Taipei 101, famous for being one of the world’s tallest buildings, is set to get some major eco-upgrades in an effort to save money, reduce its impact, and gain the much coveted title of “World’s Tallest Green Building.” In 2007, the Burj Dubai surpassed Taipei 101 in terms of height, but the Taiwanese building won’t give up the fight, throwing down $1.8 million in energy efficiency upgrades, which are expected to yield $20 million annually in savings and make it the Earth’s greenest and tallest building.
Over the next 18 months, the skyscraper will undergo significant energy efficiency upgrades and will also seek LEED Gold certification for existing buildings. The certification will largely depend on the building performance after the upgrades and renovations take place. The owners of Taipei 101 are teaming up with SL+A International Asia Inc., Siemens and EcoTech International Inc. to complete the eco-upgrades. Seen at Inhabitat. More images after the break. read more »
With the debut of the international Blue Award, the Department of Spatial and Sustainable Design, from the Institute of Architecture and Design, is announcing an award for the best student works in the topic of sustainable architecture and building culture. The opening presentation of the Blue Award will take place on November 10, 2009 at the TU Vienna. From that point on, works from Bachelor, Master or Diploma studies can be submitted. The competition is open worldwide to students of architecture, regional planning and urbanism. Prizes totaling 15,000 Euros will be awarded.
The competition was initiated by the architect Univ. Prof. Mag. Arch. Françoise-Hélène Jourda, director of the Department of Spatial and Sustainable Design, and functions under the patronage of the International Union of Architects (UIA).
The award’s main purpose is to encourage the topic of sustainability in architecture, regional planning an urbanism. Concurrently, it shall recognize and award students and teachers dedicated in pursuing the topic in their studies. The Blue Award aims at the helping standardize the exchange between various architecture schools and faculties. For more information, visit the competition’s official website.
Jesus Robles, Dale Rush and Cade Hayes from DUST design build have designed a mountain retreat for a small family of three in Arizona. The home attempts to preserve as much of the land as possible as a way to hold on to the “history and mysteries of the Sonoran Desert.” Users must walk through a dense forest of saguaros, ocotillo and Paloverde trees before seeing the house unfold in the landscape and ultimately arriving at the sculptural entry stairs.
The surPLUShome is based on a single room concept. The interior design is characterized by a multi functional body as its central element. This body contains primary functions like the kitchen, stairs and the bath and defines the possible use of close-by space. Besides it takes over functions of furniture and the building services.
But the most interesting aspect of this house is its shingle inspired ventilated skin, using photovoltaic modules.
By reading the jury’s comments, the project was highly acclaimed by two aspects: the inside/outside integration and the high quality of the project documentation.
On this integration, the house offers 700 square feet of decking that includes a large central courtyard and strategically placed openings which extend each living space to the outside, contributing to the overall feeling of spaciousness.
Clerestory windows and large sliding doors contribute to this integration, and is also part of the energy strategy, by bringing a high amount of natural daylight inside the house, minimizing the electric load. The interiors incorporates materials and products from individuals and companies that have demonstrated their dedication to sustainable practices, and others such as a lamp made from plastic drinking straws. Reclaimed California redwood rainscreen covers the house’s exterior, providing a warm hue and varied texture.
City as Living Factory of Ecology, winning entry by ARUP, Sauerbruch Hutton, Experientia and Galley Eco Capital.
In my opinion, the best sustainable projects have been in small scales. Urban scale projects have been more difficult to get going, due to the their inherent complexity.
But I am confident that recent initiatives are about to make the step forward, specially the ones that are being produced on countries that have the have their governments focused on this.
On of this examples is the recently awarded Low2No design competition, organized by Sitra (Finnish Innovation Fund) and the City of Helsinki, to find a on design a large building complex on a reclaimed harbour at the western edge of Helsinki’s central business district.
