12 creative eco-friendly architectural designs (Part 1)

The sustainable development has already become one of the main themes all around the world. More and more people have started to change their lifestyles for us and even for our sons. To meet the requirements of sustainable development, we should construct more eco-friendly buildings and encourage eco-industry.

Following 12 giant environment-friendly architectural designs may inspire you.

1. Dubai's solar-powered vertical village

Amazing land Dubai has already constructed a series of architectural miracles, such as the latest Burj Dubai. Except for sand and oil, what kind of other resources does Dubai own? The answer is enough solar energy.

Graft Lab's Vertical Village makes full use of this plentiful resource with a surface that is angled specifically with solar energy collection.

The cluster of mixed-use buildings includes solar collectors on the south end that automatically pivot for maximum exposure.

2. Spain's bubble-shaped freshwater factory

Spain's bubble-shaped freshwater factory (Photo Source: CRIOnline.com)

This freshwater factory is comprised of a series of biospheres stacked on top of each other. From outside, it looks like soap bubbles. The glass domes of this eccentric tower play a vital role: filtering seawater into freshwater through mangrove trees, which draw in saltwater and perspire freshwater.

Once the mangroves release this precious substance, it evaporates and condenses into dew which collects in freshwater tanks.

3. One &Ortakoy, Istanbul

This multifunctional architectural complex, named "One &Ortakoy", is located in Istanbul of Turkey. Its curving, organic forms and rolling roofs are covered in greenery and flowers. The under-constructed complex consists of two buildings with natural stone facades. One is complex, the other is commercial.

4. Green-roofed high school, France

The Marcel Sembat high school in Sotteville-les-Rouen of France is situated next to a park and almost disappears into the trees and grass of its surroundings.

The extension projects include a restaurant, students' dormitories, staff housing and workshops. Their green, waved roof will provide natural heal insulation.

5. Water tower skyscraper brings freshwater to Sudan

Water tower skyscraper brings freshwater to Sudan (Photo Source: CRIOnline.com)

In the vast Sudanese desert, freshwater become one of the most precious resources. Ironically, deep under the dry, hot surface is the largest underground lake in the world, which would change residents' lives dramatically if it were tapped.

Polish architecture firm H3AR imagines a solution: Buildings are inspired by both water towers and the native baobab tree, which would access the water through underground pumps. These towers would contain a water treatment plant, a hospital, a school and a food storage center.

6. Massive rain-catching skyscraper

How could a building capture as much rain as possible? Polish architecture firm H3AR may offer an answer: Through a web of gutters covering the entire exterior, which would then direct the water to a processing plant for use in toilets, washing machines, cleaning and plant watering.

This huge "skin" is combined with a bowl-shaped rainwater collector on the roof for maximum rainwater catchment capabilities.

Top 15 Eco-Friendly Building Trends

Copper Roofs. Copper roofs and their alloys can last 100+ years and are recyclable.

Timber Framing. Timber framing, which generally includes the use of SIPS (superior insulating panels), uses less lumber and generates less waste.

Low-E Windows. Low-emittance windows block UV rays from entering a house, which heat its interior and fades its decorative contents.

Rainwater Holding Tanks. Rainwater runoff, captured in holding tanks via roofs and gutters, can feed a sprinkler system or may be filtered for indoor plumbing use.

LED Lighting. Light emitting diodes provide chemical free lighting and use 80% less energy than a standard incandescent bulb.

Green Toilets. Good for the environment and your budget, water-conserving toilets use 20 % less water per flush and can save 30 to 50% on your annual water bill.

Solar Orientation. Orientating new construction in the proper direction can curtail the amount of heat and cold that enters a home, thus reducing heating and cooling costs and energy consumption.

Induction Cook Tops. Coils of an induction cook top emit heat directly into the bottom of cookware, which results in less energy wasted in the cooking process.

Geothermal Heating and Cooling. Using the earth as a heat exchanger can cost twice as much as a traditional heating and cooling system in initial installation, but can also pay for itself in as little as five years.

Attic Heat Blocker. High-tech heat blockers made of aluminum foil that has been laminated onto oriented strand board, can reduce an attic’s temperature by 30 degrees, which translates into reduced energy consumption and costs.

Reclaimed Wood Counter Tops. Fast-growing plants such as bamboo as well as reclaimed wood are gaining popularity and new life as chic counter tops.

Nontoxic Paint. Shunning VOC’s (Volatile Organic Components), a turn to nontoxic paint keeps indoor air clean and keeps pollutants out of landfills.

Formaldehyde-free Insulation. Many building products, such as insulation, release chemicals with which they are made thus effecting indoor air quality.

