Wind and Solar Powered Cronos Yacht is Made of Bamboo Panels

We're not completely sold on the excess so often associated with yachting, but Simone Madella and Lorenzo Berselli have designed the wind and solar powered Cronos yacht that is made almost entirely out of bamboo panels. Still in the design concept, this svelte machine will glide through the water without leaving behind a trail of gas fumes, and very little waste is involved in the construction process.

Compressed waste bamboo makes a beautiful panel that is so much healthier for the earth than the fiberglass typically used, and it is exceptionally renewable since it is one of the fastest growing plants on the planet. It also supports excellent acoustics so that being inside the yacht as it slaps against the water will still be comfortable. Walls of the engine room, which holds two electric engines, will be clad in Halite — a fabric that absorbs 15% of the room’s heat and converts it into electricity that can feed back into the battery.

Chin Ua solar glass — a transparent solar panel frequently used in Germany, Japan, and China — will generate additional energy, which should be fairly consistent since the boat is only likely to be out at the same time as the sun. And finally, the design team hopes to incorporate a wind belt that looks like an aeolian harp. It has strings that produce energy when hit by the wind and it is 10-30 times more efficient than a standard micro turbine. If all yachts were like this, we’d be on board!

Groundbreaking Park Royal Tower is Draped with Curtains of Greenery in Singapore

WOHA Architects are completely changing how skyscrapers are built with their Park Royal Tower in Singapore, which will feature twice as much greenery as the nearby Hong Lim Park. The high-end office and hotel tower features a podium absolutely overrun with vertical gardens, contoured green pathways, water features, and leafy terraces. When it is completed later this year, this groundbreaking project will boast a whopping 15,000 square meters of green space!

Park Royal’s leafy podium on Pickering is designed to be a vertical extension of the Hong Lim Park right across the way and at 15,000 square meters of natural features, is twice as large! The contoured facade is planted with shade trees, palms, overhanging creepers and a variety of other plant species that not only disguise the above ground parking lot but also scrub the air clean of any emissions produced there. This isn’t a skyscraper. This is a jungle in the sky that just happens to accommodate business travelers and office workers.

Although the building is constructed out of concrete, which has a high embodied carbon footprint, the overall environmental impact is mitigated by the extensive planting and kept to a minimum with pre-fabricated parts and open sides that promote natural lighting and ventilation throughout the building. Rooftop photovoltaic panels will provide energy for reticulation and softscape lighting and a rainwater harvesting system will ensure that no new water will be used to irrigate the green spaces. In other words, this ambitious urban design will be almost completely self-sustaining. It’s no wonder, then, that it has received Singapore’s Green Mark Platinum score, the nation’s highest environmental certification!

Ole Scheeren’s Floating Cinema in Thailand is Made of Recycled Materials

Floating on a raft in Thailand is an experience that dreams are made of, but add Ole Scheeren's cinema to the equation and you'll basically feel like you died and went to heaven. Designed as a theater for the Film on the Rocks Yao Noi Film Festival, the Archipelago Cinema was nestled between two verdant rocks in the middle of Nai Pi Lae Lagoon near Kudu Island. The lucky guests were floated out to watch a nighttime film in what was described as a surreal and almost primordial cinematic experience.

The extraordinary modular, reusable structure was made entirely out of recycled materials in accordance with vernacular Thai architecture. Everything can be reused or recycled, and local people were employed to do the job. Now that the film festival is complete, Archipelago Cinema will be donated to the Yao Noi community that built it in the first place. The wooden, floating auditorium will be used as a floating playground and stage! We really can’t think of a better way to watch a movie than being immersed in one of the world’s most majestic natural locations.

Green Building Ideas to Improve Indoor Air

Here are some green building ideas that will help maintain healthy indoor air in your home. Green construction methods can also decrease your energy usage too.

