With plans to launch between the third quarter of 2013 and the first quarter of 2014, Blueseed will consist of a large vessel located 12 nautical miles from the coast of California, in non-territorial waters. The ship will house both living and working arrangements, as well as amenities such as a post office and medical centre. The idea behind Blueseed was conceived to help immigrant entrepreneurs having trouble remaining in the US to stay close to the centre of tech innovation — bearing in mind of course that the co-founders of Google, Yahoo! and Intel, among others, came from non-US backgrounds. Visa restrictions will not apply on the boat as it is located out of the jurisdiction of the US, although once small businesses achieve sufficient scale to need more space, the owners will also help them to gain work permits in the US. Transport to the mainland will be provided through a twice-daily large-capacity ferry – US citizens will be able to travel to the boat at anytime, while non-citizens can obtain a 180-day business/tourist visa to visit California. Although the design of the vessel is not yet finalized, proposed mock-ups depict the boat as the size of a large office complex. Startups interested in applying for a place on Blueseed can fill in a survey on the company’s website now. Accommodation (including living and working space) will be priced at USD 1,200 per month for a shared cabin to USD 3,000 for a top-tier single cabin.

Blueseed aims to bring together talented entrepreneurs from around the world into one community, which will have close links to Silicon Valley. We’ve seen quite a few organisations seeking to help tech startups now, but could something similar be applied to your industry?

Website: www.blueseed.co
Contact: info@blueseed.co

Spotted by: Kelly Nielsen

Based on the assumption that many people seeking a home in Dubai will be property seekers flocking to the area as a result of its recent expansion, the advertising agency launched the campaign centred on the premise that house-hunters will also be looking for a new vehicle. Teaming up with Japanese automotive firm Nissan, TBWA\RAAD placed banner adverts on the property section of Dubizzle – a classified ads site serving the emirate – which used the data users entered into the property search to determine which model would be most suited to them. After factoring in family size, budget and neighborhood, visitors were presented with a vehicle match alongside their house search results. They were then able to organize a test-drive through the Dubizzle site and get picked up by a Nissan representative to try out the car on the way to their house viewing. The following video produced by TBWA\RAAD explains the concept:

The initiative ran on the site for three weeks, with some 1,200 test-drives being claimed by Dubizzle users during the length of the campaign. With positive figures such as these, perhaps this is an idea that could be developed into a long-term solution for expats and other house-hunters?

Website: www.tbwaraad.com
Contact: dounia.baha@tbwaraad.com

Spotted by: Melanie Clancy

Much the way the 100-Mile Diet challenges readers to source their food locally, so the 100 Mile House encourages them to do the same for the materials that make up their homes. Conducted by the Architecture Foundation of British Columbia, the new competition seeks designs that “rethink the way we live and select materials, systems and technology that reflect this reality in the world of computers, the internet, Facebook, etc.” In addition to using only components deriving from within 100 miles of the city of Vancouver, concept homes must also feature a maximum area of 1,200 square feet. A hypothetical flat, corner site of 33 by 120 feet is being used for the context, with all city services available should the entrant choose to use them. The contest’s registration deadline is April 19. Entries will be judged by a panel of international experts, with a total of CAD 10,000 to be awarded to the winners announced next month.

We’ve come across crowdsourced housing designs before of course when we covered the $300 House project, and this is another interesting spin on the idea. Now that we’ve seen crowsourcing used to design cheap and locally built houses, how else could the model be used to encourage better housing design?

Website: www.100mh.architecturefoundationbc.ca
Contact: info@architecturefoundationbc.ca

Hakema’s appointment booking button can be integrated into the online classified ads posted by real estate agents or property owners, who can set their availability once and then let the service schedule their appointments. Potential buyers who click on the Hakema button can then schedule an appointment to view a property at their own convenience, whether or not it’s currently during business hours. Confirmations and reminders are sent to all parties involved via email and SMS, and buyers also get alerted if a property is sold before their visit, for example, or if the price changes. Both buyers and sellers receive a daily email summary of their bookings, and sellers can see an array of analytics as well.

