303 East 33rd Street by Perkins Eastman

303 East 33rd Street, the first green development in the Murray Hill neighborhood of Manhattan, is designed by top ranked green architecture and design firm Perkins Eastman. The LEED Certified development is a 12-story, 165,00 sf building defined as a series of single attached buildings facing the street alternating in height.







BUILDING PROGRAM:

The interior of the building comprises 128 studio, one-, two-, and three-bedroom homes in a variety of layouts as well as a three-bedroom, four-bathroom triplex penthouse.



Additional amenities include a fully-equipped fitness center, media lounge with pool table, a children’s playroom, and full-service concierge.





A landscaped roof-top, with a total of 1,700 sf of outdoor space, takes advantage of distinctive urban views.



DESIGN CONCEPT:



"A highly energy efficient envelope -exceeding the thermal requirements of New York City code-comprising brick piers, terraces, balconies, and large expanses of glass fracture the architectural repetition, heightening the concept of an ensemble of buildings rather than a single development."



"Using rapidly renewable materials and low-VOC finishes, a contemporary interior space is created that engages the residents to participate in a more sustainable lifestyle. Each unit is equipped with electrical sub-meters allowing the tenants to monitor their electrical use and manage their personal consumption. To discourage automobile use, the development purposely omitted a parking garage from the design and instead chose to offer parking discounts in an adjacent venue for hybrid vehicles."

"The roof-top design limits the use of potable water for landscaping, employing a variety of indigenous, drought tolerant plants to create an outdoor oasis for the residents."

Source: ArchDaily

Minister of Municipal Affairs & Agriculture Building, Qatar by Aesthetics Architects Go Group

This towering cactus will be the brand new office building for The Minister of Municipal Affairs & Agriculture (MMAA) in Qatar designed by Bangkok-based Aesthetics Architects.



Also known as the cactus project, its design draws inspiration from the ability of cacti to successfully survive in hot, dry environments.



The energy efficient structure features sunshade panels that open and close according to the sun's intensity, similar to how a cactus chooses to perform transpiration to retain water - an example of biomimicry.



The base of the tower has a botanic dome housing a botanical garden. An edible garden and a living machine will be included adding to its green appeal.



Sources: DesignBloom, Inhabitat
Architects: Aesthetics Architects GO Group

Centre for Sustainable Energy Technologies (CSET Building) by MC Architects wins the 2009 MIPIM Green Building Award

The Centre for Sustainable Energy Technologies designed by MC A has won the 2009 MIPIM Green Building Award. The winner was announced at a spectacular awards ceremony in the main auditorium in the Palais des Festivals in Cannes on March 12th.

Mario Cucinella is the first Italian Architect to win a MIPIM award.



The Centre for Sustainable Energy Technologies (CSET) focus on the diffusion of sustainable technologies such as solar power, photovoltaic energy, wind power and so forth. The 1,300m2 building accommodates a visitors centre, research laboratories and classrooms for masters courses. The pavilion stands in a large meadow alongside a stream that runs through the campus.

DESIGN CONCEPT:

It's design is inspired by Chinese lanterns and traditional wooden screens.



The façade folds dramatically to create a dynamic shape. The building is entirely clad with a double skin of glass with screen printed patterns evoking historical buildings of the area.

The appearance of the building changes from day to night.



The design employs various environmental strategies. A large rooftop opening brings natural light to all floors of the building simultaneously creating a flue effect to allow efficient natural ventilation and geothermal energy is used to cool and heat the floor slabs. In fact, the building is designed so that it's eletrical energy needs for cooling are only 7-8 kWhel /m2 year.

Via MarioCucinella Architects

Casa 100K by MarioCucinella Architects

A cool green pre-fab building project in development in Italy, costing only a little over $100k U.S. Mario Cucinella Architects has conceived Casa 100k, which is a prototype home for Є100,000 that prioritizes three main elements: style, sustainability, and affordability.



