REPOSITIONING THE CUBE

In a suburb of New Delhi, India, an unusual house has just been erected. Designed by architect Ganesh Ganapathy, the building is a cube standing on one vertex and clad in glass and aluminum. The clients own a construction firm, and their aim was to build a unique structure that would boost the visibility of their company. Next week we'll take a closer look at the familiar form, unusually positioned, and at the structural principles applied to make it stand on end.

LIVING WALLS FOR ENERGY CONSERVATION

Facade greening is a living, self-regenerating cladding system for buildings. Climbing vines can dramatically lower the maximum temperatures of a building by shading walls from the sun, reducing the daily temperature fluctuation by as much as 50 percent. Whereas traditional facade greening involved allowing climbers to attach directly to the building surface, modern practice more often involves supporting the plants away from the architectural surface. Next week we'll learn more about the benefits and methods.