Inhabitat » Sustainable Building

Elwood Green: 6 Star Sustainably Built Apartment Complex

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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James Law’s Technosphere is an Eco Deathstar for Dubai

by Bridgette Meinhold, 10/29/09

Like an non evil, sustainable version of the Deathstar, the Technosphere by James Law Cybertecture replicates the Earth as a structural concept. Inside the eco-sphere is an entire world which serves as a vehicle to explore the issues of self-sustaining life on a smaller level. Although not nearly as self-sufficient as the Biosphere 2, the Technosphere is meant to reflect the state of our planet in current and future times. Proposed as an iconic building for the Technopark of Dubai, the eco-sphere would be a carbon neutral tourist attraction as well as a place in which to live and work.

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Icelandic Prefabricated Home To Remember Summer Days By

by Danielle Rago, 10/23/09

As the winter winds begin to blow, we’d thought we say one last goodbye to the things of summer by featuring Icelandic architectural firm Glama-Kim Architects’ modern, modular, eco-friendly summerhouses situated in the Western part of Iceland, in the town of Stykkishólmur. Project architect Olafur Mathiesen led the design, which boasts spectacular views of the surrounding landscape, as well as the use of readily available materials combined with the ease of construction and simplicity of design.

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Concrete Mushrooms: Transforming Abandoned Bunkers Into Eco Hostels

by Daniel Flahiff, 10/21/09

There are reportedly over 750,000 abandoned concrete bunkers scattered throughout Albania, remnants of Communist dictator Enver Hoxha and his policies of paranoid xenophobia. Now graduate students Gyler Mydyti & Elian Stefa have developed a plan called Concrete Mushrooms that would ‘invert the meaning’ of these structures by turning them into a network of habitable eco-hostels, cafés, gift shops and more.

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Links Roundup of the Week: Solar Decathlon

It’s finally the week of the Solar Decathlon competition! From Thursday, October 8 to Friday, October 16, 20 multi-disciplinary students teams made up of architects, engineers, and designers will participate in 10 contests to determine the winner. You can take a peek at each team’s standing here. Taking place …

SOLAR DECATHLON 2009: Rice University’s $140,000 ZEROW House Keeps Up With the High Rollers

The Solar Decathlon, the super solar architecture competition held in Washington D.C. bi-annually, officially kicked off today, and Rice University’s awesomely affordable ZEROW House is already making waves. The first round of evaluations took place yesterday, and this low-budget underdog placed 4th among the twenty competitors after being recognized in the categories Comfort Zone and Appliances. What is most impressive about this team is that the average budget of the 20 solar decathlon houses at the mall is $490,000, while the ZEROW home was built for only $140,000!!! Even more impressive, the ZEROW House was designed specifically for Houston’s Third Ward Neighborhood as part of Project Row House – an organization that seeks to develop housing for low-to moderate-income families.

Mesa Community College’s Physical Science Buiding Gets LEED Gold

Mesa Community College recently completed work on a stunning physical science building that exceeded LEED expectations when it was awarded LEED-NC Gold. Designed by the award-winning architecture firm, The Smith Group, the building is the first major LEED project to be completed within the Maricopa Country Community College District. The brand new 64,480-square-foot facility houses curriculum for the physics, astronomy, chemistry, geology and engineering departments including classrooms, laboratories, facility offices, an advising center and a 53 seat planetarium. Topping off the new space is an astronomy observation platform.

Natural Fusion: Penn State’s Solar Decathlon House

A team of students from Penn State recently unveiled their Natural Fusion residence, which has been selected as one of 20 ultra-efficient homes set to make an appearance at this year’s Solar Decathlon. The elegant structure is wrapped in living walls and utilizes a host of energy-efficient features including a green roof lined with photovoltaic panels and large windows that bathe the interiors in daylight.

StrawJet Transforms Straw Waste Into Building Beams

StrawJet, of Ashland, Oregon, has developed a unique process for the creation of structural building components from a variety of waste agricultural stalks. Essentially, they have created a machine that takes waste stalks and creates a tightly wrapped beam which can then be applied to many different facets of construction. The cables are made and wrapped without glues, resins or chemicals and are made completely from waste material. As long as we are growing food there will be straw, so why not use it creatively?

