Forget decorative crystalline stadium skins; Gino Zavanella’s recently unveiled stadium is completely plastered in energy-generating photovoltaic panels. Stadium Franco Sensi, set to be built in Rome, Italy, will feature a museum of Rome’s football team, restaurants, lounges, and bars in addition to regular stadium seating.
For most sustainability-minded architects, a net zero energy building is the holy grail. But Elithis Tower, located in Dijon, France, has surpassed the net zero energy ideal to become the first energy positive office building, meaning it creates more power than it uses. The building, which was designed by Arte Charpentier Architects, also produces six times fewer greenhouse gas emissions than traditional office structures.
The problem with grid-powered electric cars, bikes, and scooters is that you never know what’s supplying their energy. Is it coal, solar, nuclear, or some combination of the three? Enter the E-Move Charging Station, a solar-powered filling station in Bozen, Denmark that can charge up to eight vehicles at the same time. With the E-Move station, you’ll always know where your vehicles power is coming from – the sun!
GRID Alternatives will lead 200+ community and industry volunteers to install sixteen 1.8-kilowatt solar electric systems in their annual Solarthon this Saturday, September 12th, 2009 at Habitat for Humanity East Bay’s Edes Avenue development in Oakland, California. These systems should generate over $270,000 worth of clean, renewable power over their lifespans and eliminate over 800 tons of greenhouse gas emissions. The event has already sold out, and organizers hope to raise more than $100K to help more California households reap the benefits of solar power
A retail lot in Austin, Texas recently sprouted a stunning field of solar sunflowers that soak up the sun’s rays to provide shade while generating a steady stream of renewable energy. Designed by public art team Harries/Heder, the installation consists of 15 flower-like solar photovoltaic panels located on a pedestrian and bike path between the village of Mueller and Austin’s highway I-35. According to Harries/Heder, the flowers are “an icon for the sustainable, LEED certified Mueller Development and a highly visible metaphor for the energy conscious City of Austin.”
Internationally acclaimed designer Michael Jantzen continues to wow us with his architectural and renewable energy wonders. His newest brainchild, the Sun Rays Pavilion, consists of 12 massive columns that rise out of the earth like giant crystals reaching for the sun. Appropriate, because the acutely slanted building relies on the sun’s rays alone for power. Jantzen has many other designs for renewable energy pavilions, like his Wind Shaped Kinetic Pavilion or his Solar Wind Pavilion. This latest design is outfitted with photovoltaic film to generate electricity in order to power the pavilion and sell any excess to the grid.
Recently Chetwood Architects unveiled a stunning proposal for a futuristic London Bridge that sprouts a towering vertical farm in the midst of the Thames river. The bridge’s solar-powered spires are crowned with wind turbines and house a self-sufficent organic farm and commercial center that takes advantage of renewable energy generation, efficient use of water, solar heating, and natural ventilation.
Solar Ivy (or SMIT Grow) is a spectacular system of thin, fluttering solar panels that generate energy by sparkling in the sunlight. The wind and solar power generating photovoltaic leaves can be easily integrated on the side of a building to produce energy. The concept, designed by Brooklyn based SMIT (Sustainably Minded Interactive Technology), consists of a layer of thin-film material on top of polyethylene with a piezoelectric generator attached to each leaf. When the sun is shining or the wind is blowing, energy is being generated via Solar Ivy.
If you live in New York City, you may soon have the chance to check out the Waterpod, an incredible self-reliant eco-habitat, exhibition, and living space designed to showcase sustainable grassroots technology. The Waterpod just launched this Saturday, and it will now dock for public viewing at various locations in Manhattan’s five boroughs. We had the chance to conduct an exclusive interview with Lonny Grafman, the project’s sustainability advisor, about this floating model of self-sufficiency.
Music becomes a sustainable experience with Shepeleff Stephen’s solar-powered, bluetooth-connected Q-Sound (quantum sound) headphones. The Romanian engineering student’s sleek design combines flexible, hexagonal solar panels, wireless technology, and rotating earpieces for a futuristic yet practical product that powers itself on the go.