Although other similar services already exist, Hakema has set out to go the extra mile with built in alerts, analytics and summaries. Time to do your part to further ease buyer-seller connections in the real estate world?

Website: www.hakema.net
Contact: www.hakema.net/about-us.html#contact

Consumers begin by visiting the Maisonia Deal site and indicating the region in which they’d like to build their house. Maisonia Deal then displays a series of future homes it has available, along with descriptions and mockup illustrations. Also listed for each prospective home are the number of participating buyers required for the deal to take place, how many have already registered, the associated discounts and the time remaining on the offer.

With benefits for both buyers and sellers, there appears to be no end in sight to the places and ways crowd clout can be applied. Time to set up something similar in your area?

Website: www.maisoniadeal.fr
Contact: www.maisoniadeal.fr/contact

Spotted by: Florent Lesauvage

Nest was founded by former Apple engineers Tony Fadell and Matt Rogers, who claim that the “world’s first learning thermostat” can cut home heating and cooling use by an average of 30 percent, compared to a standard thermostat. Nest has a stainless steel outer ring and an LED display screen, measuring three inches in diameter altogether. Once installed, the user answers some simple questions about heating preferences and habits, and then continues to use the thermostat as they would normally — for example, turning it down when they leave the house. Over one week Nest will learn user behaviors and create a bespoke heating or cooling schedule. It continues to learn over time, so one-off temperature changes won’t affect the schedule, but if repeatedly changed it will readjust the programme. Its sensors can detect when no one is home, causing the device to activate the Auto-Away feature, which stops energy being used to heat or cool an empty home.

A green leaf symbol indicates when the user is saving energy, and the ‘Energy History’ feature can tell the user how much energy they have consumed. This feature can also tell users whether their energy consumption is most affected by the weather, the Auto Away feature or manual temperature adjustments. Users can also control the thermostat — which will retail at USD 249 — online or using an app on their smartphone. The video below demonstrates some of Nest’s features:

With energy prices continually rising, consumers are looking for more ways to reduce their consumption. So what other household appliances could benefit from a innovative touch to help reduce energy use and monthly bills?

Website: www.nest.com
Contact: info@nest.com

Now in beta, Buyers Billboard is similar in many ways to the other intention-based real estate ventures we’ve already looked at, including Australian Love That Place, but it works a little differently. Specifically, buyers looking for a new home begin by listing their specifications, including size, location and price. Then, potential sellers can input the details of the property they’re planning to sell, regardless of whether it’s already been listed. Buyers Billboard then provides sellers with a list of buyers whose needs seem to match well — even indicating with a percentage how close that match is — giving sellers the opportunity to contact those that look particularly promising. In that way, buyers get an easier time by letting sellers come to them, and sellers can test out the market before they officially list their home.

Using Buyers Billboard is free for buyers, while sellers pay a flat fee of GBP 150 if they find a buyer through the site. Time to put buyers in control with a like-minded approach in your neck of the real estate woods?

Website: www.buyersbillboard.co.uk
Contact: www.buyersbillboard.co.uk/about-us

Spotted by: David Lomas

Designed and built by PanaHome, the all-electric Lacine Inokashira apartments in Tokyo are fully furnished and equipped with a variety of eco-friendly technologies, even including a suite of electric bicycles on hand for use by residents. Perhaps an even bigger part of the experience, however, is the complex’s Salon, which serves as a communal living space in which residents can socialize and enjoy educational events, including lessons in cooking and makeup application, according to a Japan Trends report. Ten units with multiple floor plans are available through the Trial Stay program for up to four weeks at a time. Pricing begins at JPY 28,000 for a two-week stay.

Targeting single women aged 20 to 35, Lacine Inokashira began leasing this summer. A concept to bring to other parts of the world?

