Not typically a big Hadid fan but this is definitely on “to visit” list.
Source: Rendering to Reality: Zaha Hadid’s Crystalline Port Authority Arrives in Antwerp – Architizer
Category Archives: Environment & Resilience & Sustainability
Norway to build world’s first floating underwater traffic tunnels | Inhabitat – Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building
An ambitious new plan in Norway would install a series of “submerged floating bridges” to help travelers easily cross the nation’s many fjords. At present, the only way to travel across the bodies…
The Push to Revitalize Urban Alleys Across the United States Is Fostering Community and Sustainability – CityLab
For places that were meant to be unseen, alleys take up a not-insubstantial amount of space. A 2011 report by Mary Fialko and Jennifer Hampton, graduate students at the University of Washington*, found that in Seattle, there are 217,000 square feet of public alley space downtown, 85 percent of which are underused. The report estimated that reinvigorating alleyways could increase the number of total public space in the city by 50 percent.Alleys, too, are vital players in a city’s overall ecosystem. As the need for cities to rely on more sustainable approaches has become more pressing, the proliferation of trash and flooding in alleyways has come to be seen not only an aesthetic blight, but an environmental one.And as Daniel Freedman of the Los Angeles Sustainability Collaborative says, there’s a lot of crossover between sound environmental practices and livability. Revitalizing an alleyway creates an opportunity to introduce green infrastructure, but also, Freedman says, it invites the surrounding community to collaborate on improvements and make use of the space.
Luxurious tiny home lets owner live off-grid and rent-free | Inhabitat – Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building
Created for client Marjolein Jonker, Walden Studio’s abode is the first tiny house to be legally placed with a temporary permit by a municipality in the Netherlands. Despite its small…
Could intercity cycle highways revolutionise the daily commute? | Cities | The Guardian
Germany is building the world’s biggest ‘bicycle autobahn’ to connect 10 cities and remove 50,000 cars from the road every day. With the popularity of e-bikes growing too, is Europe about to see a new era of long-distance cycle commuting?
Source: Could intercity cycle highways revolutionise the daily commute? | Cities | The Guardian
A Small City with a Big Vision: Chattanooga’s New Form-Based Code – Form-Based Codes Institute : Form-Based Codes Institute
Chattanooga’s form-based code is part of an innovative vision for the city’s economic, environmental and cultural future. Following a recent visit to Chattanooga, Bruce Katz wrote in a Brookings Institute blog, “Something special is happening in Chattanooga.” As Katz points out, too often venture capitalists “pay too little attention to small and mid-sized cities with …
5 Eco-Friendly Social Housing Projects | Alternet
Several modern public housing projects are not only beautiful living spaces, but smart, money-saving, eco-friendly designs using innovative technologies.
Top 10 Green Projects 2016 – Green Building Elements
The American Institute of Architects Committee on the Environment has announced its list of the top 10 green projects for 2016.
Source: Top 10 Green Projects 2016 – Green Building Elements
CBF’s Brock Environmental Center to be awarded prestigious ‘Living Building’ certification | Inhabitat – Green Design, Innovation, Architecture, Green Building
One of the world’s greenest buildings 14 feet above sea level prepares for climate change
Although Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s Brock Environmental Center was the first structure in the world to receive LEED Platinum certification, it looks like that just wasn’t enough for the eco-loving team behind the project. Now, thanks to SmithGroup JJR architects and Hourigan Construction, the building, a net zero energy and net zero water masterpiece, is about to receive the world’s most prestigious accolade in sustainable building: a Living Building certification.
The Pragmatic Case for Bernie Sanders – The Atlantic
Political and social change emanate from persistent pressure for a just world, not settling for what is “realistic” before even getting to the negotiating table.
