The world's leading certification system for sustainable architecture is set to undergo its most sweeping changes in 2009. The proposed revisions encourage designs that would reduce a building's impact on global climate change.
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, commonly known as LEED, has become the standard for green building design since the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), a nongovernmental organization, crafted the rating system eight years ago. Architecture that voluntarily improves energy efficiency, water conservation, and indoor air quality has surged in popularity in the past two years, especially in Europe and major U.S. cities.
According to USGBC's August statistics, more than 2,400 commercial and residential buildings worldwide are LEED certified,...
One of the house projects we've been working on at home is replacing as much of our lawn with garden beds as makes sense. We do want a little bit of (unwatered, organic) lawn, for sitting, but we're planting most of our mid-sized urban lot in vegetables, herbs and bird-/butterfly-friendly flowers. We aren't talking the 100-yard diet, and we definitely have a ways to go before you could call our backyard a wildlife sanctuary, but just removing some the grass has already made us feel more comfortable in our home.
We're not alone. One of the biggest underground cultural shifts in North America is focused in some vague yet powerful ways on the question of sod. Big, perfectly smooth, green lawns have become for many of us, a symbol of unsustainability that rivals the SUV.
We've...
The walls of Elmer Bear Eagle's house are covered in mold. The black intrusion began in the basement. It crept up the sides. Now it blocks sunlight through the windows.
The problem is fairly common throughout the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in southwestern South Dakota. Overcrowded conditions - homes built for four people have held more than 20 - contribute to high levels of indoor humidity, creating a mold haven.
The homes are also fraught with poor insulation, which Bear Eagle says leaves his mobile home uncomfortably exposed to the region's harsh summers and winters. "Here the climate is really extreme," he said. "These houses are fire traps."
Still, Bear Eagle is fortunate just to have a home. The tribal housing authority says 4,500 people - most of...
I like these images, from the FreakAngels series.
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Here's a debate where none is needed: the argument about whether green building, compact communities, or transit-supportive design is a better approach to improving the world.
The latest piece to kick up some dust is a report from the Commission for Environmental Cooperation, which, as reported by Reuters, says
"Green" construction could cut North America's climate-warming emissions faster and more cheaply than any other measure...
Elsewhere, people reaffirm that North Americans' best bet for carbon reduction is walking and taking transit, while others (often including myself) think density is the best lever, if we have to pick one with which to start.
Now, it's rarely much of an argument. There are green builders who are against growth management, and urban planners who hate...
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Green Building
The blogosphere is all atwitter with news of Norman Foster's latest project, Moscow's Crystal Island. Why? It's big. Really frickin' big, with a floor area of 2.5million square meters and a height of 450 meters. If completed, it may be the largest structure in the world.
It's also a monstrosity. Not because it's ugly, though I think it is, but because it's ego ossified into structure. "Conceived as a self-contained city within a city," it not only denies its urban context completely, functioning as a sort of vertical suburb, it also completely precludes the kind intelligent adaptation and evolution that small-scale buildings in a complex urban fabric excel. Though it's touted as green, it's essentially the world's largest monument to obsolescence -- this monolith almost seems...
By Worldchanging Denver contributor Jenny Thomas: A Boulder architecture firm announced last week that they have designed the first-ever factory-built and LEED-certified home in the nation. The house will be set on-site later this month, in Denver's Highlands neighborhood, and is scheduled to undergo LEED Silver certification. A great first for Colorado that hopefully will spawn more modular, eco-friendly homes. A few excerpts from Studio H:T's press release: Boulder architectural firm, Studio H:T has designed the first ever factory-built home in the nation that will be undergoing LEED certification. The home has been designed with prefabricated home construction company Eco-Infill. Located on a narrow (25' wide), infill site in the Highland neighborhood, this project is within...
