Green Buildings Archives – The Green Optimistic

The Honda Smart Concept House – EV, PV and Gas Generation

Michelle Lutz — Sun, 15 Nov 2015 20:47:43 +0000

Smart homes and green homes are the newest wave. Homes that can do and be all that we need for them to be. If only we could create a home that would allow us to have some of our creature comforts when Mother Nature decides to hand us a doozy. Well, Lixil Housing Research Institute […]

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Apis Cor 3D Printer Can Build House, Only Uses 8kW of Energy

Annika Tostengard — Thu, 15 Oct 2015 05:46:45 +0000

3D printing is taking off in a big way, and will soon be the foundation of manufacturing, medicine and home repair. One industry that will be changed by this innovative new technology is construction. Soon houses will be built by 3D printers instead of laborers and the Apis Cor is the most advanced of its kind yet, demonstrating […]

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Solar Power Blinds Make for Efficient Buildings

Benji Jerew — Mon, 13 Apr 2015 17:16:37 +0000

Solar power is all around us, if you look at things like trees, greenhouses, and cats, but can also be a problem for some of us. For example, looking at those beautiful glass-façade office buildings, one can’t help but relate how solar power must turn those things into skyscraper-sized greenhouses. While a little sunlight is […]

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McDonald’s Conquers The Green World by Greening Up Their Buildings

Mila Luleva — Wed, 09 Jul 2014 11:03:52 +0000

Just when everyone thought that McDonald’s can never be green, the giant in hamburger making yet again proved us all wrong. Not only that the logos and roofs of most restaurants (in Europe at least) have turned from red to green, but also there is an increasing number of facilities that are collecting LEED points with […]

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UK Students from Brighton Turn Waste Into an Amazingly Livable House

Mila Luleva — Wed, 25 Jun 2014 15:58:21 +0000

Recycling is the only solution to the excessive amounts of garbage we produce on daily basis. Most landfill sites are overloaded with materials that once could have been put into a very good use, yet their “owner” was careless to do so and found it much more convenient to simply dump them and hope that […]

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Wood-Based Foam Provides Eco-Friendly Insulating Option

Mila Luleva — Mon, 10 Mar 2014 19:21:06 +0000

Everyone knows that good home insulation is the key to low energy consumption. This is of course great for our environment, as the less electricity is used, the less fossil fuels are burnt. Unfortunately, most of the insulation foams are based on petroleum and are not really environmentally friendly, which somewhat defeats the purpose. Now, […]

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Biostone: Greener Cement Made from Sand, Bacteria and Urine

Mila Luleva — Thu, 13 Feb 2014 13:10:21 +0000

It is a commonly known fact that production of cement is a process, which can cause severe damage to the environment, mainly due to the large amount of carbon dioxide that is released in the atmosphere by the factories. Not long ago, we told you about ‘slag‘, the green cement, which is produced without any […]

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How a Well Insulated House Saves Hundreds of Dollars a Year

Leigh Hutchens — Wed, 27 Nov 2013 07:19:14 +0000

Heating and cooling costs account for between 50% and 70% of all energy costs in the average home, so maximizing the value of the energy you use is incredibly important. That means properly insulating your home. Adding insulation to a home can lower heating bills, but there are other benefits as well. When a home […]

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The Features That Make The New Apple Headquarters Green

Mila Luleva — Wed, 20 Nov 2013 13:21:35 +0000

Is the new Apple headquarters going to be ultra green or not? This question has been circling around the ‘green’ community for quite some time now with many undermining the efforts of the technological giant to create a sustainable working environment. It is true that the huge parking lot can fit more than 10,000 vehicles […]

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Passivhaus Concept Changing How Homes are Built

Mila Luleva — Mon, 04 Nov 2013 18:02:37 +0000

Passivhaus, the one and only internationally recognized concept solely for its energy saving performance, has taken over the property market, as energy bills continue to increase. The buildings are self-sufficient, super isolated and air-tight, and are equipped with windows that harvest the energy from the sun. The first time people started talking about Passivhaus was […]

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DoE’s Solar Decathlon Competition Gathers Green Housing Designers From Across The Globe

Mila Luleva — Tue, 01 Oct 2013 20:01:58 +0000

In the coming two weeks, the Department of Energy is hosting the Solar Decathlon competition in Orange County Great Park, California. Teams from all over the world, gather to show their creative solar-powered housing designs, which should be affordable, attractive, comfortable, and produce enough or more energy to power all household appliances, heating and hot […]

