Inhabitat.com is a weblog devoted to the future of design, tracking the innovations in technology, practices and materials that are pushing architecture and home design towards a smarter and more sustainable future.
Inhabitat was started by NYC designer Jill Fehrenbacher as a forum for investigating emerging trends in product, interior, and architectural design. Managing Editor Mike Chino leads the editorial team, while Alyssa Alimurung assists with daily business operations. The rest of the team is made up of the best design editors and writers from all over the world: Yuka Yoneda (New York Editor), Lana Winter-Hébert (Design Editor), Lucy Wang (Features Editor), Bridgette Meinhold (Architecture Editor), Jasmin Malik Chua (Copy Editor and Fashion Editor at Ecouterre) and Beth Shea (Kids and Wellness Editor).
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THE INHABITAT TEAM
JILL FEHRENBACHER – Founder, Editor-in-Chief
Jill is the founder of Inhabitat, as well as a LEED-AP green designer and green design consultant based in New York City. She created Inhabitat in the Spring of 2005 as a way to catalog her search for new ways to improve the world through forward-thinking, high-tech, and environmentally conscious design. Educated at Brown University, where she received a B.A. in Art Semiotics, and Columbia University, where she pursued a Masters of Architecture, she currently resides in New York City, which so far has been good for her obsession with rooftop farming and vegan fast food restaurants.
Follow Jill on Twitter at @jillfehr
+ Profile in the New York Times
+ Profile in Domino
+ Interview in Vogue
+ Interview on GeekSugar: Love 2.0
MIKE CHINO – Managing Editor
Mike is an editor and writer based in San Francisco. He left sunny UC Santa Cruz with a B.A. in French and Modern literature and delved into publishing through a stint at ReadyMade Magazine. Inspired by the impact that forward thinking can have on the present, he has cultivated a voracious appetite for developments in architecture, design, and technology. Mike likes to bike, blog, and build things, and in his spare time he also cooks, makes music, and rocks out.
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YUKA YONEDA – Managing Editor, Inhabitat NYC
Yuka is a writer and reporter from Queens, New York. She received her bachelor’s in business management from Stony Brook University and holds a degree in exhibit design from the Fashion Institute of Technology. In addition to being the NYC editor of Inhabitat, Yuka is a practicing turophile and a known JeDIY master. Her love of maker culture and crafting has a lot to do with what she’s seen around her in NYC, and she believes that if you can “make it” here, you can “make it” anywhere. Yuka’s refashioned clothing and DIY ideas have been featured on The Today Show, Glamour, HGTV.com and other websites and magazines. Yuka also writes for Ecouterre and has written for The Daily Green and The New York Times.
Follow Yuka on Pinterest here and on Twitter here.
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TAFLINE LAYLIN - News Editor
After receiving her B.A. from Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Tafline led “eco-friendly” camping trips throughout North America. It soon dawned on her that she was instead leaving behind a trail of gas fumes, plastic bottles and Pringles. In fact, wherever she traveled – whether it was Viet Nam or South Africa or England – it became clear how inefficiently the mandate to re-think our consumer culture is reaching the general public.
So she has picked up her mighty pen to bring better exposure to environmental issues. At other times, she waxes philosophical about culture and travel on her personal blog. Tafline was born in Iran and raised in the United States, and is currently based in South Africa. She also blogs for www.greenprophet.com and her work has appeared in Africa Geographic, The Ecologist, Urban Green File, and other publications.
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ALYSSA ALIMURUNG – Operations Assistant
Alyssa is a contributing writer for Ecouterre and Inhabitots and in her spare time, a coder-in-training. She enjoys learning about sustainable design, ethical fashion, innovative technology and crowdfunding projects. Alyssa graduated from Binghamton University and is based in NYC — though she would love to live in Barcelona someday. Follow her eco-curations on Twitter @nahnah_alyssa and Pinterest..