Radon

Radon gas is a major indoor air contaminate. It is estimated that 15% of all homes in the US have elevated levels of radon above the EPA's action level of 4pCi/L. But keep in mind that there action level is not a health based number. So the EPA suggests fixing homes even if the level falls between 2pCi/L and 4pCi/L since radon is a radioactive gas. Can you test before you build? Not really, but you can add a passive system that works as a safety valve to release this lung cancer causing gas.

Moisture

Excessive moisture invites an array of unwanted problems in our homes. Some of these major issues are pests, dust mites, rot and mold. Listed below are the 3 major sources of moisture problems in our homes.

Roofing or plumbing leaks and drainage issues because of poor landscaping.

Moisture build up due to cooking, bathing, washing clothes and house plants. Water vapor is also created by the burning of carbon fuels in stoves, water heaters, and fireplaces.

Humid air entering from the outside through open windows and through poorly sealed areas of the house.

Building Materials and Furnishings

Avoid products that contain volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Also to be included are lead, asbestos, fiberglass, allergens and microorganisms.

Carbon Monoxide

Carbon monoxide has become a concern with todays tighter built homes. Proper venting and and combustion make-up air are important elements to insure that CO don't build up in our homes.

Air Ventilation and Filtration

Proper ventilation of air trapped in a sealed home should be part of any IAQ strategy. Bathroom and kitchen ventilation are necessary to exhaust odors, moisture and pollutants. Heat recovery ventilators and energy recovery ventilators can be an excellent option allow fresh air in while exhausting problem laden air outside.

A simple furnace or air conditioning filter can serve to increase air quality in the home and of course more elaborate options are also available.

Cleaning Products

The products that we choose to clean our homes also have a direct bearing on the quality of our life.

Green building principles are really about sensible living. By educating ourselves and putting in to practice these green building ideas we will minimize health problems and help to better manage the planet we all have to share.

Tips to Improve Indoor Air Quality

Below are some general tips for maintaining good indoor air quality in homes. The most effective strategy for reducing indoor air pollution is to eliminate or reduce the sources of contaminants.  Effective ventilation is also important since it increases the amount of clean outdoor air, removes pollutants through filtration and helps reduce the build-up of excessive moisture. Some key tips include:

Minimize Chemical Pollutants

• Avoid smoking indoors. Tobacco smoke contains thousands of indoor pollutants at high concentrations.
• Choose low-emitting products that have been third-party certified and labeled by reputable organizations.
• Be wary of manufacturer claims of “no VOC”, “natural” or “alternative.”
• Minimize the use of harsh cleaners, solvent-based cleaners or cleaners with strong fragrances.
• Certain activities, such as paint stripping, hobby soldering or gluing, painting, sanding and rock polishing, may create high levels of pollution and should be performed outside.
• Control car and appliance exhaust. Do not idle cars, lawnmowers or other engines in the garage, especially those that are attached to the house.

Keep it Clean

• Buy machine washable bedding. Wash pillows, sheets and comforters weekly to reduce exposure to allergens, including dust mites.
• Consider removing shoes at the door to minimize dust and dirt tracked in from the outdoors.
• Place walk off mats at all entrances to your home.
• Use high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) vacuum cleaners with disposable bags and microfiber cloths for surface dust removal.

Control Moisture

• Keep homes dry. Control relative humidity levels to less than 60 percent, using dehumidifiers if necessary. Clean humidifiers frequently.
• Repair all leaks promptly.
• If there has been a flood or water damage, take immediate action and remove the water and wet materials. Dry all porous materials and furnishings within 48 hours. If mold grows on any porous materials, such as drywall, ceiling tiles or wood, discard and replace.
• Run bathroom exhaust fans while showering.
• House plants can improve indoor air quality by filtering carbon dioxide; however, if they are over-watered, they can encourage mold growth.

