Driven by technological advances in transparent building facades and the general motivation for high quality green buildings, facade design alternatives have shifted to utilizing dynamic fenestration and shading systems for optimal control of daylight and solar gains. The concept of dynamic facades (installing controllable elements on the building envelope) is not new; however, it is only during the last few years that architects and engineers have started to trust these systems and use them in buildings.
Dynamic building envelopes include advanced window technologies, innovative fenestration systems and automated shading control, all of which characterize the new “intelligent” buildings generation (together with efficient HVAC control systems). Although a great idea, the design and implementation of such systems is a quite complex task.
(more…)
Seems green towers are sprouting up everywhere—from New York to Guangdong, China. Now the Gold Coast gets its due. A new sustainable mixed-use building has been approved, appropriately, for Miami’s Design District. Dubbed COR, the 400-foot-tall building is designed by Chad Oppenheim, principal of OPPENheim Architecture + Design, in collaboration with engineer Ysrael Seinuk, and energy consultants Buro Happold.
The Green features: Reportedly, in order to produce its own power, COR will sport the latest developments in wind turbines, photovoltaic panels, and solar hot water generation.
(more…)
Buildings give life to the landscape, but they are not normally considered alive. This one is: it breathes, it sleeps, it wakes up in the morning – and it is not impossible.
When Fortune invited my design firm, which specializes in sustainable architecture, to share our vision of a building of the future, we decided not to guess about conditions decades or centuries away. Instead, we looked at the possibilities that exist now.
Buildings consume 40 percent of our energy and can have life spans longer than humans. Because we live, work and associate with others in buildings, they form part of the fabric of human life – and thus have an enormous effect not only on the quality of individual lives but also on the state of the earth. (more…)
When Fortune invited my design firm, which specializes in sustainable architecture, to share our vision of a building of the future, we decided not to guess about conditions decades or centuries away. Instead, we looked at the possibilities that exist now.
Buildings consume 40 percent of our energy and can have life spans longer than humans. Because we live, work and associate with others in buildings, they form part of the fabric of human life – and thus have an enormous effect not only on the quality of individual lives but also on the state of the earth.
In the photographs that that follow, we have configured a structure that is not just kind to nature; it actually imitates nature. Imagine a building that makes oxygen, distills water, produces energy, changes with the seasons – and is beautiful. In effect, that building is like a tree, standing in a city that is like a forest. (more…)
When Union Trust approached Architect-Developer John Morris of Camden about a new branch location in his Harbor Plaza (Rockland) shopping center, and wanted a building to capture the public eye, it seemed like the perfect design opportunity for something special, something “green,” low maintenance and energy efficient.
The high visibility corner site, sloping steeply from US Route 1, posed challenges which Morris adeptly turned to opportunities. Too small for everything to be on one level, the compact site was perfect for a two-story building with everyday banking functions on the lower, shopping center level, and offices for commercial lending, mortgages and financial services on the floor above. The slope of the site made possible at-grade access and convenient parking at both levels, though Morris’s design also provides an enclosed elevator wheelchair lift. (more…)