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LANA WINTER-HÉBERT – Design Editor
An avid permaculture gardener, locavore, and novice (but enthusiastic!) canner, Lana Winter-Hébert joins Inhabitat after spending the last decade working as a writer and event guru for non-profit/eco organisations. In addition to her work with this site, she writes features and blog posts for Vegan Cuts, Green Pigeon, and several event planning websites based in London, UK. Currently, Lana divides her time between writing, and doing collaborative projects with Winter-Hébert: the design studio she runs with her husband. Best described as “endearingly eccentric”, she spends any spare moments wrestling with knitting projects, and devouring novels by obscure Czech writers. A Toronto native, she has recently chosen to leave that splendid city in favour of a tranquil lakeside nook in rural Quebec, where she and her Sir co-habitate with two hand-raised sparrows that live in their writing-desk.
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LUCY WANG – Features Editor
Lucy got hooked on the ideas of sustainable design ever since a life-changing summer in Portland, Ore. where she learned about “green” living and how to ride a bike. After graduating with a landscape architecture degree, she set off on a half-year trip across North America on mass transit to explore landscape architecture sites and cities, documenting parts of her journey at Landscape Voice. Through the trip, she cultivated a love for communications and has now decided to focus her skills on writing, advocating and engaging the public on green, transit-friendly initiatives. Lucy currently lives in Baltimore with dreams of moving out west.
BETH BUCZYNSKI - Contributing Editor
Beth Buczynski is a freelance writer and editor currently living in the shadow of the majestic Rocky Mountains. Her passion for the planet started with the Truffula Trees, and she’s never stopped trying to make this planet a better place to live. She writes about clean technology, sustainable living, and environmental activism for EcoSalon and Care2, just to name a few. Beth believes collaborative consumption and opensource innovation is key to ending our mindless waste. Read her thoughts on the overlap between sharing and sustainability at Shareable.net. Follow Beth on Twitter as @ecosphericblog.
BRIDGETTE MEINHOLD - Architecture Editor
Bridgette is a LEED accredited sustainability consultant based in Park City, UT and helps individuals and companies reduce their environmental impact. With degrees in Mechanical and Environmental Engineering, she has experience in renewable energy, energy efficiency, green building and sustainable development. She has written for Low Impact Living and Evolo Magazine. When she’s not calculating carbon footprints, recycling materials into new things, or writing blog posts, she spends her time with her dog hiking in the woods, skiing and painting in her recycled shipping container studio. She recently got married to the man of her dreams, a handsome firefighter/paramedic. And she is currently trying to talk herself into writing her first novel, which will most definitely have something to do with sustainability.
LORI ZIMMER - Art Editor
Lori Zimmer is a New York based writer, with a passion for sustainable design, eco-tourism and art. She has written for Ecouterre, Inhabitots, ArtSlant, Patrick McMullan Mag, Flavorpill, WhiteHot and ArtFetch. She received her MA in art, media and business at FIT. In her free time, she writes an art and art history guide called Art Nerd New York and curates shows often focused on artists who use found or recycled materials.
JASMIN MALIK CHUA – Ecouterre Editor
A 14-year veteran of the publishing industry, Jasmin joins Ecouterre from TreeHugger, where she wrote about sustainable fashion and beauty. She has an M.S. in biomedical journalism from New York University—she was a founding fellow of the literary reportage program—and a B.S. in animal biology from the National University of Singapore.
In addition to stories published in online and print publications like Alive, Plenty, The Huffington Post, and Sprig, Jasmin has been quoted as a green expert by such publications and outlets as The New York Times, BBC Radio, BusinessWeek, Newsweek, and People. Jasmin was previously a copy editor for Computer Shopper and PRINT. (She still reads style guides for fun.)
Follow Jasmin on Twitter @jasminchua
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BETH SHEA – Inhabitots Managing Editor
Beth is the Managing Editor of Inhabitots, and the writer and founder of Petite Planet, a blog which focuses on eco-friendly living for families, and informs parents of the best “green” choices for their children and our planet. After earning her B.A. in Creative Writing from The University of Arizona, she explored the world as a travel and spa writer, reporting for multiple newspaper and magazine publications. After having her daughter, Beth swapped airline miles and body wraps for long stroller walks and quick showers. Beth loves writing and editing for several parenting and eco based websites while reporting from the home front with firsthand accounts of raising her son and daughter. There’s a humorous memoir brewing in her daily, which will most likely have to wait to find its way to the page until her kids leave for college.
