Mecanoo Breaks Ground on Green-Roofed KIEM School in the Netherlands

Mecanoo has just broken ground on one of their most exciting projects to date – the green-roofed KIEM education complex in the Netherlands. Located in Dordrecht amidst several parks and a nature conservancy, the complex features five schools in one, all brick, and all covered with a sedum roof that creates continuity with the surrounding green spaces. Inside, carbon neutral wood panelling establishes a warm, homelike environment that promotes comfort, learning, and security.

The 5,322 square meter facility features four little brick houses of different colors (to help the smaller children find their way) that are arranged around transparent glass zones. Natural light floods the interior space, and Mecanoo has also ensured that a healthy breeze runs through at all times. Air-conditioning is decentralized, which cuts down on energy consumption, and the wood has both a damp-regulating function and decent thermal storage properties.

Mecanoo has been featured on Inhabitat many times as a result of their consistent commitment to sustainability that in no way compromises the aesthetic merit of their numerous projects. KIEM caters to children with long-term illnesses and severe learning disabilities, and also offers pre-school and after-school care services. This is a groundbreaking project that should be complete by 2013.

 Courtesy : inhabitat

Shigeru Ban’s Christchurch Cardboard Cathedral Gets the Green Light for Construction

Shigeru Ban’s temporary cardboard cathedral finally got the green light to be erected in Christchurch, New Zealand. Now called the “Transitional Cathedral”, the building will replace a 19th century church that was heavily damaged in the 2011 earthquake – until funds for permanent buildings are raised. The temporary building will hold 700 parishioners, it can be constructed with a fraction of the time and cost it takes to create a traditional building, and it can be re-erected for a different purpose in the future.

Ban has utilized cardboard to create temporary, quick-to-assemble shelters after both the 2011Japan earthquake and the New Zealand quake. The Transitional Church will be supported by cardboard tubes pitched to create a cathedral ceiling that rises 80 feet. The material is both strong and lightweight, and can be assembled through relatively quick construction processes. The construction will also be a modest $3.8 million and will be completed before the end of 2012.

Ban sees the building having a 20 year life span, so the community can deconstruct it in a few years and reassemble it for a community center or other purposes. The design also pushes the envelope (there a pun in here somewhere) on how large, low-cost and temporary buildings made from paper can fit into community needs with an esthetic intention. Ban’s cardboard church was designed only a couple of months after the earthquake, and since it can be locally sourced and easily removed it offers a vital new place for a community that is only now getting back on its feet.

Andrew Maynard Renovates a Modern Melbourne Home With a Giant Grassy Hill!

The Hill House, located in Melbourne's northern suburbs, has received a playful and dynamic makeover by Andrew Maynard Architects. The extension, which was added over 10 years ago, had created a dark inside area. So to bring more light into the space, the architects made an upgrade that would maximize the use of the south-facing backyard. The structure now finds itself fully-integrated with the landscaped outdoor space and flooded with light, and the backyard has become a central feature to the building with plenty of space for play and relaxation.

The award-winning idea has improved solar access access, and the home is flooded with light in during the winter months, helping to reduce energy costs. Facing the original house, the new structure has high windows which look out over trees, and the entire space opens out to the surrounding landscape. Constructed at different levels, the design forms an innovative structure, with a lowered dining area and higher living space creating a bench seat.

Situated in a typical, narrow plot in the Australian city’s suburban area, the new design makes the most of the site’s limited space. And although the original home was left the same, the new addition transforms the plot, completed with an inventive hilled backyard.

6 Amazing Ways to Use Shipping Pallets in Architecture (Part 1)

Shipping pallets are like LEGOs - you can build practically anything out of them. Over the years we've seen some amazing structures created with these recycled materials - from emergency housing to swanky pads, sweet interiors, temporary theaters and even gardens. You can find shipping pallets in every country in standard sizes, and they can usually be picked up for free or at most for a few dollars apiece. Read on to see some of our favorite architecture projects built from shipping pallets and get inspiration for your next masterpiece.

1. Shipping Pallet Emergency Shelter

New York firm I-Beam Design was working on a design for emergency housing when they thought about using shipping pallets. Found anywhere around the world, they are a ubiquitous building block and set about to come up with an easy to build shelter. The Pallet House shelter can be built with only basic tools in about a day and can be upgraded over time with insulation and other materials for more permanent housing.

2. Jellyfish Theatre in London

Shipping pallets are a great and inexpensive building block for temporary structures. As these do not need to stand the test of time, the pallets can be put up quickly to form basic structures like this theatre in London. The Jellyfish Theatre was up and running during the summer of 2010 and could seat 120 people for its performances.

3. Amsterdam Office Made From Shipping Pallets

Need to upgrade your interiors? Shipping pallets are low cost ways to build walls, desks, tables, shelves and seating. Take it from Most Architecture who designed the interiors for Brandbase, an advertising agency in Amsterdam. The economical, sustainable and creative office was built using 270 shipping pallets.

6 Brilliant Studios Perfect For The Eco Artist (Part 2)

Can you think of a better place to create art than a beautiful, naturally daylit studio where all your materials are organized and at the tip of your fingers? That's exactly what these compact workplaces - from one with a green roof, to another with shipping container walls and even one inside an old subway car - offer. Read on for 6 brilliant studios that are perfect for the eco artist.

