Buzz: Product News Roundup, Window Safety Edition

Product news from around the web this week, including window safety tips, the Final Four floor, universal design strategies, and oddball accessories.

Marvin's Window Opening Control Device limits a casement window's opening to 4 inches unless overridden by a two-step process.

•  It’s National Window Safety Week! Here are some safety tips from Marvin (plus a look at their cool new Window Opening Control Device).

•  Another week, another welcome boost to solar cell efficiencies: SunPower Corp.’s third-generation Maxeon solar cell is said to provide a solar-to-electricity conversion efficiency of 24%.

•  15 ways to incorporate universal design into your remodeling projects.

•  Architects prep for rising seas by designing houses (and mosques and golf courses and hospitals) that float.

•  Ultra-greenies, rejoice! The first two projects have been certified under the Living Future Institute’s Net Zero Energy Building Certification. The program links to the Living Building Challenge, considered one of the most (if not the most) stringent certification programs in the world.

•  We’re assuming those two projects would do well under the International Green Construction Code, which officially launched last week.

•  Ever wonder how a tree goes from forest floor to Final Four? Now you know.

•  Granite countertops: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.

•  Topping off: Toronto becomes the first North American city to mandate green roofs.

•  If you feel like pulling someone’s leg (or hand or foot), check these odd-but-interesting body-inspired coat hooks.