Celebrating Earth Day and Earth Month

Happy Earth Day!

In Celebration of Earth Month Treehugger.com has announced the 2010 Best of Green Awards. With over 200 awards in 8 categories I am impressed with how much progress has been made with sustainability. Here are a few of my favorites from the list of winners.

Best Fixture: Roca W + W

"It stands for "Washbasin + Water Closet" and is designed for Roca by Gabriele and Oscar Buratti and it makes so much sense: integrating a toilet and washbasin together so that the grey water from one goes into the other. Unlike the cold water taps built into the top of toilet tanks that we have seen before, this is designed to look good and work practically; one is not leaning over the toilet to get at the basin. The grey water is filtered before going to the toilet, and the unit is smart enough to add water if there isn't enough in the tank." "Proof that even in the bathroom, green can be beautiful."

Best Shelter Mag: Sanctuary

"Most magazines about sustainable design are not beautiful. Most design magazines cover sustainable design to a degree (at least Dwell and Azure do) but do not focus on green designs exclusively."

"Australia's Sanctuary is different. It's motto is "Sustainable Living with Style" and that is all that it shows. Editors Verity Campbell and Michael Day show so much beautiful stuff -- stunningly photographed and presented -- that I just want to pack up and move to Australia. "

"Sanctuary is a mag with a mission: It is published by the non-profit Alternative Technology Association with the mandate to make sustainability sexy, and it succeeds -- modern design never looked so good and worked so well. The magazine's website is full of excerpts and info, but the magazine is a joy to hold."

Best Modern Prefab More Than 150 SF: Clayton i-house

"The grand dream of those promoting green modern prefab is that it will do for housing what IKEA did for furniture: make good modern design popular, affordable and available to everyone. When the i-house was released we wondered if it was showbait or if Clayton Homes was really offering a sustainable, efficient, and comfortable machine for green living. The jury is still out. But when Warren Buffett, who purchased Clayton Homes in 2003, and Clayton take on green modern prefab, you know they are going to give it the time and money that it needs. It is a breakthrough for the industry."

Best Design Website: Mocoloco

"The morning ritual in the design blog world is to check out Dezeen and Designboom, up a few hours ahead of EST. Inhabitat is fastest off the mark. Cliff at Fast Company is tireless."

"But Mocoloco is different. Harry Wakefield and his crew do not sit still and just do what worked for them in the past, but push the medium. Their recent redesign probably cost them a lot of readers, but I can't wait to see it on an iPad. Mocoloco is not reacting to the changes in our world, but anticipating them."

"★ Reader's Choice: Unhappy Hipsters
[Editor's note: The Readers' Choice for design website was a blowout, Unhappy Hipsters received more than 1,100 votes, more than ten times the second-place choice."

I want to thank Treehugger for creating this great list Awarding Excellence in Sustainability. BRAVO! All images and copy are courtesy of Treehugger.com.