Prefab HZ House | Youmeheshe

This project from Youmeheshe Architects is an eco-friendly, carbon newtral prefab that can be delivered on two trucks. The impact that constructionshave on the environment worry the architects Simon Beames and Simon Dickens.

“You don’t have glues giving off gasses you would otherwise get,” says Beames. “They usually give off formaldehyde, which is what you preserve dead people in. People are unaware of the shortcuts and necessities of traditional fast-track building, or at least overlook them. You have this generation of people being careful about the environment, but they forget about themselves. They eat organic food, but then what are they sitting in?”

Prefabricated panels are doweled together insted of being glued and the whole house is constructed around the central core. Check out/download the pdf here.

Read the whole article at Dwell.

Zachary House | Stephen Atkinson

Oh I’d live in there! It’s Zachary house in Zachary, Louisiana, US by Stephen Atkinson. I have to say it kind of reminds me of Glenn Murcutt’s homes, but the architect wanted to use elements of traditional agrarian architecture of the US South and he succeeded. Love it. Now all I have to do is wait for the climate in the Alps to change to the point where we won’t need walls anymore and I can design one of these sweeties myself. OK let’s pray to all gods that doesn’t happen.

(via: ApartmentTherapyNYC and Archidose)

Zorrozaure Masterplan, Bilbao | Zaha Hadid Architects

And it’s out! I’ve been waiting for this one with anticipation. This was my urbanism project in 2005 and I think every single architecture student around Bilbao was working on it for one class or another. Sadly I have to inform you, that none of us won any awards because a certain Zaha Hadid came by swinging her magic stick. That’s ok Zaha, we’re cool.

The location is in Bilbao ona a peninsula in the Nervión river which used to be a port area of the city. Imagine a deserted, ugly, brown kind of grayish area with spooky industrial buildings hovering over a yellow river. That’s how it used to look like. The basic idea of the renewal is to inhabit the peninsula with citizens and patch it with green zones and at the same time connenct it with the rest of the city. I hope the city of Bilbao will go through with this plan, that town has a bright future. Now if only we could talk some sense in the heads of ETA extremists, that region could be down right cool.

/more renderings after the jump

Eco House | Rahel Belatchew Lerdell for Willa Nordic

Meet the extra insulated, prefabricated, said to be affordable eco house. The construction is made entirely of raw wood and other renewable resources and the front facade (above) will change with seasons. Sold to me.

/you also might like this one @ www.rbarchitecture.com

(via: David Report)

Better Air for Berlin | Berlin’s Environmental Zone

Awesome. The city of Berlin made a smart move on January 1st by introducing a new law and traffic sign to its downtown area. Berlin’s Senate Department for Health, Environment and Consumer Protection aims to reduce the number of people affected by excessive concentrations of noxious substances by one quarter. I have learned trough TreeHugger that 2 years ago the Senate also decided that bikes should represent 15% of the city traffic by the year of 2010. They are said to be doing great at achieving that goal and may be able to pull the plan off earlier than that. Good luck.

/click here to read/download the Berlin Umweltzone brochure (pdf, 265kb)

Rainforest Concern | a must see

This is important. Please take a minute to watch this video. In that very minute 4 football pitches of rainforest will disappear from the face of the earth. As architects it is crucial for us to bare in mind the fact that our ecological footprint is huge and messy. Think of what you print, how you print it, what you build and how you build it.

/for more information please visit Rainforest Concern

The Story of Stuff

”From its extraction through sale, use and disposal, all the stuff in our lives affects communities at home and abroad, yet most of this is hidden from view. The Story of Stuff is a 20-minute, fast-paced, fact-filled look at the underside of our production and consumption patterns. The Story of Stuff exposes the connections between a huge number of environmental and social issues, and calls us together to create a more sustainable and just world. It’ll teach you something, it’ll make you laugh, and it just may change the way you look at all the stuff in your life forever.”

/click to watch the video here

Interview: Serge Appel on One Bryant Park

One Bryant Park is the first LEED platinum “skyscraper”; what is your favorite LEED aspect of the project? Aside from LEED, what was the most interesting or exciting part of the project for you?

For me, the best part of this project isn’t a single element or technology but rather the chance to work with an incredible team of dedicated professionals all driven by the same goal. Having the backing of the Bank of America and the Durst Organization has made a tremendous difference in setting the bar high in terms of sustainable design. On top of that, each consultant on the team is top notch and fully engaged with the project.

World’s Largest Sustainable Development by Foster & Partners

A project for the world’s largest sustainable region has been announced and is expected to include all the things that one would expect in a sustainable development: renewable energy, environmentally responsible town planning, micro-banking, education, and biofuels. Where? The ancient city of Cyrene, Libya.

Portable Solar Panels – Freeloader

There are portable products on the market like Energi To Go and TuneJuice 2 that will charge cellphones and other mobile devices but they use standard batteries that get tossed. We’re happy to announce that Solar Technology in the UK is selling a small solar panel charger called Freeloader. As an iPhone user without a swappable battery and a frequent traveler, I was immediately excited. Alas, the e-commerce sites we found didn’t ship to the United States yet. No pressure from across the pond but we’d love to get our hands on a few for user testing…

For more info on the Freeloader and it’s accessories visit www.solartechnology.co.uk.

(via: ecolect)