This is a concept tower by Popular Architecture envisioned for Tower Hamlets in East London.  The design is a reaction, at least in part, to sprawl issues.  London is expected to need housing for 100,000 new people per year until 2016, and currently, most of housing that’s being built is low-density projects in commuter towns.  Popular Architecture’s Super Tower could house up to about 100,000 people with a seriously low site requirement (considering the number of people within the structure). 

The 1,500 meter tall tower would have about 500 floors.  You’d find floors or sections for needs such as a university, farmer’s market, pubs, a town hall, sky gardens, etc.  Anything and everything would be in the building.  There’s even a fire station on the 419th floor!  Which raises the question: what do you do if there is a fire above or below the 419th floor? 

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Been working under the hood again.  Over the weekend, I installed a new comments system by a company called Disqus.  Give it a go with a shout below, you’ll like it.  I decided to give the system a try because it will help increase the communal aspects of Jetson Green. 

• It’s easy to use and easy to read.
• Gives readers with more control over their profile. 
• Readers can create an avatar/profile with a short bio and links to various websites, such as twitter, facebook, delicious, etc.
• Readers can also vote up and down various comments. 

And some tech blogs such as A VC, Fake Steve, and Loic Le Meur use it.  If you don’t like it, let me know.

HOK and Devrouax +Purnell teamed up to design what could be the first LEED certified Major League Baseball stadium around.*  As the new home of the Washington Nationals, the stadium has a slew of green features such as high-efficiency field lighting, a 6300 sf green roof, state-of-the-art wastewater system that uses sand filters, and an in-house recycling center.  Originally, architects estimated an extra cost of $10-20 million for certification, but it ended up being only $2 million.  Plus, the up-front costs are expected to be returned in lower operating costs.  For a frame of reference, though, the owners agreed to spend $611 million for the stadium. 

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• New affordable, eco-friendly home built in 2 weeks.
• Best Places: America’s cleanest cities. 
• Architecture firm takes the lead in LEED design.
• Remodeling green is easy on the earth. 
• Groundbreaking held for Tennessee’s first green bank.
• Titanic houses as SUVs and pickups without wheels.
• Carbon footprint of a renovation versus new construction.

*WIR = Week in Review; a Saturday showcase of excellent links.

If you haven't noticed, Adrian Smith and Gordon Gill have been showing off some seriously green designs since leaving SOM* — this building is another such example.  One of their newest projects, Clean Technology Tower, builds on principles of biomimicry and utilizes technology and building systems to interact with the surrounding environment.  As you'll notice from the renderings below, wind turbines are located at the building's corners to capture wind at its highest velocity as it accelerates around the building.  The number of turbines in the structure increases as you climb up towards the apex, where there's a veritable wind farm!  Also at the top of the skyscraper, where winds are at a maximum, is a domed double roof cavity that captures air for the wind farm.  The dome itself is also clad in photovoltaic cells that harness the sun's energy.

Located near public and private transportation, Clean Technology Tower will house roughly 1.8 million sf of office and 300k sf of hotel space.  Although I'm not sure of the green skyscraper's precise location, Smith + Gill promises unparalleled views of Lake Michigan and the Chicago River from the dome atrium.  Imagine working in a building where you can take the elevator to the top, watch the turbines whirl away, and see the entire city.  It doesn't get much better than that. 

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