Green building

Each year, The New American Home (TNAH), sponsored by the National Association of Home Builders, debuts at the annual International Builders’ Show and showcases the latest innovations and efficiency advancements in homebuilding. Systems and materials are specified with the intent of achieving green building certifications. TNAH 2020 is a 6,428-square-foot high-performance luxury home overlooking the Las Vegas strip from the nearby Ascaya community in Henderson, Nevada.A hybrid ducted and ductless Zoned Comfort Solutions® system from Mitsubishi Electric efficiently conditions 10 comfort zones within the home. Zoning allows units to be turned off or set to energy saving levels in rooms infrequently used. This operation ensures the u... Mehr

RETROFITTING A DREAMSetting a 21st century standard for design sustainability while preserving all the charm and character of a handsome, century-old structure was the dual objective proposed by the firm’s founders.   Every space along the second level of this former girls’ school was thoughtfully re-imagined and repurposed with contemporary sustainable practices in mind. Solatube tubular daylight devices (TDDs) allow for ‘daylight harvesting’: permitting the transferral of sunlight from the outside in—bathing the entire office (even the windowless interiors) with natural light. Inverter air conditioners provide 20 SEER high-efficiency, low-noise, environmentally-friendly cooling. Advanced Lutron technol... Mehr

Hoa Phong Farmhouse is uniquely based on four NO design rules: No aluminum and glass windows-just the bamboo folding shutter system instead; providing natural light and airflow. Although the design is open the shutter system retains privacy and security for the house. No air conditioning - the house "breathes", taking natural wind through the open spaces with well-arranged doorways. No baked bricks - walls are made entirely of bamboo and rough cement. The rough concrete block below is designed as a support platform for the main structure of bamboo above, creating a unique contrast. No tiles - only materials from natural stone, wood and bamboo creating a sense of closeness, roughness, and harmonize within the interior of the house.... Mehr

38 on Morsim is a development of 12 luxury stand-alone houses on a desirable road in Hyde Park, Johannesburg, South Africa.   An important aspect of the design was to retain as many of the existing mature trees on the site as possible. Several units have been positioned and designed around these trees, resulting in most of the units being unique, and the trees providing shade, privacy, and beauty throughout the development. All units have a private garden, many with pools.   The use of passive solar design through the orientation of the units as well as pergolas ensures year-round comfort and energy efficiency. This is further aided by double glazing, evaporative cooling, closed woodburning fireplaces, and solar supplemented e... Mehr

Bangla Academy Complex (National competition, 1st prize winner, IAB)   In today's day and age, when there seems to be an inclination to use technology and complex design strategies to achieve a "green" solution in building design. One must not forget that one of the most sensible ways to create an "environment friendly" architecture is to use the "environment" itself. The site, the surrounding and the climate should become primary forces and a successful "green" architecture can be achieved through "passive" means.   The Bangla Academy project approaches sustainability in many levels and does not just claim to be "environment friendly". In the first measure of sustainability the project addresses is that of "site". The project... Mehr

The attentive enhancement of a building of 35,000 m²: a full-fledged urban regeneration intervention for this building built as car park, then become bank computing centre and, today, office block. The project has included both internal and external requalification and given life to a green building, with extremely reduced energy consumption, characterised by a fresh and totally renewed image thanks to the realisation of a façade in “high performance” glass personalised by blue“brise-soleil” geometry. The two large internal courtyards, like the terrace on the last floor, are the ideal place to guarantee precious moments of relaxation to employees, offering a more gradual view on the operational areas. Mehr

"Aaranya", ein landwirtschaftlicher Bauernhof, liegt in ländlicher Umgebung am Rande des Sasan Gir Lion Sanctuary, Gujarat, und wurde von dem in Ahmadabad ansässigen Architekten Himanshu Patel vom Designstudio "d6thD" mit Blick auf das offene Prinzip der volkstümlichen Architektur entworfen.   Design-Philosophie: Die Mutter Erde hat genug für die Bedürfnisse aller, aber nicht für die Gier aller. Diese einfache Aussage bleibt die größte Einsicht in die Ökologie dieses Planeten. Die Sorge um das Klima sowie um wirtschaftliche und kulturelle Nachhaltigkeit wurde in Betracht gezogen, um zu berücksichtigen, ohne die Nachhaltigkeit im indischen Kontext nicht funktionieren könnte. Sta... Mehr

