Architecture
Eco-Development and Sustainable Renovation
I’ve noticed an interesting trend lately. The renovation of old buildings. Gorgeous old buildings gutted and rebuilt from the inside-out, as green and sustainable new structures.
An exciting (and well-publicized) example of this is the Sanctuary development on Capital Hill in Seattle.
The original church was built in the early 1900s and has been a distinctive landmark of the neighborhood for years. Through the renovation of this historical icon, ecological- minded urban residences are being created.
The preservation of the beautiful building was a cornerstone of the project planning. Architectural details, bricks, wooden pews, flooring and windows were repurposed and used within the new residential development as stairs, detailing, in-fill and patching. New sustainable aspects of the housing itself include dual flush toilets and tankless water heaters. › Continue reading
USGBC’s Green Home Guide Beta
Margarido Home, LEED Platinum Certified.
Many of us are familiar with the LEED rating system from the United States Green Building Council (USGBC), which is a third party green building rating system for commercial and residential buildings. The LEED rating system has been adopted by the U.S. government and is used with all new construction and major renovation of federal buildings. LEED certifies buildings on a point based system in the areas of Sustainable Sites, Water Efficiency, Energy & Atmosphere, Materials & Resources, Indoor Environmental Quality, Locations & Linkages, Awareness & Education, Innovation in Design, and Regional Priority. Points are then added up to achieve Silver, Gold, or preferably Platinum certification. While mainly regarded as a tool for commercial building, there is also a LEED for Homes section that allows you to certify your home or neighborhood.
Recently, USGBC has launched a Green Home Guide. The site is an awesome resource for those of you looking to remodel or build a home in the near future. The site contains a myriad of resources for the casual and the serious green homemaker alike. The “Know How” section guides you through green building advice and educational articles to help you make better-informed decisions. They cover a diverse range of topics, and the content is growing everyday. With the rapid growth in the green building world, it’s a great resource if you need to get an idea of what’s out there.
› Continue reading
Greening of Seattles Paramount Theater
Seattle is a pretty green city, both in vegetation and environmental awareness (although the lack of public transportation situation is mind boggling), so it is only fitting that one of the most recognizable entertainment icons is getting a green revamp. The Paramount Theater near the heart of downtown Seattle is in the process of a green upgrade, starting with the signature marque sign.
The newly replicated sign will be approximately 90% more energy efficient. Currently The Paramount vertical sign has 1,932 incandescent bulbs using 11 watts per bulb, driven by several large mechanical chasers. The replacement consists of .75 watt LED bulbs with electrical chasers gaining the largest energy efficiency increase. Magnetic transformers will be replaced with Ventex High Power Factor (HPF) electronic transformers to power the neon portions of the sign. These units will save up to 66% of the energy currently being consumed by the neon lights.
North America’s Largest Living Green Wall
PNC now holds the title for the largest living green wall in North America currently hanging on the exterior of their Pittsburgh headquarters building located at One PNC Plaza. With approximately 14,448 plants covering 602 modular panels, the 2,380 square-feet living mural really livens up the 30-story building.
The eight varieties of plants, installed by locally sourced (within a 500 mile radius of downtown Pittsburgh) materials and labor, only need 15 minutes of irrigation per week. Not only does it look pretty, its also doing some work- reducing the ambient temperatures of the south-facing wall by 25%.
Not only that, PNC has constructed more green United States Green Building Council LEED certified buildings than any other company in the world with a count of 64 Green Branch locations and two office buildings.
Solé Solar Roof Tiles by SRS Energy
Keeping in the solar powered theme of my last post, I wanted to focus a bit less on tongue-in-cheek novelty and hone in on some serious design.
Many architects, homeowners and commercial building owners out there aren’t very fond of the blocky look of solar panels, especially if their roof is highly visible or conforming to a specific style. For those who want renewable energy and beautiful design, SRS Energy has answered their wishes with their line of Solé solar roof tiles.
These solar tiles mimic the Spanish or Mission-style homes of California and Italian villas and have a curved surface and SRS Energy has partnered with US Tile to produce an easy to install standard size roof tile (which can be integrated with traditional clay tiles if desired). Instead of being the traditional orange/red colored clay tile, these solar tiles are made up of triple-junction amorphous solar cells produced by Uni-Solar. They are not quite as efficient as traditional crystalline silicon panels because of their curved shape semiconductor design, however, this is made up by the efficiency of the system.
New Solar Panel Powered Stadium in Taiwan
A beautiful integration of renewable energy and modern green design, the recently finished solar stadium in Taiwan will welcome the 2009 World Games to 3,300 lights and two jumbo screens all on 100% solar energy. Designed by Toyo Ito, the 14,155 sq meter roof consists of 8,844 solar panels generating 1.14m KWh (that is 1.14 gigawatt hours of electricity) a year.
When not powering the stadium lights, the power will be funneled into the local power grid and is expected to meet almost 80% of the neighboring area’s energy requirements. It is estimated that this stadium will prevent 660 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) a year from being released into the atmosphere when compared to a traditional powered stadium of this size.
› Continue reading
Energy Active Eco Home- Taking Energy Efficiency Positive
This technologically advanced home boasts a computer controlled system that regulates the home like a human body. Monitoring temperature, seasons and the time of day to maximize efficiency, this home is an energy over achiever- creating more energy than it uses. While this may sound futuristic, it’s happening right now, in a cold and cloudy Lystrup, Denmark in fact.