Website: www.lacine.jp/stay/index.html
Contact: www.lacine.jp/contact.html

Spotted by: Japan Trends via Judy McRae

The brainchild of London design firm 00:/ along with Espians and Momentum Engineering, WikiHouse is an open source construction set that aims “to allow anyone to design, download, and ‘print’ CNC-milled houses and components, which can be assembled with minimal formal skill or training”. Included on the site are a series of house and component designs created by participants around the world and shared under a Creative Commons license. Any of these can be downloaded and modified using Google SketchUp software before WikiHouse generates a complete set of corresponding milling drawings. The drawings can then be used by a computer numerical control (CNC) cutter to create the actual parts of the house from locally sourced plywood. The user then can assemble the house without any power tools, and WikiHouse claims the result can be made weathertight using cladding, insulation, damp-proof membranes and windows.

WikiHouse is currently “an experiment in its early stages” still in need of prototyping and further development, its creators say; “all the information shared on WikiHouse.cc is offered as an open invitation to collaborators and co-developers who are interested in putting open source solutions to these problems in the public domain.” Might that include you — or your collaborative brand?

Website: www.wikihouse.cc
Contact: hello@wikihouse.cc

Spotted by: Murtaza Patel

ELS Founder, Matthew Newman had his eureka moment when, concerned about his home as he visited relatives abroad, he went to fit a smoke alarm. However, realizing that he still may not know if fire had struck his property until he returned, and unable to get an electric cable through the concrete ceiling, he began work on a battery-powered smoke alarm with SMS capability. With financial support from the East of England Development Agency, he developed FIRETEXT; a stand alone device independent of mains supply, with an integrated GSM module. When the smoke detector goes into alarm, the GSM engine wakes up and sends a warning text to a maximum of four mobile numbers. The FIRETEXT smoke alarm has a 9V Lithium battery that will provide a minimum of 36 continuous activations, and average use should result in a battery life of two to four years. ELS has a vision to “invent technology that could help provide a better quality of life” and has already partnered up with the Alzheimer’s Society and the Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service to trial the product. A FIRETEXT smoke alarm costs GBP 89.99 and is the launch product of a forthcoming suite of GSM enabled safety and security devices.

Any service that can offer consumers increased peace of mind is sure to be welcomed with open arms, particularly when the solution is such a simple one. Tech-savvy entrepreneurs, be inspired!

Website: www.firetext.me
Contact: matthew@firetext.me

Spotted by: Gabriel Vanduinen

The brainchild of Manila’s Arcya Commercial Corporation, Citihub Mandaluyong is situated on a stretch of land in Mandaluyong along the Pasig River, according to a report on the Manila Bulletin. Four shipping containers make up the dorm, which includes separate air-conditioned housing and bathrooms for men and women. Pricing is just PHP 1,500 per month including water and electricity.

Besides fulfilling what’s clearly a pressing unmet need, Citihub Mandaluyong is also a perfect example of what our sister site would call a functionall offering — one that’s simple, inexpensive and designed primarily with low-income consumers in mind. It also seems ripe with global potential; one to emulate in your neck of the woods?

Website: www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100002315624289
Contact: citihub_mandaluyong@yahoo.com

3rd Space is designed and fabricated by Sawhorse, a partnership between award-winning architect Paul Grindley and interior architect and project manager, Ben Jardine. Acknowledging that every garden is different, the modular system allows garden rooms to be configured to suit the surroundings, and can be arranged as an L-shape, C-shape or in bespoke layouts. Built to order, customers can choose from standard room designs or create something unique to better suit their garden with regards to views, privacy and sun paths. Standard rooms use birch ply finishes and Western Red Cedar cladding, with the option to choose from “endless” material possibilities and a range personalized internal finishes.

In the words of 3rd Space, rooms have an “elegant, modern design and [are] hand-crafted with the highest quality materials”, designed to allow for true customization. They can be extended by adding on extra bays and quickly dismantled, making them easy to relocate. Rooms take four to six weeks to be designed and delivered, with a standard installation taking between three and four days. A standard 2.4m by 2.4m bay with one door and three infill panels costs from GBP 13,800 including VAT.

Offering customizable products means consumers can make purchase decisions according to their personal style and financial situation. As with 3rd Space, this was a large part of the appeal behind WWOO’s outdoor kitchen units as well. Could you offer similar options with your own product or service?

Website: www.3rdspace.co.uk
Contact: info@sawhorse-Ltd.co.uk