What if keeping your laptop charged was as simple as setting it out in the sun? That’s the promise behind a brand new netbook that may just break the biggest barrier to ultra-portable computing: battery life. It won’t run graphics-heavy computer games, but iUnika’s new $180, 1.5 pound solar-powered Gyy netbook is ideal for anyone looking for an inexpensive on-the-go computing solution.
This past February, the Dubai Chamber of Commerce authorized the development of a “free zone” dubbed Food City. GCLA, a green landscape architect firm, proposed a master plan for the city sector to turn it into an incredible off-the-grid, self-sufficient metropolis. GCLA’s future-forward urban quarter incorporates an extensive list of sustainable urban planning ideas, including vertically stacked landscape surfaces, artificial roof landscapes, renewable energy systems, aquatic farms, and thermal conditioning.
The Arizona sun is strong–so strong that one Phoenix man is using it to power up his motorcycle. Richard Gryzch’s Solar Flyer motorcycle, named after the Radio Flyer red wagon, has a 50 mile range and can supposedly top 90 MPH. The inventor is so sure of his bike that he sold a home and a number of other motorcycles to finance it.
Next time you head to the park, consider bringing a Suntrica wearable solar charger. The Suntrica SolarBadge and SolarStrap are pocket-sized, durable, lightweight chargers covered in flexible thin film solar panels.
Today we’re excited to announce the launch of our new Energy 101 series, in which we’ll be exploring the future-forward technologies that stand to upgrade our grids, reduce our energy footprint, and slow the speed of global warming. Unless you have been living in a cave for the past few years, you’ve probably heard terms like “energy conservation”, “off-grid energy“, and “smart grid” tossed around. But before getting into the nitty-gritty of transitioning to renewable energy, we should stop and examine where exactly our power comes from now.
Florida’s next big community isn’t for retirees — it’s for solar energy buffs. Florida Power & Light and development firm Kitson & Partners are collaborating on Babcock Ranch, a 17,000 acre solar-powered city near Fort Myers. The community will run entirely on a 75 megawatt, $300 million solar-powered generator, and will also use smart grid technology to let all inhabitants of the community monitor their power consumption.
Spring is slowly emerging and we are dreaming of outdoor barbecues and parties on the deck. We have a couple of solar powered lanterns along the pathway, but we have been waiting for some lights with a little more pizazz. Last year we were excited to hear that Ikea would be stocking solar products, and now the first products are about to hit the market! These hip little lights are exactly what you need to brighten your outdoor spaces this summer.
The Queensland University of Technology recently announced that it has been working with Dyesol to develop an innovative solar cell technology that re-envisions windows as clear, clean energy providers. Professor John Bell has said that these dye-infused solar cells would significantly reduce building energy costs, and could even generate surplus energy to be stored or sold. The development has been touted as the most promising advance in solar cell technology since the invention of the silicon cell.
While the potential of electric cars is obvious, one of the main concerns is battery life, both in its ability to hold a charge, and its shelf life before needing a replacement. But the new =UltraBattery, developed by Australia’s CSIRO, is a high-performance hybrid storage cell that runs for 100,000 miles without recharge or replacement. It combines a supercapacitor with a lead acid battery in one unit cell, providing higher power discharge and longer life.
Architect Vincent Callebaut’s latest project balances public galleries, meeting rooms and gathering spaces over canals and abandoned railroad tracks in the 19th Parisian district. The prototype uses green technologies and techniques but is more than just an example of sustainable design. Callebaut’s ‘Anti Smog: An Innovation Centre in Sustainable Development’ is a catalyst for cleaner air.
To truly compete with coal, solar power needs to be at least as cheap or cheaper, something that is quite difficult to achieve today. Solar panels are big, clunky, heavy, require special installation, and, if they break, replacing them can be quite expensive. With these problems in mind, Nanosolar has devised a way of making solar panels that are as thin as paint and come from a printing press.
Green architecture seems to have taken the world by storm, and not a week goes by without a number of buildings making bold claims as to what their green credentials are. Not wanting to be left out of the global race to have the greenest building ever, seven local non-profit groups have revealed the design for the Maison du développement durable (Sustainable Development House), which they claim will be Canada’s greenest building.
