Archinect - News

Minneapolis’ attempt to curtail EIFS cladding is causing pushback from architects and builders

2023-07-24T18:37:00-04:00

These kinds of guidelines cite “sustainability,” but miss a larger point about housing in Minneapolis. While it’s true that some types of texture and massing look “cheaper” than others, there are legitimate questions about whether or not newer types of building materials — EIFS, metal cladding, and the like — are more climate friendly and affordable than other materials that seem more traditional.

EIFS (aka “synthetic stucco” or “Exterior Insulation Finishing Systems”) are but one material in the proposed bans put forth by city planning officials in Minneapolis recently in an attempt to formalize a set of 2014 guidelines.

EIFS capabilities have advanced beyond a widely-known early design flaw, namely their proneness to water infiltration, and could now be an inexpensive but vital weapon for builders in the effort to deliver housing rapidly to the city’s beleaguered market.

MVRDV unveils plans for green and porous residential building in Montevideo

2023-05-09T18:43:00-04:00

The construction permit for MVRDV's 15-story residential building "Ziel" in Montevideo, Uruguay has been approved, marking the Dutch architectural firm's first venture in the country. The building, designed for developer IXOU in collaboration with executive architect Monoblock, is set to transform city living with its unique design centered around light, air, and green spaces.

MVRDV Ziel © MVRDV

Situated a block away from the ocean and adjacent to Villa Biarritz Park in the dense Punta Carretas neighborhood, the design of Ziel utilizes its deep plot and neighboring buildings' blind walls to create an open and permeable structure. The project includes a courtyard and a series of individual homes stacked loosely to ensure each apartment receives adequate sunlight, while extending the park's greenery throughout the structure.

MVRDV Ziel © MVRDV

Envisioned as a stack of country villas within a bustling city, the project includes 40 apartments, each with generous balconies or loggias. The ...

A Japanese teahouse prototype made from food waste debuts at this year’s Venice Biennale

2023-05-08T13:18:00-04:00

Japanese architecture and engineering firm Mitsubishi Jisho Design has unveiled details of a sustainable teahouse project at the upcoming Venice Architecture Biennale, which takes place from May 20th to November 26th in what is now its 18th edition.

The Veneti-An Tea House prototype is included in the European Cultural Center’s Time Space Existence exhibition, which runs parallel to the fair in the city's Giardini Marinaressa Gardens. According to its designers, the scheme is meant as a place of “renewed connection.” Its structure is composed of food waste products, adding to the intended exploration of themes of environmental protection and sustainable design.

Image courtesy Mitsubishi Jisho Design

The components are culled from local coffee grounds and pasta (common waste products in Italy, according to the designers) made using Fabula Food Concrete, a University of Tokyo-born Japanese product that entered the market only recently and offers architects the chance to build using a m...

LEVER and Atelier Ten seek to ‘debunk four mass timber myths’

2023-04-06T12:08:00-04:00

Portland/Los Angeles-based LEVER Architecture has published a new report in collaboration with engineering firm Atelier Ten addressing what the authors call “common myths about mass timber construction.” The report, in which the firms describe and debunk four myths related to mass timber, hopes to “promote a more nuanced discussion in the industry to truly capture the potential wood has to offer.”

The first myth addressed by the report is that “mass timber buildings are carbon neutral.” The team note that while mass timber construction can be an important pathway toward carbon neutrality, other critical factors need to be considered. In particular, the team warns that many aspects of a building’s life cycle are often not captured in analyses on carbon neutrality giving an “incomplete picture of the carbon footprint.”

For design teams seeking to achieve a carbon-neutral building, the report s...

Inside Yale's new Center for Architecture and Ecosystems

2023-02-06T14:04:00-05:00

The center’s main objectives are to research, develop and test novel building-integrated systems for on-site energy generation, air cleaning, water purification and food growing [...] the CEA is a 'consortium that unites researchers in the R&D of novel building research,' bringing together the resources of multiple departments on campus.

