California approves the first statewide green building code

Once again Inhabitat tipped us on green news, and a very important one when it comes to buildings: the state of unanimously approved a statewide green building code. The code will enter in full effect in 2010, to give industry and enforcement agencies the time to prepare for the new building standards.

The goals of this building code are to reduce water usage in residential and commercial structures by 20% and cutting water used in landscaping by 50%, cut the energy usage of all new structure by 15% and advocates the use of recycled and eco-friendly materials in construction as well as “flooring, carpeting, paint, coatings, thermal insulation and acoustic wall and ceiling panels”.

I couldn´t expect less from California, a state that i personally love not only because of the weather, but because of how its inhabitants think and care about the enviroment.

You can check the building code in PDF format here.

Via Inhabitat. California flag via Flickr.

The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art / Steven Holl Architects

Architects: Steven Holl Architects
Location: Kansas City, MO, USA
Architects: Steven Holl, Chris McVoy (design architect), Chris McVoy (partner in charge), Martin Cox, Richard Tobias (project architect), Masao Akiyoshi, Gabriela Barman-Kraemer, Matthias Blass, Molly Blieden, Elissavet Chryssochoides, Robert, Edmonds, Simone Giostra, Annette Goderbauer, Mimi Hoang, Makram El-Kadi, Edward Lalonde, Li Hu, Justin Korhammer, Linda Lee, Fabian Llonch, Stephen O’Dell, Irene Vogt, Urs Vogt, Christian Wassmann (project team)
Local Architect: BNIM Architects
Project Year: 1999-2007
Structural Engineer: Guy Nordenson and Associates
Mechanical Engineer: Ove & Partners / W.L. Cassell & Associates
 Consultant: R.A. Heintges & Associates
Lighting Consultant: Renfro Design Group
Landscape Architect: Gould Evans Goodman Associates
Artist: Walter De Maria
Budget: US $200,000,000
Constructed Area: 15,329 sqm
Photographs: ©Andy Ryan

DVF Studio Headquarters / Work AC

Work AC shared with us another project built in Manhattan, the Diane von Furstenberg HQ in TriBeca. An amazing renewal of an historic building. The light use is accented by the use of hanging crystals. I personally like the landscaping on the rooftop, wich reminds me of the High Line passing nearby. You can also see the new The Standard hotel in the back, which is actually being built over the High Line.

Architect: WORK AC – Amale Andraos & Dan
Location: New York,
Design Period: June 2004 to February 2005
Demolition Period: February 2005 to February 2006
Construction Period: February 2006 to June 2007
Project Architects: Silvia Fuster, Eckart Graeve, Michael Chirigos
Design Team: Mirza Mujezinovic, Kirsten Krogh, Rune Elsgart, Christina Kwak, Andrew Sinclair, Brendan Kelly, Marc El Khouri, Judith Tse, Lamare Wimberly, Benjamin Cadena, Dana Strasser, Tina Diep, Jacob Lund, Erin Hunt, Martin Hensen Krogh, Martin Laursen, Dayoung Shin, Sylvanus Shaw, Forrest Jesse, Queenie Tong, Christo Logan, Fred Awty, Elliet Spring, Anna Kenoff.
Structural Engineering: Goldstein and Associates
Mechanical Engineering: Athwal Associates (main building) / Syska Hennessy (penthouse)
General Contractor: Americon
Crystals, Research and Development: D. Swarovski & Co.
Client: Diane von Furstenberg (DVF) Studio
New Building Area: 2,790 sqm
Budget: US $28,000,000
Photographs: Elizabeth Felicella

Capitol Residence – Pb Elemental Architecture

Architects: Pb Elemental Architecture
Location: , Washington, US
Contractor: Lead Construction
Landscape: Volz Landscaping
Interior Design: Modern Dwelling, LLC
Constructed Area: 1.688 sqft (156.8 sqm)
Design Period: 60 days
Construction year: 2008
Photographs: Pb Elemental Architecture

Mount Baker Residense / Pb Elemental Architecture

Architects: Pb Elemental Architecture
Location: , Washington, US
Structural Engineer: Pangeo
Landscape: Volz Landscaping
Constructed Area: 2.940 sqft (273 sqm)
Project year: 2007
Construction year: 2008
Photographs: Pb Elemental Architecture

PS1 Young Architects Program 2008 / Work Architecture Company

UPDATE: See a video on the construction and photos of the project finished on this article.

Every year the PS1 Gallery at the Museum of Modern Art in invites young emerging architects to propose a temporary structure for their Warm-up Music festival, and unless you´ve been living under a rock for the last few months, you already know that Work AC won this years edition with their PF1 (Public Farm One) proposal.

PF1 (Public Farm One) is an urban farm concept built with inexpensive and sustainable materials recyclable after its use at , such as cardboard tubes that form a continuous surface creating multiple zones of activity including swings, fans, sound effects, innovative seating areas, and a refreshing pool at its center, as an Urban Beach.

We visited Work AC (interview coming this Sunday) and they told us how this project allowed them to get in touch with non architects for the technique for growing plants on the cardboard tube structure, which enriched the development of the project. They also worked with LERA structural engineers.

Installation opens June 20th, hosting the 2008 Warm Up summer music series at the PS1. You can follow the construction progress at the Public Farm 1 website.

AD Interviews: Mark Foster Gage / Gage Clemenaceau

Gage / Clemenceau Architects is a NY based architectural firm that deals with a wide scale of projects, from product design, commercial & residential projects to exhibition design. Also runners for the Program @ PS1 in 2007, ´s work is motivated by the premise that architecture transcends the practice of mere building- in favor of a new and vibrant alliance between progressive technologies, new materials, context and program.

We interviewed Mark Foster Gage (G/C partner, assistant professor at Yale), and discussed about education, media, networking role of architects in contemporary society, among other topics regarding the current state of architectural practice in our second issue of AD Interviews, in a very interesting and fluid talk.

More interviews each Sunday. Please leave your feedback at the comments for future issues.

Pictures of the Gage Clemenceau Studio after the break.

Two residences in New York / Gage Clemenceau

While visiting Gage Clemenceau Architects we learned about their design process and research on building new forms through diverse design strategies that range from the use of automotive design software to a heavy reliance on robotic digital fabrication tools.

This time we bring you two residences in by – Mark Foster Gage & Marc Clemenceau Bailly.

Grand Rapids Art Museum: LEED Gold Certified / wHY Architecture

Architects: wHY Architecture
Location: Grand Rapids, , USA
Client: Grand Rapids Art Museum
Area: 125.000sqf
Construction start: 2004
Completion: 2007
General contractors: Rockford / Pepper Construction
Concrete contractor: Grand River Construction
Structural Engineer: Dewhurst Macfarlane and Partners
Environmental Engineer: Atelier Ten / Design Plus, Inc.
Lighting Consultant: Isometrix Lighting + Design
Curtain Wall Consultant: W.J. Higgins & Associates
Landscape Design: Design Plus
Photos: Steve Hall, Scott McDonald & Chris Barret

In Progress: Contemporary Jewish Museum by Daniel Libeskind

Sorry for the lack of posts this last few days, but before leaving to San Francisco my computer died. Now i´m back home with a borrowed computer, and will be posting some buildings i found in SF.

This two rotated cubes are part of the adaptation of the 1907 Jessie Street Power Substation, adjacent to the Yerba Buena Park in San Francisco, into the new Jewish Contemporary Museum by Daniel Libeskind Studio and local architects WRNS Studio. The project houses 63,000 sq feet for exhibitions and programs in visual, performing and media arts, and includes 3,500 square feet of space for education.