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Fall Design Links

Here are some links to some interesting articles related to residential construction, design and innovative new products:

$50 Million for Drywall? Serious Materials is a company that is best known for sound attenuation construction products. Recently they announced development of a new type of drywall that will take 90% less energy to produce resulting in a 98% reduction in greenhouse gases. EcoRock, as it is called, has impressed investors, raising $50M thus far.
Nine Creative Staircases This article features some really inspiring staircase designs for what is normally a fairly boring subject.
New Spin on Low E Glazing Glass isn’t the best product for energy efficiency by itself – something called emissivity. To increase the efficiency, which means decreasing emissivity (hence “Low-E”), special materials are applied to glass. Some glazing products are better for keeping heat inside the building in colder climates while other products reflect sunlight keeping the inside cooler in warmer climates. But what about temperate climates with both hot summers and cold winters? Dr. Heinz Kunert of KSD Fenster in Germany created a pivoting glazing panel with one type of each coating on either side. So during the winter, rotate the window with the more insulating side on the interior, and during the summer, rotate the window to face the reflective coating to the outside.
The Big Dig House We covered the topic of The Big Dig before – a Boston area public works project that has ended in disaster. We re-visit the subject to highlight what some enterprising folks at Single Speed Design have done with some of the leftovers. They removed some 300 tons of material from the project and recycled it to make a very nice and modern home.