Follow Beth on Twitter @PetitePlanet
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DIANE PHAM - Contributing Writer
Diane is a writer based in Brooklyn, NY. After graduating from USC’s Marshall School, she enjoyed a brief stint at SCI-Arc, then working for the A+D Museum in Los Angeles, Perkins Eastman Architects and Resolution 4: Architecture handling their marketing and graphic design work. A native Angeleno, she’s also lived and worked in Milan, Paris and Buenos Aires, and still has her sights set beyond the borders of the US. In her spare time she enjoys learning languages, being outdoors, and doing as many new things as she can, every moment she can.
Follow Diane on Twitter @dianepham_
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MORGANA MATUS – Contributing Writer
Morgana joins Inhabitat after graduating with a degree in Environmental Studies from Pitzer College and completing a Fulbright Hays Award in Norway in the field Environmental Ethics. Having trained at the San Francisco Clown Conservatory, she is excited to use her experience as performer and scientist to engage audiences and share her enthusiasm for the natural world. She currently resides in beautiful San Luis Obispo, California where she performs, writes, and makes terrible puns without any provocation.
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MARC CARTER – Transportation Writer 
Marc Carter grew up in Los Angeles listening to the sound of vintage Chevys and Fords being tweaked in his parents’ garage. Today he calls San Francisco his home, but his obsession about the automotive world is stronger than ever. Five years ago he founded The Torque Report, the “go-to” destination for late and breaking news on the auto industry. When he’s not obsessing over the newest electric car, he can be found hanging out with his pug, Baxter. His next adventure: The LA car guy moves to New York!
LIDIJA GROZDANIC – Contributing Writer
Lidija is an architect and environmental journalist. Going back and forth between writing and designing, she finds the two areas mutually inspiring. After graduating at the Faculty of Architecture in Belgrade, she stepped into the uncharted territory of freelancing. She reported on the RIO+20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro, where she learned about the politics of sustainable development and caipirinha cocktails. Lidija has also produced work for Internews’ Earth Journalism Network, GreenUp Blog and eVolo Magazine. An incurable cinephile, she plans on creating a blog that will serve as an outlet for her obsession with cinematography and film production design.
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KRISTINE LOFGREN – Contributing Writer
Kristine is a writer and designer from Salt Lake City, Utah. Passionate about green design and pretty words in equal parts, she spends her days blogging, writing, designing and working towards her Masters in English at the University of Utah. Kristine discovered her passion for the environment while growing up on the trails of the Rocky Mountains and has had her feet (and hands) in the dirt ever since.
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ANA LISA ALPEROVICH - Contributing Writer
Ana Lisa is a trained eco-designer and sustainable culture producer from Buenos Aires. She received her BA Hons from Goldsmiths, University of London, a city where she spent most of her 20s and inspires her enormously. After gaining experience on designing public events for [re]design through England and China, she went back to her hometown to find out what was going on about her subject of study while she was away. Impressed by the creative use of local resources, her love for sharing knowledge and her belief in learning through experiences, she co-created the Sustainable Festival. A 4-day educational not-for-profit event dedicated to the celebration of emerging sustainable design practices, held at the luscious Botanic Gardens in the heart of Buenos Aires. Ana Lisa cannot help being an environmental activist and is interested on discovering new eco-design concepts and learning about the design of systems. She is a vegetarian who loves riding her folding-bike, playing hand-ball, Japanese culture, making her own clothes, gardening and cats. She now works independently doing all sorts of things related to critical sustainable design thinking and practices: she is a consultant for big and small brands, a curator of exhibitions, workshops organizer and now a contributing writer for Inhabitat!
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NICOLE JEWELL – Contributing Writer
Presently living in Madrid, Nicole works as a design and architecture writer and Spanish translator. When possible, she enjoys traveling around the Iberian Peninsula exploring Spain’s rich blend of historic and modern architecture. Her articles and photos have been published in various trade publications and websites, as well as her own blog, Pass the Ham.
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ROSS BROOKS – Contributing Writer
Ross is a language enthusiast who earns his living from writing. Environment, architecture, design, and technology are just some of the topics he loves to write about.
