The renderings in this article are of BaleHaus by ModCell.  This UK concept springs from the three positions that we need to: (1) live within our environmental means, (2) maintain a healthy and comfortable quality of life, and (3) build strong communities.  Stated otherwise, the BaleHaus is meant to provide good, comfortable living with a guilt-free eco-conscience.  BaleHaus is super-insulated, boxy and functional, and geared towards communal living.  More renderings below …

Read more »

I’m starting to run dry on eco-tower projects to talk about on Sundays, so maybe we can get a few more to pop up in Dubai?  This skyscraper, Tower Verre, might just be the next green structure in New York.  Well, more specifically, Tower Verre is on the table and ready to go, but I’m not entirely sure whether it will be green.  WAN notes the following: "solar panels and wind turbines fill the narrow triangular top section, putting its unusually thin silhouette to a reasonable use.  This tower is a monument to the rules of shadow and light, and to the forces of the wind." ##  I haven’t been able to confirm the use of solar and wind in the tower’s pinnacle, but as always, I think it’s positive to have solar/wind integrated into structures in a meaningful way.

Read more »

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 »

The results of the first systematic study of green buildings are in and they look good!  Specifically, the study filtered sample data to Class A office buildings larger than 200,000 sf, 5 stories or more, built since 1970, and multi- tenanted.  To compare green versus non-green, they used Energy Star and non-Energy Star buildings, and therefore, the sample contained 223 Energy Star buildings (111.7 million square feet) and 2,077 non-Energy Star buildings (889.1 million square feet).  The results: (1) HIGHER occupancy rates, (2) HIGHER rental rates, and (3) HIGHER sales prices psf for Energy Star buildings. 

Read more »