Source: The Pragmatic Case for Bernie Sanders – The Atlantic
Jetson Green – Net Zero Prefab That Can be Built in Just Three Days
Unity Homes has recently unveiled a prefab home, which is sustainable yet still made to last for at least as long as traditionally constructed homes. The home has a number of certifications, including LEED v4 Platinum, while it is also net-zero energy and can be constructed on site in three days or less. It is also fitted with the largest number of Cradle to Cradle (C2C) certified building products used in a residential project to…
Source: Jetson Green – Net Zero Prefab That Can be Built in Just Three Days
SHoP proposes New York’s tallest timber-framed building
Shop has designed a 10-storey residential tower that is set to become New York’s tallest building constructed from structural timber.
Source: SHoP proposes New York’s tallest timber-framed building
Lever Architecture proposes timber-framed tower for Portland
Lever Architecture has designed a 12-storey building for Portland, Oregon, that will be one of the tallest wooden buildings in the US.
Source: Lever Architecture proposes timber-framed tower for Portland
The top 10 architecture and design trends of 2015
Dezeen editor Anna Winston identifies 10 of the key architecture and design trends of 2015, including ocean plastic and “broken-plan” living.
Introducing ‘treeconomics’: how street trees can save our cities | Cities | The Guardian
In Toronto, researchers recently found that people living on tree-lined streets reported health benefits equivalent to being seven years younger or receiving a $10,000 salary rise. As well as studies revealing benefits from everything from improved mental health to reduced asthma, US scientists have even identified a correlation between an increase in tree-canopy cover and fewer low-weight births. And economic studies show what any estate agent swears by: leafy streets sell houses. Street trees in Portland, Oregon, yielded an increase in house prices of $1.35bn, potentially increasing annual property tax revenues by $15.3m.
Source: Introducing ‘treeconomics’: how street trees can save our cities | Cities | The Guardian
Coastal property values could erode if nourishment subsidies end — ScienceDaily
The value of many oceanfront properties on the East Coast could drop dramatically if Congress were to suddenly end federal beach nourishment subsidies. Values could fall by as much as 17 percent in towns with high property values and almost 34 percent in towns with low property values. A gradual reduction of the subsidies, in contrast, is more likely to smooth the transition to more climate-resilient coastal communities.
via Coastal property values could erode if nourishment subsidies end — ScienceDaily.
Sprawl costs US more than a trillion dollars a year | Better! Cities & Towns Online
Sprawl costs the American economy more than $1 trillion annually, according to a new study by the New Climate Economy. That’s more than $3,000 for every man, woman, and child.
These costs include greater spending on infrastructure, public service delivery and transportation. The study finds that Americans living in sprawled communities directly bear $625 billion in extra costs. In addition, all residents and businesses, regardless of where they are located, bear an extra $400 billion in external costs.
via Sprawl costs US more than a trillion dollars a year | Better! Cities & Towns Online.
FDR v. Obama
“I should like to have it said of my first Administration that in it the forces of selfishness and of lust for power met their match. I should like to have it said of my second Administration that in it these forces met their master.” – FDR
“Yes we can.” – Obama – But we didn’t.
Urban Life and a Microscopic Attention | Sustainable Cities Collective
Small-scale urban spaces can be rich in biodiversity, contribute important ecological benefits for human mental and physical health (McPhearson et al., 2013), and overall help to create more livable cities. Micro_urban spaces are the sandwich spaces between buildings, rooftops, walls, curbs, sidewalk cracks, and other small-scale urban spaces that exist in the fissures between linear infrastructure (e.g. roads, bridges, tunnels, rail lines) and our three dimensional gridded cities.
via Urban Life and a Microscopic Attention | Sustainable Cities Collective.
Maps and Measurments of the Expansion of Cities | Sustainable Cities Collective
We are living in the midst of the urban century. Though it is common knowledge that the world is urbanizing, it can be striking to visualize this growth on a map. This animation from Unicef maps countries’ urban populations from 1950 to 2050, and shows that urbanization is a global phenomenon set to continue for decades:
Maps and Measurements of the Expansion of Cities | Sustainable Cities Collective.