NL Architects recently unveiled a beautiful green-roofed office complex for the Welfare Department and Work Agency of the City of Groningen in the Netherlands. Featuring ample amounts of daylight, large open public spaces, and an ascending series of terraced green roofs, the new SoZaWe office is sure to welcome the citizens who come in for assistance while inspiring for the employees who work there.

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Post tags: Architecture, carbon-neutral, green office, green roof, living roof, nl architects, open space, Park space, the netherlands

All U.S. Presidents get a center named after them upon completion of their term in the White House, and George W. is no exception. Plans for his presidential center were just revealed, and considering how energy efficient his ranch in Crawford is, it really should come as no surprise that the new center is chock full of green design elements. To be located on the edge of the Southern Methodist University campus in Dallas, Texas, the George W. Bush Presidential Center will serve as a commemoration of all of his accomplishments [insert joke here].

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Post tags: "leed", A.M. Stern, Bush, Bush Presidential Center, Dallas, George W. Bush, green roof, GW Bush, LEED platinum, Robert A.M. Stern, SMU, Solar Power, texas

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.

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

Weilburg, a medieval city not too far from Frankfurt, has announced plans to demolish a parking structure on the edge of its dense core and replace it with a mixed-use development with retail, residential and park space. Recently they revealed this beautiful proposal from ACME, which won the all-important public vote and second place from the professional jury. Inspired by the nearby Baroque terraced-landscape design of the Weilburg Castle Gardens, the Rathaus Terraces will feature green roofs, as well as natural ventilation and daylighting.

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Post tags: Architecture, Daylighting, germany, green roof, medieval city, mixed-use development, natural ventilation, public park, residential, retail, rooftop park

A recent competition earlier in 2009 held by the city of Chungju in South Korea made a call for a memorial space in the city’s United Nations Peace Park. Coming in at 3rd place was London-based firm ACME with their dramatic hive-like design. Drawing from the very core of what the United Nations is, this building is comprised of individual cells combined together to form a cube structure, mirroring how the UN is made up of individual countries who come together to form one entity. ACME’s proposal also includes an idyllic green roof and plenty of natural daylight.

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Post tags: ACME, cells, cellular, chungju, design proposal, green roof, natural daylight, south korea, UN Memorial

Green roofs are wonderful things; like a thick blanket, they keep roofs cool in summer and warm in winter. They have been around for centuries in Scandinavia and Iceland, where they moderate the cold winters and sometimes very hot summers. They reduce the “heat island” effect, where the air above and around the old black roofs gets hotter, making them hot properties in cities. Some, like Toronto have made them mandatory; other cities like Chicago give financial assistance to promote them. The provide habitat for birds and insects, even goats.

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Post tags: agriculture, Architecture, botany, Green Building, green design, green roof, sustainable design, Urban design

High school students in Revin, France will soon be attending classes in a stunning new terraced building covered in green roofs. Seen from above the new Lycee Jean Moulin school will simply appear as a terraced landscape, practically disappearing into the hillside. Designed by Paris-based, Off Architecture in association with Duncan Lewis Scape Architecture and Jeans Giacinto, this green roofed marvel is curvaceous and organic, blending into the countryside. We’re admittedly a bit jealous – our high schools weren’t nearly as cool.

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Post tags: france, green roof, green roofed school, high school, lycee jean moulin school, off architecture, school

Sports fans, get ready for a spectacular new experience – NBBJ recently revealed their design for China’s new Dalian Shide Stadium and it’s like nothing we’ve ever seen before. Built as though the stadium literally opened up from underground, two exterior walls of the structure are covered in grass and plants and the other two are open to connect the games with the city and allow glimpses of the intense action inside. Sustainability is a top priority and the design includes water recycling, daylighting, renewable energy and the beautiful and original living walls on the exterior.

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Post tags: china, dalian shide stadium, green roof, innovative design, innovative su, innovative sustainable ideas, natural ventilation, NBBJ, renewable energy, sports stadium, stadium

A jaw-dropping feat of architecture has risen in the Italian city of Nola, just a stone’s throw away from the cataclysmic Mt. Vesuvius. Designed by Renzo Piano, Vulcano Buono is an epic cone-shaped commercial center crowned with a gorgeous sloping green roof. Piano’s “good volcano” contributes a vital new space to the southern edge of the Nola commercial district, which is the most most important freight terminal complex in southern and central Italy.

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Post tags: "sustainable architecture", building, energy efficient architecture, green design, green roof, renzo piano, sustainable design, volcano buono

This gorgeous plaza near the wharf of Santa Cruz de Tenerife represents the connection between the nearby ocean and the various ecosystems of the Canary islands. Designed by Herzog + de Meuron, Plaza de España introduces a beautiful green space that builds upon the past of the site and the future of the city. Many years ago the plaza was the site of a “Castillo,” and the graphic motif in the basin of water represents the foundation of the old castle. Around the basin, many architectural landscape elements — including the two structures with green roofs — represent the Islands’ diverse ecosystems and topography.

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Post tags: Canary Islands, green roof, Herzog & De Meuron, herzog and de meuron, park, Plaza, Plaza Espana, urban plaza, Wading Pool

One look at this office nestled amid the treetops and you might contemplate how to change your life in order to have a workspace with such an incredible view. Peter Frazier, a customer experience consultant, decided after years of working at an office and gaining over 50 pounds that he needed to make a change in his life – so he built this incredible office in the woods. Set amongst the trees above Chuckanut Bay in Bellingham, Washington, his lofted cube serves as a workspace and guest room, and it has a green roof on top too.

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Post tags: cubicle, green roof, Office, treehouse office, treetop office, washington

Israeli-based architect Zvika Tamari of TeaM Architects recently proposed a conceptual plan for the burgeoning city of Modiin in Israel that takes the form of an incredible grass-roofed eco-dome. Situated at the center of the city and surrounded by a series of green spaces, the Globe Ecological Hub functions as a museum and multi-use urban center that promotes sustainable living. The grass-crowned hub takes advantage of natural ventilation, daylighting, active solar systems, and a host of other green building strategies.

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Post tags: "sustainable architecture", Global Ecological Hub, green roof, Israel, sustainable design, Urban design

The US Postal Service can now add another notch to their sustainability belt – a huge green roof on top of their Morgan mail processing facility in NYC. The roof taps in at 2.5 acres of native, drought tolerant vegetation and is one of the largest green roofs in the nation. The seven story facility built in 1933 was originally built for the roof to serve as an extra mail processing location, and because of this was deemed strong enough to support a green roof. The new roof not only serves as a park and open space for employees, but will also save energy for the USPS and reduce stormwater runoff.

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Post tags: green roof, mail facility, new york city, us postal service, usps

Like the rest of the Inhabitat crew, I get to spend a good part of my day ogling the finest futuristic farming fantasies that the interwebs have to offer. From towering vertical agriscrapes to vegetation-packed geodesic domes, my eyes are bombarded with images of the perfect urban farm daily, but when it comes to actually growing anything myself, I must admit rather sheepishly that I don’t know my sugar snap peas from my snopeas. Well, all of that is about to change because Rooftop Farms, a real-life 6,000 square foot organic vegetable farm with a view of the Manhattan skyline is now open to anyone who wants to lend a hand. Luckily for me, that hand need not be blessed with a green thumb…yet.

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Post tags: Brooklyn, goode green, green roof, greenpoint, greenpoint brooklyn, manhattan, new york city, rooftop farm, Urban Farming, vegetable farm