Archinect - News

Underfunded public schools are looking to solar upgrades as a source of much-needed cost savings

2022-09-20T09:00:00-04:00

As solar energy gains traction across the country, one beneficiary have been schools, particularly those in cash-strapped districts contending with dwindling tax bases. The savings in electric bills from schools with solar panels often topped millions in each district, and many have been able to adopt the technology without shouldering any costs up front.

According to White House statistics, energy costs rank second to only teachers' salaries on a list of the largest expenses the approximately 130,000 public schools across the country are faced with annually. Their emissions are equivalent to the CO2 output of about 16 coal-fired power plants, making K-12 solar upgrades one of the more salient provisions included in the recent Federal Infrastructure and Inflation Reduction Acts.

Some districts that have already installed solar panels are seeing immediate savings as a result of the rising energy costs related to inflation and the war in Ukraine. At least 30 states have some of the basic framework that allows for the third-party ownership agreements often necessary for their installations to be enacted. Advocates say it isn’t nearly enough, but the 8,400 schools that do have solar installations offer a dramatic tri-fold increase when compared to statistics from 2014.

RIBA is calling on the UK government to warm up its interwar houses

2022-02-11T11:14:00-05:00

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has calculated that insulation, double- or triple-glazing and gas boiler replacement in 3.3m interwar homes that sprawl around England’s towns and cities could cut the country’s carbon emissions by 4%, helping it towards the net zero target by 2050. RIBA is calling for policies to incentivise private owners, who own more than 70% of interwar homes, and social landlords to fund the works.

The octogenarian houses are the target of a new £38 billion ($51.5 billion) proposal which, when taken to scale, could save around $500 billion in utility costs. Homeowners in the commonwealth have been getting bled dry by high energy costs of late as the public grapples with the pro-landlord past of its newest housing minister. Current estimates have it that only 10% of interwar homes receive an EPC grade above band C. Nationwide, the typology accounts for over 3.8 residential units according to RIBA.

“There can be no further delay in embarking on a national programme of home retrofitting, which will transform UK housing, creating warm and cheaper-to-heat homes while bringing health and wider societal benefits,” President Simon Allford said in a statement. “This process will drastically reduce fuel poverty, create half a million green jobs, and positively contribute to the national levelling up agenda.”

MVRDV-designed 'Sun Rock' offers itself an embodiment of Taiwan's carbon-free future

2022-01-18T16:48:00-05:00

One of Taiwan’s largest public utility companies is ready to make a bold statement about its intentions with a new operations storage facility from MVRDV called "Sun Rock" that will play a significant part in the country’s transition to a green energy economy. This is the firm’s second recent effort in the country behind the Tainan Spring adaptive reuse project that was announced in March of 2020.

Billed as a “manifesto in a building,” Sun Rock’s energy-saving effects are produced by a large dome and sloping southern front made functional by a series of pleats covered in PV panels that help the building generate up to a remarkable 1.7 million kWh of clean energy in a given year. The building includes a maintenance workshop, gallery spaces, roof terrace, and a special data display room that has all been made available to the public in an effort to showcase the shared goal of sustainability which defines both the country and firm.

Image: © MVRDV

“Of course, we aim to make all of our p...

Cement-based batteries could turn concrete buildings into giant energy stores

2021-05-21T08:58:00-04:00

Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden have published unique research into the idea of rechargeable batteries made from cement. The team, led by Doctor Emma Zhang and Professor Luping Tang at the institution’s Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering, believes the development of this technology may yield a future where twenty-story concrete buildings can store energy as one giant battery.

The concept for Chalmers’ battery system begins with a cement-based mixture, to which small amounts of short carbon fibers are added to increase the material’s conductivity. A metal-coated carbon fiber mesh is then embedded within the mixture, with iron for the anode and nickel for the cathode, forming a high-strength battery system on an architectural or urban scale.

Schematic illustration of a design for the metal-coating battery. Image: Emma Zhang and Luping Tang

The research, published in the scientific journal Buildings, estimates that the new battery’s capacity ...

A 19th century passive house in Chicago is a model for sustainable retrofitting

2021-04-22T12:53:00-04:00

On the subject of architecture and construction’s contribution to climate change, our existing building stock is coming under increasing scrutiny. While the United Kingdom recently announced a review into embodied carbon in buildings, thanks in part to the Architect Journal’s RetroFirst campaign, U.S. President Joe Biden has promised tens of billions of dollars in investment to retrofit four million buildings across the country.

Although new buildings, and the regulations surrounding them, are achieving ever-higher accolades for sustainability, 80% of the buildings that will exist in 2050 have already been built – many of which fall below the environmental performance standards needed to address the climate crisis. On Earth Day, we look at one example of how retrofitting old houses can offer benefits to inhabitants, streetscapes, and the environment.

The Yannell PHIUS+ House. Image: Christopher Barrett / HPZS

In the Ravenswood neighborhood of Chicago, among the familiar two-story...

