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Net Zero Effect
One of the plethora of terms floating around the design-o-sphere is Net Zero Homes (aka ZEB or zero-energy building). Another fancy term for the same thing? Sort-of, but with a slightly different spin. Simply, it is a building that has a net energy usage of zero over the course of one year. Spawned by the…
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Project Promotion, via others
A marketing philosophy I struggle with is the concept of self-promotion (ok, not really). Doing good work and telling the world about it is a natural reaction. It’s easier when others beat you to the punch. Jetson Green seems clued into the great work of the firm which I love (and in the spirit of…
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Reading List: Vertical Gardens
Arriving last week, one of many books to come in the next year focussed on green walls and vegetated architecture. Vertical Gardens, authored by Anna Lambertini with an introduction by Jacques Leenhardt and photos by Mario Ciampi. Much like the gardens themselves, the photos of projects are full of variety and almost moist to the…
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Veg.itecture: Photo Gallery
A few project photos, via the Archinect Image Gallery (a great resource of building-related images). Definitely more to come as there are a LOT of images to go through. Enjoy! :: House, 2005 – by Jan Kempenaers :: Palisades Concrete Pier House :: De Young Museum :: Nicolas G.Hayek Center — (featured previously on L+U)…
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Urban Ag: Sans Dirt
The need for food production in urban areas is challenged by one significant barrier: lack of land. In this version of Urban Agriculture, we explore three methods for solving this dilemma by using interiors and exteriors of building in inventive ways. Kicking off is a local example of rooftop agriculture. The Rocket, a slim addition…
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Elements: Air
Save politics, air seems to be the issue on everyone’s mind these days. From global climate change to carbon sequestration and offsets – air quality is a significant urban landscape feature. Buildings, and landscapes (alongside appropriate technology) can be a part of the solution, in addition to being less of a part of the problem.…
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Public Squares: Past, Present, Future
The Walrus Magazine recently published an overview of six international public squares. Read the full article for information, but the graphics alone are fabulous. Here’s a couple of examples of the significant spaces – Kiev’s Independence Square (top) and Salt Lake City’s Temple Square (bottom): :: images via The Walrus Locally, this reminds me of…
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Elements: Water
Water. How do you talk about it without sounding like a commercial for some sort of Brita water filter? Projects abound that deal with stormwater and water as resources – as we have evolved outside the terms of ‘waste’ and looked at it as a viable resource. :: An Exercise in Futility (by rebekka) –…
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Green Infrastructure
Green Infrastructure is one of those new terms that is compelling as a concept, but difficult to pin down regarding it’s exact application in the landscape. Simply, there is a shift from ‘gray’ infrastructure (pipes, pavement, and mechanical systems) to softer solutions consisting of multi-functional landscapes including a number of stormwater bmps, or LID techniques.…
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Veg.itecture: Small(er)-Scale
This Swiss RE Office Building by BRT Arkitekten in Germany (the same company that formerly owned Foster’s Gherkin Building in London) featured on this weeks eye candy… the building dates from 2001, but is stunning with an vegetated extension of the facade created via climbing vines and screen panels. I love the way there is…