Solarsmith, a green building firm out of Santa Fe, New Mexico, recently helped Betsy Armstrong and Richard Barr build an eco-friendly, traditional southwest-style home in the foothills of Santa Fe. The residence's roof is filled with solar panels, which are tied into the grid, helping to heat water for the radiant floors, exercise pool and appliances. Excess energy is fed to neighboring homes.
Green Screen is certainly not a new product, but the modular trellis panels are versatile enough to, in my estimation, inspire someone to put them to new use. Or use them to create something unique or innovative. The elements of the system are simple, with just the planter, panels, and the plants -- if you have the time to wait for the design to grow in, you can create a pretty unique looking living wall, fence, column, curve, or practically any other shape. The panels are made with 14 gauge galvanized steel and are available in ~ six colors.
This conceptual proposal for Chicago's Monroe Harbor was designed in honor of the great American architect Daniel Burnham, but perhaps more importantly, to secure Chicago's bid for the 2016 Olympic games. The proposal is a modern interpretation of Burnam's 1909 master plan for Chicago. In a land locked city, the Chicago Eco-Bridge offers an extension of the landscape that would dramatically change the face of the city, and perhaps the United States.
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.
If you've been to a green trade show or exhibit, you may have noticed a few green wall providers. One to keep in mind, just in case you're thinking about incorporating a lush living wall or vertical garden, is TerraScreen. The TerraScreen Interior Greenwall System was designed by Planterra to hold large 6" plants and can be maintained by your average interior landscape contractor. The system requires about 18" of space from the wall and a catch basin, but can be supported with drip irrigation and a tank, too. It's comprised of modular panels made with powder-coated, galvanized steel wire and these panels can be lined up to really liven up a place. Make sure to check these images below ... having one of these, I think, is a pretty good way to make a statement about the way you do things.
So here's the deal. The Harbinger SG Blocks Showhouse was bad out. Everyone I talked to loved it. You might think that a shipping container home would feel closed-in and constrictive, but this home certainly wasn't. At 1700 sf, everything felt just right to me. I was able to sneak into the Exhibit Hall early enough to get some killer images (in case you couldn't be there), so let's talk a walk through the Harbinger House below.
When you decide to outfit a building with a green roof, the plants have to come from somewhere. In this particular case, 8,355 square feet of plants are growing at T & L Nursery in Woodinville, Washington for installation at the new Olive 8. Currently under construction, Olive 8 will be Seattle's first LEED hotel/condo (pursuing LEED Silver certification). In addition, it will have one of the city's largest green roofs with 20 different varieties of drought-tolerant sedums growing in 700 planters totaling nearly 24,000 plants. That's a lot of green to have on the fourth floor for everyone to enjoy.
This is the new, 9000 sf facility designed by LPA for the Environmental Nature Center. Located in Newport Beach, and with an estimated 54 points towards LEED certification, ENC could be the first LEED Platinum building in Orange County. LPA estimates that the facility's sustainable elements will save ENC ~$20,000 per year. Plus, with optimal east-west site orientation and 14 native plant communities, in addition to all the other green features, this building is meant to be a West Coast beacon of green design for years to come. Make sure to check out the rest of the images below ...
In Portland two brothers, Dustin and Garrett Moon, have been getting some serious attention for their project, The Commons -- it could just be the first residence in the nation to meet the standards of the Living Building Challenge. The Living Building Challenge is about getting to something that's truly sustainable, which is what I think the Moons are going after here. If you look at their plans, The Commons will use green tech that you might not see in other so-called green homes.
Photo by JPhilipson
I've got an inbox full of cool announcements ready for Earth Day 2008, but to be honest, I'm not going to talk about any of them ... not today, at least. Over the next week or so, I'll take some time to sift through the news and leak out the good stuff. Today, though, I'm thinking, why not focus on the earth? The best way I know how to do that is by sharing some earthy images from various, cool flickr folks. Wear blue and enjoy the day ...