The four-year-old Center for Architecture and Ecosystems (CEA) was founded as a collaboration between Yale School of Architecture, the School of Environment, and four other colleges. The Center has thus far conducted prototyping projects in Guatemala and South Africa and will, in the future, leverage collaborations with Rice, Cornell, the University of Arizona, and other institutions in further pursuit of its ambitious research and development aims.

“A major goal of CEA is to develop new systems to reach net zero,” the Center's founding director Anna Dyson said to the Yale Daily News. “We want to build environmental systems that are not going to stress the planet’s ecosystems.”

The CEA is in the process of moving into its own space on Howe Street in New Haven and is currently undergoing renovation.

IAAC team 3D prints a zero-waste housing prototype using local earth

2022-09-12T18:13:00-04:00

Barcelona's Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC) and Italian 3D printer manufacturer WASP have created a building they say is the first made entirely of local materials and 3D printing technology in Spain.

Called "TOVA," the project was developed by a team of students and researchers from the 3D Printing Architecture (3DPA) postgraduate program of IAAC. The endeavor was born out of the institution’s ongoing research to find new ways of facing the social and environmental challenges of the future through its various education and research programs. The structure was conceived as a prototype for sustainable housing that could be built anywhere in the world.

Photo by Gregori Civera

TOVA was constructed at the Valldaura Labs facilities on the outskirts of Barcelona and is part of a larger project in collaboration with WASP that envisions a complete house. Together the teams are exploring the future of housing solutions as the threat of a global housing emergency loom...

10 architecture jobs focusing on sustainability and urban ecology

2022-08-12T08:40:00-04:00

Continuing with Archinect's weekly job highlights, we've put together a list of firms that put sustainability and ecological design/research at the forefront of their practices. If you're an architectural designer or experienced architect with a passion for environmentally driven projects, check out these six firms below. Be sure to check the Archinect Job Board for new jobs listed daily.

1 Great Jones Alley by BKSK Architects. Image render by MARCH/Courtesy of BKSK Architects.

BKSK Architects, LLP seeks a Sustainability Coordinator
Location: New York, NY
Experience Level: 1-3 years

Details: "Founded in 1985, BKSK Architects is a New York City-based firm specializing in design that is socially, contextually, and ecologically engaged [...] We are looking for a Sustainability Coordinator with 1-3 years of experience to join BKSK’s Sustainable Design Team. The group is growing to deliver on our commitment to delivering healthy, resilient, and sustainable projects in New York City. We are ...

Renzo Piano’s trio of new hospitals in Greece will stand as 'modern design templates' in a changing world

2022-08-08T16:40:00-04:00

$750 million will bring a trio of much-needed modern hospital designs to Greece by way of Renzo Piano. This set of hospital projects is in collaboration with Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) Health Initiative, which aims to deliver new hospital infrastructure and public healthcare in Greece. Elianna Konialis, lead of the SNF Health Initiative, shared with Nate Berg of FastCompany that the goal of these hospitals is to “improve access and quality of care in regions that are underserved.”

The city of Greece is a decade removed from the country’s plunge into economic and social calamity over public debts that have now rendered much of the healthcare system outside of Athens either inadequate or obsolete.

Ariel view of SNF University Pediatric Hospital of Thessaloniki. Image render courtesy Renzo Piano Building Workshop.

The Pritzker-winning architect and his firm have been tasked with the design and delivery of new facilities in Thessaloniki, Komotini, and Sparta. The hospital in Thes...

Five featured architecture jobs in mass timber design

2022-07-20T13:02:00-04:00

Mass timber projects continue to grow in popularity with architecture firms strengthening the application of the sustainable building material in residential and commercial sectors.

As the technical know-how within the industry steadily proliferates, we're highlighting four architecture firms with project specialties in mass timber design and construction currently hiring on Archinect Jobs. From junior to senior-level positions, the following selection of firms is looking for the right candidates to join their teams.

