'It's a symphony of the senses': Property tycoon builds America's first 'green' mansion for £15million | Mail OnlineA risk-taking property tycoon and bestselling author has just made history by building America's first 'green' mansion.
Frank McKinney 's new £15million ecological mansion in Manalapan, Florida is the first home of its size to be certified 'green' by the rigorous environmental standards committees of the region.
Inspired by trips to Bali, Fiji, Tahiti and Hawaii, the three-story, 15,000-square-foot, 7-bedroom, 11-bath mansion features floating sun terraces, a waterfall spa with a fire feature in the water and an arched aquarium wet bar.
Wouldn't it be nice: The £15m Acqua Liana, America's first 'green' mansion
'A symphony of the senses': Acqua Liana's aquarium wet bar
The Green Building Council and the Florida Green Building Council have approved the epic property as energy self-sufficient.
It is described by McKinney as a 'beacon of realistic optimism'.
The estate - called 'Acqua Liana' after the Tahitian and Fijian words for water flower - and is set upon 1.6 acres of incredible gardens 23 feet above sea level facing onto the Atlantic Ocean.
According to McKinney, the interior is the most spectacular part.
'Guests will hear nothing of the doom and gloom of the credit crisis,' McKinney said at the opening.
Dare to dream: Acqua Liana's master sleeping chamber - complete with spectacular ocean views
[caption
'It's when you cross the threshold into Acqua Liana that the show really begins.
'It's a symphony of the senses, created to demonstrate that the American Dream is very much alive.'
Green features inside the one-off mansion include enough solar panels to cover a basketball court generating enough energy for two or three average-size homes.
A water system that collects enough run-off water to fill the average swimming pool every 14 days and environmentally conscious lighting reduces electricity consumption by 70 per cent.
There is enough reclaimed wood to save 10.5 acres of Brazilian rain forest.
But with the world economy still in meltdown, it might be a while before you see eco-houses like this lining the streets in your neighbourhood.
Friday, March 6, 2009
'It's a symphony of the senses': Property tycoon builds America's first 'green' mansion for £15million | Mail Online
Hold It Now And Watch the Hoodwink - Torontoist: Toronto News, Culture, Events, Photos, and Everything Else
Hold It Now And Watch the Hoodwink - Torontoist: Toronto News, Culture, Events, Photos, and Everything Else
There's something a little funny about the full page ad in this week's Eye for Joshua Jackson's new cross-Canada motorcycle movie One Week. Rather than the words of wizened critics, the ad features a page full of quotations from people who seem to have not actually seen the movie. "I am definitely going to watch this!" says one; "It's going to look amazing on the big screen!" says another; "I agree this looks like a great film" writes a third.
"All of Canada is talking about ONE WEEK*" the ad's copy exclaims, and—hey, wait, what's that asterisk for?
Oh yeah: every single bright-red quotation on the page, lauding the film and its actors, is one of the ninety-three YouTube comments on the film's trailer.
Toxel.com » Modern Showers and Creative Shower Heads
Toxel.com » Modern Showers and Creative Shower Heads
Modern showers and creative shower head designs from all over the world.
Pocket Shower
This tiny gizmo unfolds to reveal a high performance waterproof reservoir that holds a mighty ten litres of water. The black fabric will (given a sunny day) warm the water up in no time. [link]
Tosca Oasis Shower Panels
Modern European luxury shower panels from Tosca line by Visentin. [link]
Ishi Shower by Lockie von Moger
Besides looking good on the wall, Ishi shower features a slider that allows you to control the flow of water. Convenient pause button allows you to pause the flow mid-way so that you can lather-up the soap and then resume for the rinse. [link]
WaterTile Rain Shower Panel
To further heighten your custom showering experience, WaterTile Rain shower panel provides targeted water delivery where you need it most with four 54-nozzle fully adjustable spray-heads. [link]
The Aquavolo Shower
Creative waterfall shower becomes rain shower in one flip. [link]
Hansgrohe Raindance Rainmaker
Rainmaker shower system enriches the water with drawn-in AIR to create voluminous raindrops from a conventional shower spray. Unlike with a conventional continuous “spaghetti” shower spray, the subjective perception of the water coming into contact with the skin is more gentle. [link]
Gas Mask Shower
Chris Dimino has turned a gas mask into a shower head. [link]
Elemental Spa Shower
Part plumbing fixture, part architecture, the SATI and SANGHA shower heads are part of the new Elemental Spa collection by Dornbracht. [link]
Pipe Shower
Floor mounted industrial style shower design from Boffi. [link]
Vola 50 Shower Head
Designed by Teit Weylandt, Vola 50 shower head features 5 parallel bars arranged horizontally, each comprising of 15 nozzles. [link]
Euridice Glass Shower Heads
Modern glass shower heads designed by Ritmonio. [link]
Eco Drop Shower
After showering for a long time, the concentric circles will rise to force you to stop showering and save water. [link]
Charade Orchidea Trio Shower Head
This shower head uses three shallow domes to form one giant shower head. Each head features three rings of anti-scale transparent silicon nozzles that rain sensuous streams of water. Combined, the three heads are then set into a larger circular body. [link]
Drops Lighted Shower
Imagine standing under a beam of light that highlights each shimmering droplet of water as a shower of refreshing water cascades down upon you. Sound nice? Then the illuminating showering experience of the Drops Lighted Shower from Cisal is definitely for you. [link]
Jet Shower Head
The X-Touch head is a jet shower head from Newform that juts down from the ceiling like a shiny pipe. [link]
Geo 180 Shower
Modern tub by Kos of Italy combines a whirlpool option with a cascading ceiling mounted shower head that doubles as a soothing mood light. [link]
DF50 and DR50 Shower Heads
Totally stripped-down forms of pure steel, the DF50 and DR50 shower designs are striking industrial style shower heads from Balance. [link]
Viteo Outdoors Inverted Shower
Designed by Danny Venlet, the shower sits on the ground and shoots water up 4 meters in the air. It’s like a super-bidet! You activate the water stream by stepping on a little button in the middle of the unit. [link]
Stock Update - Biohazard 5 PS3 - SOLD OUT
Sorry folks, we're completely sold out of biohazard 5 PS3. Because of the high cost of the game, along with its proximity to its US counterpart, we will only be bringing in special orders. Earliest restocks are expected by mid next week.