it that makes one wonder if the funds are really helping those who need it. According to the folks at Springwise however, a new project by California eco-urban design firm LJ Urban aims to make giving more concrete—quite literally—by matching its sales of homes domestically with funds to build homes in the impoverished African nation of Burkina Faso.
LJ Urban has designed a new eco-urban community of 35 LEED ND Certified homes in the urban core of Sacramento, its home town. The community is suggestively named Good, and for each home within it that gets sold, LJ Urban has committed to funding the complete training of a West African mason to build sustainable homes for families in Burkina Faso. By partnering with the Association La Voûte Nubienne (AVN), which has already trained about 60 local masons to build durable homes out of earth bricks and mortar, LJ Urban aims to go beyond just providing homes to impart enduring skills and jobs to the local community. Taking the notion a step further, LJ Urban has also opted to skip the expensive marketing campaign to promote its Good community, and to use that money to train more African masons instead. So, for every 100,000 people who visit LJ Urban’s new, dedicated website by July 1st, the company will fund the complete training of another local Burkina Faso mason—up to 20 in all through this viral approach.
The Good project was inspired by Toms Shoes, a project that donates a pair of shoes for every one it sells. “[That] approach captivated us because it broke through the ‘charity fatigue’ all of us have felt at one time or another,” LJ Urban’s team explains. “The question then became: ‘What if we could do something like that with our houses?’…” The project is also reminiscent of One Laptop Per Child’s (OLPC’s) “Give One Get One” campaign last year through which consumers could donate a laptop and get one for their own use at the same time. www.dosomegoodnow.com
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February 8th, 2008 categories: Design, For Fun
America’s most celebrated architect, Frank Lloyd Wright pioneered the idea of “organic architecture”-structures that would promote harmony between human habitation and the natural world. Today his buildings host hundreds of thousands of visitors each year.
Fallingwater (above)
Stewart Township, Pa.: Perhaps Wright’s most recognizable design, Fallingwater perches over a waterfall whose sound resonates throughout the home. More than 120,000 visitors see this renowned home each year. The proximity to water and the ambitious design have forced extensive renovations-they also prompted the home’s first owner, Edgar K. Kaufmann Sr., to nickname the structure “Rising Mildew.”
Click here to see the full slideshow of “The Stunning Homes of Frank Lloyd Wright, American Visionary” from MSN.com.
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January 24th, 2008 categories: Design, For Fun
Over the past few years, swapping clothing, books, music and movies has taken off around the world, with groups meeting for swaps offline and online. Now, according to the kids at Springwise, flat-pack behemoth IKEA is organizing a furniture swap at its Amsterdam store: a husselmarkt. The swap, which will take place on February 9th, will let up to 250 people bring in furniture—which doesn’t have to be made by IKEA—and swap it for items brought in by others. IKEA will also add 12.000 euros worth of furniture to the mix.
The event is part of a marketing campaign that encourages customers to think like designers, which includes experimenting by rearranging furniture they already have (roughly translated, husselen means to shuffle, or move around). To help people redesign their living spaces, IKEA offers a tool on husselen.nl that lets users draw a room as it’s currently arranged, and then move around pieces on-screen. Any furniture that no longer fits their rearranged room can be brought to the husselmarkt.
It might seem contradictory from a business point of view: if people swap, they’ll buy less. But IKEA knows that once a consumer rearranges a room, or gets a new couch (even if it isn’t strictly new), they’re likely to want a new rug, lamp or table to complete the makeover.
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January 23rd, 2008 categories: Design, Home Buying, Home Ownership, Home Selling, Real Estate, Trends
According to Iconoculture’s latest consumer observations newsletter, a backlash against Mansion Mania is taking place in America and is seeking to put the squeeze on house size. Here’s what they say is happening and their comments about what this means to business…
WHAT’S HAPPENING
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WHAT THIS MEANS TO BUSINESS
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