LEVER Architecture seeks a Technical Architect
Location: Los Angeles, CA

Details: "LEVER Architecture is a mid-sized architecture firm based in Portland, Oregon, and Los Angeles, California. We are seeking candidates to contribute to and grow with our award-winning office dedicated to design research and impactful projects across many different scales, regions, and typologies. The firm brings international experience and design excellence to a diverse range of building ...

Obama's remarks at the 2022 AIA Conference on Architecture speak on the intersection of inequality and sustainable design

2022-06-27T19:13:00-04:00

Barack Obama was greeted by a packed house at the close of the Friday session of this year’s A’22 Conference in his adopted hometown of Chicago.

Speaking to the capacity audience in a Q&A hosted by new AIA President Dan Hart, the two-term former U.S. President used his platform to touch upon the crisis of available affordable housing in America.

“Chicago is a case study of times architecture reinforced inequity,” he said, echoing long-held criticism of the city advanced recently by filmmaker Jordan Peele and documented by other observers of the city for a period of decades. Obama then spoke about the role government can play in aiding the delivery of more affordable units to the residential market, claiming that, in some cases, left-leaning policymakers are to blame for the predicament facing a number of states and municipalities.

“Good planning and skilled architects are needed, but this is where government policy makes a difference,” he said. “Sprawl in America isn’t good for our...

New CTBUH study on tall mass timber gives us a look at the impacts of the material industry-wide

2022-05-26T13:37:00-04:00

A new study from the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) has revealed important statistics that provide a clearer picture of the present state of tall mass timber construction across the globe.

There are now a total of 66 completed mass timber projects worldwide totaling of least 8 stories or higher. Nearly two-thirds (64% or 54 buildings) of all projects are residential, while office buildings account for 19% (16 buildings), and the mixed-use typology currently makes up 14% (12 buildings). Including projects that are currently under construction or proposed, there were 139 total projects matching the audit’s criteria.

Illustration courtesy of CTBUH

In terms of height, 12 of the 20 tallest structures are located in Europe. Scandinavia had 4 of those, while the UK and Australia had 3 and 5 apiece, respectively. Additionally, the height of the world’s tallest timber building, now officially the soon-to-be-completed 25-story Ascent tower in Milwaukee, has tripled in jus...

Check out the process behind Apex Plaza, the new tallest mass timber building on the East Coast

2022-05-05T16:17:00-04:00

William McDonough + Partners' new mass timber Apex Plaza project recently celebrated its completion in Charlottesville, Virginia. The 187,000-square-foot structure is now considered to be the largest such CLT project in the eastern United States.

Its completion is a major milestone for the use of the increasingly popular material in the U.S. and marks the end of a journey begun twenty years ago when the firm published a text from McDonough and EPEA International founder Michael Braungart outlining the “possibility of developing healthy and creatively interactive relationships between human settlements and the natural world.”

Apex Plaza, completed. Image © William McDonough + Partners

Construction images provided by the firm tell a narrative of its design features and the process behind McDonough's concepts of "Building like a Tree," "Design for Disassembly," and "The Five Goods." The timber products you can see below are said to be sustainably harvested and Cradle to Cradle-certifie...

Researchers from the University of Tokyo develop a new building material made of recycled concrete and carbon dioxide

2021-10-18T18:38:00-04:00

Researchers from the University of Tokyo’s Department of Architecture have developed a promising new kind of concrete that has the potential to reduce emissions from the construction industry.

Approximately 7% of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions come from the manufacture and use of cement, which is the main component of concrete. In addition, a large proportion of these emissions is due to the necessary use of calcium, which is primarily obtained by burning limestone. Professor Ippei Maruyama and Calcium Carbonate Circulation System for Construction (C4S) project manager Professor Takafumi Noguchi investigated a less carbon-intensive method of capturing calcium.

They subsequently found a way to take concrete waste and captured carbon dioxide and combine them in a process to create a usable form of concrete called calcium carbonate concrete. As noted in the research team’s report, Japan is estimated to have accumulated around 100 billion tons of concrete, with the annual amount ...