Smart Irrigation Systems. Smart sprinkler systems are controlled via satellite that sends current weather conditions to the system’s ‘brain’, eliminating needless watering.

Green Furniture. Salvaged wood from structures slated for tear down is spared a trip to a landfill and is becoming material for furniture, extending its life and usefulness.

Dalby Forest Visitor Centre, North Yorkshire

What do yoghurt pots, old Wellington boots and mobile phones have in common? They were all recycled and used to make the reception desk of this super-green new visitor centre. Old tyres and inner tubes make up the roof cover and what's more, the whole building can be entirely recycled at the end of its life.

The forest next door is proving handy – it supplies wood chips to power the boiler and is also where the wood used to clad the building came from. A micro wind turbine and an array of photovoltaic panels supply the electricity. Even the toilets are flushed with rainwater gathered on the roof and stored in a tank, reducing the amount taken from the village well.

This centre has been built as part of a regeneration of facilities to develop the forest as a regional centre of excellence for sustainable economic activity. It will cater for the needs of the 250,000 people who visit Yorkshire's largest forest every year.

It was designed to minimize the impact and the building sits very lightly in the valley. The focus on sustainability is clear in the landscaping and construction. The building is clad in larch grown and milled in the forest, which not only reduced the building's embodied energy but also supported local businesses. The main timber structure was semi-prefabricated which reduced time on site, site traffic and disruption.

The building last month won the prime minister's Better Public Building award for 2007. The government praised the building for its "uncompromising commitment to sustainability" and as “an educational example for all visitors.”

Remistudio’s Massive Floating Ark Battles Rising Tides

Addressing growing concern over climate change and the rising level of the world’s oceans, Russian architectural firm Remistudio has designed a massive hotel concept that can endure extreme floods. The arch-shaped building, dubbed the Ark, has a structure that enables it to float and exist autonomously on the surface of the water. The Ark was also designed to be a bioclimatic house with independent life-support systems, including elements ensuring a closed-functioning cycle.

The Ark concept, which Remistudio designed in connection with the International Union of Architects’ program “Architecture for Disaster Relief,” can be built in various climates and in seismically dangerous regions because its basement is a shell structure, devoid of ledges or angles. A load-bearing system of arches and cables allows weight redistribution along the entire corpus in case of an earthquake. The building’s clever design enables an optimal relationship between its volume and its outer surface, significantly saving materials and providing energy efficiency. Its prefabricated frame also allows for fast construction.

The Ark constitutes a single energy system. Its shape is convenient for installing photovoltaic cells at an optimal angle toward the sun. The cupola, in the upper part, collects warm air which is gathered in seasonal heat accumulators to provide an uninterrupted energy supply for the whole complex independently from outer environmental conditions. The heat from the surrounding environment — the outer air, water or ground — is also used.

The Landmark Cyber Park: India’s Cutting Edge IT Hub

The construction industry is booming in India, and skyscrapers are lining the country’s skyline. Much of this development does not integrate sustainable features, however many architects and planners have realized the importance of green building practices, and many new buildings and housing projects have adopted green technologies. In line with these developments, India’s new Cyber Park IT hub is vying to be one of the greenest sites in the country.

The Cyber Park is situated in sector 67 of Gurgaon city, India’s new business destination and economic hub. The park will be built on 1.5 million square feet of land and boast 100% wi-fi support, fiber-optic connectivity, and 100% power back-up, all of which are prerequisites of any IT industry. The facade has been designed facing North and North East to help mitigate the heat of the tropical South.

The park will incorporate several green design strategies. The building will be energy efficient, significantly reducing energy costs. The external walls will be clad to reflect the sun and insulate the interior work areas. Natural light will shine into working areas without heating up the structure, which reduces the need for lighting during the daytime. Terrace gardens in the sky courts will help to cool the interior, and will be irrigated by the structure’s water recycling systems. The design also integrates rainwater harvesting and ground water recharge. These eco-friendly features will cut the structure’s energy use by over 35 percent.

Other amenities include a swimming pool on the top of the terrace, business centers, conference rooms, and a recreation center, health club, and library with a helipad on the rooftop.

Building Architecture – Sun Path Analysis Part :02

The sunpath analysis helps us to analyze the critical area with high solar radiation and also helps to arrive at the passive design strategy such as shading device to reduce the solar ingress.

The Shading device depends on the orientation and the solar altitude. Horizontal shading device is very useful when the solar altitude is very high. Indian climate is exposed to overhead sun. This solar incidence can be reduced by designing horizontal overhangs commonly known as “chajjas”. Incase of low solar altitude, ideally in the east and west directions where we face solar incidence during early sunrise and late evenings we need to plan for vertical fins to tackle low angle solar radiation.