Rotterdam Plans Most Sustainable Building in the Netherlands

The city of Rotterdam recently released a bevy of gorgeous green designs for a new mixed-use city hall building that will become “the most sustainable in The Netherlands”. The city challenged designers to create something spectacular, something that will be super energy efficient, use sustainable materials, be useful for various people and events, generate its own energy, recycle and take out its own trash. Well, ok maybe not take out its own trash, but you get the drift. Read on for a look at the five stunning finalists – Claus en Kaan Architecten, Mecanoo Architecten, Meyer en van Schooten Architecten, OMA and SeARCH, all whom were chosen to display their designs at NAI until September 13th to receive public feedback.

NASA Base is Most Sustainable Federal Building Project in America

NASA has planted its flag on planet Earth (for a change) with the groundbreaking of their “Sustainability Base” this week. The new endeavor is located on their Ames campus in Moffett Field, CA just outside of Silicon Valley and has specs that are pushing green building to new limits. In order to deliver in true sustainable style, NASA recruited Inhabitat favorite, William McDonough + Partners, to take on the 50,000-square foot collaborative support facility.

Baumraum’s Froschköenig Treehouse

Sitting atop thin steel stilts, the Froschköenig Treehouse conjures up ideas of a space pod just landed among a canopy of trees. Designed by well-known treehouse designer and manufacturer, Baumraum, the prefabricated treehouse features a futuristic, curved zinc roof enveloping a more rustic-feeling tatajuba wood foundation to create a whimsical hideaway for kids and adults.READ MORE AT INHABITOTS >

Lumenhaus – Virginia Tech’s Smart Solar House

We’re getting excited about this year’s Solar Decathlon and love Virginia Tech’s zero-energy, smart house. Lumenhaus — which is a combination of Lumen, meaning power of light, and Haus, which is a reference to the Bauhaus architectural movement — is a high-tech home that will be sure to garner a lot of attention at the upcoming competition. In fact it’s only one of two US teams to be accepted into the Solar Decathlon Europe, where it will compete against teams from around the world.

Perforated House Questions Architectural Symbolism

Quirky and full of unexpected design choices, this Australian residence by Kavellaris Urban Design, asserts that holding onto old architectural aesthetics can be both silly and unsustainable. The Perforated House’s high-tech, translucent exterior is etched with ornamental details to pose commentary on contemporary homes that adhere strongly to traditional architectural typologies — the terrace home, in this particular case. Observing that the dated aesthetic has “a stronger link with romanticized nostalgia rather than good design,” the architects set out to re-work the traditional terrace home, creating this case study house with an ironic and more eco-friendly new aesthetic for building.

Indonesian D-Minution House Built for Under $20K

This simple, yet striking residence in Indonesia was built with a surprisingly small budget – $17,500. Looking at it, one would never guess such a low build-out cost, but there it is. The 3-bedroom D-Minution House is intended to provide affordable housing and was built on a 1,000-square-foot site in Jakarta, Indonesia, by SUB. Studio for visionary design. Constructed with simple materials, such as concrete, steel, wood and glass, the home blends into the surrounding architecture in Jakarta, but is a far cry from the average home.

Michael Jantzen’s Sun Rays Pavilion Leans Towards Sustainability

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.

PREFAB FRIDAY: Bicycle Rack-Inspired Modular Home

This curvaceous modular home by Palo Alto architect, Joseph Bellomo, is joining the ranks of affordable, modular housing. Dubbed the House Arc, Bellomo was inspired to create the home after the success of his modular bicycle rack design, the Bike Arc — designed to provide efficient storage space for bicycles. The House Arc prototype will make its debut sometime this year on the big island of Hawaii.

Green on 19: Santa Monica’s First Multi-Family Eco Townhomes

Santa Monica-based architecture firm Jesse Bornstein Architecture, known for their environmentally conscious custom single-family residential homes, recently completed a sustainably designed and built 5-unit townhouse project aptly named “Green on 19 Townhomes” located in Santa Monica, California.

Renovated Seattle Residence Part of Eco-Community Living

Located on a dense shoreline on Portage Bay in Seattle, WA, the Lobster Boat Residence, designed by Seattle-based Chadborne + Doss Architects, is beautiful home that leaves a small footprint. The home was re-modeled from its original state as a 24′ x 26′ residence with a ground floor and basement. As part of a larger shoreline community, the inhabitants of the Lobster Boat Residence shares waterfront access, parking, utilities and a vegetable garden with neighbors.