First Look at 'River Green Power' a six-acre green energy hub from SHoP Architects

2021-03-24T12:28:00-04:00

Located at Vernon Boulevard and 43rd Street, Teitelbaum believes his $250 million, six-acre project designed by SHoP Architects will provide thousands of jobs while cutting carbon emissions by 70 percent and supplying energy to the Queensbridge Houses, the largest public housing complex in the country. The project would also see the construction of a "RiverLInC Greenway" connecting the Long Island City waterfront to Roosevelt Island.

NYC adopts new energy code to build more efficient buildings

2020-03-04T17:43:00-05:00

New York City will require all new and existing buildings to meet stricter energy efficiency requirements under a new energy code approved by the city council and passed by Mayor Bill de Blasio last week. The 2020 NYC Energy Conservation Code is part of the city’s implementation of its Green New Deal.

According to Construction Dive, the new code will require builders to improve the building thermal envelope with modified walls and windows to limit heat loss in addition to air leakage mitigation. Heating and cooling systems will also have stricter requirements.

Incandescent light bulbs live on as Trump Administration rolls back more energy efficiency guidelines

2019-12-23T15:22:00-05:00

The Trump administration announced Friday that it would block a rule designed to phase out older incandescent bulbs and require Americans to use energy-efficient light bulbs. In announcing the move, the secretary of energy, Dan Brouillette, who is a former auto lobbyist, said the administration had chosen “to protect consumer choice by ensuring that the American people do not pay the price for unnecessary overregulation from the federal government.”

The rule in question was set to phase out the use of inefficient incandescent light bulbs on January 1, 2020 through the imposition of stringent energy efficiency standards initially crafted in 2007 under the administration of President George W. Bush.

Regarding the measure, The New York Times quotes President Donald Trump as saying, “The new bulb is many times more expensive, and I hate to say it, it doesn’t make you look as good,” adding, “We’re bringing back the old light bulb.”

UK could weatherize 27 million residences with “Warm Homes for All” plan

2019-11-03T21:00:00-05:00

As the United Kingdom continues to make progress in its efforts to decarbonize its buildings, the country’s liberal party has unveiled a trail-blazing “Warm Homes for All” plan that could bring roof insulation, double-glazed windows, renewable technologies, heat pumps, solar thermal systems, and other energy efficiency and weatherizing improvements to the country’s entire housing stock, The Guardian reports.

Under the proposed plan, low-income residents would receive grants to make the upgrades while wealthier residents would become eligible for interest-free loans to help pay for the work. Loans offered by the government would be tied to the properties themselves rather than the building occupants. The plan could improve up to 27 million homes across the United Kingdom and create 450,000 jobs over the next decade.

Council housing in Seacroft, Leeds, West Yorkshire. Image courtesy of Wikimedia user chemical engineering.

According to The Guardian, building electricity use and heatin...

San Jose embraces all-electric buildings, bans natural gas for new commercial construction

2019-09-19T12:30:00-04:00

[San Jose] became biggest city in the US to adopt all-electrification requirements on new residential buildings and gas bans on commercial construction. By early next year, developers may have to opt for electric appliances and other infrastructure in single-family homes, backyard cottages, low-rise buildings, apartments and condos. [...] the changes could cut greenhouse gas emissions in new buildings by up to 90 percent and save owners and tenants money on utility bills.

San Jose, California's third largest city, is implementing its Paris Accords-aligned Climate Smart San Jose plan as part of a municipally driven decarbonization effort. The plan relies on a series of "reach codes" to go above and beyond existing sustainability requirements.

Harvard GSD unveils ultra-efficient HouseZero, designed to produce more energy than it uses

2018-12-04T18:41:00-05:00

The U.S. building stock is responsible for around 40 percent of energy
consumption, with housing nearly a quarter of that use. In 2014, Harvard GSD established the Harvard Center for Green Buildings & Cities to tackle the high energy and environmental costs of the industry. Yesterday, in collaboration with the international firm Snøhetta, the school completed their new headquarters which also doubles as a prototype for ultra-efficiency.

Image: Snøhetta / Plompmozes

Named HouseZero, the facility was built with ambitious performance targets that serve as a model for retrofitting inefficient existing buildings. The result is a transformed pre-1940s building in Cambridge that requires zero energy for heating and cooling, zero electric lighting during the day, operates with 100 percent natural ventilation, and produces zero carbon emissions. Not only that, over its lifetime, the building will actually produce more energy than it uses, even covering the energy costs of its own production.

“...

Dubai aims for one-quarter of its buildings to be 3D printed by 2025

2018-08-27T13:31:00-04:00

Now, Dubai has taken a step further along the road to making such dreams a reality by announcing that 25% of the city-state’s new buildings will be made using 3D printers by 2025. The move is part of an ambitious 3D-printing strategy announced in 2016 by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, vice-president and prime minister of the United Arab Emirates and the ruler of Dubai.

