The Tubohotel in Mexico features salvaged concrete tubes as sleeping spaces.

If a cast-off, concrete tube measuring six by nine feet sounds like a cozy space rather than a claustrophobic one, then the Tubohotel is for you. Located in the artistic Pueblo Magico of Tepoztlan (it’s also one of the safest towns south of the border), in the mountains near Mexico City, this camp offers the chance to sleep in a two-story tube community set in an organic orchard. It was founded by bubbly celebrity chef Ana Garcia (the Mexican Rachael Ray), who offers culinary courses in her hacienda nearby.

Shaded by organic lime, avocado and guava trees, each of the 20 units are shielded from peeping tubists by curtains over its circular glass window/door. The tubes don’t come equipped with TVs, chairs, or “facilities,” but the trade off is you get to stay somewhere totally far-out and original.

Thanks to the thermic qualities of the concrete, tubes maintain their temperatures day and night.

Rates from $37, including tax and a fully rounded experience.

Photos: Tubohotel

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Concrete gets street cred.

How many times have you slagged off a building – e.g., a school, shopping center or intentional eco community – for being concrete, and thus ugly? When I was kid, our next door neighbors moved out of their brick house into a concrete one (the dad invented some new kind of livable concrete) and I deemed them aesthetically challenged.

Concrete has emerged as an invaluable material in sustainable construction. Limestone, the most abundant mineral on earth, is the predominant raw material in the cement that makes the concrete. It can also be made from waste byproducts like fly ash, slag cement, and silica fume. It’s also a durable, long lasting material (just ask the Romans) and homes built with concrete walls, foundations and floors tend to be highly energy efficient. Moreover, since concrete can be produced as needed, it’s easy to predict how much you will need and excess can be crushed and recycled for use in other concrete structures.

In interiors, designers are molding concrete into unexpected, pretty things.

For example:

Stitching Concrete is a project by Florian Schmid created by manipulating folding fabric soaked in cement and water.

The Aplomb suspension light from Italian lighting company Foscarini.

The Espresso Solo, a conceptual product by Shmuel Linski. The goal was to make concrete into a “desirable consumer product.”

Also by Linski, his speaker collection, aptly named “Exposed.”

A concrete bench from Berlin-based firm Metrofarm.

A concrete television cabinet by Canadian industrial designer Jean Willoughby.

Another from Willoughby: a concrete table.

…in what appears to be snake print.

The post 8 Surprisingly Pretty Things Made From Concrete appeared first on EcoSalon.

A gathering of gorgeous concrete lighting.

Since the era of the Roman Empire, concrete has been romancing our built environment by way of sidewalks and skyscrapers. Any urbanite is all too familiar with concrete jungles, but here’s a dose of unexpected concrete, formed and porous, suspended from a ceiling near you.

While the same concrete that layers your driveway can be adapted into solid little lighting delivery suspensions, the simple composite of cement, sand, and water adopts a look of industrial elegance when fitted around a light bulb. The combination of cold, raw material encasing soft, warm light is a dichotomy worth hanging.

The Heavy Light (above and below) by Benjamin Hubert is a thin walled cast concrete pendant available in a handful of sizes and finishes. Mr. Hubert (remember his cork oak wonders?) has also designed a concrete desk lamp worth drooling over.

If your aesthetic is more modern and less industrial, the Aplomb Pendant will charm you. The elegant geometric structure was designed by Paolo Lucidi and Luca Pevere for Foscarini and flaunts its personality in white, brown, or traditional gray.

Personally, I adore the pure and honest application of concrete and steel in The Real Concrete Tube by Stefan Zickert for Diffikult. The surface imperfections and texture delight my imagination.

If you are longing for the charm of a concrete pendant and you cannot possibly wait for the charisma to be delivered from Europe, give your construction skills a polish and try this project by Brigg – I will be.

The post Bright Lights, Heavy Casing appeared first on EcoSalon.

Four materials fit seamlessly with the 2011 slant toward honesty and green accountability – concrete, bamboo, cardboard, and exaggerated wood grain. Look for these surfaces in 2011 because they’ll be showing up everywhere.

CONCRETE: Watch for concrete’s mixture of cement and sand to bring porous grey surfaces into interior spaces. Counters, furniture, tile, lampshades, pendant lighting, floors, and planters will boast an honest, raw industrial aesthetic.

BAMBOO: Last year was crowded with bamboo furniture, flooring, clothing, and even electronics. This fast growing member of the grass family is set to take the stage again in 2011, and will be sprinkled throughout the industry in both wooden and fabric form.

CARDBOARD: Recycled cardboard will be present in large doses of corrugated whimsy. Everything from grandfather clocks to rocking chairs will be created from the fibrous form of cardboard. The malleable material will be a strong presence in lighting and accessories, too.

EXAGGERATED WOOD GRAIN: Exaggerated wood grain will lend itself to furniture, wallpaper, and accessories. The celebration of nature’s intricacies within different wood species will usher in an age of acclaim for imperfect wooden goods. Acacia and olive tree wood are two examples of woods beautifully wrought with inconsistent growth patterns.

Keep an eye out for these materials in 2011 along with the rest of the 2011 shelter trends.

(Images from the portfolio of photographer Ditte Isager.)

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