Green Building : Jetson Green

World's First Active House in Denmark

The Guardian just published an interesting article about the world's first Active House.  An Active House, as compared to a super low-energy Passive House, is a highly efficient home that captures more energy than the occupants need for heat and power.  In particular, this Denmark Active House should generate enough electricity over 30 years to cancel out the energy costs of building it.  And it operates like a machine: a computer monitors the temperature and climate of the interior and opens, closes, and adjusts windows accordingly. 

Get Ready for Sustainability Now 2009

This is a quick public service announcement from Phil Clark, a journalist at UBM Built Environment in the UK.  He blogs at Zerochampion and previously wrote a guest article on this site.  

Want to hear from experts and professionals on their experiences of sustainable design and construction?  All from the comfort of your home or office?  Well a new virtual event I’m running next week, called Sustainability Now, may well be up your street.  It’s free to attend and offers a flexible way for finding green content, from reports, articles, and data to video and audio shows.  You can also connect directly with your peers in green architecture, engineering, and building at a lounge area, which offers instant messenger communication for users.

CitizenM Modern Prefab Pod Hotels

This is the first citizenM hotel near Amsterdam Schiphol Airport.  Designed by Dutch design firm Concrete Architectural Associates, the hotel is made with prefabricated pods (or rooms) built in citizenM's own production facility.  The rooms have been prefabricated not only to reduce construction waste and save time, but they're also built this way to provide a consistent room experience to guests.  So when guests walk into a room, not only do they get a tightly designed and constructed space, but they get one that's full of geeky tech. 

Biomimicry Inspired Cactus Building

Just last week, DesignBoom brought us news of this cactus-inspired design for the Minister of Municipal Affairs & Agriculture building in Doha, Qatar.  It's a fascinating example of biomimicry -- the skin of one of the hardiest plants of the desert is applied to the design of the facade of a desert building -- with hundreds of smart shades that open and close depending on the strength of the sun.  

Miyi Tower Tree of Light Masterplan

A competition for a community plan in China recently declared a winning entry entitled "The Tree of Light." The local government of Miyi County was looking for a way to create a landmark body of architecture to serve as a foundation for further development in the area.  From the banks of the Anning River rises a comprehensive master plan addressing needs for education, environmental restoration, and community identity.

Glassy Greenhouse in Belgium

Wow, isn't this home striking?  It's a green house and a house meant to act like a true greenhouse -- the steel-framed structure is enveloped in alternating layers of insulated transparent glass and translucent polycarbonate plates, so when the sun comes through the glass and heats up the interior, the insulation in the glass keeps the heat inside.  The insulation and translucent materials also provide a level of privacy, particularly on the first level, whereas the glass is featured prominently in the more public areas of the home. 

Chinatrust Bank Complex Features Modern Buildings with Green Roofs

If you've ever been to Taiwan, you'll probably agree that this design for Chinatrust Bank's headquarters is spot on for the region.  Taiwan is so lush and green -- the extensive allowance for green roofs, vertical courtyards, and open space in the central plaza likely blends right in to the terrain.  Designed by the LA office of NBBJ, with the assistance of local firm Fei & Cheng Associates, the development includes a 30-story headquarters building, 21-story commercial office building, 10-story hotel, and four-level retail center.  The development just broke ground earlier this month and will end up with 2.5 million square feet by about 2012. 

Casa 100k Green Prefab Homes [Italy]

It looks like the 100k House idea has migrated overseas because a similar prototype just popped up in Italy last year.  Mario Cucinella Architects has conceived Casa 100k, which is a prototype home for Є100,000 that prioritizes three main elements: style, sustainability, and affordability.  It's billed as a low-cost, dream home with zero bills and zero emissions.  And as you can see from available renderings, the method of accomplishing such goals is primarily through prefabrication and passive and active design strategies. 

A Living House by R&Sie Architects

We've seen some interesting living walls and green roofs, but this goes beyond these applications and into the realm of being a complete living house.  Referred to as the Lost in Paris House, the structure took five years to complete and was designed by R&Sie architects.  The unique living envelope comprises 1200 ferns (or Dryopteris filix-mas) in a hydroponic system – the plants are not sustained by soil but by a chemical mixture of bacteria, nutrients, and rainwater. 

Zira Island Planned as Zero Energy City

Following in the footsteps of Dongtan and Masdar, the Danish firm of Bjarke Ingels Group has just released details of their masterplan for a zero energy resort and entertainment city on Zira Island, which is located within the bay of Baku, Azerbaijan.  The plan calls for roughly 10.8 million square feet of architectural landscape based on the natural landscape of Azerbaijan.  Indeed, Zira Island will feature seven residential developments, each in the shape of one of seven peaks of Azerbaijan, and 300 private villas with views over the Caspian Sea.