4. Village Underground Subway Car Studios in London

In a similar vein as a repurposed trailer is the transformation of old subway cars into studios in London. Located on top of an old brick warehouse in Shoreditch, London, Village Underground provides affordable studio space for young artists out of 4 old subway cars that were bought for a total of 200 pounds.

5. Elegant Shipping Container Studio on Long Island

If there is such a thing as elegant cargotecture, this is a perfect example. This Shipping Container art studio in Amagansett, New York was designed by MB Architecture, who took two 40′ containers and placed them on top of a earth-bermed foundation. The double-wide structure provides a huge double-height studio space, storage and an informal gallery.

6. Green-Roofed Studios in Mill Valley, CA

These gorgeous little studios by Feldman Architecture in Mill Valley, CA outside of San Francisco were designed to minimize their impact on the site and are tucked into the hillside. One studio is for yoga and doubles as an extra bedroom, while the other is a painting studio and both are flooded with natural daylight. The landscaping around the studios plus the green roof on the lower one helps the studios to disappear into the forest.

6 Brilliant Studios Perfect For The Eco Artist (Part 1)

Can you think of a better place to create art than a beautiful, naturally daylit studio where all your materials are organized and at the tip of your fingers? That's exactly what these compact workplaces - from one with a green roof, to another with shipping container walls and even one inside an old subway car - offer. Read on for 6 brilliant studios that are perfect for the eco artist.

1. Green-Roofed Weaving Studio in Washington

Located on the San Juan Islands in Washington is this gorgeous weaving studio designed by Prentiss Architects. Topped off with a grass-covered roof, the spacious studio has views of the water, enjoys plenty of natural daylight and also serves as an extra bedroom when guests come to visit.

2. Artists in Residence Container Studio in The Netherlands

Badgast is a modern live/work studio space at an artistic surfer village called F.A.S.T (Free Architecture Surf Terrain) on the beach in Scheveningen near the Hauge. The container studio was designed by the Netherlands-based Refunc for Satellietgroep and is used by artists in residence for their month long stay to produce a sea or bather related project.

3. Vintage Airstream Transformed into a Studio in Phoenix

Maybe you don’t have the money for an architect-designed studio, but with some elbow grease and some DIY gumption, you can transform a vintage trailer into a studio, just like Sarah of 26 Letters did. Sarah and her husband plopped a 1963 Airstream Safari Trailer in their backyard, gutted it and simply finished the space to provide the designer/writer with the space she needed, all on the cheap.

6 Amazing Green Renovations That Turn Industrial Buildings into Architectural Gems (Part 2)

Umbau Wasserturm – Water Tower

Forming a connection between sustainable design and historic preservation, a team of architects from the Madako group in Essen, Germany, transformed a historic water tower into an imaginative space for living and working. The site showcases a fusion of old and new with lasting environmental considerations. It is an extraordinary and unusual project that we think looks fantastic and lends itself well to sustainability.

Battersea Power Station

One of the most recognizable power plants in the world, the Battersea Power Station has been out of operation since 1983. But its incredible eco-renovation looks set to make it an even bigger impact on London’s skyline. Once the renovation is completed, the space will supply the capital city with clean, renewable energy in addition to carbon-neutral apartments, offices and parks.

780 Brewster

Situated within a former five-story industrial factory in Montreal, Canada, 780 Brewster has been transformed into a LEED Silver certified, multi-tenant office building. It was completed back in 2007 when the renovation upgraded the brick and timber building with larger windows to bring in more daylight. New energy-efficient mechanical systems and 75% of the building’s original structure was retained, and the building now serves as the home of the city’s Southwest Borough Hall and Lemay Associés - the architectural firm responsible for the renovation.

6 Amazing Green Renovations That Turn Industrial Buildings into Architectural Gems (Part 1)

Building reuse and architectural adaptation typically lend themselves to green ideals, and over the years we have found some incredible sustainable renovations around the world. But some of the most surprising and imaginative designs weren't old churches or updated Victorian buildings, but instead, former industrial or factory buildings that were seen as nothing more than a blight on the landscape. From a nuclear power plant turned into an amusement park to a defunct factory converted into a glittering museum space, read on after the jump for some of the most interesting and innovative green industrial renovations around the globe!

Wunderland Kalkar Amusement Park

In the wake of last year’s news that Germany would completely phase out the use of nuclear power by 2022 in favor of renewable energy sources, The incredible adaptive reuse project transformed a never-used nuclear reactor into an amusement park that attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors every year.

Southern Pacific Brewing Company

San Francisco’s brand new Southern Pacific Brewing is a beautifully renovated industrial space. The site is the latest adaptive reuse project by Boor Bridges Architecture who transformed the Mission District’s aging C.A. Kilger Machine Works into a sunlight-suffused brewery and pub. Within their work the designers make use of recycled materials, even incorporating living trees into the interior. Some of their green building strategies include furnishings made of reclaimed wood from the renovation, massive skylights, and a glittering glass facade that looks out onto Portrero Hill.

ABC Museo

ABC Museo in Madrid gave an old factory building in an industrial sector an artistic facelift while still maintaining the building’s historical integrity. Featuring a shimmering reflective facade, the exterior of the museum glitters in the sunlight. The team behind the renovation project are Aranguren & Gallegos Architects who ensured the building echoes the creativity of the works it holds within.