The first thing people will say when they hear the news, “Does a charity organization need a $500 million headquarters?” You might debate that all night long and question the decision’s sensibility but we believe that its Bill’s money and he has every right to spend it any way he wants… As simple as that. Now with the morality issue out of the way, what is so special about this building that it will cost Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation a whooping $500 million when Russell Investments paid one-third of that for its 42-story building not very far away from the project location.

Add to that the structure to be constructed is just two six-story, boomerang-shaped buildings on 12 acres near the Seattle Center and you can imagine what the interiors of this expensive real estate might look like.
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How about riding the world’s very first e-Motorbike? Ok, if that does not really excite you all that much then how about riding an e-Motorbike that sports an indestructible frame and is crafted from Euro Warplanes and Formula1 car parts? Yup, now that sounds more like it, does it not. No matter which way you look at it, Grace is all that and a lot more.

In a world where environment issues are becoming a key factor and yet design and speed and indispensible, Grace combines the best of both world’s to give you a ride that is unlike anything else you have gone on before.

Made with the precision of German engineering, Grace can race to a top speed of 45 km/hr and can go at its top speed for a whole hour on a single charge. The battery pack is as sleek and advanced the bike itself and is integrated into its frame seamlessly. With e-bikes getting popular by the day, Grace could be a pioneer that lays the patch down for many such designs in the coming years.

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LED is much appreciated, be it in eco-friendly electronics or on your clothes. It doesn’t matter, we just love to see it everywhere! LED clothing really isn’t anything new for we have seen the likes of glow fur coats, LED tops and brassieres. But so far, these clothes were seen to be the forte of techie geeks alone. However, thing will change now. The London based designer duo CuteCircuit has taken matter in their hands to create a spectacular Galaxy Dress.

It took the winners of the Best Inventions of 2006 Award by Time Magazine for their Hug shirt close to 24,000 full color LEDs to design their new trend. Already being claimed as the largest wearable display in the world, the Galaxy Dress is quite a sight. It has been made from silk and then embedded with full-color LEDs. But this has been done without letting go og the comfy feel of the dress. The LEDs are like flat paper and measure only 2 by 2 mm.

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In the near future, Ducati might not just only be a car for the rest of us? A recent buzz tells us that it is also going to be an electrically-assisted pedal bike manufactured by the same brand mogul in a partnership with Italian company Italwin. Dubbed the City of Pearl, this eco-friendly mode of transportation will be available in both men’s and women’s styles. Come January, and you can lay your hands on this one at most Ducati dealerships across Europe.

And to our surprise, the City of Pearl isn’t the first two-wheeler that Ducati came up with. In fact, its predecessor is known as Cucciolo and very few are aware of its existence. But this one had a small four-stroke engine that was attached to the bicycle frame.

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It addresses the need for adjustable private spaces within open offices. It helps create flexible partitions without disturbing the aesthetics of the surroundings. Eclipse Office Partition System that has been the result of work by Australian designer Marcus Ward Curran, is a modular workplace that can not only evolve and adapt to the needs of privacy and interaction change during the course of the day.

It takes into account the current office needs of desks, spot furniture, and distributed possession of furniture. Its four main components are, the hot desk, pattern table, table partition and full size partition. Every one of its components, when used along with others, can deceptively allow a space to get divided into a meeting area, a private space or a breakout zone. The components are movable and flexible, which is what gives the offices their much needed freedom of layout while letting privacy thrive within an open office space.
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Unlike the popular belief, recycling can be a whole bagful of fun. In fact, lately we have come across several examples of recycling that burst the bubble of the aforementioned myth. Take the case of classic Vespa scooters for example. We have witnessed how the scraps of old autombiles have been used to contribute majorly to a green lifestyle. In fact, recycled bike furniture as well as the reuse of aircraft parts to make real stylish chairs and tables have all been greatly appreciated.

Well, this furniture range just got wider with the vintage Vespa scooters adding their own special charm. The Spanish design studio, Bel & Bel has taken up the task of converting the discarded Vespa scooters and into real cool office furniture.

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Downhill bicycle, or so it is called. But Bergmönch backpack scooter is a surprise. It is supposed to be called a scooter apparently, because unlike the conventional bicycles, it has no pedals. The vehicle having a bigger wheel on its front and smaller one on its back, uniquely folds up once you are done with moving downhill.

What is interesting is that this scooter, bicycle or downhill wheeler can be packed into your backpack for your trek uphill or journey elsewhere. Is that not a better choice to a really tough bet on bicycling uphill? Considering it works only on downslopes, when you reach a plain while downhill you may need to fold it back into your backpack, and for the smoother terrain, you can kneel when you ride down.

The bike is custom-made for rough terrains, has an aluminium frame, full suspension, triple-hardened tubes, adjustable air shocks and disc brakes. With this, you can store your other things in the backpack too.

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Come winter and all homes will be glowing with the familiar glow of the warm, cosy hearths in their living rooms. Now the deal is, which of these fireplaces will dare to be different from the rest vis-a-vis the design, functioning or even the eco-friendliness! Well, that’s a toughie. While you figure the big mystery, let us present to you the world’s first and only spherical wall-mounted fireplace. Called Cupola, this one comes from the same fellas at Vauni who earned kudos for the ‘Globe’ fireplace.

Back to Cupola, this beauty can be mounted on the wall just like a flat-screen TV. Not just flaunting a unique shape, this one displays a very superior technology too. The adjustable bio-ethanol burner lets you enjoy a very vent-less routine of hassle-free and safe flames.

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Honda has released images of several new eco-friendly two-wheelers it will probably present at the Tokyo Motor Show later this month. Motorcycle Future. That is what Honda hopes throught its small electric two-wheelers.

EV-Cub electric motorcycle is one of them, besides EVE-neo electric scooter and its already announced PCX global scooter. The motorcycle offers more stability and traction than its rear-wheel cousins, as touted. It could be a lot more easier to learn too, for riders who are just beginning to get their ropes in driving.

The 2WD bike EV-Cub can ferry riders around on its retro-styled frame early 2010. Of late, big names other than Honda, like Yamaha, Ohlins, Christini and KTM have also been working on 2WD (two-wheel drive) motorcycles.
Honda however is all ready to commercialize a 2WD motorcycle, or at least an electric one. EV-Cub has features like the car2car, car2driver communication tool and also has electric motors in front and rear wheels.

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The slight chill in the air is an indication for us mortals that winter is just around the corner. So, it is the perfect time for you to gear yourself up with the newest fashion line of warm clothes as well as electronic products that will keep you cosy. We stumbled across one such gadget which is more useful than the many indoor fireplaces available in the markets today because this one’s meant for the outdoors. Called UFO, this fireplace seamlessly blends in tradition with vision that is truly refined to meet the modern taste.

The brainchild of Ora Ito, the UFO is fully safe. It makes use of a natural plant alcohol that helps reduce the carbon residue, vapors as well as smoke and dust which are like the four pillars of a traditional outdoor fireplace. Plus, UFO is more easy to use.

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