Located in downtown Philadelphia right above the Suburban rail station, the Comcast Center has been awarded the title of “tallest LEED certified building in the US” after earning a Gold Certification for LEED-CS (Core & Shell). The obelisk-like 58 story tower is covered in high-performance glass and sunscreens, and features louvers in the atria to help optimize daylight inside the building. Many other green design features help this mixed-use skyscraper reduce energy consumption, making it a great example of environmentally responsible urban growth.
Photo by Chelsea Guglielmino
With the economy in the shambles that it’s in, who knows when you’re gonna be forced to find shelter on the streets? If things do get that bad, you’d feel a lot more prepared sporting the “Wearable Shelter” collection of fashions that actually transform into sleeping bags and tents. Designed by a trio of Philadelphia student designers, these smart clothes/homes were a hit at the So Re Fa (Socially Responsible Fashion) eco-fashion show in Philadelphia this past week and are a commentary on these uncertain times.
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Skateboards these days are amazing examples of graphic design, and some are practically objets d’art – what a shame that they should to go to a landfill after the boards have lost their pop! Thankfully, Pennsylvania-based Deckstools is here to keep art from the trash heap and to add style to your pad with their striking line of furniture made from reclaimed skateboards.
People wandering the streets of Philadelphia may be surprised to see brand new solar-studded trash cans being installed on the sidewalks. These new landfill-crunching compacting bins are entirely powered by the sun and are able to accept close to eight times as much waste as a regular trash can. Pretty cool, we thought – especially once we found out that they are calling the new bins Big Bellys and that they stand to save the city close to 12 million dollars over 10 years!
12 New Solar America Cities Chosen
The US Department of Energy (DOE) has selected 12 new Solar America Cities, bringing the number from 13 to 25 in total, and moving along the $2.4 million initiative to provide up to $200,000 per city to build solid solar infrastructures. The announcement came at the New Frontiers in Energy Summit 2008 in Denver, Colorado, which is among the 2008 Solar America Initiative (SAI) cities. The overall program goals are to facilitate adoption of solar technology by individuals and businesses and to make solar electricity from photovoltaics a cost-competitive energy choice by 2015.
LOTS MORE GREAT GREEN DESIGN STORIES HERE... KEEP READING!