Given that the repertoire of sustainable urban development models is still in its infancy, the question of “who & how” is our question of first order. WHO: We believe that identifying the best team and approach is the key factor impacting the robustness of the final solution. HOW: Our competition is designed to seek approaches for four central objectives applied at the scale of a city block:
low- and one day no- carbon emissions
energy efficiency
high architectural, spatial and social value
sustainable materials and methods
The finalists included top practices and consultants such as ARUP, Sauerbrunch Hutton, Space Syntax, Transsolar, ARO, REX, Front, BIG, among others. The award went to C_Life by ARUP, Sauerbruch Hutton, Experientia and Galley Eco Capital.
Videos and boards for the winning and finalists entries after the break.
Graft Lab’s latest addition to Dubai, entitled Vertical Village, is a cluster of mix-use buildings that emphasize reducing solar gain and maximizing solar production. The buildings are self-shaded on the northern side and on the east-west axis to reduce long-angle sun penetration. Solar collectors on the south end automatically pivot to maximize solar-energy aggregation. The multi-use building, which is expected to earn a LEED Gold Certificate, offers an appealing aesthetic which will easily make its mark 0n Dubai’s dynamic skyline. The “futuristic” angular forms create a shared central space with large pools, while the compositional assemblage of the individual buildings form a cohesive whole.
Greeen! Architects have been awarded an honorable mention for their Eco Towers, an office building in Hamburg, Germany for the Building and Environment Authorities. The office will accommodate 1400 people and will include several public areas as well as green gardens to “give room to nature and a create a green ambiance to all workers and visitors.”
More about the Eco Towers after the break. read more »
At the beginning of the summer we visited SYNTHe, a urban rooftop garden designed and built by professor Alexis Rocha (I/O Platform founder) with SCI-Arc students.
The SYNTHe project is a 3,000sqf structure located on the top of The Flat, a mid rise residential building in downtown Los Angeles, and its the first green garden approved by city official. The idea of this “green blanket” over at the top of the building is to reduce the building heat gain, reduce storm water waste (80% is captured and used for irrigation) and to establish a sustainable plant ecosystem that collaborated with air pollutants filtering. It also reclaims the rooftop area from HVAC, ventilation and fire control systems, giving a new terrace for the users of the building.
Inside this blanket, 1,500sqf are dedicated to the production of edible plant species, and we had the chance to taste them at the restaurant during lunch, very good. The species planted include:
EXP Architects and teammates Studiomustard Architecture, Sempervirens Landscape Designers and Even Conseil have won the design for the Ecodistrict “Heudelet 26” in Dijon, France. Located in proximity to the city center, the new urban design will be the first of Dijon’s Ecodistricts and serve as a model for later developments. The district will enhance “the neighborhood’s identity and density by favouring mixed income and mixed generational housing, thus testifying to a new way of conceiving urban development.”
More about the Ecodistrict after the break. read more »
The skylines of the world´s most important cities (except for Dubai I guess) are shaped by the typical office tower. The reason is simple: it provides a flexible floor plan, with an economical structural system. “Bang for the buck” if you want to call it. To address lighting and cooling issues that these tower traditionally have, electric lighting and air conditioning were the solution.
But in times when energy is a big issue, we can no longer design buildings that depend on high consumption to provide a comfortable working environment, specially in tropical weathers. And this is what BIG had as a design principle for the Shenzhen International Energy Mansion competition they just won, proposing a tower based on an efficient and well-proven floor plan, enclosed in a skin specifically modified and optimized for the local climate.
Exterior render
We propose to enhance the sustainable performance of the building drastically by only focusing on its envelope, the façade.
We propose to make the Shenzhen Energy Mansion the first specimen of a new species of office buildings that exploit the buildings interface with the external elements – sun, daylight, air humidity, wind – as a source to create a maximum comfort and quality inside.
The Shenzhen Energy Mansion will appear as a subtle mutation of the classic skyscraper – a natural evolution rather than a desperate revolution.
