As an owner/builder, I’m always on the lookout for new products that make a difference in how we build or use materials. Walking the tradeshow floor at Globe 2010, I found four products that caught my eye as we look toward the future of the built environment.

Solar Shingle installation. Photo with permission of Dow.

USA – Dow Chemical Company- The Dow™ POWERHOUSE™ Solar Shingle is the company’s latest innovation showcased at GLOBE 2010. A recent recipient of GLOBE 2010’s Foundation award for “Environmental Excellence in Emerging Technology,” their solar shingles not only protect a roof from the elements, but serve up a photovoltaic charge at the same time. The unique product design has similar weight, reveal and installation practices as an asphalt shingle while also generating electricity. DOW’s Solar Solutions (DSS) technology uses a cost-effective and durable PV material called CIGS (Copper Indium Gallium diSelenide). The electrical circuitry is integrated into every shingle and is connected by wireless plug-style connectors. Dow also recently announced in February, its plans to build the first full-scale production facility for its solar shingle facility in Midland, Michigan, bringing with it more than 1,200 jobs to the marketplace. Could it be affordable, renewable energy roofing solutions are on the horizon?

A sample piece of a MagWall panel shows foam on the inside and a magnesium oxide base sheathing. Photo by Robert J. Pennington

Canada – MagWall Pacific Inc. Tucked into a small booth on the tradeshow floor is a new SIPS (Structural Insulated Panel System) building product that has some very cool new features. SIPS built homes are generally much more efficient than stick-built homes. Think of SIPS like an extremely efficient Oreo cookie. A hard crust on the outside, (generally OSB plywood) with a fluffy foam filling in the middle. On the MagWall systems, the OSB is replaced with sheathing boards that have a magnesium oxide base making it fire and insect resistant and impervious to mold, because there is no wood product in it. Additionally the ability to erect structures in wet or cold conditions is not a problem, so costly delays in schedules are minimized. As a bonus, it can also eliminate the use of costly additional products used in construction. For example, interior and exterior walls can be finished without additional sheathing, and the company claims vapor barriers are not necessary. Currently the company’s focus is on providing healthy, affordable, sustainable and energy efficient buildings, that require less dependence on highly skilled labor. The company is currently in talks with multiple countries, and even UN and Disaster relief efforts. After just completing the envelope of my own SIPS house, it wasn’t hard to see how these MagWalls would have made a huge difference in shaping the course of our project. www.mag-wall.com

MicroHeat’s 9kW electrical instantaneous hot water system. Photo by Robert J. Pennington

Australia – MicroHeat® Technologies PTY LTD. Tankless hot water heaters are nothing new to the market. But behind this little white box is a whole house hot water heater with a 98% efficiency rating saving both water and greenhouse gas emissions. Normal tankless hot water heaters rely on the flow of water to run through heated coils to deliver hot water to a faucet or shower system. This can mean running and wasting water longer than necessary until it is at the right temperature to use. MicroHeat’s electrical instantaneous hot water system eliminates that heating coil element altogether and instead uses water as the conductor. The water is energized (or heated) via inert electrodes in the water stream. The result is instant hot water, but water is not the only resource being saved. Instead of a constant flow of electricity running to heat big tanks of water, this smart system turns on when you need it and can be placed in convenient locations closer to the source of use. The system on display was a 9kW single-phase unit. The best part is, it senses when it needs to add more juice to the system and delivers absolute temperature control. You can increase the flow but retain the temperature. Still in the research and development phase, MicroHeat has already received grants from the Australian Government and support from the Victorian Centre for Advanced Materials Manufacturing. But this little heater is keeping cool about its technology. Currently no website or marketing efforts are available to the public. We’ll just have to wait.

Sherpa aluminum timber connectors. Photo by Jen Pennington

Austria- Sherpa®- Good things come in small packages, and this little mounting and assembly hardware introduces a new technique for traditional timber construction. Available in a variety of shapes and sizes, the product provides a simple, safe and reliable connector between load bearing trusses, joints or any other timber connection. Two aluminum-molded plates contain a male and female piece that slips into each other to form a very strong connection. A concealed fastener and a good alternative to Simpson® Strong ties and a semi-concealed fastener allows the beauty of the hardware to become a part of the design. What makes the product sustainable is in the fact that a structure can be just as easily disassembled without wasting valuable wood resources. Beams are lifted and joints can be non-destructively disconnected.

Find information in English regarding this product here.

Find more images from Globe 2010 at www.RhizomeImages.com

The little trailer than can by Adventure Trailers. Notice the rollout solar pad on top of the tent

Reminiscent of an oversized Swiss Army knife that folds out into all kinds of useful tools, it was even hard to tell there was a little trailer sitting underneath everything. What really made the trailer attractive is its ability to follow a 4-wheel drive light-truck or SUV across some of the most treacherous terrain. It’s built tough with a unique trailing arm suspension system with air shocks that protects itself from coming apart on back country roads. Not only that, but it easily protects the fully loaded contents inside it.

The Eezi Awn Globe Trotter tent on top of the trailer model I saw was fully loaded with all the bells and whistles and while compact, it may set you back about $20K. Mario Donovan, an owner and the designer for Adventure Trailers described ordering a trailer much like a pizza. Get just the toppings you want or order it with “the works.”

Mr. Donovan also talked about his experience living in Africa, and I could see where one of these trailers would come in handy. Of course all I could think of was that a set up like this with a tent off the ground away from less than desirable critters and snakes would certainly make for a better night’s sleep.

