Eco-Vlog

Ronald Lu & Partners have revealed a new workplace concept. Titled “Treehouse,” the biophilic high-rise design intends to make business places healthier and more eco-friendly with green plantings, net-zero operations and other integrated sustainable technology. It’s a beautiful take on what an office building can be, with balcony after balcony of greenery and a quality ventilation system. The designers have a reputation for aiming for carbon positive or net-zero creations, and this time they’ve won an award for their efforts. The Treehouse incorporates green walls , facades and rooftops, plus water features, natural light, and ventilation strategies to green the traditional office building. A system of facades inclines along with the sun to shade the building for natural temperature regulation. During the day, the inclining facade’s chimney effect reduces heat transfer to the building. This smart design won Treehouse the Advancing Net Zero Ideas Competition (ANZ) Future Buildi...

In Mexico City , architects Ana Nuno de Buen and Luis Young created Casa Cascada to perch atop an existing 1950s concrete apartment building. The effect is stunning but integrated. Surrounded by lush vegetation, this modern apartment uses glass for an open, airy feel and has its own courtyard created by the building’s rooftop. Casa Cascada sits in the Pedregal de San Angel neighborhood, an upscale residential area south of Mexico City. The apartment is 140 square meters and connects to the unit below. Its most striking feature is the green steel cage-like structure, which frames the house and encloses the courtyard outside. The roof angles two slopes toward a central gutter. This style of roof allows those inside the home a better view of the trees outside. Related: Mexico City oasis features terrace gardens on every floor Inside, the green steel beams are exposed, creating a clean and polished feel not dissimilar to a birdcage. Wide plank flooring softens the look and further i...

Australian tiny home builder Tailored Tiny Co.’s Blue Mountain tiny house packs some serious luxury and modern style into a miniature footprint. This tiny home has plenty of headroom and an updated look that connects to the outdoors via several skylights, outdoor awnings and a deck for expanded living space. Have you thought about building a tiny home but wanted to check out tiny house designs or architectural drawings first? You can order architectural drawings for a Tailored Tiny Co. tiny home for just $250. This is a far cry from a typical country house in the Blue Mountains. Surrounded by trees and a steep hillside to the front, the black and ultra-chic tiny home screams cutting-edge style. The home’s all-black steel cladding exterior includes timber trim under the angled overhang, and the extra-long roof is covered in skylights. Shade cloths cover the deck surrounding part of the home, creating extra outdoor living space. Related: You can stay in this retro school bus turned ...

When you need housing in a technical world where sustainability is paramount, turn to technology. Automated Architecture (AUAR Ltd.) created the timber Dwelling Unit for Musicians with robotics, automation and sustainable materials. The building is 10 square meters, or about 107 square feet. It is built using AUAR’s modular timber building system, a design created by the firm. Automation and robotics were used to construct it all. Related: Architecture students design a LEED Platinum home with an ADU in Kansas The Dwelling Unit will serve as an office space and rehearsal studio . Timber building blocks were robotically prefabricated. The robots create and stack the timber blocks so they can be transported. Once on site, the blocks can be put together in any way to create custom designs . They can be taken down and reassembled as desired. To create this unique building, AUAR developed multiple potential designs. The clients picked the one they wanted and the features they neede...

When homeowner Rosie dreams, she dreams big. Yet her home is anything but. Totaling only 60 square meters, her off-grid home is made from shipping containers, creating an environment that transports her into nature. Dubbed Ahurewa, the home sits in a protected area of New Zealand’s Mahakirau Forest Estate. Rosie was able to buy a 23-acre parcel of land in the preserve following the sale of her home in Auckland. As such, Rosie is an appointed guardian of the land through an agreement with the QEII National Trust. Related: Dvele prefab, off-grid homes are dedicated to the environment Four shipping containers were fitted together to make up the main living spaces within the tiny home . It features a kitchen, a single bedroom and bathroom, sitting areas and a library with reading area.  Because Ahurewa is completely off-grid, each system was selected to provide comfort and efficiency. Solar power is produced by a row of panels on the roof. A fifth shipping container houses th...

Silestone® Sunlit Days carbon-neutral technology has garnered the line a win in the Hard Surfacing, Tiles & Stone Category in 2021 Architizer A+ Product Awards. It was even a finalist in the Sustainable Design category. The win gives credit to Cosentino, the company behind the innovative quartz surface, but the product is a win for consumers and the environment , too. Silestone® Sunlit Days is the newest release by the company, which is a well-established leader in the quartz and engineered stone industry.  Related: LIVDEN decorative tiles are made with recycled materials The technology behind the product is called HybriQ+® by Silestone®, which has drawn attention for both material composition and manufacturing processes. The resulting material, Silestone® Sunlit Days, is a hybrid formulation of mineral raw materials, such as quartz and  recycled  ingredients. Notably, the collection is the first ever to achieve carbon-neutral status.  Looking past the li...

The COVID-19 pandemic is already influencing future architecture. For example, take S9 Architecture’s new adaptive reuse project, Campus 244. This hybrid, well-ventilated, touchless tech campus will serve Atlanta’s burgeoning startup community. New York’s S9 Architecture, headed by co-founder and principal John Clifford, designed this million-square-foot mixed-use campus for an emerging tech hub. Campus 244 will include offices alongside hotel, retail and green spaces. The Georgetown Company and affiliate RocaPoint Partners own the project, which will reimagine Gold Kist, an existing mid-century facility, into a 400,000-square-foot building with timber overbuild. Rather than demolish an existing commercial building, the project will repurpose and rebuild. Related: Playful gable-roofed home in Atlanta champions the power of CLT The campus will be located in Atlanta’s growing Central Perimeter market. Campus 244 aims to serve the tech , legal, financial and start-up space with post...

The “Fragrance with Lotus Flowers” installation by Nakamura Kazunobu Design-Works uses scrap wood to create an entrancing space for Japanese dance. The designers’ manipulation of space through light and form creates a misty atmosphere that complements the elegant performances. In 2021, the project earned recognition from Interior Design as a Best of Year (BoY) Honoree and won an Architecture MasterPrize (AMP) Best of Best award. The project draws on elements of traditional Japanese gardens . The sacred lotus flower is a key feature of the gardens. In the early morning, a light mist often envelopes the flowers. Viewed as sacred, the fog represents profundity. For the designers, the softening quality of the mist helps visualize the fragrance of the lotus flowers. They emulate this in the installation through transparency and opacity of light and shadow. Related: Smart flower LOTUS moves in response to light Sustainable scrap wood design The installation is composed of over 1,000 th...