Tag Archives: rain

Rain Harvest Home in Mexico was designed to capture and reuse rainwater

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Designed by Robert Hutchison Architecture and Javier Sanchez Arquitectos, the Rain Harvest Home, or Casa Cosecha de Lluvia is nestled in the rural town of Temascaltepec, which lies about 140 kilometers west of Mexico City. The family nature retreat features an extensive system for capturing and reusing rainwater!

Designer: Robert Hutchison Architecture and Javier Sanchez Arquitectos

Located in the mountains of Mexico, the Rain Harvest Home was designed for the founder of Javier Sanchez Arquitectos and his family, who plan to make this their permanent residence in the near future. It includes the main house, an art studio, and a bathhouse. Bio-agriculture gardens, an orchard, and a network of pathways were the various landscaping elements included in the home. The team said that permaculture principles were used to “establish a holistic, integrated relationship between people and place”. Now what is permaculture? It is a portmanteau of permanent agriculture and permanent culture and is an approach to design and land management that is inspired by natural ecosystems.

All of the structures in the properties were designed to capture and reuse rainwater and ensure that they are mindful of natural resources, especially water. “Here, as in the surrounding region of Central Mexico, water has become an increasingly precious resource as temperatures rise and populations increase,” the team said. “Rain Harvest Home takes a different tack, proposing an integrated approach to designing regeneratively with water,” they continued. It occupies 1200 square feet and can be used all year round. It has a generous amount of covered outdoor space and stunning views of the surrounding landscape on all sides.

The three structures were designed specifically to capture rainwater. Bioswales in the landscape ensure that water is directed to the property above, and below-ground reservoirs have been installed where water is captured and purified. “The on-site water treatment system is completely self-contained and primarily gravity-fed, containing five cisterns that provide potable and treated water,” the team said. “A chemical-free, blackwater treatment system treats all wastewater on-site, returning it to the site’s water cycle as greywater for use in toilets, and to irrigate the on-site orchard,” the team concluded.

The post Rain Harvest Home in Mexico was designed to capture and reuse rainwater first appeared on Yanko Design.

Butt Be Dry Waterproof Seating Pad: So Long, Soggy Pants!

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Because nobody likes a wet butt (I only face forward in the shower), the Butt Be Dry (affiliate link) is a portable seating pad to prevent the back of your pants from getting soaked while sitting on a wet seat. Perfect for sports stadiums and the great outdoors, it probably won’t prevent you from getting wet if you decide to sit in a pool, just to be clear.

The 18″ wide pad rolls up to just 3″ when not in use and can be worn around the waist like a fanny pack for hands-free transportation. Available in blue, light blue, green, and camouflage, I can’t recommend buying the camo version unless you want to lose it on a camping trip. I could have sworn I set it on a tree stump around here somewhere!

Alternatively, do what my wife does whenever she doesn’t want to sit on a wet seat and sit on my lap. Why should two people have to suffer when only one can, and that person be you – that’s her motto. Such an angel.

[via DudeIWantThat]

Stained Glass Inspired Umbrella Casts A Colorful Shadow

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Because nothing makes me want to sing in the rain more than an umbrella to keep me dry (otherwise I’ll typically run as fast as I can through the rain), this is the $37 Stained Glass Umbrella available from the Japan Trend Shop. It’s the perfect umbrella for carrying a rainbow with you.

In addition to drawing inspiration from the early 20th-century stained glass designs seen around Japan during the rule of emperors Meiji and Taisho, the Stained Glass Umbrella also draws on the vinyl/see-through umbrella motif that “has been a trademark of any Japanese townscape since the 1950s.” I can already close my eyes and see majestic Mount Fuji rising in the distance.

Of course, the biggest problem with a stained glass umbrella is that if it is raining, it probably isn’t bright enough outside to cast its beautiful shadow. Still, it will keep you from getting wet, which, the last time I checked, is the purpose of carrying an umbrella anyways. Well, that, and pretending you’re Inigo Montoya and just ran into the six-fingered man.

[via The Green Head]

This emotive desk lamp embodies the fondest memories of your childhood rainy days!

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Woo-bi desk lamp instantly reminds us of our childhood when we would wear brightly colored raincoats and splash water everywhere as we walked around with our friends.

‘Woo-bi’ literally means raincoat in Korean and the emotional design expresses a child’s innocence through soft lighting. Complete with a little ‘hood’, the playful form and warm CMF really connects with the user. We love the form of this design and the hat adds in functionality by being movable – just as it protects you from the rain, move the hat to control your exposure to the lamp’s brightness. Another fun feature is the knob of the lamp, which doubles as the tip of the umbrella/hat and helps you dim/brighten the lamp as needed. The charging point comes with a magnet for quick docking. If the yellow is too chirpy, there is a green variant to soothe your eyes!

The minimal desk lamp is sure to spark joy even on gloomy days.

Designer: Jaekyoung Oh

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knob 2

This wearable umbrella is designed to keep you and your belongings dry in rains!

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The rains bring with it a feeling of comfort – there is nothing quite as relaxing as curling up with a book and hot cuppa with the rain gently pattering on your window. That is unless you’re stuck out in the rain, wetting everything from your head to your toes and the contents of your bag along with it! To save us from the pain of being caught in the unprecedented rain, Anna Cserba designed the After You umbrella.

The After You umbrella is a multipurpose product designed to save you from the rains and to help you carry stuff when the skies are clear! Anna, a student at Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design, Budapest, created this design as a part of her design course. The aim of the course is to completely redesign an everyday object – an umbrella in this case. The After You revolutionizes the humble umbrella in quite a few ways – first is by making the design hands-free! One of the most tedious things about carrying the umbrella is the juggling act of holding onto your umbrella with one hand with the tons of stuff we carry in our hands. By wearing the product over your shoulders like a backpack, After You leaves your hands free to answer back to that text or browse your phone. The next thing we love about this design is the foldable design – the five layers made from rigid polycarbonate layers fold and unfold to form a cocoon that keeps you protected. When not in need, the After You umbrella can be carried around with ease – either on your back or on the side where it doubles up as a bag to hold your shopping!

Wearing it almost like a bag, the After You umbrella keeps you and your bag safe and dry. Comfortable, lightweight, and is extremely resistant to mechanical impacts, the After You acts almost like a wearable shield, meeting our futuristic, multi-purposing needs while keeping us safe on a rainy day and in the sunshine!

Designer: Anna Cserba

Rain may soon be an effective source of renewable energy

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There have been numerous attempt to generate electricity using rain, but this may be one of the more effective solutions yet. Researchers have developed a generator that uses a field-effect transistor-style structure to instantly produce a surprisin...