Renovated Beach House Gets Ventilated Wood Skin

Home renovations and upgrades typically involve painting the house, re-tiling the bathroom floor or converting the garage into a room for Grandma. But when presented with the opportunity to re-vamp an existing house in Casablanca, Chile, architects Jose Ulloa Davet and Delphine Ding didn’t shy away from taking the route of Extreme Home Makeover. As striking as the views that surround it, the two architects were able to transform a lackluster 90’s beach house into a gorgeous, angular construction overlooking the South Pacific.

Foshan Pearl: China’s Energy Efficient Gymnasium Completed

Although it seems like the media often regards China as the biggest greenwasher in the world, it is hard to dispute sustainable building when pure architectural facts and innovations are involved. The Foshan Pearl Gymnasium, China’s newest addition to its green array, is an excellent illustration of this point. Designed by Japan-based firm Mitsuru Man Senda and Environment Design Institute in direct response to the sub-tropical climate of the surrounding area, the vast athletic center examines the relationship between internal and external spaces and provides further support for China’s environmentally responsible attitude towards green building and design.

California Desert Home Uses Passive Ventilation Techniques

Building a home in the desert is certainly a test of green building innovation — because in a climate where resources are limited, how do you build to ensure comfort and longevity? Architect Lloyd Russell offers a beautiful solution with his Austin Residence near Palm Springs, California. Besides its construction out of recycled materials, Russell gave serious consideration to the mechanics of passive ventilation the home during the hot summer months. He was also sensitive to the culture of the surrounding California desert when developing the home’s look-and-feel, creating a contemporary home reminiscent of an old West outpost that captures the essence of desert living.

Largest Eco-Village in the UK Will Boast Zero Carbon Homes

The United Kingdom’s Hanham Hall Development is the largest eco-village aspiration to date. Designed by HTA and funded by Barratt Developments and the Homes & Communities Agency, there are a rumored 188-195 zero carbon homes in the overall housing scheme. The development will include an onsite biomass CHP plant, strategically placed reed beds, shops for farmers to sell their goods, bicycle storage throughout, and a carefully crafted drainage system. Hanham Hall is the first major eco city underway that is part of the government’s Carbon Challenge Programme. The government has set a goal for all new builds to be zero carbon by 2016. It looks as though they are six years ahead of the curve.

Beautiful Solar Storage Barn Built From Raw Materials

Who says materials have to be scraped, buffed, and varnished to be beautiful? Recently, we spotted a beautiful storage barn that proves raw materials can make a breathtaking exterior. The building’s site was once home to a scrap lumber yard where the owner was looking to restrain the sprawl of the wood and stone. The architects, Gray Organschi Architecture, designed a simple structure that not only stores the materials, but operates off-grid on an isolated site. With accessibility in mind, the lumber is organized on the exterior of the building in rectangular cubby holes, creating a wonderful mosaic-like texture that proves that functionality and aesthetics can go hand-in-hand.

Butterfly Bamboo Homes Are Hope for Thai Orphans

There is nothing we love more than good design meeting up with a good cause. That’s why we love this student humanitarian design project on the Thai Burmese border: it combines beautifully designed (and super efficient) vernacular-inspired architecture with social responsibility in aiding the plight of Karen refugee orphans. Five students in Thailand are using architecture to make new lives for 24 orphans by providing them with homes to call their own.

Coco Hut: An Outdoor Shed Made of Scrap Wood

What do you do if you love treehouses like us, but don’t have a tree to build on? Netherlands-based designer Gert Eussen may have a solution with his Coco-Hut, a cozy and round hut made of scrap and FSC-certified wood. With an element of whimsy, the structure looks a little bit like a beehive with a linear version of the honeycomb texture. The Coco-Hut is also unmistakably cute with its round shape and humble staircase leading inside.

Monolab’s Soaring Solar Rotterdam Tower

Monolab is aiming to take solar power to extreme heights by designing their sky-high Rotterdam Tower with a skin of photovoltaic panels. At 450 meters, the Rotterdam Tower design is intended to connect Europe’s largest port to the city by reaching into the vertical landscape. The tower, which has been designated as a mixed-use building, will incorporate public, commercial, and residential spaces. An intricate series of gondolas, which move up, down, and diagonally across the tower will leave passengers with a bit of vertigo while affording them an amazing view of the city.

