Blogs & Ecology

It seems to be all the rage these days: Every building proposal has lush green balconies. It is hard to tell how it is done; when you look closely at the renderings of this proposal for Milano Santa Monica, via homedesignfind, one really cannot tell if there are planters in front of the handrails or if it is just sorta stuck there like Christmas decorations. Nor do you know who maintains them, whether each owner is responsible, whether gardeners have rights of entry, or whether they rappel down the exterior of the building....

It is a sort of showroom for a residential project, the likes of which are often built and then thrown away. This one is designed for easy demolition and recovery after use.

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Washington, DC, which consistently scores high in sustainability rankings for its excellent public transportation, walkability, and green space, has few accolades in the area of green building. While the majority of the nation's biggest environmental organizations are headquartered here, some of them with LEED-certified buildings, the priva...

Credit: Pelli Clarke Pelli

Image: Green Roof Blocks

We have been showing some of the work of students at London's Architectural Association School of Architecture, where they were looking at models for integrating food production into the fabric of the city.

Taebeom Kim envisions a Gastronomic Garden. Pruned writes:

Flo Florian and Sascha Akkermann of design firm Confused Direction have designed a lovely floating home. it is ecofriendly, too, with zero-emissions, a green roof, and materials such as 250 year old larch wood salvaged from an old farmer's shed.

More beautiful pics after the jump.
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TreeHugger has discussed Solar One before, and George had posted a video of Solar Two

Now it appears that the proposed education facility has won the whacking big Holcim Award, $100,000 provided by one of the world's largest cement and aggregate companies to honour the best in sustainable construction, what some might call a bit of a contradiction but I will let that one pass. ...

Image: ouyea

Viennese artist, Friedensreich Hundertwasser, has designed what has become one of the more unique and visually stimulating buildings in the world. With over 1000 unique windows, individualized handles on windows and doors, a living roof, café, parking garage, restaurant, bar, playground, and a running stream, the Waldspirale in Darmstadt, Germany is an architectural wonder. Upon first glance, second and third, one is simply enchanted and astonished.

Image source: KLTV

Warning! If you do not want to live in a straw bale house with a living roof and solar panels to power your satellite internet connectivity, DO NOT watch the video over the fold!

Holy Green: The world's smallest state aims to become the first net zero emitter. (photo via Wikipedia)

This week, the Vatican did its part to make the move to renewable energy, as workers began installing the first of 2,400 solar panels on the roof of the papal audience hall in Vatican City. The Vatican's new solar roof, reportedly worth nearly $1.5 million, should need only minimal maintenance for the next 25 years.

Flower Tower by Edouard François

Frank Lloyd Wright once said, “A doctor can bury his mistakes, but an architect can only advise his clients to plant vines.” It turns out that his suggestion is also a good idea for creating handsome buildings. And who wants to hide an investment in green away on the roof when you can hang it out for everyone to see?

Image source: Chicago Climate Action Plan

Triptyque has built an office building in Sao Paulo that proudly wears its services on the exterior with a very industrial aesthetic, but is also full of planted "pores", complete with a misting system. They write:

"Like a living body, the building breathes, sweats and modifies itself, transcending its inertia. The walls are thick and covered externally by a vegetal layer that works like the skin of the structure. This dense wall is made of an organic concrete that has pores, where several plant species grow, giving the facades a unique look."...