The design of shading device reduces the requirement of solar heat gain coefficient (SHGC) for glass performance. ECBC – energy conservation building code by law for development of green building provides relaxation in the prescriptive requirements of SHGC.

The Solar factor or the Solar Heat gain coefficient of the prescriptive requirements can be traded off with the use of the overhangs and/or side fins. An adjusted SHGC, accounting to the overhangs and /or side fins is calculated by multiplying the SHGC of the unshaded fenestration product to a multiplying factor(M) factor.

Key Parameters:

M Factor: It is the relative reduction in the annual solar cooling load from overhangs and/or side fins with the given projection factor, relative to the horizontal & vertical dimension.

Projection factor, overhang: The ratio of the horizontal depth of the external shading projection divided by the sum of the fenestration and the distance from the top of the fenestration to the bottom of the farthest point of the external shading projection, in consistent units.

Projection factor, sidefin: The ration of the horizontal depth of the external shading projection divided by the distance from the window jamb to the farthest point of the external.

Shading projection, in consistent units

Three columns represent Overhangs only, vertical fins only & overhang + vertical fins.

STEPS FOR CALCULATION

• Step 1: Determine project location (Latitude)
• Step 2: Determine window orientation
• Step 3: determine Projection factor by ratio horizontal depth to vertical height
• Step 4: Determine “M” factor.

For example

Eg: If a building in Delhi(North Façade) has

• Latitude - 26˚ N
• Shade depth (H) - 1000mm
• Vertical Height(V) - 2000mm
• Projection factor (H/V) - 0.50
• M factor - 0.80
• Effective SHGC - 0.31 (considering the requirement 0.25) (0.31x0.80=0.25)

Market Made from Salvaged Shipping Containers

Brooklyn’s New DeKalb Market is Made from 22 Salvaged Shipping Containers

Brooklyn's DeKalb Market, a joint venture between specialty market developers Urban Space and Youngwoo and Associates. Since it was first announced in March, People have been anxiously awaiting the opening of the market, which was designed by architect Thomas Kosbau and built from discarded shipping containers. It has brought together local entrepreneurs into not just a market, but an outdoor community center that showcases Brooklyn's current economy and culture, while hinting at its heritage as a major manufacturing center and commercial port. During the visit on a sweltering Sunday morning, the DeKalb Market was just opening up for the day, which allowed to get a closer look at some of the structures and talk to the vendors about their new spaces.

Emerging from the Jay Street stop of the R train, visitors encounter a wall of orange, red and white containers behind white fencing that holds up a banner to welcome visitors. Passing through an alley between two double stacks of containers, one enters the picnic area and food vendor section of the market. A simple tent covering a series of simple custom made picnic tables, the utilitarian food court typifies the language of the development. Surrounding the court are containers housing local restaurants and cafes. Baristas at the Joe’s Coffee container said that while the morning sun does beat down upon their metal clad cafe, minimal air conditioning and adequate insulation make it a surprisingly pleasant environment.

Surrounding the covered picnic tables are a series of shipping containers arranged closely end-to-end. Each container is home to a different restaurant, with servings ranging from soul food to cupcakes. Openings have been carved out of the sides of these boxes, and aluminum strip windows placed within it, sealed, and sometimes welded directly to the corrugated metal facades.

At opposite sides of the picnic area, container gates are made by raising one container and attaching its underside to the top of adjacent crates, using attachments and joints typical of these industrial components. Through one gate, vendor tents flank the pedestrian path, including smaller vendors in the DeKalb Market without the need to lease a container. Through the opposite gate, a modest urban farm and garden sprouts, with separate plots for different organizations and community farms to grow and showcase their produce.

Relaxing to jazzy beats from BBOX Radio, which provides on-site entertainment and is soon to launch online, the hot stroll through various local vendors gains a rhythm as one emerges from the picnic area to a row of diagonally arranged shipping containers. These stores are positioned this way for the most efficient use of space, as original container doors can swing out and rest against the solid exterior of each metal box.  A series of aluminum storefronts is revealed, each enclosing interiors finished out in drywall. A proper amount of insulation is placed between the metal and drywall layers; together with air conditioning a  controlled environment is created within each capsule.

Every business takes an unique approach to customize its container. Artists Kudu-Lah may be the most extreme case, placing an enormous cardboard cutout of one of its famous monsters atop its crate, and using elaborate moldings and bold colors to make its interior just as distinctive from its neighbors. Some containers, such as BBOX radio’s, are still in a state of flux. The station is collaborating with some local designers and 3rd Ward, an arts collective and fellow tenant in the market, to design furnishings and an inventive extension to its box. While current plans include a touch screen for upcoming programming and a projection screens to accompany music with videos, at the moment a simple DJ booth, sound system, and hammock for relaxing work breaks suffice.

