DETAIL Green News-Feed Projects

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

This is how MVRDV sees the future of Paris

Tue, 18 Aug 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Nicolas Sarkozy is walking in the footsteps of Baron Haussmann: Ten teams of architects and planners were invited by the French president in June 2008 to develop a vision for the future for Paris in the year 2030. One of the plans, which can be seen up to November in the "Cité de l'Architecture"exhibition in Paris, comes from Rotterdam architect's office MVRDV.

Architecture learns how to swim

Mon, 17 Aug 2009 00:00:00 GMT

With the "IBA Dock, the International Building Exhibition (Internationale Bausausstellung = IBA) in Hamburg takes to the water: Designed by Han Slawik, the construction moves up and down with the tide - and uses its floating concrete substructure for cooling in summer and heating in winter.

Solar "filling station" opened in Bozen

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT

South Tyrol gets serious about solar mobility: The "E-Move Charging Station", a pilot project of the Bozen entrepreneur Valentin Runggaldier, is to supply electrically operated bicycles, scooters, cars and even mobile phones with the necessary "fuel" from the sun. The solar charging stations were designed by Michael Scherer from Brixen.

Controlled gesture in the countryside

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT

The Long Barn Studio is in the middle of Bedfordshire, on the outskirts of the village of Maulden. The brief was for a creative and demonstrative studio space and site, which would provide a comfortable, healthy and inspiring environment for the architect's own office.

Record-breaking solar roof installation in the Lower Rhine area

Mon, 18 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Germany's biggest thin-film photovoltaic system mounted on a pitched roof in Moers has now started operating. In future, the more than 11,000 modules are to supply a nominal power output of 837 kilowatts of electricity, enough to cover the needs of 170 households.

European Investment Bank, Luxembourg

Fri, 01 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT

The European Investment Bank (EIB) in Luxembourg is one of the largest public lending institutions in the world. Recognizing environmental sustainability as a "core priority" of its business, it was only natural for the EIB to stipulate high environmental standards, energy efficiency and a responsible treatment of natural resources as key priorities for its latest extension.

Bank of America Tower

Fri, 01 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT

After the Empire State Building, the nearly completed Bank of America Tower is the second-highest skyscraper in New York. Located close to Times Square, the building is the outcome of many years of collaboration between two powerful instances with common interests.

A lot of lime - little CO2 emission

Fri, 01 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Riches Hawley Mikhail's Clay Field project of 26 affordable homes was conceived as a demonstration scheme, to design low-cost, locally-inspired housing in the context of an existing village, and develop exemplary new approaches to sustainability, avoiding "greenwash".