May 13, 2013
All images by FIXd Architecture
The problem with sustainable design? Sometimes the architects can forget the “design” part, letting the means for achieving sustainability define a project’s aesthetics. Since the late 1960s, this kind of structural and technical exhibitionism has become a widely practiced metaphor for the building-as-metabolic-system. The not-so-hidden agenda, of course, is to display the technical proficiency of a given architect and to make obvious the immense array of complex systems any designer must manage.
The latest example of this is the Mo Ventus house, by FIXd Architecture. This conceptual zero-net-energy, luxury residence—thus far realized only in digital renderings—can be built almost anywhere, unbound by climate or existing infrastructure.
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May 2, 2013
Jane Fonda: esteemed actress, iconic fashion model, health guru, outspoken political activist, and… avant-garde architectural inspiration? Yes, the Hollywood star and 1980s face of fitness has recently lent her name — knowingly or not — to a project by Spanish firm Elli Studio. The Jane Fonda Kit House (abbreviated as JF-Kit) is a prototype residence and pop-up gymnasium that envisions a future in which healthy, active inhabitants power their own homes through physical exercise. More after the jump.
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April 22, 2013
This project won the 2013 Architizer A+ Jury Choice Award in the Architecture + Sustainability category. See the full list of winners here.
In contemporary architecture, the concept of sustainability is often associated with the latest technology. It might bring to mind glossy, high-performance buildings bedizened with photovoltaic cells, or LEED-stamped supertalls embedded with water- and energy-conserving systems. This notion of sustainability, however, caters to a metropolitan environment, its glass-and-steel facades blending in with the existing fabric of urban development. For its Off Grid Home in Extremadura, Spanish firm ÃBATON faced the challenge of transforming an abandoned stable tucked away on a hillside far from city infrastructure into a state-of-the-art, environmentally conscious family residence without disturbing the pristine ecological and aesthetic milieu of Cáceres, Spain. See more after the jump.
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March 7, 2013
We’ll say it first: Public Voting is winding down real soon, so vote now! Today we’re featuring the amazing student design/build finalists. These five teams of budding architects have made the jump from studio to the construction site, taking their designs off their laptop screens and into the real world. From a parametric pavilion to a fully functional school in South Africa, the finalists in this category have proven that great ideas and hard work can overcome inexperience in crafting great architecture. Established (older) architects watch out: There are new kids on the block, and they’ve got mad skills. Click through to see them all!
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March 6, 2013
Project: Garden in Comporta
Architect: Topiaris Arquitectura Paisagista
Location: Herdade da Comporta, Portugal
We don’t showcase as much landscape architecture as we’d like: The modification of landscape is often more subtle than the rigidity of inhabitable buildings, but no less important to how people use, perceive, and encounter space. Take the Garden in Comporta, in southern Portugal. This project returns a disturbed construction site to an idyllic paradise, using native plants to re-seed the landscape at large. A seriers of orthogonal pathways traverse the yard, providing access to visitors while protecting the delicate, sandy soils. A shimmering aqua pool acts as a hinge, with paths spiraling outwards.
Read more about this project in the Architizer database!
Photos: João Morgado Fotografia de Arquitectura
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March 6, 2013
Voting for the A+ Public Choice Winners is finishing strong! Today we’re bringing Architecture + Sustainability to the forefront. It’s no secret that the unprecedented growth of urban environments has come at the expense of the environment—and we architects, planners, and urban designers are largely responsible. While rapid urbanization is the root cause for many of the world’s dire environmental problems, it’s also the sector most affected by design that addresses environmentally damaging practices with innovative, environment-friendly solutions. From off-the-grid houses to transit-oriented development, the following projects show how truly great design can address global problems with local, sustainable remedies. Click through to see them all!
Like what you see? Make sure to vote for your favorite project over at the A+ Public Voting site!
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March 5, 2013
Project: La Valentina Station Housing
Architect: David Baker + Partners Architects
Location: Sacramento, California
David Baker + Partners has taken on urban stagnation in the ambitious La Valentina Station housing development. Sitting adjacent to a formerly high-crime train station, the new housing complex addresses the site’s lack of security by activating the area with a new cafe and community center and providing balconies and exterior spaces. The 63 affordable units are easily accessible by light rail and public transportation, making the entire community more sustainable and environmentally friendly.
Read more about this project in the Architizer database!
Photos: Bruce Damonte Photography
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March 1, 2013
Project: Autodesk Milan
Architect: Goring & Straja Architects
Location: Milan, Italy
The new Italian offices of multinational software giant Autodesk blend traditional elements and contemporary flair, all while showcasing the best of Italian industrial design. Architects Goring & Straja entirely refurbished an existing condominium space into a LEED Gold-certified, sustainable office by providing excellent natural light, energy-efficient fixtures, and by employing environmentally-friendly finishes.
The enormous 850-square meter office space is broken up into multiple volumes on several levels to maintain an intimate office atmosphere. A long, central wall organizes the space, and is hand-finished with Venetian Plasterwork—a traditional Italian masonry technique in which many micro-thin coats of plaster mixed with marble dust are layered and polished to a shimmering, stone-like finish.
Read more about this project in the Architizer database!
Images courtesy Luc Boegly Photographe
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February 5, 2013
Project: K-abeilles Hotel for Bees
Architect: AtelierD
Location: Muttersholtz, France
This incredible multi-use pavilion provides shelter from the summer sun to visitors — and to wild bees. Often overlooked because of the fanfare surrounding their domesticated cousins, wild bees are integral to pollination worldwide. The pavilion presents two facades composed of hexagonal panels, each fit with a volume of different burrowing materials preferred by solitary native bees from densely packed tree branches to hollow bricks. The interior of the pavilion accommodates human occupation, complete with benches and storage cubbies built from the same hexagonal logic as the insect compartments outside.
Read more about this project in the Architizer database!
Photos: Stéphane Spach Photographe
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January 22, 2013
When the Bullitt Center opens in Seattle in April, this all-renewables net-zero powerhouse designed by Miller Hull will be able to sustain itself rain and shine. With solar arrays, aggressive rainwater collection, and composting toilets, the new headquarters for the Bullitt Foundation—which supports sustainable development in the Pacific Northwest—will be on track to meet the Living Building Challenge. As the most stringent green standard around, the challenge requires 100 percent in everything that counts: namely, 100 percent of energy needs met with on-site renewables, 100 percent of water supplied by on-site rainwater collection, and on-site waste management. But if the architects succeed, they may run afoul of the law. Read more!
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