Wednesday, November 5, 2008

New Student Org

Juniors in the Department of Construction management have created a new student organization. See their website for event details and Join online. They hope to create a University wide community of students who are interested in Green Development and Sustainable Practices

Biodiesel Organicly grown

Fungi Discovered in Patagonia Rainforest Could Be Used to Make Biodiesel Read More

Friday, October 31, 2008

New UW Student Organization

Juniors in the College of Built Environments have started a new club and seek members from across the University of Washington campus. If you are interested in green development and sustainable practices, this club will be a place to learn and share with students from a variety of disciplines. Sign up on their website (upper lefthand corner) and join in the events.

Concrete reinforcement: Carbon Fiber grid

Brought to this blog by CM313 student Kyle Hughes - a new way of reinforcing concrete that is marketed to be more green: Carboncast

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Monday, September 29, 2008

Materia: a website all about materials

There are lots of websites on Materials. Materia is one of the best I've found so far.

On the main page of the website there are featured materials and news. This website finds new an unusual products. It's a great resource for finding products you've never heard about.

Also, there is an online database of materials, called the “Material Explorer” which can be accessed for free after registering. There are several methods for finding a product, including selection based on material, sensorial information, technical information, and the country of origin.

Selecting based on material includes options to search by material types such as wood, stone, glass, metals, plastics, ceramics, and concretes.

The sensorial selections include more unusual ways of classifying materials. Other than taste, all of the five senses are covered. The categories include glossiness, translucence, structure, texture, hardness, temperature, acoustics, and odor.

The technical ratings are relevant for selecting based on performance, allowing you to filter the search by fire resistance, UV resistance, weather resistance, scratch resistance, weight, chemical resistance, and renewability.

These unique filters (particularly the sensorial and technical) allow the designer to search for a material without having to have a specific product in mind. This could provide surprising and interesting results that may inspire the designer to use a unique material that could inform the rest of their design.