One of the main principles of permaculture is that “the problem is the solution.” Problem: tons of waste cups created by attendees of the OutsideLands concert in San Francisco. Solution: a fabulous recycled cup canopy. BIOS Design Collective tapped a keg and invited their friends over for a canopy party, building a gorgeous wave of concave color at Stable Cafe just in time for Architecture and the City.

Read the rest of re:Use Canopy Upcycled from Plastic Cups by BIOS Design Collective

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Post tags: aiasf, beer keg, BIOS, Canopy, eco-art, OutsideLands, Recycled Materials

The 2009 World Architecture Festival took place this week in Barcelona, drawing great minds to discuss, learn, share and award excellent architectural designs and completed projects. This year’s theme dealt with how to achieve Less With More and the relationship between cities and architecture, with climate change and sustainability playing key roles. The winners of the festival have been announced and we want to highlight four of the completed buildings that stand out for their environmentally sensitive and sustainable designs. Read on to see all of these noteworthy buildings.

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Post tags: "sustainable architecture", 2009, Barcelona, Mapungubwe Interpretation Centre, Pearl Academy of Fashion, Restaurant Tusen, Unileverhaus, WAF 2009, winners, world architecture festival

Situated in an defunct arms manufacturing facility in Saint-Etienne, the recently unveiled Cité du Design is a stunning international center for design. Designed by LIN, the project completely renovated the historic complex and integrated a new facility made out of triangular scaffolding. Powered by solar energy and supplemented by an efficient heating system, the energy efficient Cité du Design is a world class design center that lives up to its name.

Read the rest of Cité du Design: Solar Powered International Design Center Unveiled

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Post tags: Cite du Design, energy efficient design, france, heat recovery, International Design Center, lattice structure, LIN, photovoltaic cells, Saint-Etienne, solar panels

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 building that’s also closest to the heavens!

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Post tags: "energy efficiency", energy efficiency upgrade, green upgrade, taipei, taipei 101, Taiwan, world's tallest building

When Architect Adi Purnomo of Mamostudio set out to design a live, work, and exhibition space for a photographer/painter client, he knew that maximizing natural light would be a necessity. Purnomo also pushed his studio’s creative design process to maintain the temperature of the home’s interior spaces through passive means whenever possible. The resulting Puri Indah House features an intricate series of slanted walls that reflect sunlight throughout the day, while intermingled gardens and interior pools of water ensure that the house is shaded and kept cool.

Read the rest of Puri Indah House: Poetic Sustainability in Jakarta, Indonesia

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Post tags: Green Building, Mamostudio, passive solar design, Passive Sustainable Methods, Purii Indah House, sustainable design, Sustainable Green Housing

High Density green living is on the rise in Elwood, Australia with Crosby Architect’s new Elwood Green project. Living up to its name, the high-density apartment building will house 25 units that are expected to receive an average 6-star rating – the highest honor currently available from the Green Building Council of Australia. What comes as a bit of surprise is the lack of active systems assisting in the green rating, which just goes to show that old ingenuity and smart design can create buildings every bit as sustainable as the most high-tech structures.

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Post tags: 6 star Rating, Crosby Architects, Elwood Green, Green Building, Green Building Council of Australia, Sustainable Building

Mark Twain had a garden shed; he called it “the loveliest study you ever saw…octagonal with a peaked roof, each face filled with a spacious window…perched in complete isolation on the top of an elevation that commands leagues of valley and city and retreating ranges of distant blue hills. It is a cozy nest and just room in it for a sofa, table, and three or four chairs, and when the storms sweep down the remote valley and the lighting flashes behind the hills beyond and the rain beats upon the roof over my head—imagine the luxury of it.”

But in recent times, the humble garden shed has become an outlet for designers to experiment in small spaces that often slide under the radar of zoning bylaws, providing extra room for study, relaxation or just getting away from everyone else.

Read the rest of Garden Sheds Are an Explosion of Architectural Experimentation

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Post tags: Architecture, building, garden sheds, green design, green roof, Prefab, prefab architecture, sustainable design

COBE Architects blasted away its competitors with a sexy and bike-friendly new design in the recent competition to redesign Copenhagen’s Norreport train station. Almost retro in its lines, the architects’ vision of the new station is composed of a series of rounded, floating roofs set upon striking glass pavilions. Since bicycles are a preferred means of transportation in Copenhagen, ample bike parking was a main feature of the new structure, and other green features will include energy-efficient lighting and natural ventilation.