Increasingly popular in the U.S., Passive Houses are energy efficient homes that mitigate power through the use of solar, wind or other renewable energy sources. These homes are becoming the standard throughout most of Europe prompting a new frontier of energy Active Houses. These Active Houses are highly efficient homes that captures more energy than the occupants need for heat and power and require not only super efficient building techniques and materials, but also onsite renewable energy sources.
For eight months a year, the solar cells produce excess energy to sell to the grid. In the winter months, the house buys back electricity – from renewable sources, of course. When a mass-market battery car finally reaches the market, there will be a charger for it in the garage and energy to spare.
Green Prefab Housing – Method Homes Balance S-M-L Series
Balance Medium Prefab by Method Homes
Method Homes just came out with a new series of green prefab structures named Balance S-M-L. These building modules are constructed to be 95% complete upon arrival, and complete within 2-3 months of purchase.
I have always been a fan of the newer green prefab house design, and these are a perfect example of what makes them great. Smart, efficient and well designed, the series of self-contained modular units. Great design and quality construction can also be affordable, with custom detailing and natural modern aesthetic at prices starting under $100,000.
› Continue reading
Green Renovation to Global Institute of Sustainability Building on ASU Campus – Structure Recycling
ASU's School of Sustainability - (c) 2008 Mark Boisclair Photography
Think of it as re-modernizing an old out of date building with new eco-friendly modern architecture, efficient green features, and a targeting silver-level LEED certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. The old Arizona State University Nursing Building underwent a $3 million renovation and upgrade primarily for asbestos abatement; fire and life safety, HVAC and lighting system upgrading; and making the elevators, stairways and restrooms ADA compliant. The home of the new School of Sustainability, the Global Institute of Sustainability Building is quite an impressive restoration and renewal and is the hub of Arizona State University’s sustainability initiatives. Its School of Sustainability, the first of its kind in the United States, offers › Continue reading
California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco
As a little post-thanksgiving trip, my family and I decided to head down to the all new California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park. If you aren’t familiar, it houses the Steinhart Aquarium, Morrison Planetarium, Kimball Natural History Museum, and is home to world-class research and education programs- all under one green roof.
What a extraordinary building and beautiful place. The recently completed rebuild due to damage from the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, boasts a design by award-winning architect Renzo Piano. The green architecture is readily apparent, but does not distract from the elegance and architectural design of the building. One of the most striking features, noticeable right away, is the green roof. This living roof is planted with 2.5 acres of native vegetation, composed of 9 native California species. No irrigation is required and it will provide habitat for a diverse collection of wildlife, from hummingbirds to butterflies. An amazing (and at the same time kind of terrifying) feature is that this native garden roof contains the largest concentration of native vegetation in San Francisco (an estimated 1.7 million native plants). See other green living roofs and walls in a previous post.
“When the Academy was faced with the need to rebuild, the institution’s visionary Board of Trustees committed to building a new home that was as sustainable as possible,” said Academy Executive Director Dr. Gregory Farrington. “Our goal was to create a new facility that would not only hold powerful exhibits but serve as one itself, inspiring visitors to conserve natural resources and help sustain the diversity of life on Earth.
The building itself is platinum LEED certified, and at 54 points, it is the greenest (and most sustainable) museum building in the world right now. It boasts renewable energy efficiencies i had never heard of, such as sensor faucets in the bathroom which charge themselves with each use. A turbine in the plumbing generates electricity to recharge the batteries each time the faucet is turned on. Solar panels provide 10% of the museums energy needs and natural lighting in almost every room decreases the need for artificial lighting. A state of the art HVAC (heating and cooling) system was integrated into the buildings design, reducing energy costs using radiant floor heating, efficient window glass and heat recovery systems. The building itself was created using recycled and reclaimed building materials and sustainably harvested wood, and the insulation was provided from recycled blue jeans.
Admission to the Academy is: $24.95 for adults; $19.95 for youth ages 12 to 17, Seniors ages 65+ and students with valid ID; $14.95 for children ages 7 to 11; and free for children ages 6 and younger. The Academy is free to the public on the third Wednesday of each month. Admission fees include all exhibits and shows. Hours are 9:30 am – 5:00 pm Monday – Saturday, and 11:00 am – 5:00 pm on Sunday. The Academy is closed on Thanksgiving and Christmas. Visit them online at www.calacademy.org or call (415) 379-8000 for more information.
Recycling Religiously – Temple of Glass
Photo by Chaiwat Subprasom/Reuters
Built with more than a million glass bottles, the Wat Pa Maha Chedi Kaew temple in Thailand’s Sisaket province is quite the model for sustainable. Located about 600 km (370 miles) northeast of Bangkok, the
REUTERS/Chaiwat Subprasom
Thai Buddhist temple has found an environmentally friendly way to utilize discarded bottles and has used them to build everything in its premises, from a crematorium to shelters and toilets. I can imagine the amount of natural light and colors are simply breathtaking. Unfortunately i don’t live in Thailand and I couldn’t find much more information about it in English anywhere, but somehow it still seemed relevant to this blog.
[via china daily]
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