After the Gulf Coast hurricanes, plenty of people (most of them a safe distance outside the disaster zone) suggested that the architectural destruction presented an unprecedented opportunity to rebuild sustainably. Lots of designs and competitions have emerged in the 22 months since the storms, proposing various strategies for addressing survivability, efficiency, and environmentally-sound construction. Today a small group of architects, community activists and scientists gathered at Tulane University in New Orleans to talk about these issues in the context of a proposed rebuilding plan for the Lower Ninth Ward's Holy Cross neighborhood that they say will produce the nation's first and only climate neutral community. The presentation streamed as a live webcast (which should be...
Given the rate of growth in Dubai, we're seeing an endless stream of media reports about building plans and strategies there. At Worldchanging, we've also had a relatively consistent trickle of news about Dubai and the UAE in general, but the green and sustainable projects we talk about here represent only a tiny fraction of the total activity there, most of which races ahead on unsustainable ground. Little by little, though, an assortment of models are emerging, from office parks to housing developments to skyscrapers. It may not be long before the UAE has a full package of potential sustainable designs for future architects to learn and work from. One new arrival on the scene comes from a German architect, Eckhard Gerber, who currently holds CAD drawings for the tallest...
In 2016, the UK will implement new standards for efficiency in residential homes. Nine years in advance, though, they've already got a complete demo home that complies with the future regulations, designed to "lose 60% less heat than the normal home," according to the BBC. The Lighthouse, as it's called, was constructed by Kingspan Off-Site, a company that specializes in sustainable integrated building systems and products. It's on display at OFFSITE2007, a biannual event in Watford that "explores how modern construction and advanced technologies are coming together to deliver higher performing, more sustainable and smarter buildings." The materials used [for the Lighthouse] include highly insulated, airtight building fabric which has been designed to provide generous daylight levels...
The model of sustainable design for urban residential buildings increasingly emphasizes not only energy efficiency and intelligent use of materials, but also social interaction and a sense of community. The U.S. Green Building Council's LEED for Homes criteria actually include community-related considerations towards the top of their 8-point rating system, highlighting the importance of looking first to the context and density potential of a site before beginning to build. As cities grow, of course, there will be little choice but to pack into more closely-knit dwellings. Some future-focused designers have been considering how to accomplish this task in architecture while preserving exposure to greenery and creating a sense of non-claustrophobic interaction. We've seen it in Denmark...
A couple of months ago, we wrote about Abu Dhabi's Future Energy Company and their plans to build a huge solar power plant as part of the Masdar Initiative, a multi-part agenda for promoting and developing renewable energy and sustainability in the UAE. A few days ago they announced the next big thing to roll out of their master plan: a walled city in the Emirates desert which will purportedly be "the first zero carbon, zero-waste city in the world." Perhaps the only other sustainable urban projects of comparable scale and ambition are Dongtan and Huangbaiyu in China (by ARUP and William McDonough + Partners, respectively) which in some ways share a similar context to this project, in that they are each situated at the edge of a burgeoning 21st century metropolis, and at the crest of...
by Worldchanging local editor, Matt Waxman: How might energy-efficiency be integrated into architectural design concerned with intriguing human experience? What opportunities and challenges do alternative materials such as straw bale provide the architect? Is straw bale construction appropriate for the earthquake-prone Bay Area? Daniel Smith & Associates is a green architecture firm in Berkeley, California. A leader in experimental, sustainable design research and development, DSA Architects explores a range of energy-efficient, ecologically-focused building systems and natural materials, most prominently straw bale. With many projects in the Bay Area, DSA’s experience includes homes, churches, monasteries, camps, and business complexes. I met Daniel Smith, principal of Daniel...
by Worldchanging Seattle local blogger, Dan Gonsiorowski: Environmental building continues at the University of Washington's campus in Seattle with the new Benjamin Hall Interdisciplinary Research Building, the most recent structure to achieve LEED-Gold status. This building is at the very southwest tip of campus, almost under the Portage Bay Bridge. It doesn’t look like much from the Burke-Gilman, but from the front you can tell it’s designed with a spectacular view— looks over the water towards downtown. The university employed a Design-Build-Operate-Maintain model similar to what was planned for the ill-fated Green Monorail line in Seattle. Since the same entity is responsible for constructing and managing the building, there is more focus on the long-term energy costs built...