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ANDREW GOODWIN – Contributing Writer
Andrew Goodwin is the co-founder and principal designer for ConsciousBuild, Inc, a design, build, and development firm with its roots in sustainability and design activism. As a LEED accredited architectural designer he had seen his share of corporate, government, and private projects working towards a better environmental responsibility. His humanitarian side has led him to projects in random corners of the earth, which are geared towards a greater social responsibility. Through it all he remains actively grounded in San Luis Obispo, California. Though he was raised in Cincinnati, Andrew’s California blood brought him back to San Luis Obispo where he received his degree in Architecture from Cal Poly. When Andrew isn’t lecturing students at Cal Poly or in ConsciousBuild’s “Research, Education and Design” (RED) Studio you can find him in the mountains with an ice axe and some crampons. He is an avid outdoorsman and if he isn’t with his first love, then he is with his loving wife.
TAZ LOOMANS – Contributing Writer
Taz Loomans is a licensed architect who is the principal at an architecture and development company called Blooming Rock Development. She is also a writer and publishes the award-winning Blooming Rock blog which focuses on urbanism, sustainability and architecture. Taz writes for other publications as well, including Modern Phoenix, the Firefly Living blog, Arizona Community Contractor magazine, Java Magazine and the Atlantic Cities. She serves on Phoenix’s Historic Preservation Commission, is co-chair of the Phoenix Post-War Architecture Task Force, co-chair of the American Institute of Architect’s Advocacy Committee and also serves on the Phoenix General Plan Update Task Force. Along with being involved in a variety of community-building projects, she partners with Women Design Arizona to curate and organize the Sustainable Communities Lecture Series that brings together experts and the community to talk about how to make Phoenix a more sustainable city.
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SHERRELL DORSEY – Contributing Writer
Sherrell is an eco-glamour expert, speaker, social entrepreneur and author of Eco-Glamorous: A Fail-Proof Guide to Ditching Toxic Beauty Products, Protecting Your Health & Greening Your Beauty Routine and creator of the popular eco-beauty blog OrganicBeautyVixen.com. Sherrell has been a contributing writer on green technology, eco-friendly living and environmental justice to publications like Black Enterprise, Organic Spa Magazine and Inhabitat.com.
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TAMSIN WOOLLEY-BARKER – Contributing Writer and Biomimicry Expert
An evolutionary biologist, writer, sustainability expert, and passionate biomimicry professional, Dr. Tamsin Woolley-Barker blogs at BioInspired Ink and serves as Content Developer for the California Association of Museums‘ Green Museums Initiative. She is working on a book about organizational transformation inspired by nature.
JOSHUA MARKS – Contributing Writer
Environmental journalist Josh Marks writes about climate change, clean energy and sustainable transportation for Inhabitat. He has written on topics as diverse as state film incentives and professional sports for media outlets including Variety, The National Memo, Rant Sports, Green American and Sea Technology Magazine.
KEVIN LEE - Contributing Writer
Kevin Lee is a freelance writer and amateur photographer who listens to music all day as he works in Brooklyn. Kevin earned a B.A. in creative writing acquiring a penchant for composing fiction stories. While writing is Kevin’s main focus, he is also a tech geek and hardcore science nerd. Aside from consumer tech, Kevin is always interested in meeting makers as well as following advances in alternative energy technology, new material science, and of course protecting animals. Along with writing about the environment on Inhabitat, you find more of Kevin’s work about technology, mobile apps, and video games all over the web.
JULIE M. RODRIGUEZ - Contributing Writer
Julie is an arts, green living, and political writer based in San Mateo, CA. Her work has appeared in xoJane, Care2 Causes, Greener Ideal, and Inhabitat. Follow her on Twitter @julierwrites.
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LIZ EVE - Contributing Writer
Liz is an award winning photographer and writer. Her passion is documenting architecture, construction, sustainable design and renewable energy. She has contributed to publications such as Construction News, Ecouterre, The Financial Times, Shopikon, The Sunday Times and PV Magazine. As part of the Fotohaus and Arcaid architectural photography agencies her clients have included Arup, Bristol University, Capita Architecture, LAB Architects and Stephen Marshall Architects. She works in Berlin, London and beyond. If not behind a camera lens or computer she is probably attempting to do Yoga, riding her bike, playing records or cooking for friends and family.
