The Masdar Headquarters building will produce more power than it needs (an energy positive building). In fact, the solar roof (one of the largest in the world) will be constructed first, and it will power the construction of the rest of the building. The video link on this page has a great view of the …
Stunning Solar Building Will Generate More Power Than It Needs Read More »
This apartment high-rise concept won a sustainable housing award recently in China. It integrates a vertical greenhouse into the high-rise. Designed by Knafo Klimor Architects, the “agro-housing” concept allows the residents to produce their own food, reducing commuting needs and providing a green neighbourhood. The greenhouse is a multi-floor structure for cultivation of crops such …
Chinese Design Winner: High-Rise With Vertical Hydroponics Read More »
The largest modular green roo, has been installed on top of the new “Court at Upper Providence” shopping center in Pennsylvania. The 2.3 acres green roof was constructed with GreenGrid modules. These modules are made with recycled plastic, and they contain small but hardly plants like sedums.
Foster + Partners have just been granted preliminary permission to start construction on this volcano-shaped superstructure in Moscow, which will be dubbed “Crystal Island”. In terms of efficiency monolithic buildings like this seem unnecessary, but the proposed dimensions are amazing: it will be 1,500 foot tall with 26,909,776 foot squared of floor space, that’s enough …
The “Energy Plus” office building, to be located outside of Paris, is designed to produce all its own energy for heating, lighting and air conditioning. This zero-energy building, according to the designers, will be the greenest office building ever created. It will accomplish this by having more solar panels on its roof than any other …
The “Energy Plus” Building Produces All Its Own Power Read More »
In Madrid, Spain they are currently building a huge structure called an “Air Tree” or “Eco Boulevard de Vallecas”. The Tree was created by Urban Ecosystem to be a social center, and to improve the surrounding environment. The structure is also completely self-sufficient, generating all its own power with solar cells. Any surplus energy is …
Huge “Air Tree” Structure Produces Its Own Power and Oxygen Read More »
The Hudson Yards is a huge swath of land located on the Far West Side of Manhattan. The land, which is the largest undeveloped site left in Manhattan, is owned by the Metropolitan Transit Authority. Now, five teams of architects are in the running to develop a 26-acre site in a sustainable way. Pictured here …
This 42-story apartment tower, under construction at Elephant and Castle in London, will feature a roof with an array of integrated wind turbines. The three turbines are each nine meters in diameter and are design to provide power the building’s lighting systems.
The India Tower is a 60-story skyscraper in Mumbai that could be the greenest in India. The developer is aiming to get a LEED gold rating for the project. The tower’s unusual rotated design was created by FXFOWLE architects. Each rotated section of the tower has a different use: a retail section, a Park Hyatt …
The new head offices for Manitoba Hydro, in downtown Winnipeg, will be a model for extreme climate design. Winnipeg is one of the coldest large cities in the world. Temperatures vary 100 degrees over a year. The design of the 700,000 ft² office tower is targeting a 60%+ reduction in energy consumption, through the use …
Manitoba Hydro Tower: 60% Energy Savings, 100% Fresh Air, Maximum Daylight Read More »
This complex is a storage facility to be built by Portland City Storage on the east bank of the Willamette River in Portland. It will have a glass tower rising more than 22 stories and enclosing a giant mechanical arm capable of lifting 40,000 pounds (to conserve valuable riverfront land).
This apartment complex, dubbed the The Falls, is to be built in Victoria, Canada. The aparments will certainly be green on the outside — it features a series of cascading waterfalls and ponds pouring over the building’s exterior. In addition to the water, it will feature spacious decks and terraces, some with outdoor gas fireplaces, …
We first featured the Sustain miniHome last year. It’s a compact green dwelling that fits on the back of a truck. Now there’s a video of the home, demonstrating it’s space-saving features…
In Gifu Prefecture, Japan, there is an unusual solar building called the Solar Ark, built by Sanyo. It’s one of the most impressive solar buildings in the world. Passengers on high-speed bullet trains can’t help but notice the edifice as they ride past on a nearby railway line. The building was built to symbolize the …
The solar roof at the Floriade Exhibition Hall in the Netherlands still holds the record as the largest of its kind in the world. The roof is comprised of 20,000 semi-transparent solar modules, and it has a surface area of 28,000 square meters (almost 7 acres). It acts as one gigantic solar panel, and generating …
The Largest Solar Roof In The World: Floriade Hall Read More »
In Fukuoka City in Japan, they have an amazing building called “ACROS Fukuoka” with two very distinct sides: one side looks like a conventional office building with glass walls, but on the other side there is a huge terraced roof that merges with a park. The garden terraces, which reach up to about 60 meters …
Last year’s trash could become next year’s model home, thanks to the invention of a new type of construction material made entirely from waste products. “Bitublocks,” created by engineer John Forth of the University of Leeds in England, are composed of recycled glass, sewage sludge, incinerator ash, the by-products of metal purification and pulverized fuel …
The New York Times just published a report on home that uses a unique system to generate hydrogen using solar power. The system was built by Mike Strizki, the 50-year-old director of Advanced Solar Products, a solar installation company, designed a backyard power plant that provides all the house’s energy, using a combination of solar …
Zero-Energy House: It Uses Solar Power and Hydrogen Read More »
Here’s an example of daylighting at the Hong Kong Science Park. Notice that the light is filtered through translucent skylights and clerestories in a central atrium, thus reducing glare and overheating. The top of the building has shades, see them after the jump: Sunshades are extensively incorporated into the external facades to shield direct sunlight …
Daylighting and Shading: Green Building In Hong Kong Read More »
