In honor of earth day, I thought we’d keep our readers up to date on some of the designers in Los Angeles that are promoting sustainable products. Alyson Fox bridges the divide between contemporary fashion and environmental consciousness. Drawing from the idea of recycling and buying vintage, Alyson combines sustainable fabrics and accents, such as buttons made from fallen tree branches and omitting the use of zippers, to create this eco-friendly line. Also available are several prints and illustrations by Fox.

1) Wind catcher (provides cooling ventilation)
2) Solar array (heats water and provides electricity)
3) Improved insulation
4) Biomass boiler

OFFSITE2007 is running through the June 14th in the UK. The conference explores modern construction and is a showcase of sustainable, smart buildings. A standout was a zero emission home built by Kingspan Off-Site. Solar power heats water and provides electricity. The insulation looses 60% less heat than the average home. During the few weeks per year that heating is necessary, a biomass boiler running on organic fuels provides the extra energy. Interestingly, the carbon dioxide produced during burning is offset by the amount absorbed growing the fuel.

Right now the building cost is 40% more than the standard home, but this figure could drop significantly as more homes are built this way. The biggest cost is generating electricity. A development could have additional methods of generating electricity which would further bring down the price. – Via BBC UK

Ahhh, the many spellings of new. This particular instance comes from some sleek, sustainable furniture, which is not new, but rather old; odd. That being said, Knú’s line of furniture is a refreshing breath of green air. They’ve been recently certified as offsetting 100% of their carbon emissions through carbonfund.org’s program, and are absolutely dedicated to removing their carbon footprint from our more-fragile-by the day environment (see; bizarre weather patterns). So not only is Knú’s furniture actually good for the environment, it also happens to be pretty damn sexy. Additionally, they offer totally customizable wood finishes to all of their products.

Orders are not being taken just yet, but hop on their registration page and receive 10% off your initial order. And don’t worry, you won’t be receiving a paper catalogue in the mail for registering. Now that’s something we can get behind.

Houston based Collaborative Designworks designed this four unit property which was built on West Alabama Street. The project was intended to be cost effective, sustainable, and well designed. While the property allowed for five units, four were built to allow for more windows and natural light. Another aspect of the design was the creation of spaces with multiple uses. This multi-use strategy allows for larger, more open spaces.

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Located in Desert Hot Springs, California, the 2000 square foot Desert House was designed for Leo Marmol and his wife Alisa Becket. Built with a steel floor frame, steel columns, and a steel roof frame, it was the prototype for Marmol Radziner Prefab. The house is completely solar powered and minimizes the need for heating and cooling through the use of shades and concrete floors. Los Angeles based Marmol Radziner Prefab specializes in sustainable prefab. The house is built, shipped, and assembled on location. Predesigned and custom homes are available. The beautiful photos above were taken by the talented photographer David Glomb.