Whether fully finished or still in progress, the vendors of DeKalb Market exemplify Brooklyn’s young new economy. These artistic individuals, innovating to thrive in a period of uncertainty, finally have a home that matches their creativity and improvisational spirit.

50 Things you can Reuse

Recycling is very important, but even better is reusing. Recycling actually uses energy and transport time and fuel to get the items to where they need to go. If you can reuse an item yourself, that's more energy, time and fuel saved, as well as less emissions produced. From your old metal cans, plastic bags, bicycle tires, packing peanuts and computer keyboards, there are many ways to find a second life for simple items around your home by reusing them.

1. Reuse your blankets and towels. Bring them to a local shelter that will be glad to put them to good use and give animals a soft, warm place to sit.

2. Reuse seeds from fruit and vegetables and try to grow them!

3. Reuse old plastic bags. There are 10 creative ways to reuse plastic bags here.

4. Reuse paper bags as school book covers, or be a little more creative with these ideas.

5. Cut used pieces of paper into scrap pieces of paper (a message pad!).

6. Reuse stove heat by opening up the stove once you are done with it and letting the warm air into your home in colder weather. Reuse the heat!

7. Reuse coffee grinds by keeping them aside and placing them into your garden or soil.

8. Reuse coffee that you don't drink by putting it over ice and placing it in the fridge for an iced coffee later.

9. Reuse Christmas trees (not the fake ones) by putting them outside for birds and letting it naturally break down.

10. Reuse packing peanuts, air pillows, bubble wrap and boxes for your own ebay shipping, or bring them by the local post office or recycling center for others to use.

11. Reuse pens and art supplies by donating them to local schools.

12. Reuse your old carpet. Even slightly dirty carpets can have a second life.

13. Reuse your old food scraps by composting them.

14. Reuse your used margarine and butter tubs by cleaning them and keeping them for leftovers (free ziploc containers!).

15. Reuse old clothing by donating it to a local charity.

16. Reuse the stuffing from old pillows and comforters into new items. Reuse the pillow covers for rags.

17. Reuse used wrapping paper and save it for next year.

18. Reuse newspaper, interesting magazines, and other paper products by using them as wrapping paper.

19. Reuse kiddie pool water on plants and shrubs.

20. Reuse your old paint by finding things to paint in your home, touch up, or donate it to a local charity.

21. Reuse your old toilet paper rolls.

22. Reuse old wallpaper and turn it into one of a_willow's suggestions!

23. Never throw away an old book, donate it to a library or to your recycling center, or a school! They can reuse it.

24. Reuse old curtains as rags for cleaning your car.

25. Reuse your old electronics by selling them on Craigslist or on eBay.

26. Reuse old glass containers with lids and save them for leftovers, or, make your own jam or jelly. Food safe airtight glass containers would be great for storing rice, pasta, sugar and flour.

27. Reuse your old sneakers by donating them to Nike's Shoe recycling program (okay, this is more recycling, but it's important!)

28. Reuse greeting cards.

29. Reuse your old toothbrush and use it to clean hard to reach areas like around the sink, your drains, faucets and grout.

30. Save stale bread and give it to the birds in the backyard (be sure to rip it small enough so they can eat it!).

31. Make a piece of artwork with your old metal cans.

32. Make your own checker set by reusing your old bottle caps.

33. There are over 20 ways to reuse your old furniture here.

34. Sell or donate your old cellphone to the one of many companies out there.

35. Sell old clothing and let others reuse it, provided it looks good still.

36. For your next home renovation project, you might be able to reuse your old floor tiles.

37. Reuse popsicle sticks with these ingenius, crafty ideas.

38. Even bicycle tires can be reused.

39. Reuse old seafood seashells by crushing them and using them in your garden as decoration.

40. There are at least five ways you can reuse your old drinking straws.

41. Reuse insulation when building a home, or adding insulation. This will save energy and money!

42. There are some creative things you can do with old metal pie pan plates.

43. Reuse old aluminum foil by judging whether you it is clean enough to use again. If you're using it for bread or dry goods, you should be able to shake it off and set it aside for next time (provided it is clean).

44. Reuse old spray bottles by first making sure they are okay to reuse (see the back of the bottle) and filling them with water to spray plants.

45. Reuse your old CDs and DVDs with these tips.

46. Reuse your old yard debris! Leaves, lawn cuttings, and wood chips naturally fertilize and add nutrients to your soil.

47. If you receive a gift in a gift bag, save it for another occasion and reuse that bag!

48. Is your old keyboard the perfect seedling starter?

49. Reuse your old toothpaste tubes.

50. Yes, you can even reuse your mattress.