At its best, building and architecture not only provides beauty but also innovative solutions to problems. Here’s a great example of that. Inhabitat recently blogged about the Swiss St. Maurice Abbey. It’s ancient — more than 1,500 years old — and during the thousand-plus years of its existence, it sometimes needs a little TLC. Recently, the [...]

Many communities along the U.S. East Coast have started to evacuate in anticipation of Hurricane Irene, which is expected to gain Category 4 strength this afternoon. Major cities like Washington, Philadelphia, New York and Boston are located right in storm’s projected path,  leaving millions of Americans concerned about hurricane insurance, disaster preparedness and what they [...]

If you didn’t have the chance to get to IBS this year, or you want to relive the memories, we have the solution! We’ve produced a tour of the Integrity and Marvin booth at IBS with information and commentary. It’s the next best thing to being there! The tour starts with information about our sister [...]

An article in the March 2011 issue of Qualified Remodeler, a magazine for the home remodeling trade, dove into the issue of using technology to make effective home lighting easier and more energy-efficient: According to the Energy Conservation Enhancement Project at Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, 20 percent of all electricity produced in the U.S. [...]

The bathroom may qualify as the most used room in the house, certainly the most necessary! Due to this, it seems like people regularly want to add on another bathroom (no more morning shower rush!) or remodel an existing bathroom. Via the New York Times, we found this cool product: it’s a bathroom in a box! From [...]

Continuing his reporting from the International Builders Show, Lou Manfredini uncovers some of the more innovative products on the show floor. He meets with a representative from Bosch Appliances to learn about their new dishwasher, which operates with a focus on efficient use of energy and water. Lou also gets an introduction to a home [...]