Sustain miniHome debuts the new 12 x 36 California Edition

It’s no secret that we dig Sustain miniHomes. Inhabitat has always appreciated their sustainable spin on the mobile home and have eaten up their eye candy since the beginning. But on this fabulous prefab Friday, we have some even more exciting news to report! The Toronto-based builders are coming to Los Angeles to debut their California edition — the first of the 12 WIDE series designed with special consideration for passive cooling and ventilation in a range of California climates.

Via Torino Renovated Green Loft in Fashionable Milan

There is no doubt that for some, Milan, Italy is synonymous with ultra chic living as a cosmopolitan capital of innovative design and fashion trendsetting. With grand architecture and historic beauty at every corner, there is also a lot to be proud of as Italy’s second largest city. Why would one want to break with design tradition when you have architectural monuments like the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele and the Duomo di Milano as part of your urbanscape? Enter this first-of-its-kind eco urban residence in the heart of Milan’s fashion district. Sustainably renovated and uniquely energy efficient with its Finnish soapstone fireplace and green rooftop, this eco casa has set new design standards for Milanese city dwellers who are eager to green their views.

Co-Op Canyon: Ecotopia Inspired by Anasazi Cliff Dwellings

Inspired by the cliff-side villages of Anasazi Indians, Co Op Canyon is a terraced urban oasis full of vertical gardens and lush spaces that aims to create a holistic, community-centered, sustainable city block. Designed by LA-based architecture and design firm, Standard for the Re:Vision Dallas competition, the canyon harvests enough rainwater, solar energy, and agriculture to completely sustain its 1,000 residents.

Studio 804’s Student-Built Off Grid House

Designing and building a LEED Platinum house is reason enough for us to take notice. When the house is also the work of graduate students at the University of Kansas and it is designed to function off-grid, you can bet that we will anxiously follow its development. Studio 804’s 3716 Springfield House is a two-story residence that is exactly these things, and with the school year just wrapped up, so has the construction of this eco-friendly house in Kansas City.

PREFAB FRIDAY: “Box Office” Shipping Container Office

Thinking inside of the box may become the newest trend for creative thinkers thanks to this new 12-unit office and studio building called the “Box Office.” Constructed of 32 shipping containers, the building is meant to be a working haven for companies and individuals looking for a cheerful, comfortable, and eco-friendly place to think. Joe Haskett, the principal at Distill Studio, designed the building to ensure that it would provide a well-insulated and environmentally sensitive environment for its future occupants, which among other features includes high-performing windows and doors and an efficient HVAC system. The project is developed by Truth Box Inc. and recently broke ground this week in Providence, R.I.

The Zuidkas – A Sustainable City in a Skyscraper

Among the most innovative, noteworthy green designs are those which transform and upgrade ubiquitous existing structures, such as skyscrapers, by making them sustainable in composition and eco-friendly in function. The Zuidkas is a prime example of such a venture. Commissioned by the Government Buildings Agency in the Netherlands, Architectenbureau Paul de Ruiter’s design is centered around a rooftop-based ecosystem that stands to sustain and enrich the structure’s offices, homes, school, and restaurants in addition to a park, a biogas electrical plant and retail facilities.

Pyramid Farm: Vertical Agriculture for 2060

The Pyramid Farm is an incredible concept for the future of agriculture envisioned by professors Eric Ellingsen and Dickson Despommier. The design is based on the growing belief (is it fact yet?) that vertical farming will soon become a necessary lifeline in cities throughout the world. The human population is growing exponentially and increasingly more urban while the global food supply shortening. Despommier speculates that if nothing is done to advance current farming techniques, 3 billion people could face starvation by 2060. The Pyramid Farm offers a solution in the form of a complete self-sufficient ecosystem that covers everything from food production to waste management.

RESIDENCE: Eco-friendly Urban Home with “Eyelid” Roof

This eye-catching residence designed by Fiona Winzar Architects is both an interesting study in angles and in eco-friendly building techniques. The home’s unusual feature is a roof extension that is used to provide privacy and shade and mimics the shape of an eyelid — inspiring its name, the Eyelid House. Built for a family of five living in a city environment, the home needed to feel airy and inviting while also incorporating smart eco-friendly features that would have money-saving, energy-efficient benefits. Highlights include preserving the existing building, a rainwater collection system, use of solar hot water, passive ventilation, and the use of materials made in Australia.

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