Green buildings, with their natural light and excellent indoor air quality, have the potential to make a big difference in the healthcare industry.  At some point, there’s going to be the world’s first LEED Platinum healthcare facility in the world and Dell Children’s Medical Center of Central Texas just might be the location to do it.  The 32-acre, $200 M project is on schedule to take LEED Platinum, if everything goes as planned.  The pictures are magnificent and we here at Jetson Green think it would be great if no one ever had to go inside!  TBG Partners was kind enough to provide photos of the work they’re doing on the project, which includes site planning, sustainable design, and landscape architectural services.   

Read more »

This is the San Francisco Sunset Idea House for 2007, and it's one of the first LEED Certified residential remodeled homes in the nation.  This home is unique from other Sunset Idea Houses in that it's in a dense urban area on a compact site.  There are two-units and the smaller one, which is about 1,200 sf, is reportedly on sale for $1,089,000.  No word on whether the larger, 3,600 sf unit will be for sale. 

Read more »

Many of you already know of FLOR, the carpet tile company that sells carpet squares that you piece together to make your own unique rug.  But did you know that FLOR is an eco-conscious company.  The company has a mission to eliminate any negative environmental impact by 2020.  Already, their waste sent to landfills has been cut by 63% and their absolute greenhouse gas emissions by 56%.  Many of their tile collections are made with recycled content, such as Fedora, which is made of 80% post-consumer fibers.  Another product, Terra, is made of 34% PLA, which is a renewable corn-based resource. 

FLOR has a great range of styles, texture, colors, and patterns.  FLOR even has a reclaim program where they take back your old tiles and recycle them into new products.

Read more »

This is the Artek Pavilion, aka "The Space of Silence," which was designed by Shigeru Ban and built with primarily one material: an environmentally-friendly, paper plastic composite known as UPM ProFi.  Debuting in the U.S. this weekend at Design Miami, the pavilion is roughly 131 long x 16 feet wide and can be assembled and taken apart quickly.  It’s a nomadic installation in the beauty and power of next generation materials in real world applications.  The main material, UPM ProFi, comes in three modern colors and is made from scrap paper and plastic.  UPM ProFi is normally used in decking, but this installation proves that it’s durable and flexible enough to be used with variety.  I’ll update the images if I can get some shots from the Miami exhibition. 

More images: @Helsinki + @Milan

Read more »

AKA Architetti just won an international competition for their development of a single-family home prototype that’s low-energy and very stylish.  Their design, pictured above and below, will be commercialized in Germany, Switzerland, and Italy, with the first units in Darb, Germany in 2008.  The residential prototype calls for eco-friendly materials, photovoltaics on the pitched roof, and energy-saving devices and appliances.  The home will be sufficiently roomy at a decent 1,400 sf big, too.

Read more »