According to the Dubai Future Foundation the city aims to reduce labor by 70% and cut overall costs by 90% with their 3D-printed construction plan. The strategy not only aims at addressing the UN's projected density for urban areas in the future, but also holds potential to solve Dubai's severe homelessness crisis.

Maximum sustainability in Harvard GSD and Snøhetta's "HouseZero"

2017-05-23T19:20:00-04:00

How can you transform a not particularly sustainable 1940s building into a leading example of pioneering environmental design? First, get the Harvard GSD Center for Green Building and Cities team focused on green building techniques, and secondly, hire Snøhetta. The result? This press release from Harvard says it all:

The Harvard Center for Green Buildings (CGBC) at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design, in collaboration with Snøhetta and Skanska Technology, are retrofitting CGBC’s headquarters in a pre-1940s timber-framed building to become one of the world’s most ambitious sustainable buildings. As a first-of-its-kind research project, HouseZero demonstrates how to transform a challenging building stock into a prototype for ultra-efficiency, rapidly reducing the level of reliance on energy-intensive technology while simultaneously creating comfortable indoor environments.

HouseZero attempts to address the global environmental challenge of climate change by focusing on exi...

Javier Senosiain's low-income "bio-architecture" housing proposal

2016-10-18T14:26:00-04:00

Forming a closer, more harmonious bond between humanity and nature is the underlying goal of Javier Senosiain's organic or so-called "bio-architecture." His buildings often take the shape of organic forms--in one case, mythic serpent Quetzalcoatl--while simultaneously harvesting rainwater and providing natural shade and ventilation, among other attributes. The Mexican architect and professor at UNAM has a retrospective exhibition at The Palace of Fine Arts in Mexico City displaying his buildings, including a proposed low-income housing complex which breaks away from the cram'em'in monolithic housing milleu and instead creates a walkable, livable village. Check out this CCTV-America video profiling Senosiain and his work:

Michael Maltzan proposes greening L.A.'s 134 freeway

2016-07-07T14:13:00-04:00

Christopher Hawthorne, in keeping with his exploration of the ever evolving urban identity of Los Angeles, reached out via the L.A. Times to Michael Maltzan to see if the architect had any ideas about transforming L.A.'s freeways from noisy polluting agents into civic amenities. Maltzan has responded pro bono with an idea to place a 3/4 mile stretch of the 134 freeway into a tunnel which would not only reduce noise and annually absorb 516,000 tons of carbon dioxide, but double as a site for rooftop solar panels and vegetation walls.

Drivers in the tunnel would still be able to see their Pasadena surroundings through the lattice-like exterior, although residents near the just south of the Rose Bowl portion of the freeway would experience a significant traffic noise reduction thanks to the tunnel's acoustically insulated walls. As the L.A. Times notes, Michael Maltzan "describes the proposal, produced in collaboration with the Los Angeles office of the engineering firm Arup, as 'an env...

Better Buildings Leading to Big Energy Savings

2016-05-24T00:04:00-04:00

Thirty-five partners have achieved their Challenge energy or water savings goals, all ahead of schedule...These partners accomplished their energy, water and financing goals through a combination of innovative solutions and proven strategies, which are openly exchanged through the Better Buildings Solution Center website.

The latest data from U.S. DOE Better Buildings program shows that partners have saved more than $1.3 billion on energy costs. A new infographic explains how Better Buildings works and why it’s important.

Foster + Partners unveils future refuelling network design

2016-03-03T16:24:00-05:00

With over half of the world's population currently living in cities, and seventy percent of it predicted to be urban by 2050, Nissan and Foster + Partners have undertaken the design problem of creating a refuelling network that, among other things, allows electric cars to recharge wirelessly while parked in the street at night (or in work-station adjacent parking garages).

According to a press release, David Nelson, Foster + Partners' Co-Head of design stated, "Integrating zero emission technologies into the built environment is vital in creating smarter, more sustainable cities. That commitment must extend far beyond the car – it must sit at the heart of everything we do.”

NCSU Faculty Member Vincent Petrarca Receives ACSA Faculty Design Award

2014-02-17T11:13:00-05:00

For a Modernist house designed and built by his firm Tonic Design + Tonic Construction

February 17, 2014 (Raleigh, NC) -- Vincent Petrarca, an adjunct faculty member in the Department of Architecture at North Carolina State University’s College of Design and a founding partner of the Raleigh, NC-based design/build firm Tonic Design + Tonic Construction, has received a prestigious 2013-2014 Faculty Design Award from the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) for his design of “Crabill Modern,” a Modernist, single-family house in Hillsborough, N.C.

Each year, the ACSA honors architectural educators for exemplary work in areas such as building design, community collaborations, scholarship, and service.

The ASCA’s Faculty Design Awards honor built work that “advances the reflective nature of practice and teaching by recognizing and encouraging outstanding work in architecture and related environmental design fields as a critical endeavor,” according to the ACSA. Winning ...