Read the rest of COBE Wins First Prize for Bike-Friendly Norreport Station in Copenhagen

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Post tags: bike parking, COBE architects, copenhage, LED lighting, LED screens, natural ventilation, norreport train station, train station, ventilation towers

Herzog & de Meuron recently unveiled their finished design for the new Miami Art Museum, which will be a stunning building surrounded by hanging gardens with tropical plants. Fit for a world renowned art museum, the new MAM will be three times as large as the existing building and will be aiming for LEED Silver certification. A fluid and adaptable interior layout combined with outdoor gardens and sculpture exhibition space will allow the MAM to expand for future growth.

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Post tags: "leed", hanging gardens, Herzog and, herzog and de meuron, Herzog and deMeuron, LEED silver certification, Miami art museum, natural lighting

What began as an assemblage of 1,000 empty beer cartons pulled together by residents in East Germany has now evolved into an incredible open air public library. Designed by Karo Architekten in collaboration with local residents, the grassroots project revitalizes a post-industrial district in Magdeburg, Germany by creating a cultural center and pop-up library where books are free to take and leave 24 hours a day. Opened this past June, the project introduces plenty of green space and reuses the facade of an old warehouse to beautiful effect.

Read the rest of Stunning Open Air Library Pops Up in East Germany

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Post tags: book sharing, east germany, green design, karo architects, magdeburg, open air library, post-industrial renovation, public library, Recycled Materials, sustainable design

Iosa Ghini Associati has designed the Energy Belt, a sleek solar-powered monorail system for Bologna, Italy that will connect the airport to the city center. The system’s smoothly sculpted lines run above the countryside, providing great views for travelers. The monorail will also provide infrastructure for other uses, namely a pedestrian walkway alongside the tracks and a solar system that runs along the rail’s southern face.

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Post tags: airport transportation, bologna, energy belt, italy, monorail, people mover, photovoltaic system, solar panels, solar powered monorail

Decommissioned school buses get sent to the scrapyard every day, so sculptor Christopher Fennell created this brilliant yellow bus shelter to keep the spirit of these buses going round and round. Situated in Athens, Georgia, the shelter is composed of three iconic yellow school buses dating from the years ‘62, ‘72, and ‘77. To create it Chris carefully chose pieces from the scrapped buses and then welded them together along with seats taken from an old city line. We love how the shelter’s beautiful reuse of salvaged materials perfectly suits its new purpose as it stands ready to welcome passengers as they wait for their next bus.

+ Christopher Fennell

Via SpaceInvading

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Post tags: adaptive reuse, bus shelter, christopher fennell, green design, Recycled Materials, repurposed school bus, school buss, sustainable design

Daniel Libeskind recently unveiled his remarkable design for the Kö-Bogen, a new mixed-use development in Germany. Set in downtown Düsseldorf, the retail and office complex is crowned with a grassy green roof and is designed to fit in with the surrounding historic architecture of Köenigsallee Boulevard. This lofted space connects two city blocks and creates a whole new zone for pedestrians, shoppers and employees to walk, run and enjoy open space in the heart of the city.

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Post tags: Daniel Libeskind, Düsseldorf, germany, green roof, Kö-Bogen, mixed-use, mixed-use development, office space, pedestrian zone, retail space

New York has the High Line and San Francisco is going to get the Bay Line – both abandoned rail lines turned into public parks. Now Chicago is looking to do the same with the Bloomingdale Rail Line, a 3 mile section of elevated train track running east and west into the heart of downtown. Overseen by Friends of the Bloomingdale Trail, one of the design proposals out suggests turning the line into a 3 mile greenhouse and hydrogen generation facility, providing organic and local food for the community and creating a fuel source for Chicago schools.

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Post tags: abandoned rail line, bloomingdale rail line, bloomingdale trail, chicago, chicago park, high line, park, trail park

Shipping containers are known for their inherent strength, wide availability and relatively low cost — making them a practical and sustainable option for affordable housing. Last year, South Florida-based design, manufacturing and retail company, Envision Prefab set out to create a eco-conscious home, the “E-House,” constructed of sturdy cargo containers. They also wanted to educate homeowners about sustainability, so they recorded all the steps involved in retro-fitting shipping containers to construct the home and shared it with Jetson Green.

Read the rest of Prefab Sustainable Housing Made From Recycled Shipping Containers

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Post tags: container architecture, E-House, Prefab, Recycled Materials, shipping containers, sustainable affordable housing