Mushrooms hold the key for this year’s winning proposal at the Tallinn Architecture Biennale in Estonia

2021-10-12T14:18:00-04:00

A trippy trend in building technology has taken top billing at the 6th annual Tallinn Architecture Biennale in the Baltic nation of Estonia.

Using 3D-printing technology, the Australian team of Simulaa and Natalie Alima has taken a timber-frame formwork imbued with mycelial fibers that grow to envelop the structure, allowing it to decay along an algorithmic process that, in fitting with the competition’s mandate, biologically expresses the slow passage of time.

The installation contained within ‘incubation bag’ to create ideal conditions for mycelial growth © Simulaa

With the Biennale’s theme being “Edible; Or, The Architecture of Metabolism,” the concept offers a very wavy way of considering how materials and methods can be better used to help buildings adapt to local environments through projects that “take a long, romantic and human-centric view towards construction technology.”

Section illustrating the ‘forest’-like qualities of the installation © Simulaa

“This project curates an ...

Norwegian company developing 1,000-foot-tall offshore wind turbine farms that could power 80,000 homes each

2021-08-23T10:37:00-04:00

A Norwegian company is developing a new technology for floating, offshore wind turbine farms. Unlike traditional wind farms, these are organized in stacked, square grids, standing nearly as tall as the Eiffel Tower.

The grids would stand at 1,000 feet tall, composed of multiple smaller turbines in a staggered formation atop a floating platform anchored to the ocean floor. Founded in 2017, Wind Catching Systems, in collaboration with Aibel AS as the main contractor and holding companies Ferd AS and North Energy ASA, aims to commercialize this wind catching technology.

The company claims that its grids will increase efficiency, reduce land use by 80%, and reduce production costs, allowing the system to be immediately competitive with other traditional grid prices. In addition, the team states that one wind catching unit will be able to generate five times the annual energy output of the world’s largest single turbines and could produce enough electricity for 80,000 European househol...

Volkan Alkanoglu's new 'Drift' Pedestrian Bridge opens in Fort Worth, Texas

2021-08-05T10:06:00-04:00

Portland, Oregon-based designer Volkan Alkanoglu has installed a new timber and steel pedestrian bridge to showcase the “Plug-and-play urbanism” design strategy that is emerging behind the help of new technologies. The prefabricated off-site and installed in only a few hours, Noah’s Ark-like structure was commissioned by the city’s Public Art program to span an 80-foot-wide culvert in the South Hills neighborhood south of downtown.

The design is meant to resemble driftwood that collects in the creek area, which is also defined by mid-century modern ranch homes that Alkanoglu drew on for an additional reference.

Photography by Jennifer Boomer

Per the architect: “While Alkanoglu originally envisioned fabricating the bridge solely from cross-laminated timber, budgetary constraints encouraged a different but equally innovative strategy. Taking a cue from shipbuilding techniques, he and a team of engineers began with a steel armature, but veered away from tradition by cladding it with CN...

The livMatS Pavilion at the University of Freiburg displays the strength of a more sustainable material

2021-07-20T08:00:00-04:00

A new “bioinspired” pavilion is opening in Germany thanks to some help from robotic hands.

The livMatS Pavilion has been successfully installed in the botanical garden on the campus of the University of Freiburg thanks to a cross-university team of engineers, architects, and biologists. The building is the first of its kind using a load-bearing structure that is entirely made of robotically-wound flax fiber.

Images courtesy ICD/ITKE/intCDC and the University of Stuttgart

Participants from both the University of Freiburg and the University of Stuttgart combined on the demonstration piece that showcases the material’s ductile capabilities in a spindly geometric form that simultaneously evokes both latticework and natural structures like cactus tissue and spiderwebs.

Images courtesy ICD/ITKE/intCDC and the University of Stuttgart

The pavilion’s prefabricated flax fiber truss was wrapped in a waterproof skin and wound together using a robotic process designed by the University of Stuttg...