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Dynamic Demonstration Platform Enables Green Building Architects to Test Their Designs

Mila Luleva — Thu, 26 Sep 2013 15:07:49 +0000

Swiss researchers have developed a dynamic demonstration platform, called NEST, which can assist green building designers with providing a real-world conditions for testing their latest innovations in the field of renewable energy systems and building modules. The construction of the NEST is starting very soon, and it is expected to be fully completed by 2015. […]

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Residential Homes More Energy Efficient, Thanks to Energy Research Group

Leigh Hutchens — Mon, 09 Sep 2013 02:30:20 +0000

The quality of homes and other existing buildings in Europe may be improved thanks to the ENEDI (Energy in Building) Group of the UPV/EHU-University of the Basque Country, an autonomous community of northern Spain. ENEDI is working with the criteria set in place by European directives on thermal insulation, energy efficiency of buildings, general energy […]

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Office Buildings Lower Energy Bills with Advanced Controls

Leigh Hutchens — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 01:36:36 +0000

According to a report from the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, researchers believe they’ve developed an advanced building control that might reduce the annual energy bill of large off buildings by up to 18%. The device the researchers created senses the number of people in various zones in the building and adjusts air […]

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Europa City Design Greens Up Paris Area

Mike Sandru — Sun, 21 Apr 2013 05:42:01 +0000

Denmark-based BIG recently came first in an international competition to design a next green-roofed city. The design, known as Europa City, would be located in the Paris area, and would be made up of a park combining the iconic Parisian density with the greenery of the suburban environment. The City would also feature highways with […]

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Hamburg’s BIQ House is First Algae-Powered Building in the World

Mike Sandru — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 12:53:31 +0000

Hamburg is now home to the first algae-powered building in the world. The BIQ House, as it is called, has a façade made of algae which react to differing environmental conditions to serve as a case study for renewable energy generation in urban areas while also providing “living” buildings that generate the power needed by […]

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Apple Wants Eco-Friendly Campus in Austin

Benji Jerew — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 20:48:39 +0000

Apple’s latest $300-million project in Austin, Texas looks to eventually double their workforce by 2021. The plans have undergone some changes since the project began, but for the better. Apple’s latest plan iteration includes reduction of exposed concrete and asphalt walkways from 80% to just 55%. Instead of driveways, more pedestrian zones will be implemented. […]

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Winter Cabin in Japan Merges Tradition with Modern Technology

Mike Sandru — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 15:51:54 +0000

In northern climates, buildings are often put up with some form of synthetic insulation and mechanical heating; a method that uses much energy without being the most efficient. In Japan, the indigenous people, called the Ainu, build for the winter by using earth with sedge grasses and bamboo, with warmth provided by an ever-burning central […]

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“Empowerhouse” Home Generates Its Own Energy – Sustainably

Mike Sandru — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 21:28:31 +0000

New School students and students of Stevens Institute of Technology have created the Empowerhouse, which is a home that generates all of its required energy. Built in the Washington D.C. area as an entry in the Solar Decathlon design competition, which is supported by the D.C. Community Development and Department of Housing, this brings to […]

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Belgium’s Whale-like Ice Rink in Liège is Both Energy Efficient and Fun

Mike Sandru — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 20:18:55 +0000

Liège’s new Olympic Ice Rink, which has the rather interesting look of a beached whale, was finally completed last month. L’Escaut Architecture are responsible for the design, which is located adjacent the Médiacité shopping mall by Ron Arad. With a covering of aluminum scales, the building is kept cool and energy-efficient with the help of […]

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Detroit Welcomes 93 Shipping Containers Made into Luxurious Apartment

Mike Sandru — Sat, 29 Dec 2012 17:54:36 +0000

Detroit will be welcoming the appropriately-named Power of Green Housing Development which is a project aiming to convert 93 shipping containers to a luxurious apartment complex. The multi-family home that Steven C. Flum designed will have four floors made up of about 20 residences and will be the first such home to be constructed from […]

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Recycled Paper Surprisingly Finds Use as Building Material

Mike Sandru — Sat, 29 Dec 2012 17:54:17 +0000

Although it is quite common to see recycled paper put to use in the making of items like jewellery or wallpaper, it is quite surprising to find it being used as the sole building material in an actual building. This is exactly what has been achieved in the construction of a temporary workspace in Germany. […]

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New Window Reduces Need for Artificial Lighthing of Office Buildings