Conceived as an urban rooftop farm showcasing farm to table eating within a commercial shopping centre development, Acre Eatery is a sophisticated and sustainably focused restaurant located in suburban Melbourne.   Currently operating in Camperdown, Sydney, Acre Eatery were invited by Frasers to deliver the rooftop food space as part of the Burwood Brickworks development in Melbourne with a vision of delivering a farm to table experience within an urban setting.   Describe the project and the key challenges involved Part of the Burwood Brickworks development by Frasers Property, the world’s most sustainable shopping centre, Acre Eatery is an urban rooftop farm showcasing ‘farm to table’ eating in an urban se... Mehr

A Community-Centric Vertical Green CampusRonald Lu & Partners (RLP) worked with the Vocational Training Council (VTC) to create a new campus in Hong Kong for the Technological and Higher Education Institute (THEi). Instead of adopting a traditional building form, the community-oriented, sustainable campus used creative twin tower design, bringing it the Grand Award at the Green Building Awards 2014, in the New Building Category – Building Projects under Design, prevailing over 90 entries from Hong Kong and Asia-Pacific.   Targeted for completion in 2016, the design focuses on integrating the school with the neighbourhood. The lower floors of the campus are home to shared campus and neighbourhood amenities, while the upper f... Mehr

Project BriefThe purpose of school education is not only to teach students knowledge and solve their confusion, but also to stimulate their interest in learning and to make them enjoy it. Based on that thought, architects take "Enjoyment" as the theme and carry out two conditions from the point of architectural view to satisfy enjoyable space: The first is sense of space belonging which is brought by the enclosure of "independent world", the second is the maximum sharing of teaching resources and expansion of campus activity space, that is called maximum publicity. Based on the theme of "Enjoyment", the spatial concept mode of "Enjoyable Courtyard" is proposed.   Concept IntroductionThe design method of "Courtyard Mode" which reflect... Mehr

This project utilizes passive sustainable practices as a baseline of design prior to integrating active systems. Breaking apart the programmatic spaces of the home (living, sleeping, and storage) and creating exterior circulation between these volumes resulted in smaller masses to cool. This also created two “breezeways” between the volumes, capturing the predominant east-west breezes and generating comfortable exterior spaces. The volumes are unified by one large roof, with generous overhangs on the west façade. Expansive overhangs shade the glass, providing natural daylighting, minimizing heat gain, and creating a comfortable outdoor living environment under roof. These measures reduce the energy load of the house, whi... Mehr

LEAPs3On the slopes of the ski area of Plan Checrouit, right in front of Mont Blanc, LEAPfactory has just completed the new home of the Courmayeur Ski and Snowboard School. Thanks to the new LEAPs3 construction system, the building was assembled in only one week, right in the middle of the winter season. It offers high-performance construction technology, sophisticated design and customized interior finishes.   Following the LEAP philosophy, the building rests on light foundations, it is completely reversible and it can be dismantled and transferred according future needs. All materials are environment friendly, recyclable and assembled entirely dry. Alpine skiing has always been an important factor for the touristic development of m... Mehr

The city of Jammu has witnessed immense political turmoil, causing social instability in the city,since independence; a condition that has drastically improved over the past few decades. Though the city has faced tremendous challenges, its enterprising, bold and energetic population has always strived to chart its development in a positive direction and keep its spirit alive. The design of the hotel is inspired from that spirit – to celebrate life!  The owners of the hotel had a clear vision – to create a landmark for the city; a beacon that reflects the wave of growth of its inhabitants and a place for celebration. With that vision, the idea was to create a crisp identity for the hotel and carve out spaces that are multi-... Mehr

Cyberwalk, Manesar   "Man belongs to nature and that is how he has been designed to function." Originating from this notion, CYBERWALK was conceived to bring man and nature together, within an office environment that would enable better Ideation, creative thinking that would lead to innovation in a relaxed working environment.    To aspire for the skies, to aspire for a walk in the clouds, to aspire for architecture that scales new heights of glory. And when it is about high performance glass, the result is a spectacular expression of class, contemporary style and classic architecture – Cyberwalk – the first LEED Gold certified building in Manesar, Haryana.   With an aim to head to the greener pastures... Mehr