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AIRFLOW ON THE BEACH
The architecture and culture of the small island nation of the Dominican Republic are endangered by large hotel complexes that are encroaching on formerly remote beaches. In their rush to capitalize on this big business, Dominicans seem to be forgetting how to design low-energy structures for their tropical environment. — Published 2002.0227
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SUSTAINABILITY WORKSHOP
Along with the recent surge in knowledge about, and adoption of, sustainability practices has come a realization that senior staff in architecture firms are confronting topics that scarcely existed when they were in architecture school.
In some cases, learning new technologies can be assigned to junior staff. But when the topic, like sustainability, is so integrated in the very art and science — and business — of design, it's time for senior staff to go back to school themselves. — Published 2002.0213
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AUSTRIAN SKY GARDEN
Until around the turn of the 21st century, high-rise buildings were quite rare in Vienna. Here and there a radio tower or an office building would reach above the Austrian capital's skyline, but skyscrapers were so rare that the Vienna building regulations classified any building over 65 feet (20 meters) tall as high-rise. — Published 2002.0130
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BUILT GREEN COLORADO
Vast quantities of resources are consumed in residential construction. Although an expanding array of new technologies are available and innovative practices are being developed to reduce the environmental costs of such construction, integrating environmental improvements into mainstream homebuilding remains a challenge. — Published 2002.0116
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FIRST LEED FACTORY
A wood-furniture manufacturing facility, recently constructed by Steelcase Inc. in Grand Rapids, Michigan, has set a new standard in environmental achievement. It is the first factory to achieve certification under the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification program. — Published 2002.0102
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THERMAL DELIGHT IN COURTYARDS
Perhaps the most satisfying architectural response to the continuously dry topics is the Mediterranean residence centered on a courtyard. With a meager but well-developed water supply, the courtyards feature fountains, ponds, and growing plants for both evaporative cooling and for aesthetic enhancement. But it is the fine-tuning of the courtyard environment — its optimization of wall heat resistance, ventilation rate, and evaporation rate — that is most satisfying.
— William Lowry and Porter Lowry, Fundamentals of Biometerorology — Published 2001.1212
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HISTORIC WAREHOUSE GROWS GREEN
For much of the 20th century, the Pearl District of Portland, Oregon was a gritty and neglected industrial site. Recently, however, the district has revived to become an upscale, downtown neighborhood within a compact and livable city. — Published 2001.1128
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A STYLISH SUSTAINABILITY
In the 1920s, after working with Frank Lloyd Wright for several years, architect Rudolf Schindler pioneered a new kind of residence in Southern California. Schindler's work, while exhibiting some formal attributes of the International Style, was tempered by a sensitivity to the environment. — Published 2001.1107
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PLAYFUL PV IN ROME
At the Children's Museum of Rome, a partly see-through photovoltaic (PV) roof brings new levels of meaning to everyday childhood experience of playing in the sun.
One of the museum's central mandates is to heighten awareness of the quality of urban life through "a transparent guided itinerary" of everyday activities. Its new photovoltaic roof, designed by Abbate e Vigevano Architetti, gives form to this mandate. — Published 2001.1024
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AMSTERDAM GASWORKS REBORN
In recent years there has been a growing concern about "brownfield" projects. As these abandoned industrial sites are converted back into productive use, governments and local communities must often work together to mitigate the polluted environment and revitalize the surrounding neighborhoods.
In many brownfield projects the property is sold as real estate to be redeveloped. Buildings are torn down and a whole new development constructed, leaving no trace of the site's past. — Published 2001.1010
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