Mike Sandru — Tue, 04 Dec 2012 05:32:46 +0000

While natural light can be used at building structures, to get into the rooms that are on the surface of the construction, MIT started a project (that was developed later on at EPFL), designing windows that conduct natural light into the depths of buildings. This technology is implemented into six floors of a modern building […]

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Building Energy Efficiency Data Harvesting Simplified

Benji Jerew — Mon, 03 Dec 2012 17:56:46 +0000

Measuring building efficiency can be a very complex undertaking, and might require hourly metering systems, extensive sensor networks, and sophisticated computer systems. The data collected by these systems can be extremely useful in determining where improvements can be made, from learning how to control lighting and air conditioning systems to installation of more efficient glass […]

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Google Promotes Greener Building Materials for Better Indoor Health

Leigh Hutchens — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 06:13:27 +0000

Imagine being in an office where toxic chemicals are contained in desks, carpets, ceiling tiles, and paint. Many people are unaware of potentially toxic chemicals around them, and the absence of clear and accessible information only facilitates their lack of knowledge. Google seeks to rectify this issue. The US Green Building Council (USGBC) has received […]

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New Smart Electrochromatic Glass Makes for Efficient Green Buildings

Benji Jerew — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 07:40:59 +0000

Glass is a major part of most building design, allowing natural light and ambiance, as well as warming in the winter. In the summer, though, solar load can lead to increaesd use of air conditioning systems. The obvious solution, of course, is to draw the shades, but this requires someone to manually do it. A […]

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New Reflective Pavements Increase Building Temperatures and Electricity Bills

Mila Luleva — Fri, 09 Nov 2012 21:14:05 +0000

On 29th of October, the new Journal of Urban Climate published a study which indicated that replacing old, heat-trapping paving materials with newer and cooler ones could increase electricity bills of neighboring buildings. According to the authors, the new materials lower the temperature of the place where they are used. Jan Kleissl, one of the […]

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Floating Autark Home a Model of Self-Sufficiency

Leigh Hutchens — Fri, 09 Nov 2012 07:17:48 +0000

Passivhaus buildings, synonymous with energy efficiency and reduced ecological footprints, are becoming a staple in Europe. Once found on land, Passivhaus homes are now increasingly found in the water. The Autark Home, docked in Masstrict, Netherlands, is one of these floating green homes. The houseboat is completely solar-powered and is 10 times more energy efficient […]

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China’s Future “Great City” to be Eco-Friendly and Completely Sustainable

Leigh Hutchens — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 13:11:47 +0000

China, not a country to do anything on a small scale, is planning to begin an 8-year-long construction project on the Chengdu Tianfu District “Great City.” The city is envisioned as a model for high density urban living while employing sustainable development practices. Approximately 30,000 families or 80,000 people will live in Great City within […]

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New Building Guidelines to Prevent Re-Circulation of Urban Air Pollutants

Mila Luleva — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 20:00:06 +0000

Considering that urban population increases by the minute, each new building or a construction adds to the levels of toxins and contaminants released in the atmosphere. Researchers from Concordia University claim they found a revolutionary answer to the problem of urban pollution. Ted Stathopoulos and Bodhisatta Hajra examined the course of movement and quantity of […]

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World’s First Net-Zero Stadium to Host World Athletic Events

Benji Jerew — Fri, 26 Oct 2012 19:25:50 +0000

Every two years, or every four years, depending on how you look at it, the world gets together to watch world-class athletes compete in the Olympic Games or the World Cup. In 2014, Brazil will be hosting the World Cup, and then, just two years later, the 2016 Olympic Games. The next few years are […]

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Spanish Housing Project Substantially Reduces Carbon Dioxide Emissions

Guest Contributor — Thu, 24 May 2012 14:53:12 +0000

A sustainable housing project developed by architects at ACTX in Salburúa, Spain, is a remarkable masterpiece of modern architecture. This eco-friendly project is said to have a substantial reduction in carbon dioxide emissions and was completed in 2011. It was designed to integrate 9 shops at the ground level while all the other upper floors […]

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World’s Five Most Sustainable Buildings

Mike Sandru — Wed, 23 May 2012 18:59:54 +0000

If we want to show you some of the world’s most sustainable buildings, it’s because we want to point out that it’s not enough to drive an electric car to save energy; the approach must be extended to every activity that relies on electricity. And the buildings showcased here are a fine example of how […]

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UK Entrepreneur Retrofits His Home to Save Electricity and Become Greener

