The first LEED Silver federal correctional institute and campus: User-generated architecture from GRW.
A clean slate site in Palm Springs becomes an opportunity for Net Zero-plus design from HGA Architects and Engineers.
A new tear-inspired material developed by scientists at Harvard's Wyss Institute could help architects with stormwater management in buildings.
Daylight harvesting, combined with a computerized, sun-tracking program to monitor window shades, contributes to LEED Gold certification for the California State Lottery offices: User-generated architecture from LPAS Architecture + Design.
A team of researchers at Stanford University has found the secret to passive solar cooling in nanostructured photonic materials. This technique may have far-reaching effects, such as providing cooling in areas without electricity.
LEED Gold offices for a Fort Worth insurance company: User-generated architecture from Environetics.
Scientists in Georgia believe they have warmed up the cold solid-state lighting that we've become accustomed to.
During the Holcim Forum for Sustainable Construction, Aaron Betsky got a glimpse of the creative engine at the heart of Mumbai: the Dharavi slum.
Re-use of a Neo-Georgian brick structure contributes to the new dance hall's LEED Gold rating: User-generated architecture from Bennett Benner Pettit Architects + Planners.
A Mexico City office building aiming for LEED certification through water reclamation: User-generated architecture from Space.
Scientists in Georgia are working on developing solar cells from plant-based substances.
Researchers at KieranTimberlake encourage students to consider the effects of climate change on design, instead of passing that job on to mechanical engineers.
Rainwater helps maintain constant moisture on slime-covered walls to reduce interior heat gain: User-generated architecture from S2doA.
The new Intelligent Composite Seismic Wallpaper is a textile made of of glass fibers that helps hold masonry up during earthquakes.
Reaching new heights for sustainability in Philadelphia, Five Crescent Drive—the latest from Robert A. M. Stern Architects—promotes healthy work environments through green design.
Paolo Soleri, the architect and theorist who devised his own sustainable ideology in "Arcology" and tested many of its ideas in Arcosanti, has died at 93.
Blaine Brownell gets his students to dream up new, hypothetical ecolabels that could be used to rate the environmental quality of building products.
The Wharf is a mixed-use waterfront neighborhood of approximately 3.2 million square feet, connecting retail, residential, office, and public spaces to Washington Channel: User-generated architecture from Perkins Eastman.
The AIA has opened voting for the person who will join Stephen Chung, AIA, as the co-host of 'ARCHITECT Live' at the 2013 AIA National Convention in Denver this June.
The Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IoM3) in London has developed a new engraving technique to track the metal components of buildings that are at risk of theft.
An international team led by KVA MATx and 360grad + Architekten designed ‘soft’ domestic infrastructure for a set of live/work residences that embrace carbon neutral lifestyles.
Could new teeth come from our own gum tissue? A scientist in London thinks so, in his work on one form of biomimicry.
April's conference on energy and sustainable cities, hosted by 'The New York Times,' will not feature any architects as keynote speakers.
Union Wharf is a 281-unit, mixed-use development currently completing its LEED NC v3 Design submission process, and pursuing a high Silver LEED Certification: User-generated architecture from Hord Coplan Macht.
In the Mediterranean, the 'Posidonia oceanica' plant is going from annoying waste that has to be landfilled to useful building insulation, thanks to German researchers.
This project involved renovating an existing facility in Skaneateles Falls and building two additions, using a sustainable design approach that takes advantage of the site's features to achieve LEED Gold Certification: User-generated architecture from QPK Design.
Sou Fujimoto's compelling proposal for the 2013 Serpentine Pavilion in London's Kensington Gardens is the latest example of an aesthetic of dematerialization unique to Japanese design.
Carbon stored in this LEED Gold-certified Vancouver structure would be the equivalent of removing 415 cars from circulation for a year: User-generated architecture from Perkins+Will.
Perfect for ships' hulls and buildings in humid climates, a team of researchers just developed a surface that sheds organisms without chemicals.
Submit a 2-minute video by March 29 to enter a contest to co-host "ARCHITECT Live" with Stephen Chung, AIA, at the 2013 AIA National Convention in Denver.
Yes, it's true: glow-in-the-dark concrete now exists, thanks to German-based manufacturer Kann and its NightTec Leuchtsteine pavers.
The Penn State science complex consolidates several of the university's disciplines into a LEED Gold-certified learning center: User-generated architecture from Rafael Viñoly Architects.