Adventure Trailers are made to be custom ordered with the amenities you want

While not exactly less expensive or truly lightweight, when you compare the footprint of the trailer to that of larger campers or an RV, the amount saved in gas alone may be worth it. Beyond that, its flexibility to go into remote areas or leave the trailer behind as a base camp item makes it a great off-the-grid research, relief aid, or camping alternative.

To find out more about the different models of trailers visit their site at: www.adventuretrailers.com

I can’t help but remark on a concept Philips is promoting for an outdoor lighting structure that transforms from a solar flower during the day to a wind turbine on cloudy days to a nightlight. It’s been out for a few months, but as a designer, I’m drawn to both it’s functional and aesthetic qualities. The concept is called Light Blossom. And I definitely want to see this concept bloom.

The idea is to provide a large tower that collects solar energy on the inside of its open petals, moving in harmony with the position of the sun. On cloudy or windy days, the petals half-close upward to catch the wind and convert the movement to energy. At night the petals close to form an LED nightlight providing only the light that’s necessary. Great for cities, but even better for rural areas where a power infrastructure is not possible, or power outages are frequent. A smaller version for residential use I believe would find a very willing market.

What I truly admire about the concept is that it takes an everyday mainstream item like a streetlight and serves up sustainability with style. Truly remarkable is how simple a concept it is in theory and how in line it is with the Philips brand of sense and simplicity. With so many variables, it surely won’t be easy to build nor maintain. Harder still will be making it cost efficient enough for cities and communities to afford. But if Philips can make it a reasonably priced option to retrofit or build into new communities, that’s not good design–that’s great design. Just think of it…wild energy flowers scattered from the seeds of imagination.

Find out more about this concept at www.Philips.com and check out the concept called: Simplicity Tomorrow – Light Blossom

Jennie, remember to tell ‘em these vegetables are organic and they can’t buy ‘em in the stores.” My father, Ralph Siegel was well ahead of his time. As kid in the 70s, I didn’t really understand the consequence of what he was saying. We just knew Dad didn’t use pesticides and that he was crazy about something called “organic gardening.” He grew way more than we could possibly eat and if I helped pick the countless rows of string beans, I could sell some veggies and keep part of the profits. I was a door-to-door-10-year-old-organic-vegetable-salesgirl with a wagon filled with zucchini, peppers, tomatoes and orange, acid-free tomatoes he told me to charge an extra dime for. I dragged my cart around our Northport, Long Island neighborhood, heading first to the Italian ladies who would always buy the most and lighten my load sooner.

Dad was a gardening fanatic. He grew up in Staten Island and studied forestry at Penn State Forestry School before enlisting and later becoming a bombardier in WWII. Though he never got to be a forester, he was happiest when he was in his garden. He also had a crazy sense of humor. “C’mon kiddo, let’s take a drive to the stables and pet the horses,” Dad would say. It wasn’t until I spied the tarp and shovels in the back of our station wagon that I’d realize we were going to haul manure. Free manure was Dad’s idea of a lottery jackpot. When we’d arrive home, he’d drive the car across the lawn, stopping here and there to shovel out our winnings. Later, he’d rototill it into the garden. Our big collie was notorious for rolling in it. Between the dog and the car, the smell stayed with us for days. Needless to say, I was horrified whenever Dad offered to drive my girlfriends and I anywhere.

Manure was one thing. The compost pile was another. It was six-feet wide and four-feet deep. Coffee grounds, eggshells, banana peels and all sorts of biodegradable materials ended up there. Dad often found snakes there and knew how to handle them. My siblings and I still remember the day he found two, four-foot milk snakes in the compost and wrapped them around his hands—to our delight and my mother’s horror. As I got older, the compost pit became the place where he tested the mettle of any college boyfriend by asking them, nonchalantly, to help him with the “little” task of shoveling it out. Years later, my now husband Bob, more than passed the test when instead of turning compost, he took down a dead tree for Dad with a pathetic electric chainsaw. Afterwards, Dad pulled me aside and lectured, “Jennie, don’t screw this one up.”

But the garden was only part of our upbringing. My sister, Margo, took care of geese and from time to time, we’d enjoy fresh eggs. My folks were early adopters who put solar panels on their roof, reaping the benefits of it years later in energy savings. And of course, we always recycled.

Dad’s belief in good ethics and reusing natural resources resonates through my family still. Margo is a professional environmentalist and spends her days preserving land and parks. My brother Jeff, while more notable in his earlier years for mowing over Dad’s smaller plantings, became a Marine Corps Captain and went on to create an estate and guardianship planning business, often helping families when little or no resources exist. As for my husband and I, we have turned our property on Whidbey Island into a Stewardship Forest and our businesses are focused on promoting environmentally-friendly and socially responsible clients.

A week before his passing, befittingly on Arbor Day 2006, Dad and I spent a day dividing and planting over thirty hosta rhizomes in my parent’s backyard. I think of his legacy just like a rhizome—a horizontal stem of appreciation for the earth, that continues to extend its roots, underground, slowly and tenaciously. To date, over 200 trees have been planted or donated in his honor. Most by friends and family. Most of them in suburbia to be enjoyed by generations to come. Ralph’s lessons were big, but his impact was greater.

Jen Pennington is CEO and Creative Director for Rhizome Design.