Bamboo is a truly remarkable green building material. It’s twice as strong as concrete and slightly stronger than steel. It’s also a renewable resource that needs little energy to grow, prevents soil erosion, provides biomass, offers wildlife refuge, and produces a healthy food supply for both wildlife and humans. Offering significant remediation from the effects […]
A visit to Surman Weston reveals a delightful small writer’s shed situated in the heart of London. Surman Weston has indicated their firm was “…commissioned by an author and illustrator to design & build a ‘writer’s shed’ in the borough of Hackney. Capitalizing on their multi-disciplinary backgrounds the firm acted as designers, project managers, and lead […]
Originally published on EdenKeeper.org Constructed with an eagle’s loft in mind, a newly renovated eco-lodge in South Africa offers a bird’s-eye view from a well-feathered nest. Overlooking lush vistas of Kruger National Park wildlife refuge, the view is so vast you might easily be inspired to sing a hymn in praise of Creation. Singita Lebombo […]
Used in a wide variety of ways in the building construction market, aluminum is a very versatile green building material, especially when it’s recycled. Everything from huge external building structures to delicate window blinds can be manufactured from this lightweight, durable, and corrosion-resistant metal. Doors, windows, and awnings are popular products made from this material, […]
Green building materials are as diverse as Earth itself. Some of the most sustainable materials on the planet are modern inventions, and some are as old as the hills, like adobe. Familiarizing yourself with the best green building materials will help ensure your environmentally friendly projects enjoy sustainable success. Over the next several weeks, watch […]
Techtonics Architects has won the coveted Passivhaus Trust award, featuring its tiny techtonics timber urban infill home. Designed by Techtonics Architects, the firm describes the design which was used: “We have just completed a new build ‘Passivhaus’, a very low energy construction following principles for comfort and energy developed in Germany by the Passivhaus Institute based […]
The 2016 Brick in Architecture awards have been released. According to the press announcement, these awards were judged by a jury of peers. They feature 32 Best in Class, Gold, Silver and Bronze winners in 17 states and Canada, awarded in seven categories: Commercial, Educational (Higher Education), Educational (K-12), Healthcare, Municipal/Government, Residential (Multifamily) and Residential […]
Brownfield developments, sites or buildings that have environmental contamination, are not usually the most desirable projects. However, a web site called Brownfield Listings is giving these projects a new lease on life. A small town in Missouri wanted to convert an abandoned school into a community center and emergency shelter. It put out three requests […]
A recent visit to treehugger has provided us with a great resource for the smaller side of the housing spectrum: GreenPod. It appears modular and prefab homes are finally gaining some mainstream traction, states treehugger author Kimberley Mok. For people interested in getting an eco-friendly home relatively quick, going prefab can be an easier route with less headaches. […]
One Airport Square in Accra, Ghana uses an innovative brise soleil of concrete to let light in while keeping heat out, which greatly reduces the cost of cooling.
Mark Waghorn is a Welsh architect who has designed two homes that conform to the Wales One Planet Development guidelines for sustainable homes.
CSIRO’s solar air conditioning system now sits on top of a major shopping center in Australia, and it is saving energy by using heat from the sun to cool the air in the center. The system uses concentrating solar thermal technology to produce heat energy used to power the air conditioning system. It is a “closed-loop” […]
At the headquarters of the Seattle-based Bullitt Foundation, author Mary Adam Thomas documents the building of the Bullitt Center, a structure she regards as the world’s greenest building in her recently released book, “The Greenest Building: How The Bullitt Center Changes The Urban Landscape.” The Bullitt Center stands as an eye-catching model of environmental design. Using […]
The tallest wooden building in the world is under construction in Vienna. It will be 276 feet tall and save 2,800 metric tons of carbon dioxide compared to a concrete building.
We have enjoyed following the vision and ensuing work leading to the development of US Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, now scheduled to open this August. Here is the most important item to keep in mind about this project: we’re not just looking at a new Minnesota Vikings football stadium replacing the old Hubert Humphrey Metrodome. Here […]