ECOVISION MAGAZINE

Are you a fan of spa treatments?  Maybe psammo therapy is for you. Described as a very natural spa treatment, Sand bathing has been practiced since ancient times. It has been said to cure ailments    like lumbago, diabetes, anemia, infertility. Sand bathing, has also been credited with aiding weight loss and  enhancing the total body beauty. Sand baths  exist across the world.   Merzouga, Morrocco ,   Siwa  Egypt ,    Ibusuki, Japan , to name a few.    Japan, also has a Sand bath beach, Beppu . More luxurious versions of sand therapy can be found in Brenner's park Germany , Qasr Al Sarab Desert Resort, Abu Dhabi . The Saudi Governments massive tourism project,  Al Uqair,   set to open in 2017, will feature an entire sand bathing center. Gharieni's innovative MLX Quartz sand tables, have brought penetrating heat of sand baths, to top spas like  Spa Nalai, New York .  The sand tables, allow s...

People's  love  for spectacular views have made sky scrapers popular around the world. The Burj  Khalifa  is a perfect example. How about an earth scraper?   Well, as a solution to lack of  urban space, in Mexico, an architectural firm, BNKR Arquitectura , is championing building an inverted pyramid. The pyramid will descend about 340 m below the surface and has the potential to house about 100,000 people.  The Earthscraper concept may be new, but subterranean dwelling is not. Underground cities have been in existence for a long time. From Derinkuyu in ancient Cappadocia , to Coober Pedy, Australia.   There are other underground cities like Reso, Montreal , and semi- underground cities like the Setenil de las Bodegas, Spain. .  An earth scraper may not be for everyone, particularly, if you are claustrophobic. However, living underground does have it's benefits. It  is energy efficient and will prove to be a safe place in case o...

Mirrors,  you can not ignore them, be they natural or man-made. You see your reflection almost everywhere you go. So what do you know about them? MIRROR HISTORY In ancient times, people used  water mirrors. Small pools of water collected in darkly colored containers.  The first man made mirrors, were made, in Turkey about 8000 years ago from polished stone and black volcanic glass, obsidian . Around 4000 BC, ancient Egyptians and Mesopotamians,  started making mirrors from copper. People in Central and South America, made mirrors from polished stone. While the  Chinese manufactured mirrors from speculum metal , and  polished bronze, around 2000 BC. The first recorded use of glass mirrors  was in first century A.D. Tin-mercury backed glass mirrors began to surface in Venice around the 16th Century In 1835, German chemist Justus Von Liebig ,invented silvered glass mirrors, which are now found throughout the world Present day,mirrors are m...

 Ever considered walking around with your house? No? Impossible? Crazy?  Well apparently,  Mr. Liu Lingchao has. The portable house was made from plastic bags, bed sheets, and bamboo.  A bit extreme? Welcome to the world of "ECO-TECTURE FASCINATING "ECO-TECTURE" FROM AROUND THE WORLD 1  Falling water , United States.  A house built on an active waterfall. 2 Water Tower house , Begium. An old water tower turned to a modern family home. 3 House on a rock , Serbia. Built on a rock, and has stood for about 45 years. 4 House  under a rock, Mexico. The roof is made from a boulder. 5 Stone house , Portugal. Built with four different boulders 6 Robo hobbit house , Prague. Built to rotate. 7 Hobbit house , Wales. Dug into the hillside 8 Buried house, Switzerland 9 Shipping container houses , Australia 10 Multistorey tree house, Japan. Fancy a bit of  "Eco-tecture"? SO NOW YOU KNOW!!!!

Food, sustains. art,  expresses . So, what do you get when you combine them?   Rice , has been described as a staple food, for more than half of the world's population. It is typically grown in flooded fields known as rice paddies. Through the tanbo art process, rice paddies are being transformed into stunning works of art. It began,in  Inakadate , Japan. In 1993, the first rice paddy art was created, using purple and yellow rice plants. It was the picture of Mt. Iwaki along with letters. Here's a picture, beautiful isn't it?  How is it done?  To begin with, it takes about 1200 people  and costs $35,000 to create. Followed by these steps STEP 1:Choosing a design STEP 2: A sketch is made of the desgin STEP 3: A three- dimensional perspective is generated STEP 4: Selection of  the rice varieties to be used. STEP 5: Creating the design plan using Computer Aided Drawing (CAD) STEP 6: The design is drawn on the field u...