More details on how this facade works, along with more information after the break:
We’ve featured several master plans where countries implement eco-friendly community measures in their newest developments. The desire for a well planned, green city now belongs to South Korea, who announced not one, but two master plans (Foster + Partners’ plan soon to be featured on AD). For the Songdo International Business District, Kohn Pedersen Fox has created a functioning network of over 120 green buildings placed amidst acres of landscaped open spaces. Located on 1,500 acres on the waterfront of Incheon, the $300 billion plan will provide housing for 75,000 residents and handle 300,000 commuters.
More about the sustainable community after the break. read more »
The future well being of cities around the globe depends on mankind’s ability to develop and integrate sustainable technology.
LAVA designed the Masdar City as the city of the future; positioned at the forefront of integrating sustainable technology into modern architectural design. Rome, Athens, Florence; most great historical cities have had the plaza, forum, or square at their epicentre – where the life, values, ideals, and vision of the population evolved. Equally, the centre of Masdar must be an iconic beacon that attracts global attention to sustainable technology.
The Frontier Project, located in Cucamonga, Southern California, is a 14,000 square foot demonstration building that will educate all in the community about the latest information, technologies and approaches regarding environmental friendliness. The project will make resident consumers, commercial builders, and sustainable advocates aware and informed of the alternative building methods to encourage sustainability. HMC Architects’ building will not just be something for visitors to look at and admire; rather, the building will become more of a learning experience as visitors are welcomed into its spaces and sustainable strategies are pointed out with their importance explained. “Everything from material and plant selection, the layout of space, and the maintenance regime will have a purpose, demonstrating the principle of green design for home owners, consumers, contractors, design professionals, sustainability advocates and the general public,” explained the Frontier Project founders.
More about the demonstration building, including a video and images, after the break.
Hamburg-Harburg Harbor, Germany, is on the cusp of it’s first nearly entirely sustainable creative-industrial complex. The development ECO CITY, designed by tec architecture with the help of ARUP, aims to attract industry, entertainment and pedestrian life back to the neighborhood. ECO CITY’s ten major structures, ranging in size from studios to large warehouses, offer a variety of “different spaces for different purposes, bringing both large-scale industry and creative start-ups together in one, cooperative, and eco friendly business community.”
The Waterpod ProjectTM has been floating around the New York area for the past few months gaining a lot of attention. Beginning in Newtown Creek, between Brooklyn and Queens, the Pod is moving down the East River and Hudson River. As reported by Melena Ryzik for The New York Times (view her articles here) this experimental project investigates the blend of community living and artistry. Showcasing artworks, performances and such, the WaterpodTM, is an eco-conscious environment that was designed “In preparation for our coming world with an increase in population, a decrease in usable land, and a greater flux in environmental conditions, people will need to rely closely on immediate communities and look for alternative living models; the Waterpod is about cooperation, collaboration, augmentation, and metamorphosis,” explained Mary Mattingly, a photographer who thought of the Waterpod idea.
More about the WaterpodTM after the break. read more »
Internationally recognized practice RMJM Architects have recently announced their groundbreaking $1 billon mixed-use complex for the Atasehir district, the growing residential and business area of Istanbul, Turkey. RMJM’s complex will allow the new business center to flourish by serving 20,000 people and providing for a variety of their needs. The project will be revolutionary for Turkey as it will become the country’s first LEED-certified mixed-use development upon its 2011 completion date.
More images and more about the complex after the break. read more »
The Sage Residence in Eugene, Oregon was both designed and built by Arbor South Architecture. The residence, designed as “a super efficient demonstration house” illustrates the firm’s green abilities. In addition to receiving an impressive score of 110 in the LEED rating, the home includes beautiful exteriors and interiors.
Cannon Design shared with us their latest mental health center for Pima County. The project creates a “holistic healing campus” to serve various facets of behavioral medicine. By integrating the architectural design with the raw beauty of the Sonora Desert, the project “balances the challenges of a complex interdisciplinary program, unique environmental conditions, and a lean construction budget.”
More about the health center and more images after the break. read more »
