DETAIL Green News-Feed Green

A square world: the "Water cube" by MVRDV

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 00:00:00 GMT

After Aichi in 2005 and Shanghai 2010, yet another World Exhibition will be staged in Asia. "The Living Ocean and Coast" is the theme of the 2012 International Exposition in Yeosu, South Korea. It asks for a greater recognition and awareness of the oceans and marine resources, and their importance to mankind.

ECOWEEK 2010: Ecology + Community + Architecture

Wed, 20 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

ECOWEEK 2010 in Athens offers an international conference and design workshops on passive solar and ecological building and a look at sustainability in local communities and societies.

cepezed designs new headquarters for Environment Brussels

Mon, 18 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The Delft-based cepezed architects will design the new headquarters of Environment Brussels, the former Brussels Institute for Management of the Environment. The building, which is located in one of the larges urban renewal areas in the Belgian capital, is scheduled to achieve the Passive House Standard.

A model school for Malawi

Mon, 18 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Many contemporary buildings in tropical countries still mimic architectural styles and building methods from North America or Europe, without any adaptation to local climate whatsoever. A notable exception is the Academy for Girls in Lilongwe/Malawi, which was planned by New-York based Studio MDA and is expected to be finished by 2012.

Greening the concrete desert: Forwarding Dallas

Mon, 21 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

In downtown Dallas, a former parking lot is set to be transformed into one of the first truly sustainable building blocks in the United States. "Forwarding Dallas" by Portuguese architects Atelier Data and Moov will feature roof gardens and 100% renewable energy supply.

Anyone missing?

Wed, 09 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Maya Lin, the architect of the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C., has completed a new sculpture for the Renzo-Piano-designed California Academy of Sciences. The cone-shaped artwork entitled "What is missing" is part of a multi-sited, "multimedia memorial" dedicated to species which have become extinct due to climate change and destruction of habitats.

Green Building - Guidebook for Sustainable Architecture

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Prof. Dr. Michael Bauer, Peter M�sle and Dr. Michael Schwarz offer a Green Building guide for principals, architects and planners. The English-language edition of their book entitled "Green Building - Guidebook for Sustainable Architecture" has been published by Springer.

Ecology meets digital design

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

As part of the 'Green Architecture for the Future' exhibition (on show until Dec. 18th), the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art invited the Danish architecture firm 3XN to design a pavilion demonstrating cutting edge possibilities with sustainable and intelligent materials. The result is a Moebius strip made of cork and bio-resin that features self-cleaning surfaces, phase changing materials and built-in sensors that generate energy from the footsteps of the visitors.

Bauhaus University of Weimar erects zero-carbon cinema pavilion

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Congresses and cultural events can also be managed on a zero-carbon basis. But not all organisers go so far as the Bauhaus University of Weimar did with its campus cinema project. A team of students under the guidance of Professors J�rgen Ruth and Rainer Gumpp erected a cinema pavilion there in which all the energy required for construction and ongoing operations is generated by the building itself.

Sustainability on stilts

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

The landscape around Stoke-on-Trent in northwestern England is known for its lakes and canals. On Westport Lake, a new Visitors Center (rated BREEAM Excellent) has just been completed by Walker Simpson Architects that combines natural ventilation, natural building materials (such as straw bales) and the natural cooling potential of the lake water.

Reinberg. Ecological Architecture

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

With this book, Georg W. Reinberg, a pioneer in solar architecture in Austria for the last 30 years, presents a monograph of the works of his studio, but in doing so also a kind of historical narrative of ecological building over that period.

Improving the energy efficiency of historic buildings

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Problems can occur in the case of historic buildings when the recommended energy-efficiency improvements conflict with preservation requirements. These are not insurmountable, but in some areas call for specialist skills in planning and execution.

New start in platinum

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

On 4 May 2007 a tornado devastated almost 95 per cent of the small town of Greensburg in Kansas. In the reconstruction effort, the city authorities set themselves an ambitious goal: all new buildings that were publicly financed would strive to achieve LEED Platinum accreditation, the highest level within the certification system of the U.S. Green Building Council.

