Dockside Green is an award-winning development located in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Within the 1.3 million square-foot, mixed-use community, all of the buildings, except the restaurant and pub facilities, have committed to obtaining LEED Platinum certification under the applicable Canadian LEED rating system.
We've heard about ecocities in far away lands, but now there's one planned for the Unities States. Located near Fort Meyers, Florida, Babcock Ranch will be powered entirely by solar power. It's a bold and progressive plan, and if Kitson & Partners can secure all the necessary regulatory approvals, construction will begin this year. The city includes a 75-megawatt, on-site, photovoltaic facility constructed by Florida Power & Light for nearly $350 million.
It’s no secret that Good produces the best graphics to illustrate the most current and important points. They tend to go viral and get passed around. I like their popular graphic on vampire energy and guide to prefab construction. Good has a knack for distilling complex information, and I think their new guide to livable streets is worth reading. In it, they explain ten ways to redesign and transform streets to become livable:
With all the recent discussion about crumbling infrastructure and stimulus spending, it seems appropriate to talk about a design proposal that is actively addressing many issues that are showing progress across the country. Project Green, slated for downtown Austin, Texas, represents a comprehensive approach to sustainability in the context of an urban, mixed-use development. In addition to incorporating the usual features like solar panels and wind turbines, this proposal takes a serious approach to handling the most precious resource on earth. Water.
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.
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.
