Zorlu Ecocity is a Llewelyn Davies Yeang project located in Istanbul, Turkey.  It’s a mixed-use development located at the southern extremity of Buyukdere Street in Istanbul.  The plan is conceptualized as a "city within a city" and conforms to the city’s planning strategy to multiply the number of urban centers throughout the Marma region to relieve pressure on Istanbul’s historic core. 

Zorlu Ecocity will have 588,850 sm (6,338,329 sf) of accommodation, which includes office towers, residential towers, two hotels, apartments, and resort-style elderly units above a three story retail complex.  In total, we’re talking about 14 towers ranging from 8 to 26 stories. 

Read more »

Sometimes I wonder what kind of miracle it took to bring a deal like this to fruition.  You have this abandoned, 40-year old warehouse with contamination, structural, and code issues.  Nobody wants it.  And it’s probably much easier to go somewhere else and just do what everyone else does.  You rent space or build a new building.  But Jeff Reaves, president of Group MacKenzie, and Jay Haladay, owner of Coaxis, saw major potential in this dilapidated structure now known as RiverEast Center.  They decided to buy the property and wanted to convert it to office space for each of their growing company’s headquarters.  The result?

Read more »

• UK, Travelodge builds recyclable hotel.
• Subprime crises + expensive gas = End of Sprawl?
• Ten green quotables in sustainable building.
• Report predicts a wave of green tech.
• "Smart Grid" trials found to reduce electricity bills.
• LED lights may show up in homes in under 3 years.
• Do we have the formula for greener drywall?

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

I’d probably prefer cleaner lines and a few more windows in a home like this, but I like it as an example of what Mr. Tom Friedman calls, "building up not out."  The home is called the useful + agreeable house.  Moco Loco called it a mini hi-rise, which is kind of catchy.  I kind of like sound of midget mid-rise, but I’m not really sure if that word is off limits.  Designed by Neil M. Denari Architects, the u+a house should fit in a variety of locations, including weird and/or small lots that allow some height. 

I really like the roof lookout, too (pictured below).  Every home deserves some chill space in the top spot, don’t you think?!  Any thoughts? 

Read more »

The look of this building is incredible.  I’ve seen living walls and how the growth can devour structures, but I like the look here.  Asia is so moist, what with the rainy season in the summer, etc., that I’ve seen walls growing a sort of perma-algae.  So, I think the design here in Seoul, Korea works and I like how the windows break through the calm chaos of green. 

The Mass Studies-designed building houses an Ann Demeulemeester store on the first level and restaurant above.  The design relies on a trifecta of colors:  deep green, coffee brown, and minimalist white — all of which blend and dance nicely.  I’m not sure as to whether anything else is green (i.e., materials, systems, etc.), but nonetheless, I really like the manifestation of green. 

Read more »