6 Quirky Green Designs that Will Have You Scratching Your Head

Amanda Abella
Long gone are the days that ruled that green couldn't be chic. Thanks to several architects, designers, and web personalities, it has now been proven that sustainability and style can indeed coexist. However, sometimes some aesthetically questionable (yet still very cool) designs slip through the cracks.

Quirky Green Design #1: Indoor Grass Art Frames

The Indoor Grass Art Planter series comes to us from a Japan based company named Metaphys. These planters, which are shaped to look like picture frames, are meant to bring greenery into your home. Made for people who have a love of gardening, these quirky planters come in circle, square, and rectangular shapes.

Quirky Green Design #2: Recycled Barbie Parts Jewelry

While the effort to go green is much appreciated, one can't help but notice how creepy American artist Margaux Lange's latest creations are. Lange collected Barbie parts like eyes, arms, faces, and even bosoms to make some very unusual jewelry pieces. You can see these creations on the artist's website.

Quirky Green Design #3: Germany's Rural Restroom

An strikingly unusual restroom facility was designed by a German architectural firm by the name of Berschneider + Berschneider . The facility, which is made of coarse materials with a stick façade, can be seen in a popular German golf course Lauterhofen Meier. The facility takes quirky a step further by sporting a huge unfrosted glass, which must provide for a great view but very little privacy.

Quriky Green Design #4: Hot Air Inflatable Roof

A Netherlands design studio took the term "hot air" to a whole new level by designing an inflatable roof for a portable pavilion. Using hot air generating from a stove, the white inflatable roof rises and covers a bar and two picnic tables. Does anyone else picture the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man from Ghostbusters?

Quirky Green Design #5: Inflatable Party Pavilion

Move over bouncy castles, there's a new inflatable party favor in town. The Yorkshire Renaissance Diamond from Norwegian firm Various Architects is an inflatable pavilion that strives to reduce travel weight and packing volume. Somehow, you are also able to mount solar panels on it.

Quirky Green Design #6: SLUMtube Pallet House

A couple of Austrian designers managed to make a low-cost home out of made from recycled shipping pallets. The design is actually pretty intriquing and made to withstand the weather in Johannesburg. Now if only home dwellers didn't feel like they were being shipped in a pod.

So it would seem that even though sustainability and style have made some significant strides in co-existing, sometimes a bad apple still gets through. However, regardless of taste or aesthetic preferences one thing remains certain: even the more questionable designs are improving the way we live.

Sources:
SLUMtube Pallet House
Inflatable Party Pavilion
Hot Air Inflatable Roof
Germany's Rural Restroom
Recycled Barbie Parts Jewelry
GreenMuze
Indoor Grass Art Frames

Published by Amanda Abella

A freelance writer since 2009, Amanda Abella has had work published on Yahoo News, eHow, Miami Examiner, Environmental Graffiti, The Smart College Grad, and Handmade News. She also runs a Gen Y personal deve...  View profile

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