Bazsux: július 2016

2016. július 31., vasárnap

Floating solar-powered Waternest eco-home is nearly 100% recyclable

The 1000-square-foot floating pod-shaped home measures 12 meters in diameter and 4 meters tall. Its curved body is constructed from recycled glued laminated timber and a recycled aluminum hull. The rounded wooden roof is topped by a 60-square-meter photovoltaic array capable of generating 4 kWp. Four skylights flank both sides of the photovoltaic array. Large windows and balconies wrap around the unit to allow users to enjoy views of the water.

The developers created a “sophisticated system of internal natural micro-ventilation and air conditioning” to classify the building as a “low-consumption residential habitat.” The WaterNest 100 also features a flexible interior design that can be changed to suit different uses. If the owner doesn’t intend to use the unit as a home, the floating ecological pod could easily be reconfigured into an office space, lounge bar, restaurant, shop, or exhibition space.

+ EcoFloLife

+ Giancarlo Zema

Images via EcoFloLife

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via Inhabitat

6 Beautiful and eco-friendly offices that make work seem like a dream

Selgas Cano's woodland glazed office in Madrid

Spanish architecture firm Selgas Cano works from a stunning glazed office immersed in a Madrid's forest. Its streamlined design features a window that extends all-along allowing workers on their desks to spot wildlife pass by and watching the seasons change.

Nothing's cardboard office in Amsterdam

Dutch designer Joost van Bleiswijk and design director Alrik Koudenburg created a striking office for Amsterdam-based agency Nothing entirely from cardboard. Using 'no glue, no screw', this cool idea gives good use to a cheap throwaway material and it costs next to nothing.

Google's playful office in Zurich

Camenzind Evolution transformed a local brewery in Zurich into a colorful, collaborative office for Google's EMEA Engineering in Zurich. Filled with pool tables, loungers and slides, this funky interactive space inspires cutting-edge creativity and innovation.

The Cuningham Group's LEED Gold office in Culver City

The Cuningham Group worked with REThink Development to designed their green, LEED Gold certified-office in Culver City. Featuring sustainable technologies, natural light and ventilation, shipping containers turned offices and luscious indoor gardens, this former MGM studio warehouse promotes hands-on sustainability and food farming.

Macquarie Bank’s energy-efficient office in Sydney

California-based Clive Wilkinson Architects (CWA) redesigned the Macquarie Bank's headquarters in Sydney, Australia and reduced its energy consumption by a whopping 50%. Designed as a new collaborative workplace, the ten-story light filled atrium features 26 tiny 'meeting pods” that allow good communication between themselves and the whole space.

Except's crystal forest office

Worldwide sustainability cooperative Except has turned an abandoned shipyard into a green, energy-neutral office in Amsterdam. Filled with lush, modular, hydroponic modules that produce food indoors, this 'Crystal Forest' space flourishes thanks to chlorine-free rainwater.

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2016. július 30., szombat

Econtainer recycled shipping container bridge provides gateway to Tel-Avivs Ariel Sharon National Park

The architects were inspired by the design of the Ariel Sharon National Park itself, which is a super ambitious project to turn one of the world's largest garbage dumps into a flourishing green space. The reuse of shipping containers makes perfect sense, as an estimated 800,000 containers are abandoned by the maritime services each year. The use of containers will also save on production, costs and construction time, and the modular units are flexible enough to adapt to any changes required.

Yoav Messer Architects' Econtainer Bridge is made of a continuous line of containers punctuated by balconies that provide space to stop, take a rest and enjoy the gorgeous views on each side. The bridge is set upon four columns, minimizing its impact on the ground. A great (re)use for shipping containers that we haven’t seen before, the Econtainer Bridge will provide access to the park while serving as a destination in its own right.

+ Yoav Messer Architects

+ Tel Aviv's notorious 'Garbage Mountain' transforms into world's largest recycling park

Images © Yoav Messer Architects

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via Inhabitat

2016. július 29., péntek

Vancouver's greenest office building envisions a new kind of office space with TELUS Garden

The one-million-square-foot TELUS Garden is a mixed use development that consumes an entire city block in downtown Vancouver, British Columbia, and this building is green as it gets. The complex comprises a 53-floor residential tower and a 24-floor office tower, which includes the nine floors that hold the company’s national headquarters. Construction was completed in 2015, and the headquarters are targeting LEED Platinum certification, with many sustainability goals tied to the base building systems. The TELUS Garden building employs passive ventilation, copious daylighting, radiant heating and cooling, integration of indoor and outdoor space, and the extensive use of local wood throughout.

Among the green building components featured in the TELUS Garden hub is a raised access floor with a displacement ventilation system which uses 100-percent outside air, as well as radiant exposed concrete ceilings. Systems such as these actually informed the design of the building, as the concrete radiant ceiling had to be largely left exposed in order for the heating system to function properly and efficiently. (See photo below)

While Henriquez Partners Architects were the project architect for this eco-friendly, soon-to-be LEED platinum office building, OMB Architects (Office of Mcfarlane Biggar designers + architects) were hired as the interior architects on the project.

OMB Architects approached their design with a goal to match the sustainability of the LEED platinum structure throughout the interior details. For interior architecture, OMB chose local woods, such as Red Alder, all non-toxic surface materials, and low-VOC and recycled materials throughout the project.

The local BC Red Alder wood was used throughout the office and meeting spaces, featured in the flooring as well as the sweeping spiral staircase. The TELUS headquarters also incorporates exterior space into the work environment, in the form of a terrace with solar cell-clad shades, a quiet garden space, and sweeping views of the cityscape.

+ Telus Garden

+ Henriquez Partners Architect

+ omb

Images via Andrew Latreille and Ema Peter

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via Inhabitat

Zero-waste Japanese town builds a unique building from abandoned materials

The small yet ambitious Japanese town of Kamikatsu has achieved an 80% recycling rate and residents sort their waste into 34 categories. The Kamikazt Public House embraces the zero waste mission in its design, particularly with its eye-catching eight-meter-tall window wall made from a hodgepodge of windows reclaimed from nearby abandoned houses. The eight-meter-tall window wall and other openings bring in cool breezes in the summer, while a carbon-neutral radiation heater warms the structure in winter.

The building is filled with creative displays of reuse, including reclaimed tiles for the flooring, a bottle chandelier, and newspapers upcycled into wallpaper. The exterior is clad in locally produced and reclaimed cedar boards colored with naturally derived persimmon tannin paint.

“It’s trying to illustrate architecturally a very strong idea which is to do with zero waste,” said juror and Managing Director at EPR Architects Chris Castle. “There’s a very strong community engagement here, there’s been other buildings for the community, but this is being fed into by the community. There’s also a fantastic integration of the community, with genuine community involvement in the fundamentals of the design which is just great.”

+ Hiroshi Nakamura & NAP

Images via Hiroshi Nakamura & NAP