Green ArchiTEXT

Old is the New Green

Great new issue of Preservation from the National Trust for Historic Preservation, with facts and figures, case studies and resources – exploring the conflicts and growing partnerships between sustainable design, new urbanism and heritage conservation.

• “The Height of Sustainability”: Turning the Empire State Building into a model of energy efficiency
• “Brick by Brick”: Greening a Rhode Island fire station
• “Preservation Green Guide”
• “Historic Preservation and Green Architecture: Friends or Foes?” Blair Kamin explores the natural alliance between these two discplines:

"Whenever I hear people talking about tension between historic preservation and green architecture, I am taken aback. What tension? Choosing between preservation and conservation, it would seem, is like choosing between a Volvo and a Saab. They have more similarities than differences.” >> MORE

Read the entire issue here.

The Plan to Decarbonize Chicago's Central Loop

Renowned architecture firm Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill (AS+GG) recently completed the investigation phase of a massive plan to “decarbonize” Chicago’s Loop. The firm’s goal was to assess variables such as the age, use, condition, and energy consumption of the 500 buildings in this central core area of the city. Carried out in cooperation with the Chicago Climate Action Plan, the monumental project calls for a retrofit of half the city’s commercial and residential buildings to result in a 30% reduction in energy use by 2020. AS+GG took on this tall order with very well thought-out, research based, holistic ideas that beg to be implemented.

via www.inhabitat.com

Wetlands as Urban Connectors

IMAGE: SWA Group

Framework For many years people have become increasingly interested in the way water is conveyed not only off a site but within a site as well. It has been through several trial-and-error attempts that humans have been able to find a system that works effectively for the particular site. We have found it to be that when dealing with stormwater issues near a site it is best to design or redevelop the area to allow for water overflow as an amenity to the urban setting. This is commonly done through the use of water retentions/detentions or other on-site methods. In a fairly recent example SWA group completed a project in Houston, Texas along Brays Bayou that called for the development of stormwater management areas along some of the more urbanized areas and infrastructure in the city.

Experience In a fairly recent example SWA group completed a project in Houston, Texas along Brays Bayou that called for the development of stormwater management areas along some of the more urbanized areas and infrastructure in the city. Three ways they looked at solving this problem was to develop their ecological system 1.) alongside Brays Bayou, 2.) at the mouth of an already developed, but rarely used park, and 3.) on both sides of the bayou in an attempt to use this bayou as an amenity passing through a larger system that was on both sides of it.

via lab.visual-logic.com

Food and the Shape of Cities

Food issues make headlines. Note Michelle Obama’s campaign against childhood obesity, the White House vegetable garden, chef Jamie Oliver’s 2010 Ted Prize for his work to counteract the culture of junk food, and Michael Pollan’s appearances on Oprah and The Daily Show to discuss his motto “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” But how often do we talk about food systems and the staggering, complex infrastructure that supplies, processes, distributes, stores, and removes the waste of what we eat? Or the way that food, food culture, and food systems shape the urban environment around us?

via UrbanOmnibus

Driving Green: New Freeway Cap Parks for L.A.?

  IMAGE: AECOM

Plans to develop four so-called freeway cap parks have recently been announced in Los Angeles. The cap concept, which essentially covers a portion of a freeway with a planted concrete lid, has gained popularity in the last decade as an urban “greening” solution. The multibillion-dollar projects are meant to knit together previously disparate neighborhoods, theoretically creating cohesion and larger-scale community gathering places without having to destroy or displace existing infrastructures.

The four projects are spread across Hollywood, downtown LA, and Santa Monica. Hollywood Central Park would be built atop the 101 Freeway on a proposed 44-acre site between Santa Monica Boulevard and Bronson Avenue.

via www.archpaper.com

City Under the City in Amsterdam

IMAGES: Zwarts & Jansma Architects

Amsterdam is bursting at the seams: the space is limited and the narrow streets are often congested. The architectural office Zwarts & Jansma further developed a concept by Dutch engineering company Strukton, which foresees a city under the city.

AMFORA (Alternative MultiFunctionele Ondergrondse Ruimte Amsterdam – Alternative Multifunctional Underground Space Amsterdam) solves the space and traffic problems of Amsterdam: almost 50 km of tunnels will be built underneath the canals in the town centre. They will accommodate extended parking space, sport and leisure facilities like cinemas and others.