The green building boom has players in the commercial sector racing to outdo one another with cutting edge environmental features. Architecture and design firms, construction and development, hospitality, and other service providers have learned that boasting an awareness of sustainable building practices is critical to marketability. The residential sector, however, has lagged behind in developing exemplary models for green homes – perhaps partially as a result of being a late recipient of the incentive of LEED standards, which were initially applicable exclusively to commercial buildings. But if incentive was the missing link, home builders have it now, and just one company has gotten the platinum stamp. Living Homes aims to revolutionize the homebuilding market. We mentioned...
The term 'consolidation centre' may not sound sexy, and little about the contemporary construction industry is. But in London a pilot program has found that managed consolidation of delivery operations can cut construction-related vehicle emissions by 70%, and cut waste by a huge percentage too. Pretty impressive? Even more so when you consider the simplicity of the idea. A consolidation centre enables the efficient delivery of construction materials from supply chains to actual on-site points of use. Rather than have bulk materials delivered from all over the place -- a process during which around 50% of materials end up landing in the wrong place at the wrong time and then sit around waiting to be used, getting damaged and wasted in the process -- a consolidation centre acts as a...
by Worldchanging Chicago local editor, Patrick Rollens Two weeks ago I visited the Alberici corporate headquarters, better known as the greenest building in the world. It was nothing short of inspiring. I was at once overjoyed and envious -- overjoyed because of the superlative commitment this represents, and envious because I wanted to work in such an amazing building. At the time of this writing, the construction firm's St. Louis, Missouri main office building boasts the highest LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) rating ever awarded by the US Green Building Council: 60 points out of a possible 69. Under the USGBC's LEED program, points are awarded for fulfilling certain sustainable building techniques, such as using efficient ventilation systems or recycling...
Jeff Christian directs the Buildings Technology Center at the Oak Ridge National Labs. Over the last four years he has conducted research on five prototype houses that cost between 60 cents and one dollar a day in energy costs to operate. The talk was part of the Weston Global Distinguished Lecture series sponsored by the Center for Sustainability and the Global Environment (Disclaimer: I am pursuing my graduate degree there). The 3-hour long seminar that he delivered is available on the web as both slides and video (Zero Energy Series pt 1 & 2). David Zaks: Jeff, why don't you tell me a little bit about what you do. Jeff Christian: The Oak Ridge National Laboratory is a multi-disciplinary laboratory, and as far as energy efficiency, is the largest of the national...
by Worldchnging Twin Cities local blogger, Bart Gottschalk On January 17, 2007 the Minnesota Clean Energy Resource Teams (CERTs) held their annual conference, Local Energy/Local Opportunities, in St. Cloud. CERTs is a program that is funded by several state agencies, private foundations and the University of Minnesota. Here is a brief description of the program from the CERTs web site: “The Clean Energy Resource Team project is your opportunity to play a role in shaping energy conservation and renewable energy implementation for your region of Minnesota. A growing number of Minnesotans envision an energy future built on using energy wisely and generating energy from local renewable resources like wind, solar, biomass, and even hydrogen from renewable sources. By relying more on...
When green building jumped off the hippy boat, it landed on a shore where most homes were the domain of a wealthy elite. As a result, many people still think living in a sustainable home requires a small fortune. While it's true that many green interiors tend towards the high-end, a number of low-income housing developers have recognized the value, and the savings, of building sustainably. In doing so, they've also captured an aspect of sustainability which can be easily overlooked in single-family residential projects: community. A piece in the New York Times yesterday featured plans for a new development in the Bronx which will utilize green roofs and courtyards as connectors between individual units, offering common ground for facilitating interaction amongst the residents. These...