Nine architecture firms are currently hiring landscape architects, environmental impact specialists, and other sustainability focused positions

2021-07-15T14:03:00-04:00

Increased climate change issues have greatly influenced changes in architecture and design approaches. So how can homes, commercial buildings, and land exude better sustainability practices?

This week Archinect highlights nine firms that specialize in sustainable design measures to help improve land use and commercial and residential design projects. Whether you are a landscape architect, environmental impact specialist, or sustainability coordinator, don't miss these employment opportunities below.

*If you want to stay up to date with the latest job listings featured each day, be sure to visit the Archinect Job board. Interested in finding the latest job listings? Follow Archinect Job's Facebook, Twitter, and Architect Jobs Instagram for new job opportunities posted with 150 architecture jobs posted every week.

Chengdu Tianfu City Landscape. Image courtesy of Sasaki

Sasaki seeks a Sustainability Coordinator
Location: Boston, MA

Description: Sasaki's ange of projects with ambitious e...

A new permanent home for Rotterdam's Port Authority isn't meant to last forever

2021-06-17T17:42:00-04:00

Designs for a visitor center have been unveiled this week as the city of Rotterdam looks to transform public space in Europe’s busiest port.

The new Harbor Experience Center (HEC) is a collaboration between Dutch firms MVRDV and Kossmanndejong and features a series of five exhibition spaces stacked and rotated to offer visitors unique views of the city and port through panoramic windows and an open-air rooftop terrace complete with 266 solar panels.

Rooftop view with solar panels. Images courtesy MVRDV and Kossmanndejong.

“The center allows you to discover the port and understand what it means for society, the economy, and the environment,” Richard van der Eijk, the Port of Rotterdam’s Director of Communications & External Affairs, said in a statement.

The design came together as a replacement for FutureLand, the popular tourist destination that opened in 2009 and presently hosts over 100,000 visitors a year.

An exterior view of the building with bicycle parking. Images courtesy M...

Green roofs continue to face hurdles

2019-10-26T10:00:00-04:00

The wide-range of benefits offered by green roofs have encouraged increasing numbers of municipalities and building owners alike to invest in this architectural sustainability solution. Aside from fighting air pollution and mitigating urban heat island effect, these roofs also implement savings on energy costs and offer spaces for pollinators and other wildlife. With these and other benefits, it's surprising why there aren't more green roofs. A recent article written by senior lecturer of urban geography Michael Hardman and research fellow Nick Davies from the University of Salford highlights the obstacles and opportunities faced by proponents of the growing green roof trend.

In their detailed piece from The Conversation, the researchers point out two primary factors affecting the success of these sustainable design options: buy-in from city authorities and institutions and a need for further research on green roof variations for different types of rooftop spaces.

World Building of...

What would the world look like if climate was at the center of design?

2019-09-06T19:00:00-04:00

In a recent article in The Guardian, architecture critic Rowan Moore asks, "So what would architecture look like–more importantly, what would it be–if all involved really and truly put climate at the centre of their concerns?"

It's true, the architecture profession has created a fantasized perception that every architect aims to not only become a rising star, but also a designer who can "change the world." However, as Moore points out, with the ongoing climate crisis looming across the globe, architects have exactly that possibility in front of them if they approach design fundamentally from an environment-first perspective. What would the built environment that results look like? How will this transformation re-shape our use of building materials like concrete and steel?

"What is considered sustainable differs wildly depending on who you ask," Moore writes, "The World Green Building Council, an organization supported by members from the construction industry, holds up the seeming...

AIA embraces a pro-climate agenda

2019-09-05T13:00:00-04:00

The leadership of the American Institute of Architects organization has officially signed off on an ambitious climate agenda that was proposed during the organization's annual meeting in Las Vegas.