A central light and air chamber distributes fresh air into this commercial and office building, and contributes to its LEED Gold certification: User-generated architecture from Guillot Arquitectos.
LEGO Goes BIG
The Bjarke Ingels Group will design a museum for LEGO in the company's historic home in Denmark.
The desire to harness more diverse, low-grade sources of renewable power has resulted in a curious new technology from Fujifilm Corp.: a thermoelectric material that produces electricity from body heat.
A column-free glass enclosure provides ample daylight and views in this LEED Silver-certified pavilion: User-generated architecture from ikon.5 Architects.
On a recent trip to Ohio, Blaine Brownell got the opportunity to visit the Akron Art Museum designed by Coop Himmelb(l)au and compares it to the Busan Cinema Center in South Korea.
The 6,500 square-foot living roof establishes a biophilic transformation of the office environment and daily employee experience: User-generated architecture from HM White.
Located on the perimeter of the Central Oregon Community College (COCC) campus, the 15,000 square foot Jungers Culinary Center is the anchor for a future mixed-use development: User-generated architecture from Yost Grube Hall Architecture.
New treated cotton fabric can be converted into a superhydrophilic material, which can absorb and repel water vapor for drinking water, agriculture, or more.
This somewhat stodgy and dark 1970’s era headquarters building, located in a 166 acre park-like setting, was transformed into an energetic light-infused, state-of-the-art headquarters for Health Care REIT: User-generated architecture from Duket Architects Planners & Centerbrook Architects and...
The hunt for a more efficient solar cell typically focuses on material technology, but a new renewable energy breakthrough, optimizing solar power, is based on geometry, reports Blaine Brownell.
LLB Architects had been working with the Walpole community since 2007 when we were asked to re-envision and improve upon the previous library design, accepted for a construction grant from the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners: User-generated architecture from LLB Architects.
Snøhetta's addition to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art will include a new sculpture terrace, a multipurpose performance and education venue, and a free ground-floor gallery.
The three-story structure is nestled into the sloped site, with much of it below grade in order to minimize impact on the site: User-generated architecture from GWWO Architects.
Researchers at the University of Colorado in Boulder takes topology, and the intersection between mathematical theory and physical world, to potentially develop properties that don't exist in nature, Blaine Brownell reports.
Scientists in the UK have developed what may be the strongest silica nanofibers known, Blaine Brownell reports, with potential uses in the marine, aviation, and security industries.
This proposed building will be approximately 62,750 square foot, 10-story tall building with full basement. It will contain 21 studio apartments, 12 one-bedroom apartments, 32 two-bedroom apartments and one two-bedroom apartment: User-generated architecture from Magnusson Architecture & Planning.
One of the most intriguing areas of innovation in materials science concerns the development of high-performance coatings. A new coating from the University of Michigan can repel water and harmful chemicals, Blaine Brownell reports.
A wrapper of vertical fins shields the D.C. library from sun exposure, providing shading through a visually transparent exterior: User-generated architecture from The Freelon Group.
One of the most intriguing dimensions of nanoscale research concerns the blurring between matter and energy, says Blaine Brownell. A new super light absorber could be applied to energy-harvesting and sensing techniques.
A high-efficiency envelope and streetside rain gardens help to earn this office and retail development a LEED Gold rating: User-generated architecture from D'Ambrosio Architecture + Urbanism.
A UK university and architecture firm research the effects of classroom design on academic performance to help demonstrate the correlation between good design and human performance.
The Structural Technology Group at the Universitat Politèctica de Catalunya (UPC) in Barcelona is developing a multilayered concrete panel system designed to support the growth of mosses, fungi, and lichens.
Award-winning sustainability at UC Berkeley: User-generated architecture by SmithGroupJJR.
An article in The New York Times reported the discovery that older structures typically outperform new ones in conserving energy, to the shock of many in New York, Blaine Brownell writes.
The landmark home of the National Academy of Sciences undergoes rehabilitation of and sustainable updates to the existing building: User-generated architecture by Quinn Evans Architects.
In the last 10 years, light-emitting diode lighting has dramatically transformed the field of lighting design. What's next? Field-induced polymer electroluminescence, says Blaine Brownell.
The tools used for architecture and construction, from CAD to 3D printing, are now also being used to design disease-fighting DNA.
A new composite made by Princeton University researchers may increase solar cell efficiency.