The Pop-Up House, by Multipod Studio (Photo: Elisabeth Montagnier)French architectural firm Multipod Studio recently unveiled a new sustainable house prototype that's lightweight, recyclable, and promises to be an inexpensive purchase and extremely efficient to run. The suitably-named Pop-Up House also boasts another notable selling-point: all that's required to assemble it is four day's patience and a standard electric screwdriver.Pop-Up House measures a total of 150 sq m (1,614 sq ft), and the interior features a large combined open space that contains kitchen, dining and living room areas. Elsewhere in the home are two bathrooms, a master bedroom, two additional bedrooms, an office, and a terrace.The structure is simple to build and comprises a spruce wood frame, laminate veneer wooden floor, and expanded polystyrene insulation blocks, and everything is held together using wood screws. Indeed, Multipod Studio states that no prior construction experience is necessary for assembly, likening the process to building with Lego.Thanks to Pop-Up House's excellent insulation and airtight thermal envelope, no heating is necessary for the home, or at least, not while it is located in the generally balmy South of France.
However, since it meets the very exacting Passivhaus energy standard, Pop-Up House is certain to be very efficient to heat, even in chillier climes.At present, Pop-Up House is still in the prototype stage, so finer details on the home are lacking. A preliminary price is available though, and the home will set you back €30,000 (roughly US$41,000), which includes labor, but doesn't include finishing touches like waterproofing, electricity, and plumbing.You can see an overview of the project in the video below.Check out the new SourceForge HTML5 internet speed test! No Flash necessary and runs on all devices. Also, Slashdot's Facebook page has a chat bot now. Message it for stories and more. Has Lego Sold Out? Hugh Pickens writes "Matt Richtel and Jesse McKinley write in the NY Times that for generations of American children, Legos were the ultimate do-it-yourself plaything. Little plastic bricks, with scant instructions, just add imagination. But today's construction sets are often tied to billion-dollar franchises like Star Wars and Lord of the Rings and invite users to follow detailed directions, not construct their own creations from whole brick.
It's less open-ended, some parents and researchers say, and more like paint-by-numbers. 'When I was a kid, you got a big box of bricks and that was it,' says Tracy Bagatelle-Black. 'What stinks about Lego sets now is that they're not imaginative at all.' Lego loyalists are quick to defend the company. Josh Wedin, the managing editor of the Brothers Brick, a Lego blog, called complaints that they are less creative 'simply ridiculous,' adding that Legos always included some instructions, though he says he misses the alternative designs that used to be on the back of the box. But Clifford Nass, a sociology professor at Stanford University who studies how people relate to the physical world versus the virtual world, says some essential qualities were lost when Lego became more like other toys. 'The genius of Lego was, you had to do the work.' Learning about frustration, Nass says, 'is a hugely important thing.'" (And watch soon for a review of The Unofficial Lego Builder's Guide, a book intended to help Lego users escape the tyranny of block-by-number instructions.)
There is a really interesting LEGO book I came across recently called “Brickvesting: How to Make Money Selling LEGO on Amazon and eBay – A Step-By-Step Guide to Make Your Child’s (or Your) LEGO Hobby Self-Supporting” by Alex Stewart. Yeah, I know that’s a long title, but at least there is no doubt what the book is about. Alex is a LEGO fan himself, and an active member of the LEGO investing forum we talked about before; B. (See: LEGO Investment Guide for Resellers & Collectors) His book is a comprehensive guide to buying and selling LEGO sets, LEGO by-the-piece, and LEGO minifigures online through eBay and Amazon. It covers finding discounted LEGO sets, develop a LEGO selling-strategy that fits your time and money, and resources to help you maximize profits. It also discusses the costs involved with selling LEGO online; like seller-fees, shipping expenses and taxes. And topics like setting up a seller’s account on Amazon and eBay, getting your items listed, getting paid, and shipping items in a way that will generate consistent positive feedback to encourage future sales are also covered . T
he author also compares eBay and Amazon and discusses what kind of LEGO inventory is better for each platform. The book is intended to educate adult LEGO fans who have little to no online selling experience and enable them to make their “brickdiction” less costly and even profitable. It is basically a resource for AFOLs (Adult-Fans-of LEGO) and LEGO collectors who simply want to make their hobby self-sufficient. It can also be useful for people who have large, unwanted LEGO collections, and want to get top dollar for their LEGO sets. Or just for folks who are looking for tips on finding cheaply priced LEGO. Below are the chapters of this LEGO book: The author also shares his own personal story and experiences in getting into LEGO buying and selling – which is quite interesting, and also quite typical of how adults get into the LEGO market. He is also keeping the book very down-to-earth and real: “This is not a get-rich-quick book. It will not try to generate cheap and artificial hype. I
t will provide you with the information, tips, and strategies you need to build a solid, fun, and profitable part time business from the comfort of your own home. If you have $10.00 in start up capital you have enough to begin a side business selling LEGO online. This book will teach you how.” ou can buy this LEGO book for just 2.99 on Amazon, or download it for free if you are an Amazon Prime member. Unfortunately the book is only available in an e-book format. On the positive side this allows the author to easily and regularly update the book based on readers’ feedback and as market conditions or strategies change. If you have a Kindle you can download the book right away. If you don’t, you can download the Kindle app for your PC, Apple or other device for free directly available from the book’s page. BUY & DOWNLOAD THE BOOK HERE: Brickvesting: How to Make Money Selling LEGO And if you have this LEGO book and read it already, let me know how you like it. W