The so-called "Resolution for Urgent and Sustained Climate Action," introduced at the meeting by Betsy del Monte, an architect with Dallas-based Cameron MacAlister, aims to "prioritize and support urgent climate action to exponentially accelerate the 'decarbonization' of buildings, the building sector, and the built environment."

In addition, del Monte's resolution aims to craft new revisions to the AIA's collection of Public Policies and Position Statements in an effort to "engage its full membership, clients, lawmakers, and communities in a multi-year education, practice, and advocacy strategy."

Remarking on the organization's official ratification of the climate resolution, 2019 AIA President William Bates, wrote in a press release, “This is a defining moment for the Institute,” addi...

Architect Alejandro Aravena receives 2019 ULI J.C. Nichols Prize for Visionaries in Urban Development

2019-07-23T20:35:00-04:00

The Urban Land Institute (ULI) is a nonprofit organization that focuses on education and research initiatives supporting responsible land use and sustainability practices. This year the J.C. Nichols Prize has been awarded to Chilean architect Alejandro Aravena.

In a recent press release ULI trustee Jodie W. McLean shares, "One of Alejandro's greatest accomplishments is the process in which he's connected architecture and working with communities, taking care to include people's ideas on how to make a better environment to improve all parts of the community. He doesn't just draw solutions, he strives (for his work) to be part of the solution."

Founder of the Santiago-based architecture firm ELEMENTAL along with Gonzalo Artega, Juan Cerda, Victor Oddo, and Diego Torres, many of Aravena's projects, have reflected a simplistic and holistic design approach. Aravena has shared with the UCI, "When we crea...

Bjarke Ingels' recent TED Talk discusses architectural forms of the future, the LEGO House, and plans to face climate change with architecture

2019-06-05T14:30:00-04:00

Whether you're a fan or not of the influential Danish architect, Bjarke Ingels has designed some of the most distinct architectural structures. Aiming to push the limits of structural design through materials and sustainability approaches, Ingels spoke at a recent TED conference in April sharing his team's most recent projects, discussed the LEGO House, and his plan for future forms in architecture.

With his most recent project teetering on ambitious design approaches and utopian plans, Ingels shares his approach to Floating Cities with the audience. He speaks of creating sustainable cities that can adapt to climate change by designing buoyant modular "coastal additions," each having their own unique coastal landscape. As ambitious as this may sound, Ingels' focus and enthusiastic approach to these human-made ecosystems excited the crowd and provided a sense of possibility.

"...if the whole world woke up tomorrow and became carbon-neutral over night, there are still island nation...

Nader Khalili's CalEarth research institute reopens its doors

2019-06-03T14:13:00-04:00

Founded in 1991 by Nader Khalili, the California Institute of Earth Art and Architecture has researched and developed solutions, including the SuperAdobe, a structure made with patented, long plastic bags filled with dirt from the building site and held in place with barbed wire. Khalili’s ultimate aim was to empower refugees and the poor to build homes using minimal materials and without the need for highly skilled practitioners such as architects, engineers and contractors.

Marissa Gluck of the LA Times writes a thoughtful piece remembering the late Kahili and the influence he's made in the architecture community. Read more about Gluck's coverage of CalEarth and its revival here.

Correction 6/13/19: The original article unintentionally used similar language to the article published on the LA Times. We deeply regret this unfortunate and unusual mistake, so we have replaced it with a direct link to the Marissa Gluck’s article at the LA Times.

BIG's latest development in Quito, Ecuador pulls influence from the city's color and topography

2019-05-01T18:54:00-04:00

This week, Bjarke Ingles Group announced its latest project in Quito, Ecuador. Titled EPIQ, the mixed-use residential and commercial building will be a new "vertical city" in Quito's green neighborhood of Parque La Carolina. Driven by sustainable design priniples, BIG strives to incorporate a diverse collection of eco-friendly solutions within the development. From a greywater treatment plan to re-use rainwater, to recycled building materials and a climate-conscious structural design, BIG aims to utilize these initiatives to aid the city and its inhabitants.

