Archinect - News

China to sustainably build 10 New York City's worth of space in the next decade

2016-01-06T14:38:00-05:00

In this rush to urbanize, China also has an enormous opportunity to move toward a “new pattern of urbanization.” Chinese cities could fulfill their potential to be the most energy-efficient human habitat rather than stoking energy consumption.

With a projected urban population of one billion by 2030, China needs a few more cities—but it needs them to be sustainable, a challenge that could be met if smart growth and planning is instituted now. According to this article, no perfect eco-city model exists yet, but certain practices could be scaled up to help create urbanities that are both dense yet green, or at least greener than current smog-laden metropolises (hello, Beijing). Archinect has been keenly following different strategies for building large-scale sustainable living situations, including:

• Werner Sobek believes we could live in entirely renewable-energy-powered cities by 2020

• Viennese student dorms may Passively House refugees

• Powering your (SOM-designed) house with your car (and reverse)

Construction stalled on 'world's tallest building', so locals made its foundation into a fish farm

2015-07-14T13:39:00-04:00

work stalled after concerns from regulators over the safety of the skyscraper and its environmental impact and funding. With no progress on the project in sight, villagers nearby have started to raise fish in its 2.6-hectare water-filled foundations [...] One villager started to raise fish in March and has invested over 20,000 yuan in his business. “I raise fish on the construction site. It is not in secret, neither have I ever been stopped”

Construction on the would-be world's tallest building, known as Sky City in Changsha, China, began in 2013, under leadership of Broad Sustainable Building. Sky City made headlines not only for its proposed record-breaking height, but for the speed at which it was to be completed – Broad Sustainable Building promised that using a signature method of pre-fabrication techniques, Sky City would be built in just nine months. Now way past that due date, Sky City's vacant foundations have been repurposed by local villagers as a fish farm.

Broad Sustainable Building, part of The Broad Group, is known for pushing tall, rapidly built structures in China – it previously built a 30-story hotel in 15 days, and "Mini Sky City", a 57-story tower built in 19 days. More about The Broad Group's prefabrication techniques can be found here and here.

Broad Sustainable Building - the McDonald’s of the sustainable building industry

2012-09-25T10:53:00-04:00

So far, Broad has built 16 structures in China, plus another in Cancun....The company is in the process of franchising this technology to partners in India, Brazil, and Russia. What it’s selling is the world’s first standardized skyscraper, and with it, Zhang aims to turn Broad into the McDonald’s of the sustainable building industry.

Photo by Noah Sheldon

Lauren Hilgers traveled to Hunan, China where she had a chance to interview Zhang Yue, founder and chairman of Broad Sustainable Building. Broad gained internet "fame" earlier this week by erecting a 30-story building built in 15 days, using prefabricated and modular construction techniques. His latest plan is to construct a 220-story skyscraper using the same techniques.