Ensure Proper Ventilation

• Open doors and windows when temperature and humidity levels permit. However, be mindful of outdoor allergens during spring and fall seasons.
• Make sure that mechanical filters are in place, that they fit well and that they are changed periodically according to manufacturer’s instructions.
• Use of home mechanical air systems, with good filtration, can control dust levels. Some additional air cleaners, such as electrostatic systems or ion generators, may be stand alone or part of the home system. If these additional air cleaners are used, make sure they are certified to UL 867 and are certified by the state of California for minimal ozone release.
• Make sure that fuel burning furnaces, fireplaces, heaters, range tops, exhaust fans and other appliances are vented to the outside well away from windows and heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) intakes.

Solar-Powered SPACE Shipping Container Office Produces Twice as Much Energy as it Consumes

If portability is the best quality a recycled shipping container building can have, then these super compact solar-powered SPACE containers surely fit the bill. In addition to being easy to load, Adaptive Container's SPACE buildings come with a proprietary rooftop solar panel rack system that folds up and down within 30 minutes. Best of all, the modern off-grid field offices are capable of producing twice as much energy as they consume.

SPACE stands for Solar Powered Adaptive Containers for Everyone and that’s exactly what they are. The 140 square foot off grid structure comes with 20 rooftop solar panels that provide up to 350 kWh of energy each month, more than double what it consumes. And it even has air-conditioning, leaving behind the miserable days of sweltering shipping container offices.

This upcycled design was first conceived as a sales center for Mirabeau B by Harvest Moon Development, with the help of ttweak and Metalab. The off grid version was made possible by a Houston Green Building Component grant. Now Adaptive Container has teamed up with Ameresco Solar to answer a Request for Quote by the Houston municipality to provide 17 of these portable power centers in preparation of the next Gulf storm.

Arup Unveils Stunning Solar-Powered ‘Showcase’ Arena for 2022 World Cup in Qatar

In late 2010, when Qatar submitted their successful bid to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup, they rolled out plans for a host of innovative solar-powered stadiums designed to both protect sportsmen and spectators from the incredible summer heat, and demonstrate some extraordinary architectural prowess. One of those structures, The Showcase, is a neat 500 person net-zero arena designed by Arup Associates and constructed in just four months. The Showcase features a retractable roof, under-seat cooling, and a wealth of photovoltaic solar panels which feed the grid when the arena is not in use.

With the enormous footprint that the world’s largest sporting event inevitably creates, host nations are often careful to address environmental concerns while showcasing groundbreaking design in their sport-centric urban developments. For the 2010 World Cup, South Africa constructed an array of eco-friendly stadiums, Brazil’s 2014 World Cup prompted a hotel to undergo a green renovation while organizers aimed for green goals in their new constructions, and Russia, host of the 2018 World Cup has set about constructing a high-speed inter-city rail system.

As Architecture World News emphasized, the oil rich nation of Qatar, easily able to afford cutting edge sustainable design for the sporting event “looks to counter prior misconceptions that arid locations are incapable of hosting major sporting events and does so with flair and panache.” Not only have they looked to develop incredible solar stadiums, but scientists in the country even developed solar-powered “clouds” to float above stadiums and block out the harsh sun rays.

With The Showcase, such a “cloud” will not be necessary. One of the most striking features of the arena is its sweeping canopy of peaked panels, which can be maneuvered to provide shelter from the heat or aggressive winds, while maintaining natural ventilation where possible.

Arup’s Sustainability Leader Michael Beaven described the threefold mission of the arena as seeking to  “blend traditional passive design ideas with innovative technology for an energy-saving and comfortable architectural result,” while adopting Fresnel parabolic mirrors for solar thermal cooling and national grid-connected photovoltaic energy creation. On match days, when large amounts of power will be required, biofuel generated energy will supplement solar energy. But for the vast majority of the year that the stadium remains dormant it will serve as a large-scale solar farm for the area.

With its incredibly small capacity of only 500 seats, the stadium might not be of tremendous use during the main events themselves – it will be used for more informal five-a-side kick-abouts. What The Showcase will provide is exactly what its name suggests — CIBSE Journal states that the stadium will serve as a facility “to monitor the performance of the technologies under desert conditions,” as Qatar’s World Cup planners gear up for the event to take place in ten years time.