Image rendering of EPIQ. Image courtesy of Camron NY

The structure consists of two divided blocks merging to form a 24-story tower, with open green spaces found throughout the structure—a key feature. Rather than having a singular rooftop, BIG focused on various parts of the building to have its own exterior space. Said to enco...

Mumbai-based architecture firm NUDES thinks outside the box with an everyday material, cardboard

2019-04-02T15:30:00-04:00

Many may remember playing with cardboard boxes as children. The material is widely common and found almost everywhere. However, it is rarely seen in a contemporary design setting. Now imagine having coffee in a fully functioning cafe built almost entirely out of cardboard. Thanks to Mumbai-based architectural firm NUDES, that idea was made into a reality. The new Mumbai-based cafe Cardboard is turning heads with the use of a familiar, cardboard. From light fixtures to chairs and tables, corrugated cardboard fills the entire landscape of the cafe. The interior is comprised of flowing undulating walls made from carefully sculpted cardboard sections.

Diagram illustrating the relation between the ‘micro’ and ‘macro’ elements of the material. Image courtesy of Nuru Karim of NUDES

Many may be thinking what about the moisture and humidity in the area? However, NUDES founder Nuru Karim put much thought into transforming this common material into a ...

The world's largest offshore wind farm is now operational in the Irish Sea

2018-09-06T15:43:00-04:00

The world’s biggest offshore windfarm has officially opened in the Irish Sea, amid warnings that Brexit could increase costs for future projects. Walney Extension, off the Cumbrian coast, spans an area the size of 20,000 football pitches and has a capacity of 659 megawatts, enough to power the equivalent of 590,000 homes. The project is a sign of how dramatically wind technology has progressed in the past five years since the previous biggest, the London Array, was finished.

The Walney Extension is made up of 87 turbines and has a total capacity of 659 MW, enough to power almost 600,000 homes in the UK. This makes it now the largest operational offshore wind farm, however with wind farm supersizing along the British coastline it may not hold the record for long.

A 714MW is set to be up and running in 2020, while Ørsted itself is planning 1,200MW and 1,800MW farms off the Yorkshire coast. Currently, offshore wind farms provide nearly a tenth of the UK's electricity.

Yale University teams with UN Environment to unveil new eco-housing module

2018-07-23T16:19:00-04:00

Representing more than a third of global greenhouse gas emissions, and using up 40% of the planet's total resources, the housing sector is going to have to play a key role in effective climate policy. By building green, we can lessen the impact our buildings have on contributing to climate change while also building resilience into our homes and communities.

Seeking new solutions, the United Nations Environment Programme and UN Habitat recently teamed up with the Yale Center for Ecosystems in Architecture to explore how sustainable design can limit the overuse of natural resources and climate change while also providing decent, affordable housing. “We clearly need more housing," said Erik Solheim, head of UN Environment. "But the key thing is that we also need smarter housing” he added.

Courtesy of UN Environment.

As tends to be the case these days, the result of their collaboration is a 22-square-meter "tiny house." Efficient and multi-functional, the eco-housing module is fully pow...

An architectural twin study

2016-05-11T15:09:00-04:00

A six-percent upfront investment reduced energy consumption by 19% — and carbon emissions by 34% — in a pair of 100-year-old brick buildings. Add solar panels and those numbers drop to 39% and 65%.

These are among the findings of an ongoing experiment conducted by students, faculty and staff at Washington University in St. Louis. The architectural equivalent of a twin study, the project centered on the gut-renovation and subsequent energy monitoring of two university-owned, World’s Fair-era apartment buildings.

“This was a rare opportunity,” says Phil Valko, assistant vice chancellor for sustainability, who led the project with Don Koster, senior lecturer in architecture in the university’s Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts.

“Both buildings have the same square footage, the same number of apartments, the same floor plans and the same sun exposure,” Valko explains. “That gave us a unique opportunity to design, implement and test real-world strategies for energy-efficient rehab.”

Tho...