Solar power garage and car ports.
good solar power video that few have seen.
[source: solardude1]
Energy saving project in chicago.
Owners of some of Chicago’s skyscrapers are hoping to tap into new technology that — by dimming lights or lowering water temperature on a massive scale — would dramatically cut energy usage and save millions of dollars. Interesting stat: 75% of global greenhouse gas emissions occur in urban areas with buildings accounting for 70%. via chicago tribune [RK]
Empty los angeles.
until bp solves its gulf problems we will feature environ – mental topics. empty los angeles by photographer matt logue.
if you can imagine the city of angels without cars. a highly debated statistic retains los angeles
as the nation’s “king of congestion”.
Photographer: matt logue
The ZEROprize.
recently [greened] Bank of America Tower, New York’s second tallest building and a possible contender for the ZEROprize.
What is the ZEROprize ? Awarded to the first re-skinned & retrofitted building of a certain size to achieve a net zero footprint while operating for a minimum of one year. The prize will go to the first registered project to maintain a triple zero for a year. US entries must be built between 1945 and 1990, must be made of steel-reinforced concrete and must house either 150 units or have a usable floorspace of at least 9,300 square feet.
Designer: Cook+Fox Architects and Gensler
via sunfiltered
Resources:
bank of america tower, nyc
EU ban on lightbulbs.
An EU ban comes into force on Tuesday making it illegal for retailers and wholesalers to import most of the old-style bulbs.
It means once stocks have run out, the only ones available will be the more pricey, low energy variety. via news.sky [RK]
2000 watt living.
The “2000 Watt Living” initiative imagines attractive new ways of using one sixth of the energy used by the average American. 2000 Watt Living was exhibited at the Salone Internazionale del Mobile in Milan 2009, and will be at Making Modern at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago from June 16 to July 25.
via gfry studio and fastcompany [PR]
2030 forcaster.
A free tool to “help project teams set energy mix goals for the 2030 Challenge.” Perkins+Will is proud to offer the 2030 Challenge Energy Estimating Tool for use by the community.
Sylvania builds bulbless future.
Incandescent bulbs in the United States phased out starting in 2012. via fastcompany [PR]
High voltage design.
Architect Dietmar Koering of Arphenotype has designed these electricity pylons for a competition to envisage a new power transmission network in Iceland.
Each pylon to be between 17 and 32 meters tall, with the shape of each varying according to its
longitude and latitude.
Project Overview:
Adaptability is an distinction of evolution, but today’s instant variations in [virtual] extended phenotypes call for something stronger: adaptability of nature! In nature material is used with optimum efficiency. Cells continually adapt to precisely fulfill their function.
Through researching organic forms and their production methods the intelligence of the material itself should support the design language, the lightness and stiffness. Fibrous systems and computation is the answer for this new task. Fibrous system in biology: inspiration! Like in the evolution through phenotypes, the production is based on a clear code; where the evolution part and the random variation is bounded to the specific landscape and site.
Architectural form and its relationship to nature, environment and society has rich antecedents to the human body. The idea is that the power net is building one main spine of nowadays society which enables living on a high standard in an age of communication; therefore the spines of the power net reflects an organic language.
The organic structure is covered with a high reflective “lotus-effect” color. It will be cleaned through natural weather conditions and will reflect the nature itself, which strengthens the idea of a graphical integration to the landscape. The final tower will blend into its environment physical and virtual. It creates a feedback loop in the observed system.
Each transmission tower is shaped in height between 17m and 32m by computer-driven equipment according to its site / longitude and latitude. This approach permits the structures to be modeled and easily fabricated translating into a reasonable cost.
Construction::
For maximum strength and stability the construction method is based on the idea of a Tripod. Once the parameters are set, it is just the location of tower by latitude and longitude, which will result in unique towers.
Material:
The main material used for the towers is an aramid-fibre-matrix bounded with eco resin through thermosetting, which gives the material stability to degration, UV, weathering and wind. The main structure will be built through filament winding and resin transfer molding. This material allows also in computer aided manufacturing an organic design language without much more costs. The thickness of the material will change through the whole system, calculated by software to adapt the stiffness to site + location and natural forces like wind.
The towers will be prefabricated and mounted on site on concrete foundation, which will support the idea of natural material on site.
Today’s pursuit to build lightweight for economic, material engineering and environmental reasons is the logical response to today’s changing society where flexibility is the prime survival quality.
Future:
Once the system is set up it will be a leading manufacturing site for fibrous systems. The high tech environment makes it hard to copy the design language and production method, which leads to a unique company.
The competition’s organizers Landsnet the Association of Icelandic Architects.
Solar powered cars.
Quite a few new concept cars as environment and economic issues force development.
Check these out.
above: Citroen C-cactus concept
above: Mitsubishi, the iMiev Sport
above: Koenigsegg Quant
above: Peugeot Shoo (photo: webecoist )
above: mercedes-benz formula zero
above: Antro Solo ( photo: ecoist )
above: SEAT Brisa ( photo: ecoist )
above: Minset Six50
above: Lotus Eco Elise
above: the Enigma
above: Eve
Some of these concept cars may never see the light of day. But they are inspiring. And they shout “green” wherever they show up.