According to the Los Angeles Times, the sunny city of Phoenix, Arizona might become a little cooler, as the city develops a plan to give 25% of the city a tree canopy by 2030. Currently, the city has about half as much shade.The city plans to use a mix of steel 'trees', native plants like... View full entry
Howe Dell Primary in Hatfield could well be the UK’s most eco-friendly school. It has toilets that flush using rainwater, sedum roofs made of plants and vegetation, and classroom sink-tops made from recycled yoghurt pots. But the school’s design doesn’t just help protect the environment, it also uses nature to improve children’s academic performance and behaviour. — theguardian.com
Howe Dell Primary’s £10 million, eco-friendly design is used by teachers to promote sustainability to a new generation of pupils. Capita Architects were given free reign to push the limits of sustainable design in the project, which was funded by the council, and that was exactly what they did... View full entry
It's rare that spectacle and nuance combine effortlessly, but an exception can be made for the lithe sculptural form of the San Shan Bridge. The bridge, which translated into English means "three mountains," will serve as a shapely conduit between Beijing and the river valleys of Zhangjiakou... View full entry
Arup announced on July 25 that they would partner with TEAM V Architecture, Lingotto, Nicole Maarsen, and Nederlandse Energie Maatschappij in the construction of a 73-meter-high residential tower. With 14,500 square meters of floor space in total, the tower, named HAUT, will house 55 apartments... View full entry
The [plastic] materials are thoroughly cleaned, before being ground into a rough power, mixed, melted and extruded into a range of shapes – mostly beams, blocks and pillars – which lock together to form buildings. Importantly, [Conceptos Plásticos] also trains communities in how to build these structures, giving them ownership over their homes [...]
Like LEGO blocks, these interlocking structures don’t need adhesive to be strong and sturdy, which makes them a good option for mobile shelters.
— forbes.com
Related on Archinect:Rotterdam considers paving its roads with recycled plasticStudent Works: This house made of trash teaches a lesson in green housekeepingTaiwan tests recycling's limits with bus stops out of bottlesRaumlabor’s ‘Big Crunch’ is an Incredible Building Made from Discarded... View full entry
Built in a scant ten days, “Proyecto Chacras” is described as “pop-up productive housing.” The 30 square meter home was designed by Natura Futura Arquitecture and Colectivo Cronopios out of donated materials and tools, with volunteer labor. Located in Chacras, Ecuador, it houses a family... View full entry
Howe Dell Primary in Hatfield could well be the UK’s most eco-friendly school. It has toilets that flush using rainwater, sedum roofs made of plants and vegetation, and classroom sink-tops made from recycled yoghurt pots. But the school’s design doesn’t just help protect the environment, it also uses nature to improve children’s academic performance and behaviour. — The Guardian
Howe Dell Primary’s £10 million, eco-friendly design is used by teachers to promote sustainability to a new generation of pupils. Capita Architects were given free reign to push the limits of sustainable design in the project, which was funded by the council, and that was exactly what they did... View full entry
Researchers from the University of British Columbia have suggested that modular construction techniques are key to assuaging cities' housing shortages.Associate engineering professor Kasun Hewage at UBC, along with PhD candidate Mohammad Kamali, conducted "the first comprehensive review of... View full entry
The decision to abolish the Department for Energy and Climate Change has been variously condemned as “plain stupid”, “deeply worrying” and “terrible” by politicians, campaigners and experts.
One of Theresa May’s first acts as Prime Minister was to move responsibility for climate change to a new Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy.
— the Independent
"Only on Monday, Government advisers had warned of the need to take urgent action to prepare the UK for floods, droughts, heatwaves and food shortages caused by climate change."In related news:In a surprise announcement, UK gov to provide £540m for flood protectionBritain's last deep-pit coal... View full entry
Congratulations to triumphant Tigh na Croit by HLM Architects & Lansdowne Drive by Tectonics Architects who were crowned the 2016 UK Passivhaus Awards winners. The Winners were announced at a ceremony held in London on the 7th July, attended by approximately 80 delegates.The winners were decided by PHT members and Award Ceremony delegates. — Passivhaus Trust
HLM have won the Rural category of this year's UK Passivhaus Awards. The house, which aimed to create a low-energy, modern solution for the 'outdoorsy' clients, has been designed to reflect its Scottish Highland context.Tectonics Architects gained the award for the Urban category, with their... View full entry
The future of London’s proposed garden bridge has been called into further question after the city’s new mayor, Sadiq Khan, halted preparatory work on the structure over fears this could involve more public money being spent.
The Garden Bridge Trust says the bridge from South Bank to Temple, featuring 270 trees and thousands of plants, will be a “tiara” for London, being both an iconic landmark and a vital pedestrian bridge.
— The Guardian
Read more about London's Garden Bridge on architnect: London's garden bridge, the saga continues Why are Heatherwick's proposals succeeding in New York but tanking in London? Sadiq Khan investigates troublesome details in Thames garden bridge project Infrastructure or advertisement? Sky to sponsor... View full entry
Designed by SHAU in Bandung (Indonesia's West Java capital), the two-story structure's facade is made from (you guessed it) a grid of recycled plastic ice cream buckets. The ground floor is kept open for various events and activities, and the actual library is located behind the buckets, on the... View full entry
The duo asked themselves the question if London will still be the capital of creativity, arts and crafts in 10 years time. Rising rents for residential and work spaces, combined with an increasingly unaffordable education system, are making the city less and less accessible. According to Boano and Prišmontas, London has always been a center for creativity, but the recent financial pressures have turned ‘creativity’ into an industry that can only be joined by people who are able to afford it. — popupcity.net
At this unstable time, the capital's creative industry must be entrepreneurial and work together to remain the best, are we up to the challenge? Read more stories of ingenuity in the UK here:The Hive pavilion moves to Kew GardensDigital Elytrons. Latest Architecture Technology at the V & A... View full entry
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... View full entry
Kew Gardens has been home to many notable sculptures and architectural pieces such as Henry Moore’s “Reclining Mother and Child” and Marks Barfield Architect’s “Tree Top Walkway”. So it was no surprise when it was chosen to showcase “The Hive”.The Hive is the award-wining pavilion... View full entry