AMFORA is CO2-neutral. Heat pumps provide the energy for heating and cooling. Excess energy could be used for temperature control in the buildings aboveground. Moreover, the Amsterdam air will improve: exhaust fumes will be filtered using state-of-the-art technology, particulate matter and other harmful substances will therefore no longer reach the atmosphere.

via www.zwarts.jansma.nl

EcoFLATS, Net-Zero Apartment Living

There is no lack of imagination in the sustainable development community in Portland, Oregon, but when Doug Shapiro and Jean-Pierre Veillet teamed up, a new type of ‘everyman housing’ was the result. In about a year the partners expect to have built a commercial mixed use development that includes a net-zero apartment building they can market to those who desire to reduce their personal carbon footprint.

Net-zero is used to describe the result in which a building’s energy use is equal to the amount that is produced on site from renewable resources like solar or wind. Because the technology exists to create this perfect balance, many governments are aggressively making plans to impose net zero requirements within a generation. Investors are following this trend and, based on projects like this one, many will decide to invest in buildings with net-zero energy technology. And that is exactly the point. The ecoFLATS partners insist a driving force behind their motivation to build this development has always been the concept that it would provide both educational benefits and a prototype that would support similar projects.

via greenlandlady.com

IMAGE: ecoflatspdx.com

Defining a ‘Carbon Neutral’ City

What does carbon neutral even mean? A critical first step in pursuing ‘carbon neutrality’ is defining it. Of the many considerations that go into defining carbon neutrality for a city the size of Seattle, a few stand out for their significance.

1. How does carbon neutrality relate to the global limits that scientists warn us we must not exceed – 350 ppm CO2 (or 2 degrees C over pre-industrial levels)?

2. Would a city have to actually quit emitting greenhouse gases, or could it use offsets (purchase carbon credits) to reach its goal?

3. Are we trying to account for only emissions that occur within city limits, or all emissions for which Seattleites are responsible?

This is wonky stuff; catnip for the carbon emissions accounting crowd (yes, they exist, and yes, there are technically enough of them to constitute a crowd…).

via www.worldchanging.com

The Living Building Challenge Roadshow Hits the Road

Living Building Challenge is sweeping North America, with more than sixty registered projects from coast to coast now pursuing certification under this rigorous performance standard as interest continues to rise. In response to frequent requests for introductory presentations, the International Living Building Institute (ILBI) is hitting the road to create an opportunity to share the tenets of the program with advanced practitioners in the United States and Canada.

Thirty cities throughout the United States and Canada will host Living Building Challenge Roadshow events this spring:

U.S

Kansas City, KS - 03/10/10
Atlanta, GA - 03/23/10
Los Angeles, CA - 03/23/10
Minneapolis, MN - 03/24/10
Albuquerque, NM - 03/25/10
San Diego, CA - 03/25/10
Portland, OR - 03/31/10
Anchorage, AK - 04/07/10
New York, NY - 04/21/10
St. Louis, MO - 04/21/10
Washington DC - 04/21/10
Seattle, WA - 05/05/10
Austin, TX - 05/24/10
Sacramento, CA - 05/25/10
San Francisco, CA - 05/26/10
Pittsburgh, PA - 05/26/10
Cleveland, OH - 05/27/10
Clermont, KY - 05/28/10
Detroit, MI - 06/01/10
Chicago, IL - 06/08/10
Phoenix, AZ - 06/08/10
Denver, CO - 06/09/10
Miami, FL - 06/09/10
Boston, MA - 06/10/10
Houston, TX - 06/16/10

CANADA

Toronto, ON - 03/02/10
Winnipeg, MB - 03/04/10
Vancouver, BC - 04/08/10
Ottawa, ON - 04/14/10
Montreal, QC - 04/15/10
Calgary, AB - 04/20/10

via ilbi.org

Shigeru Ban: Places for People

Short, but sweet: video interview with Japan's Shigeru Ban on designing contemporary houses and public buildings using innovative materials such as recycled paper rolls for trusses – from Wall Street Journal (via Talkitect.com).