Posts Tagged ‘technology’

Work Sustainably with Office Depot’s Green Line
Wednesday, September 30th, 2009

If you had the chance to visit our Kohler LivingHome while it was on display in Long Beach, CA, this February, I hope you noticed the sharp study filled with recycled office supplies and sustainable home office furniture by Office Depot.

At the “Office Depot Green” online store, you can purchase recycled paper and envelopes, refillable and recycled pens, pencils, and markers, Energy Star technology, non-toxic office furniture made from recycled materials, and more.  It is the first office supply line dedicated to sustainability and aims to provide packaging that quickly identifies these products to consumers.  Browse through the entire Green Office Depot line.

To help you out even further, Office Depot also publishes a “Guide to Buying Green” filled with information about the sustainable qualifications of their products and what to look for to reduce waste, energy, and chemicals in your purchases.

Office Depot also has a corporate commitment to the environment.  The Office Depot environmental mission is to “Buy Green, Be Green and Sell Green”.  The company’s “green” initiatives include making FSC-certfied paper widely available, reducing their carbon dioxide emissions by more than 10%, and opening its first LEED-certified retail store.  Like LivingHomes, Office Depot believes that sustainability is key to the economic well being of their company.

Kohler Office Depot Room

The Fastest Zero Emissions Motorcycle
Tuesday, July 7th, 2009

Mission Motors

If you haven’t heard of Mission Motors yet, you have to check out their prototype electric motorcycle! Mission Motors debuted their design in the bonus room of our Kohler LivingHome at the TED Conference in February.


Mission Motors believes that they will revolutionize the motorcycle industry with a sleek, new electric vehicle that outperforms gasoline while emitting zero tailpipe emissions. The motorcycle runs off a lithium ion battery and a high performance electric motor. Regenerative braking recaptures kinetic energy and converts it back into electrical energy to power the bike longer. The vehicle is also wireless-enabled so most settings can be changed with a computer instead of a wrench. Fittingly, the battery pack is modular for easier maintenance…just like a LivingHome!

We love having Mission Motors as a LivingHomes partner, and we can’t wait to see the motorcycle come out in 2010. Reserve one to match your LivingHome!

New and Improved LivingHomes Blog, Site, and Sharing!
Wednesday, July 1st, 2009

Welcome to the brand new LivingHomes Blog! We’ve overhauled the site so that you can read faster and scan through more. We’ve made it much easier to follow us as we post pictures, videos, and tweets, to share posts with your friends, and to subscribe so all posts are delivered straight to you!

New Blog

What’s New on the blog?

Cleaner Layout. We’ve clarified the main column so you can read, comment, and share each post easier, and quickly scan through the latest posts.

Follow Us. Click on each icon to visit our Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Flickr pages. Also view our latest tweet prominently on each page.

Share. Tell your friends about your favorite entry, or submit our whole blog to a sharing site like digg or StumbleUpon! You can even bookmark a post or send one through email. Don’t forget to Subscribe through your favorite RSS reader.

Categories and Tags. Above the posts, there are tabs to view all posts, all articles, or all press. If you want to learn more about a subject, each entry is tagged with relevant, searchable keywords that link to other posts about the same topics.

What’s New on the Site?

Follow LivingHomes on Twitter to get regular updates. You can follow Steve Glenn, our CEO, on Twitter too. Become a fan of LivingHomes on Facebook to write on our wall and message board. Watch videos of LivingHomes stories, interviews, and installations on the LivingHomesChannel on YouTube. And see photos of completed LivingHomes, installations, and LivingHomes events on the LivingHomes photostream on Flickr. There are prominent links on the homepage, and icons in the footer of each page of the site to link to each of these.

We’ve expanded the homepage to include more information. You can still see our upcoming and recent Events and News. Now you can also watch Broadcasts to see videos about LivingHomes, and view our latest Blog entries directly from the homepage!

We always love feedback. Tell us what you think!

LivingHomes at the Autodesk Design Gallery in Boston
Tuesday, May 19th, 2009

If you’re in the Boston area soon, be sure to check out LivingHomes’ permanent exhibit at the new Autodesk Design Gallery in Boston. The hands-on display is open to the public and is really worth seeing!

It’s based on Autodesk’s display at the Kohler LivingHome at TED and it’s a virtual walk-through of the LivingHome. The exhibit includes a special table monitor which displays a virtual floorplan of the LivingHome and a large projection of the LivingHome. You can choose materials and place them on the floorplan and the virtual LivingHome updates in real-time based on the materials you select! You can also change the placement of the sun to affect the lighting of the scene. You can walk in real-time through the virtual model by simply moving a model of an avatar. Your choices are displayed on a large projection of our LivingHome. The technology behind the display is the Autodesk Project Newport Mixed Reality Interface (MRI). The technology is intended to help visualize designs for buildings before they’re built. It’s really cool! Tell your Boston-based friends!

Check it out at:
1560 Trapelo Rd.
Waltham, MA 02451


Truly Tactile Technology, originally uploaded by Autodesk Gallery.