Telling it like it is right from the start, the ASAP House is a House About Saving a Planet with a prefab design for zero-energy living. The cost-effective package includes geothermal heating and cooling, active and passive solar systems and generous square footage to bring modern, environmentally friendly modular living to the Northeast United States (prefab’s not just for SoCal anymore!).
One of the coolest sights in the Sydney Harbour (aside from the Opera House, the Harbour Bridge and the Pirate Ship) is the fully solar-powered ferry known as The Solar Sailor. This rather unique boat, designed by Robert Dane, uses both solar power and wind to reduce its emissions by half compared to standard ferries. What better way to travel?
How difficult is it to design a house fully powered by the sun? That’s what the U.S. Department of Energy is trying to find out. To do this, they have staged, once again, the Solar decathlon, a competition challenging 20 college teams from around the globe to design, build, and operate an energy-efficient, fully solar-powered house that will be able to satisfy the needs of a typical family, and look good doing it.
Continuing California’s quest to decrease dependence on fossil fuel-based power plants, the largest solar array farm in the world will be built in the Golden State, providing zero emission electricity to Central Valley residents.
It’s a good time to be green, and Google is leading the way. Last year, the search giant Google announced that their installation of the solar panels on their campus, which are expected to provide around 1,600 kw/h. And keeping with their green commitment, they recently launched the Google solar panel project webpage which will help anyone track how much power their solar panels are generating. And now, their newest green initiatives include everything from plug-in hybrids and car-powered homes to carbon neutrality.
While the advantages of solar power are profound and many, some homeowners continue to shy away from the installation of residential photovoltaic cells due to high upfront costs and long “payback” timelines. But now, a rental program called REnU is making all that money talk a moot point. Delaware-based Citizenre, a renewable energy development group, will rent solar panels to US residents on a per-kilowatt basis on a one, five, or twenty-five year contract. With only a $500 deposit, paid back at the end of the contract WITH interest, homeowners can easily and inexpensively make the switch from local utilities to solar power. What’s more, Citizenre acquires all necessary permits for residential installation, making the process easy as pie.
The insanely-innovative and carbon-neutral French automotive company Venturi has recently announced the production of Eclectic, a solar, wind, and electric-powered vehicle that will make your Prius look like a gas-guzzling Hummer. The zippy little compact auto relies on a combination of solar panels, wind turbines, and electric recharging, making it THE low-consumption, no-emission vehicle on the road.
Spice up your patio or walkway this fall with Sun Bricks, the solar-powered ground lighting system that will guide people to your front door with their inviting glow. These flush-to-ground patio pavers are composed of LEDs powered entirely by the sun – meaning no burn-outs, bulb replacement or extra charges to those ever-increasing energy bills. No external wires makes installation a snap – just swap out existing pavers with Sun Bricks. One day of charge provides each Sun Brick with eight hours of amber-colored illumination, just long enough to get all of your visitors in and out of the house. Sun Bricks are an inspirational idea for the holiday seasons, what with all the expected (and unexpected) guests.
Once again, California seems to be leading the way in green building initiatives. Friday’s New York Times has published a video article on Carsten Crossings, a subdivision outside of Sacramento that has incorporated roof-integrated solar power on all of its homes, reducing energy bills by approximately 40 percent. Other options available include soy-based insulation and tankless water heaters. While the homes’ aesthetics have not improved upon the typical builders’ subdivision, Grupe Company has priced these homes comparable to …
We pretty much love anything that is solar powered. So, geeky as it is, we were very excited to hear that solar-powered WiFi has been born in Boulder, Colorado.
Lumin Innovative Products recently set-up a solar-powered WiFi access point in Boulder ? making it the first city in the US to have a solar-powered WiFi network. The LightWave AP-1000 takes 5 hours of sunglight to charge, and then emits WiFi for roughly 72 hours.
LOTS MORE GREAT GREEN DESIGN STORIES HERE... KEEP READING!
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