The International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) has announced the launch of the WELL Performance Rating, a new rating that recognizes building owners and operators for achieving excellence in healthy building performance that enhances the well-being of their inhabitants. The rating was... View full entry
Québec City-based architects Bourgeois Lechasseur have completed a set of contemporary cabins in the woods near the Canadian metropolis. Titled Reflection, the two identical cabins sit on a flat clearing close to Massif Petite-Rivière-Saint-François, a popular ski resort. Photography by... View full entry
In a 2021 feature titled For Affordable Housing, The Revolution Will Be Modularized, we explored one architect’s vision for an industrial-scale solution to the affordable housing crisis; one which centered on shipping-container-sized modules configured as various combinations of housing options... View full entry
Zaha Hadid Architects has officially ushered in what it says will become a “new benchmark for future workplaces” in the form of a brand new high-tech headquarters for the sustainably-minded BEEAH Group in Sharjah, UAE. Echoing the surrounding desert landscape, the design incorporates two... View full entry
The University of Virginia (UVA) campus has become the showground for an array of creative structures built from natural materials. The Biomaterial Building Exposition (Bio-Build Expo for short) was organized by the university’s architecture school and showcases the possibilities of organic... View full entry
Here’s a sobering fact: The building sector is dragging down global efforts to reduce carbon emissions. [...]
The good news is that, according to the report, up to 61% of building emissions could be cut by 2050, and we have all the solutions at our disposal today, from passive cooling technologies and denser multifamily homes to retrofits. All we need to do is implement them—or better yet, introduce regulations and policies to will them into implementation.
— Fast Company
The latest report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) found that emissions from buildings doubled between 1990 and 2019 despite the widespread adaptation of environmentally-friendly construction methods and materials like recycled concrete. Increases in population and the total... View full entry
A surprising number of new British construction projects are not in line with the country’s supposedly stringent sustainability mandates, according to a new industry poll published by the product information platform NBS. The survey revealed that just 14% of respondents worked on projects... View full entry
Arup has designed and engineered the Netherlands’ tallest timber-hybrid residential building. Completed this year, HAUT is part of the country’s commitment to becoming climate-neutral by 2050, in which the use of timber as a building material has been identified as one of the most... View full entry
Seattle-based firm The Miller Hull Partnership has designed an important new laboratory building for the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC) that will have a light impact on the lush natural landscape that surrounds it. Developed to offset the anticipated growth of UCSC’s research... View full entry
Cathedrals, churches and basilicas across Italy are at risk of being razed by earthquakes that could strike at any moment. But the government is on a mission to protect some of the country’s most significant and vulnerable religious buildings from disastrous seismic shocks. A new national project backed with €250m from Italy’s multibillion-euro pot of EU Covid-19 recovery funding is unprecedented in Europe for its scale and reach, officials believe. — The Art Newspaper
In one of Europe’s most earthquake-prone countries, the anti-seismic plan will allow the Italian culture ministry’s heritage safety department to distribute resources around the country that will mitigate the impact of future disasters. Straps and chains will be wrapped around bell towers... View full entry
This house on the real estate market in Scottsdale, Arizona, for $2.1 million is throwing some serious shade — in the coolest way possible. How? The “one-of-a-kind” property is basically all underground, but not in “bunker” fashion. — The Sacramento Bee
The 3,300-square-foot, five-bedroom, four-bathroom home is described as an “earth-sheltered subterranean home” designed “to create highly efficient living.” According to its listing on real-estate marketplace Zillow, the residence was built in the 1970s, designed in response to high costs... View full entry
This post is brought to you by the Land Art Generator Initiative The Land Art Generator Initiative and BUGA 23 are pleased to announce the launch of LAGI 2022. Submissions are due by September 4, 2022. The design competition is free to enter and has a top prize of $30,000 USD. ... View full entry
Last week, New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced an agreement that will transform the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal (SBMT) into one of the largest offshore wind port facilities in the country. This move will help establish New York as a leader in offshore wind and meet its climate goals of... View full entry
The Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC) has unveiled a prototype greenhouse which responds to urban food and energy needs. The Solar Greenhouse was designed and built by a team of students, professionals, and experts from the school’s Masters in Advanced Ecological... View full entry
The AIA has announced the winners of the 2022 Upjohn Research Initiative, an annual grant which awards funding to research projects advancing sustainability in architecture. The 2022 edition sees up to $30,000 awarded to five research projects, with topics ranging from biodegradable... View full entry