Guest Contributor — Fri, 04 May 2012 10:41:34 +0000

59 year-old visionary Nick Sandy has ambitiously developed his 1960s house into a stylish environmentally-friendly home fit for a superstar like James Bond. It took Sandy at least 18 months to bring about the transformation of his pad into a £1 million property of what many would label an environmentalist’s fantasy. But this is not […]

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Drexel Scientists Invent Greener Alkali-Activated Cement

Ovidiu Sandru — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 01:14:21 +0000

Although it’s being used since the late 1800s, the Portland cement (OPC) is guilty for a large amount of carbon dioxide spewed in the atmosphere by its manuacturers. The latest recipe comes from Drexel and uses an industrial byproduct to make the cement greener. The byproduct is called slag. It and limestone, a common mineral, […]

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University Of California to Be Powered by 1.1 Million AA Batteries

Mike Sandru — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 16:44:34 +0000

The new University of California, Riverside’s Bourns College of Engineering found a new way to power the first floor of the building by installing a 1.1 megawatt bank of high-end lithium-ion batteries. Considering that the average AA battery generates around 1 watt-hour of electricity, there should be some 1.1 million such batteries installed. In other […]

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Sharp's Zero-CO2 Eco House Experiment Ready This Month

Mike Sandru — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 07:22:36 +0000

Sharp Corporation began the construction of a zero-carbon "eco house" that will be finished by the end of this month. By building this "eco-friendly house," the company hopes to contribute to a comfortable living environment and to minimize power consumption.

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Seattle Project to Improve The Energy Efficiency of Buildings

Mike Sandru — Fri, 13 May 2011 19:48:58 +0000

The massive consumption of energy can be counteracted not only by finding alternative sources, but also by cutting on the "appetite" we already have. If we look at the bigger picture, 70% of the total electricity production in the U.S. is eaten up by commercial buildings (according to the U.S. Department of Energy). So, wouldn't it be great if we could reduce that amount as much as we can?

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Alcoa Launches Self-Cleaning Aluminum Panel for Commercial Buildings

Mike Sandru — Fri, 13 May 2011 19:42:24 +0000

Today, thanks to Reynobond with Eco Clean we can skip unneccessary work: this coil-coated architectural panel cleans itself and the air around it. If you can't believe your eyes, just check it out on May 12 at the AIA 2011 National Convention and Design Exposition in New Orleans.

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The Empire State Building to Be Powered by Wind Turbines

Mike Sandru — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 17:41:04 +0000

Empire State Building, the tallest building in New York, and referred to as one of the wonders of the modern world, will buy 100% wind power from Texas-based Green Mountain Energy Company. According to the AIA (American Institute of Architects), the Empire State Building is the first on the List of America's Favorite Architecture.

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PSU Project Aims To Mimic Skin Responsiveness For Designing Energy-Efficient Buildings

Ovidiu Sandru — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 06:19:11 +0000

One day, man-made buildings will mimic the human body in the relationship with the exterior. Penn State University researchers are about to study and implement a model that uses the sensitivity and flexibility of human cells to build "skins" that will give buildings the possibility to self-adapt to the exterior, to regulate their energy use according to changes in the environment.

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Affresol Homes Built From Recycled Plastic: 12% Cheaper, 60 Years Lifespan

Ovidiu Sandru — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 15:58:55 +0000

It's a known fact that plastics, although they make up hellish environments if disposed randomly (read: "thrown away"), can be good friends if they are to be recycled and used in long-term construction works. Affresol, a Wales-based company, is about to launch a new range of homes and modular portable buildings, made from recycled plastics.

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Taipei's Financial Center Corp to Become World's Tallest Green Building

Cristi — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 12:30:43 +0000

The tallest building between 2004-2007 Taipei's Financial Center Corp (TFC) is now also looking to become the world's tallest green building. The 101 floors structure will get its new looks in the next 18-month with a $1,9 million investment. TFC will primarily get new heating, cooling and ventilation system upgrades.

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America's First High School Powered Entirely by Renewable Energy

Mike Sandru — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 20:20:18 +0000

The greenest high school ever built will conserve energy by using 36 wind turbines and solar panels in conjunction with a green roof and systems that maximize the use of ventilation and natural light.

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Yahoo Will Build the Most Green and Efficient Data Center

Cristi — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 18:34:39 +0000

Yahoo is going green! This news was presented at a press conference in Buffalo, New York, by Yahoo representatives a few days ago. In a world where everybody needs to turn green and needs to make use of as much as possible clean energy sources, Yahoo is making a big step.

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