Buildings

Melbourne: making green buildings the norm

Laurent Barelier — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 09:35:00 +0000

Melbourne has inherited from a “new world city” grid: much of the middle and outer suburbs are characterized by low density sprawl and high dependency on the automobile. But in 1985, the Strategic Plan - meant to revitalize the Central Business District - started to reverse the pattern. This masterplan has subsequently benefited from Jan Gehl’s expertise, who was invited in Melbourne to examine the city center and propose solutions for its revitalization.

Copenhagen: Modern retrofitting of a historic buildning

Sidsel Overby Hartlev — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 12:18:52 +0000

Investigators have used the renovation of the Fæstningens Materialgård, a cluster of buildings which played an important role in the expansion of Copenhagen’s defenses at the end of the 18th century and which are now protected by Denmark’s Heritage Agency, to study how to reduce a structure’s CO2 emissions without compromising its historic value. Since these buildings are now used as offices, investigators not only had to address issues of historic preservation and environmental sustainability, but also to create an attractive working environment.

Hørsholm: Denmark's most climate friendly kindergarten

Sarah Armitage — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 10:06:15 +0000

Active House is a web-based platform for sharing knowledge about sustainable building. The vision is to set up a holistic framework for how architects of the future can design and renovate buildings in order to make a positive contribution to human health and well-being by focusing on in indoor and outdoor environments as well as sustainable energy. By bringing daylight and fresh air into focus, Active House wants to promote a better environment in cultural, architectural and environmental terms.

Adelaide: A downtown sustainable oasis

Astrid Svane — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 12:20:02 +0000

The neighbourhood of Christie Walk in downtown Adelaide was built as a demonstration project to show that it is possible to create a neighbourhood that focuses on sustainability in every respect. Christie walk is tucked in between existing urban buildings in a 2000 m² closely developed area. Housing Association has 27 homes, including a townhouse, a block of flats and four straw-bale cottages. None of the privately owned houses are higher than three storeys and have shared outdoor areas. The residents helped to design the houses according to their own individual needs.

Zeist: Home to the WWF's innovative new Dutch headquarters

Astrid Svane — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 10:37:19 +0000

The building, dating from 1954, used to house an agricultural laboratory. RAU Architecture elected to shoehorn a 3-storey organically shaped addition into the middle of the existing building. The addition has upgraded the existing building and brought new life to the previously so stern, impersonal structure. The reconstructed building has had its energy consumption optimised and is now carbon-neutral.

Paimio: Healing power in sustainable architecture

Christopher Mackey — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 09:40:39 +0000

When Alvar Aalto designed his sanatorium in 1929, he didn’t know about carbon emissions or global warming or the scientifically-supported health benefits of sustainable built environments. He only had knowledge of what was economically logical in his industrial society, what little facts the field of medicine had uncovered at the time and, notably, his intuition. Yet these factors led him to produce a building with many characteristics that, by today’s standards, would be considered sustainable.

Frankfurt: Harmony between humans, nature... and computers

Christopher Mackey — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 08:43:23 +0000

Thinking back to the 1990’s, some may recall a time of incredible excitement when visions of cyberspace were suddenly fulfilled and designers began fusing the worlds of electronic technology with the built environment. This former time represents the generation of the Commerzbank Tower, the world’s first ecological skyscraper. Erected in Frankfurt, Germany, the building was originally commissioned in 1991 and was completed in 1997.

Manchester: Green Building secures reduced carbon emissions

Maria Nørlyng Leal — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 13:45:20 +0000

The Green Building has 32 flats, a medical clinic and a private daycare institution for 120 children. The 11-story building stands out in the cityscape with its distinctive architecture, wind turbines and solar panels on the roof. A number of environment technology solutions help to reduce carbon emissions by 60% compared to those of an average residential property.

Copenhagen: From gasometer to knowledge centre

Astrid Svane — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 14:16:50 +0000

On the edge of Valby Park in Copenhagen V stands one of the city's landmarks - a 108 metre-high cylindrical gasometer in traditional gas-blue. The structure once held 200,000 m³ of gas in one massive compartment. Natural light enters the gasometer at the top through biunique skylights, revealing the interior surface of the structure, which is rather like black mother-of-pearl. For 40 years, oil was pumped down the gasometer’s massive piston, leaving behind deposits which reflect the daylight.

Rhinebeck: Bringing buildings to life with the eco-machine

Christopher Mackey — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 12:24:56 +0000

The Living Building Challenge was introduced at the 2006 Greenbuild Conference in Denver, Colorado and has inspired some 60 projects across North America since its inception. On July 16th, 2009, the Omega Center for Sustinable Living in upstate New York became the first of these projects to cross the finish line and meet the standards of the challenge.

Copenhagen: Lighting the way in low-energy construction

Kasper Boye — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 12:28:23 +0000

The Green Lighthouse, while not actually a physical beacon on a coast, is designed to be the centre of activity at Nørre Campus: a branch of the University of Copenhagen, which is located in the University Park of Nørrebro and consists of facilities for the natural, medical, and pharmaceutical sciences. The campus’s new green architectural addition will offer meeting rooms, student services, and a faculty club.

Sutton: BedZED - Leading the way in eco village design

Malene Freudendal-Pedersen — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 10:13:34 +0000

If everyone in the world lived like the average North American, we would need five planets-worth of resources to subsist. Three planets would suffice if everyone lived like the average European but this is still a sure shot away from the one planet that we inhabit.