One of the teams in this year’s Solar Decathlon, is from New York City’s College of Technology. Â This team focused on the issue of providing disaster housing that can be easily transported and stacked, if needed, to provide a high density of housing in a small footprint. Team DURA (Diverse, Urban, Resilient, Adaptable) created a…
Search Results for: passive
05
Sep
Sep
Solar power windows that can generate electricity from sunshine will soon be available from two companies. The cost more but pay for themselves in 1 year.
05
Jul
Jul
A study from Queensland Australia shows that a cool roof coating can deflect up to 88% of the sun’s energy, lowering temperatures and electricity usage.
08
Apr
Apr
Green construction refers to a sustainable building process that is both environmentally friendly and resource responsible. Although it may sound like the most logical way to approach construction, it has rarely been the first choice. When faced with a growing population in need of housing, it has been more convenient for developers to rely on…
01
Apr
Apr
Using the right materials is one step in ensuring good indoor air quality and a healthy home. It also takes a range of building science-based strategies—from proper ventilation and moisture control to radon mitigation and conscientious construction practices–to make sure a home is healthy. Thanks to Brandon Weiss and Evolutionary Home Builders for sharing this list…
30
Mar
Mar
A new study shows that straw bale buildings are carbon neutral. The analysis looked at the cost of growing the straw to the buildings end of useful life.
29
Jan
Jan
Toronto architect Paul Dowsett says a properly designed dumb house cost less and works better than a smart house loaded with technology.
29
Dec
Dec
Looking something like homes for modern day Hobbits, Binishells are ideal for meeting the world’s need for affordable, energy efficient homes. They can be built quickly using locally sourced green materials with little or no waste. These column-free organic spans can be designed in a variety of shapes and sizes to fit any need while reducing carbon…
02
Dec
Dec
When you hear the word “cathouse”, you may or may not be thinking of well-designed, architecturally significant little shacks for your fluffy feline friends. That’s exactly what these are, however, and even though they don’t fit, 100%, into GBE’s stated mission of delivering the latest in “green”, passive, and sustainable architecture/home-improvement projects, these little cathouses…
01
Dec
Dec
There are plenty of things that can make a regular building into a “green building”. And, whether we’re talking about a white roof, a green wall, a heavy use of recycled materials, or just some new, energy-efficient windows to help homeowners save some money, the one thing that almost everyone thinks of when they think…
13
Nov
Nov
Hidden in the suburbs of Sacramento, California, in an otherwise unremarkable subdivision, is the ZeroHouse. The ZeroHouse is special because, as its name suggests, it uses zero net energy from the region’s electrical grid, making it one of America’s first net zero homes– and it wasn’t significantly more expensive to build than the rest of…
23
Oct
Oct
40% of all the energy consumed in America every year is used for heating or cooling homes and commercial buildings. Modern insulation, fiberglass composite windows and draft reducing doors combined with passive solar design and the use of solar panels could cut that energy usage in half. So why aren’t more people insisting on higher energy…
21
Oct
Oct
A byproduct of fossil fuel addiction, massive pit-mines scar the landscape of several US states. The mines have destroyed families, ecosystems, towns, and- when they close- economies. Despite the harm that these mines have caused, however, they may yet play a part in a sustainable utopian future. Not as a mine, but as a vertical,…
16
Oct
Oct
Intus Windows is one of Europe’s largest manufacturers of super efficient windows and doors. Its products meet the rigorous German Passive House standards for residential and commercial buildings. Intus is now expanding its marketing area to America and offering US architects the opportunity to earn valuable continuing education credits while attending its presentations and seminars around the…
09
Oct
Oct
In 1949, when Phillip Johnson designed the world-famous glass house in New Canaan, Connecticut, it is doubtful he thought much about the adage, “People who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.” I doubt Mr. Johnson specified much in the way of thermal-pane glass, either. Nor had solar windows yet been invented. Using windows as…
07
Oct
Oct
The importance of energy efficiency has become gospel in many parts of the world- most notably in countries like Japan, which have committed to making all new public buildings passive and net zero energy structures from here on out. In the US, companies like Turner have said that the future of the commercial market is…
02
Oct
Oct
With the rapid pace of advancement from energy efficient smart homes, to passive homes, to energy plus homes, the architecture and construction industries are leading the way in terms of building a sustainable future. Japan, however, is hoping to ensure that sustainable design doesn’t become a passing fad by pushing for all public buildings to…
19
Aug
Aug
One of the greatest things in the architectural and design fields that has come from modern technology is the ability to share conceptual solutions with audiences before they become built spaces. These ideas may never actually be built but they allow people to experience a variety of options and to explore uncharted waters of design….