Minergie on the summit

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Thirty-eight of the mountains surrounding Zermatt tower above 4,000 metres. Many of the mountain railway stations and viewing platforms also approach vertiginous heights. The "Matterhorn Glacier Paradise" tourist centre on the Klein Matterhorn is the highest viewing point in Europe reachable by cable car. The new building was built by Peak Architekten (Zermatt/Z�rich) and Ingenieurb�ro Lauber IWISA, to the Swiss Minergie-P standard.

Saving 120 tonnes of CO2

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Probably the world�s tallest timber-framed residential building was completed in recent months in the suburb of Hackney, in East London. Stadthaus, part of the Murray Grove Housing Development, stands 29.75 metres high. Apart from the plinth, which is of reinforced concrete, the entire building, including the two lift shafts and stairwells, was built of laminated plywood.

Solar flower power visions in the Negev Desert

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT

The new tower-like solar power station at Samar Kibbutz in the Negev Desert in southern Israel is an energy supplier and design object in one. Called the "Solar Flower" this decorative, vibrant orange structure was designed by Haim Dotan, the architect of the Israeli pavilion at EXPO 2010 in Shanghai.

Expressive forms, economical operation

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Expressive forms and a sustainable method of construction are the key features of this new community centre and home of the Chamber of Commerce in the Californian city of Palm Desert. Certified to LEED Gold standard, the 700 m2 building was designed by Narendra Patel as a cavity insulated construction of fair-faced concrete.

Energy efficiency in an extreme climate

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Preikestolen Fjellstue near Stavanger is a timber construction through and through: the walls and floors are all made of dowelled laminated plywood. The outer walls have a total thickness of 60 cm, which includes an additional 20 cm of cellulose insulation. The U value of the walls is 0.14 W/m2K. When compared to the old Fjellstue hut which this lodge replaces, energy consumption has been more than halved, bringing the total down to 111 kWh/m2.

Manitoba Hydro Place - A model for extreme climate responsive design

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Manitoba Hydro Place, the new headquarters of the fourth largest energy utility in Canada, recently opened its doors in downtown Winnipeg. The 22-storey office tower with LEED Platinum target was designed by Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects (Toronto) with Smith Carter Architects (Winnipeg) and climate engineers Transsolar (Stuttgart).

First zero-emission polar station

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT

71�57' S/23�20' E - these are the coordinates of the Belgian research station "Princess Elisabeth", which went into service in the eastern Antarctic in February 2009. As the first building construction on the sixth continent, the aim is for zero emissions from ongoing operations.

"Holcim Award" in gold goes to Morocco

Thu, 24 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Prizes for one of the largest competitions in the field of sustainable architecture are currently being awarded in several countries. Presented every three years, the Holcim Award in 2009 will go to projects from Morocco, Vietnam, China and the US.

Withdrawal from automobile business: The ARTIC project

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT

In California, railway transportation is currently enjoying a renaissance. In order to facilitate the changeover to this still unfamiliar means of transport for Americans, a new transportation hub is being created in Anaheim. When completed in 2013, it is expected to reach the LEED Platinum Standard.

Wanted: The triple zero

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT

The requirement that buildings must cover their own energy and water needs in future and, on top of this, should be CO2-neutral in the way that they are operated is often held up as a goal but is rarely put into practice. The American ZEROprize will now be awarded to the first restoration project that verifiably achieves a zero carbon footprint.

Energy upgrade of Sears Tower

Mon, 14 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT

First the twin towers of Deutsche Bank, then the Empire State Building in New York, and now Sears Tower in Chicago as well. Energy upgrade plans for well-known skyscrapers all over the world are now being made public. The project for the 442 metre-high office building, the highest in the western world, will no doubt put all previous projects in the shade.

Sustainable plans on the Persian Gulf

Sun, 13 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT

The Persian Gulf - a desert region when it comes to sustainable building as well? This seemed to be the case there for quite a long time. But in the meantime, Abu Dhabi in particular has become one of the world's biggest investors in solar energy and is now in the process of creating Masdar City, a model of ecological building. Moreover, it has initiated its own certification system for sustainable buildings.