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Eco Factor: Experimental project designed to make the most of the sun, wind and land.

The growth in population and the dearth of energy has always tempted architects to design sustainable housing projects that make the most of what all is offered to them by nature. SeaO2 is one such project that makes the most of the elements of nature to ensure that anyone living inside should have minimum impact on the environment.

Designed by architect Yiftach Ben Meir, the project is scheduled to come up in the Tel Aviv North West coastal district, whose primary sources are sun, wind and land. The project has used cutting edge computer software, some of which is being used in the aerospace industry, to make the building is as sustainable as possible. The unique design of the project optimizes solar reception for lighting and electricity, natural ventilation, green open spaces, rainwater harvesting and more.

The Dark Side:

The concept design looks good on paper but a realistic form of the project would be far more complex and expensive. With the world already suffering a major economic meltdown, we don’t see many companies interested in building a solar-powered housing complex.

Via: Tuvie

Earlier we told you about the world’s first zero-carbon, zero-waste, and car-free city called the Masdar City. This $22 billion development in Abu Dhabi also requires some green building designs that are self dependent for energy needs. Since the city is the world’s greenest the buildings that will beautify the place should also be as green as the city itself. To keep up to this challenge a Chicago architecture firm Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill was chosen.

The firm has come up with a ‘positive energy’ building which will generate more energy than what it actually requires. The 1.4 million sf headquarters of the building (pictured above) will serve as the centerpiece of Masdar City.

Not only is the building green, but its also the world’s first mixed-use, net positive energy building in the world and costs a whooping $300 million. To make up the mega-task of generating own energy, this amazing building will make use of the world’s largest building-integrated photovoltaic arrays, the largest solar thermal driven cooling and dehumidification system, and will also be the first building in history to generate power for its own assembly, through development of its solar roof pier before the underlying complex. This mega structure will also consume about 70% less water than other mixed-use buildings of its size.

Via: Jets on Green

For starters, I do not sell real estate and I have absolutely no personal motives involved in this. But when a green home needs a taker, then I’m more than willing to give it a little rub. That is exactly why we are discussing this wonderful home just a drive away from Ontario. It is a home of 24 X 28 with loft - cathedral ceiling which has been professionally built by Post & Beam Construction. The home looks beautiful and is obviously placed in a location that is game for photography of wildlife. (I do not like to promote ‘hunting’ as a sport or a pass time) (more…)

He is an engineer by profession, still dreamt of a house that was eco-friendly. Finally, his dream came true. It’s about Steve James, who turned this dreamlike concept into reality, just in 10 months with the help of his friends. Made totally of natural and recycled materials, this house cost him of about £4,000, which he claims could have been more cheaper, had he cut the wood himself instead of going to the sawmill. Where straw bales serve erecting as walls, roof carries turf with flowers growing on it. Moreover, it boasts of rainwater collection system, a composting toilet and even a wood burning stove. So, what more you can expect in a house that promises tryst with nature?

Via: Neatorama

It is well-known that coal, the state rock of Utah, is the source of heat and electricity to millions of business houses as well as personal homes in that state. According to reports from Western Resource Advocates, a charitable environmental law and policy organization, power plants that use coal as fuel, supply almost 95 percent of the total electricity in Utah.

While admitting the usefulness of coal as an energy source and the practicality of using it extensively, Ken Schreiner, a resident of Salt Lake City (along with his wife,Abbie), also sounds out a warning. Schreiner says:

On the surface, it makes a lot of sense to use this resource for energy and stay on the utility grid. The problem is, when coal burns it creates a lot of air pollution.

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If there ever was a touch of irony to something, then this would be it. The economy of the Middle East is driven by the rich oil resources in the area. Yet, the ultramodern community of this desert land has opted to move in to the future using a lifestyle that is clean, green and powered by renewable sources of energy. The irony of it all is that the funding for this innovative and amazing eco-friendly project is probably derived by supplying oil barrels to the world. Well, at least one cannot complain about the way money made from oil wells is being put to use.

Groundbreaking is scheduled this Saturday for Masdar City, a nearly self-contained mini-municipality designed for up to 50,000 people rising from the desert next to Abu Dhabi’s international airport. The city is aimed as a pilot project in testing the design for green cities which are self-reliant and self sufficient. The 2.3-square-mile community, set behind walls surrounding this model green town to divert hot desert winds and airport noise, will be car free and emission free according to the design by Foster + Partners.
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Just imagine being a wind-powered home? Strange enough for us, but not for the residents of Mar del Plata in Argentina that will have its first wind-powered building, run entirely on wind power, without a slight use of thermal energy. What a great advancement, especially keeping in mind the current atmospheric profile of the earth, which is full of greenhouse gases emitted by coal and thermal resources.

Not only will the building run on wind energy but also save it for future use, for days without wind. A building zooming with ventilation and windmill over its head is the brainchild of two young entrepreneurs and designed by Mariani-Perez Maraviglia. The inhabitants of the wind-powered building will be able to save 15% of the expenses that they earlier used to incur on thermal energy. This way helping themselves save their hard-earned money and also doing a grand favor to the environment, which is sulking under the strain of global warming.

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The “Court at Upper Providence” shopping center in Pennsylvania just got its best shot ever at winning the “Prettiest rooftop” award. With a lavish 2.3 acre green cover made from GreenGrid modules (which are made of recycled plastic and small hardy plants called sedums) the mall roof now looks more like a Vienna garden! The developers see the green cover as a potential safety cover from stormwater runoff as well as an energy saving venture as these greens will keep the roof cooler during the summers

Fred Levin, of The Highland Development Group, Ltd. Says:

We believe the benefits of adding a green roof to this large a project far outweighs the additional costs. We are not speaking of economic benefits, but of environmental benefits to our country: reducing storm water runoff from the site, adding plant life and their beneficial air quality impact, and reducing the energy used by the retailers.

I guess green really is the color of the new millennium!

Source: Groovy Green

Rising sea levels, overcrowded cities, exploding population are all indicators of an urgent need to reduce the burden on our urban landscapes. Cities of the future will have to accommodate expansion in a manner that wont choke its infrastructure. A competition thrown by the History Channel, challenging architects and designers to come up with a model city of the future. The city winners for San Francisco have envisioned the future to have advanced to the point where hydrogen powered vehicles are commonplace and where hydrogen has taken over oil as the most preferred fuel source.

Taking into account global warming and the possibility of a few city areas being submerged by 2108, they have proposed a series of underground and underwater tunnels made out of carbon nanotubes. Using algae to produce hydrogen while simultaneously tapping power from geothermal vents and aquifers and using inundated areas of the city to build sinuous towers for residences are all the hallmarks of the proposed city.
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In the days when the environment is suffering increased degradation, the news of a completely eco-friendly city being planned to be built indeed comes as a welcome news. The project under consideration is Zorlu Ecocity in Istanbul, Turkey.

Zorlu Ecocity, a Llewelyn Davies Yeang project, has been planned as a ‘city within a city’. The project adheres to the original planning strategies of Istanbul of relieving the pressure on the city’s core by developing more urban centers in the entire Marma region. Zorlu Ecocity has been designed as a mixed-use development project, and would be located at the southern extremity of Buyukdere Street in Istanbul.
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