by Worldchanging Austin local blogger, Sandra Burchsted Austin’s Westcave Preserve Environmental Learning Center was recently selected by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and its Committee on the Environment (COTE) to be one of the top ten examples of sustainable architecture and green design solutions that protect and enhance the environment. This is a prestigious award and the winning projects must meet a rigorous set of requirements which follow. 1. Sustainable Design Intent & Innovation 2. Regional/Community Design & Connectivity 3. Land Use & Site Ecology 4. Bioclimatic Design 5. Light & Air 6. Water Cycle 7. Energy Flows & Energy Future 8. Materials & Construction 9. Long Life, Loose Fit 10. Collective Wisdom & Feedback Loops. The learning center serves as a gateway...
Out in the pictureque desertlands of Joshua Tree, California, artists, hippies, and other off-the-grid, out-of-the-city types have long been building homes and establishing communities. It's a dreamy - if harsh - location that in more recent years has also drawn the luxury, second home crowd. Southern California is a known hotbed for both green building and modern modular design, so it's no wonder that one of the eco prefab architects du jour, Marmol Radziner, is developing a small Joshua Tree community of manufactured modern homes. Skyline Modern is starting out as a 5-home development on 1.25-2.5 acre lots. Mind you, these are conceived as retreat homes, so they are neither urban, nor highly affordable, but as we often say, these green consumer trends usually get their start...
Last month's pre-Budget statement by the UK government was heralded as 'green' when in reality, most of its measures were pretty puny. A mere £5 extra tax on flights, anyone? But one measure that was mentioned did get radical. The government committed to making all new houses in the UK zero-carbon within the next ten years. By progressively tightening the building codes in a series of stages, builders will be forced to meet higher and higher standards of both energy efficiency, and self-generation of renewables.
In the mean time, zero-carbon homes will be free from stamp duty tax for a limited period to encourage homebuyers to make the switch, and housebuilders to start raising their game. Housing that is funded by the government will have to become carbon-neutral in a shorter...
According to a current piece on My San Antonio, there are still people living in the sets George Lucas abandoned after filming Star Wars in Tunisia in 1977 -- and they happen to offer relatively green living.
Sidi Driss used to be a real troglodyte house, and in the beginning of the '70s it was transformed into the hotel. When Lucas came to Tunisia to shoot the original "Star Wars," he came across the hotel and liked it so much, that not only did he sleep there; he also built additional "space" decorations inside the structure to shoot the necessary scenes. I received my first insight on the Sidi Driss' role in movie location history from an extremely excited American "Star Wars" fan, who was having dinner at the next table in the hotel's tiny canteen.
As the lady ate her vegetable...
According to a current piece on My San Antonio, there are still people living in the sets George Lucas abandoned after filming Star Wars in Tunisia in 1977 -- and they happen to offer relatively green living.
Sidi Driss used to be a real troglodyte house, and in the beginning of the '70s it was transformed into the hotel. When Lucas came to Tunisia to shoot the original "Star Wars," he came across the hotel and liked it so much, that not only did he sleep there; he also built additional "space" decorations inside the structure to shoot the necessary scenes. I received my first insight on the Sidi Driss' role in movie location history from an extremely excited American "Star Wars" fan, who was having dinner at the next table in the hotel's tiny canteen.
As the lady ate her vegetable...
Why is it that so many new green highrises look like futuristic sculptures? From One Bryant Park to the Editt Tower and everywhere in between, a combination of functionality and aesthetic boundary-pushing yield architecture that is as forward-thinking in its appearance as in its back-end design. Today, Inhabitat pointed us to the new COR building in Miami, a cheese grater of a skyscraper, with uniform holes cut out of a shining external skin.
The design is a collaborative undertaking between Chad Oppenheim architecture + design, energy consultant Buro Happold, and structural engineer Ysreal Seinuk. They plan to incorporate all the good stuff, from wind and solar to recycled glass tiling and bamboo floors. The hope is that the ultra-modern building will attract tenants whose...