DESIGN CONCEPT:

"This research project explores the design of a 100m2 home that is low cost, high quality with zero CO2 emissions and a low environmental impact. A building that brings back the pleasure of living and repays the investment cost with the energy produced. The architectural design integrates photovoltaic panels, solar capture during the winter months, circulation of air in the summer months and other passive environmental strategies that render the residence a bioclimatic machine."

"The building cost is kept to a minimum by using light and flexible pre-fabricated building systems: structural elements, integrated services, and mobile elements such as sliding-removable-supple wall panels for internal divisions in the apartments. External walls are made from modular panels. The material changes – glazed or opaque- creating an elevation that is dynamic materially and spatially integrating balconies, terraces and loggias. The structural framework allows a variety of apartment sizes adapting to the different spatial needs of the occupants."

Typical of European homes, each unit is small — a mere 100 square meters. However, the building’s design includes multiple outdoor bridges and terraces that cross near each other. This design decision certainly offers the opportunity for neighborly interaction and a heightened sense of community that will make residents feel like their living quarters extend beyond the four panels of their home.

With solar thermal and a geothermal heat pump, as well as the other already mentioned strategies, the design for Casa 100k contemplates creating more energy than is used -- a feature that could prove financially beneficial to homeowners. It's an interesting vision for living -- one that could just be a reality with already existing technology and prefab construction methods.









More at Inhabitat, Jetson Green, and G Living

Architects: MarioCucinella Architects

new corporate headquarters of Giant Pharmaceutical Corp by Morphosis

The new corporate headquarters of Giant Pharmaceutical Corp on the western outskirts of Shanghai, China resembles a dinosaur ready to take flight. The project will house executive offices in the cantelivered “head” of the structure, while the remaining elements—additional offices, a boutique hotel, exhibition hall, auditorium, library, gymnasium and swimming pool—will be contained in the “body” which arcs over a four-lane highway.



DESIGN CONCEPT:



Outdoor plazas provide a variety of recreational spaces for employees. The main circulation spine, an enclosed walkway located outboard at the second level, bridges the street to connect the office building with the clubhouse.



Like other Morphosis projects, the building incorporates many sustainable features including a green roof, a glass curtain wall with sun-shading capabilities and a system of skylights for natural lighting.

More from World Architecture News

View also from Inhabitat

Architects: Morphosis

Envision Green Hotel by Michael Rosenthal Associates

The Envision Green Hotel proposed by Miami-based Michael Rosenthal Associates for Hospitality Design’s Radical Innovation design competition is part wind tower, part urban eco-resort, and all egg.

DESIGN CONCEPT:

Operating like a living organism, the Envision literally breathes through its wind and atmospheric conversion systems, which allow natural air into the interior of the building without mechanical intervention.



Photovoltaic exterior sheathing provides the building’s energy, while indoor gardens at various levels of the structure act as upward extensions of the earth, creating mini-microclimates that filter the air and act as added insulation.



Recycled pools of water around the structure serve as catch basins, water reservoirs, fire barriers, and indispensable decorative aquatic features. Power from the wind turbine heats the boiler and creates steam for the chiller water plant beneath the structure to cool and heat the hotel.



Within the hotel, rooms would be designed on a 4 foot multiple to conform to standard-sized materials and reduce construction waste. A high-efficiency LED system would illuminate the interiors, and non-toxic, non-off-gassing finishes would be employed. Besides the typical water-efficient fixtures, this eco resort would use recovered rainwater for flushing and irrigation.



The rooms would also include a mood pad control unit that would allow each guest to control the lighting and choose groovy digital images that would reflect behind glass walls and ceilings.



To help this giant eco-egg blend even more subtly into the surrounding urban context, exterior LED curtain walls would change color throughout the night to indicate the progression of time, making the Envision glow in the night like a giant, moody Fabergé egg.


More info from Inhabitat
Architects: Michael Rosenthal Associates