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LEA STEWART – Contributing Writer
As Chicago-based industrial designer and self-proclaimed master multi-tasker, Lea is most excited that her career has been riddled with such a variety of opportunities. Back in 2002, her sustainable design thesis at Philadelphia University was internationally awarded the First Place Professional Winner of the International Design Resource Awards and winner of the Saint Étienne International Design Biennial award for eco design. She has been published in the Eco Design Handbook, and is also a part of the permanent collection of the Huxley College of the Environment at West Washington University. Her successive product design work and her time as a design professor at the Art Institute in Philadelphia have sufficiently kept her on her toes! Lea spends her days designing energy efficient lighting, kitchen and bath fixtures, and a range of other products. She also stays busy with her hobby of amateur photography.
ANDREW MICHLER – Sustainable Building Writer
Living off-the-grid in the foothills of the colorful Colorado Rocky Mountains, Andrew Michler LEED AP BD+C and his wife Jennie are learning firsthand what low entropy living really means. He is building a Passive House rest/work space and is currently writing the book [ours] Hyper-Localization of Sustainable Architecture to be published in 2014.
Follow Andrew on twitter @andrewmichler
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TIMON SINGH – News Writer
Timon Singh is a graduate of Liverpool University where he received a degree in Social and Economic History. He has previously worked for the BBC’s “Who Do You Think You Are?” Magazine, a publication dedicated to the popular genealogy show. He has also written extensively on all aspects of worldwide infrastructure, including construction, renewable energy, transportation, security and communications and waste management. He currently resides in Bristol, where when he’s not writing for Inhabitat, he feeds his film obsession by writing for Den of Geek, and continues to hunt for the perfect pizza.
MARK BOYER - Contributing Writer
Mark Andrew Boyer is a writer and photographer based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Born in Buffalo, NY, he studied literature at the University of Chicago and he co-founded OrganicNation.tv. Prior to joining Inhabitat he served as the editor of Curbed Chicago, and his work has appeared in YES! Magazine, the Global Oneness Project, The Atlantic Cities, and GOOD.
View Mark’s photography at markandrewboyer.com and follow him on Twitter.
CHARLEY CAMERON - Contributing Writer
Charley Cameron is a British-born writer and editor currently based in San Francisco. On moving to the US she attended the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where she soon found her passion for politics, activism and writing to be as enduring as her interest in design. Prior to moving to San Francisco, Charley spent several years working for an NGO in the Lower 9th Ward of New Orleans, where she spent her free time perfecting an impressive repertoire of cocktail recipes and exploring eccentric corners of the Gulf Coast and Deep South.
REBECCA PAUL - Contributing Writer
Rebecca is a writer and design strategist living in New York City with extensive experience in business operations and digital media. She received her BFA from the Savannah College of Art and Design, and her Master’s in Design Management from the Pratt Institute.
Her previous work includes her position as a New York Editor and Business Operations Manager at Inhabitat. Since leaving her position as Operations Manager, Rebecca has been involved with the design and development of several online and mobile products including uMarkit, a bookkeeping system that utilizes SMS text messaging for cash based businesses in emerging economies. She is also the Executive Editor for Catalyst Strategic Design Review, an online publication produced by the participants of Pratt’s Design Management program.
SHAYNE MCQUADE - Board Member & Business Advisor
Shayne is a social entrepreneur with a passion for environmental issues. He is the founder of solar bag maker Voltaic Systems. Having started, run or sold multiple startups, he contributes breadth of experience to Inhabitat’s board. Shayne’s background is in consulting with McKinsey & Co. and KPMG in London, Taipei, Melbourne and New York. He finally stopped moving when he got to New York for an MBA at Columbia University. His next challenge is designing off grid solar / lighting systems for developing countries, in the hope their electrification can be sustainable.
THOMAS UGO ERMACORA - Strategic Partner & Business Advisor
Thomas Ugo Ermacora is a passionate Dano-Italian urbanist and geographer acting mostly as a creative social entrepreneur focused on sustainability. Unimpressed by the ethos in architecture and planning professions after work with Zero Carbon projects in Europe, in particular on a Frank Gehry Masterplan, he shifted towards a trust in participatory design practices and started the visionary CLEAR Village Initiative to rethink space one village at a time and focus on upgrading existing communities.
