Green Architecture/Buildings.

[Michaelangelica]

Good nice to see an environment forum.

How about an architecture building one next?:eek2:

 

This show is well worth watching.

It is about an extraordinary new building in Melbourne's CBD.

Very eco-friendly. Amazingly ingenious.

Among many things it uses sewerage as air conditioning!

You have to see it to believe it.

This is the future of architecture up and running NOW

Catalyst: Council House Two – the eco-office block of the future - ABC TV Science

Council House Two – the eco-office block of the future

Reporter: Graham Phillips

Producer: Graham Phillips

Researcher: Ruth Beran

Camera: Phil Hankin

Sound: Graham Fettling

Editor: Ben Eriksen

 

Transcript

Related Info

 

19 April 2007

Council House Two, or CH2 as its known, is quite possibly the eco-office block of the future – many of its design principles have been taken from nature.

 

To create environmentally friendly buildings, architect Mick Pearce says his profession should learn from the natural world. To cool and heat an office block, for example, we use massive energy-consuming air conditioners and heaters.

Yet, using no more than the natural elements of the sun and the wind, by careful design termites are able to keep their nests at around 30 degrees - despite outside temperatures varying between 40 degrees in the day and below zero at night.

 

Mick has put his money where his mouth is and designed an incredibly environmentally friendly building that’s been constructed in Melbourne’s CBD. It consumes only 15% of the energy of a regular building and about 30% of the water.

 

Find out exactly how he achieved this on a guided tour of this amazing building with the host of Catalyst, Dr. Graham Phillips.

[Ganoderma]

that is pretty cool! i am very interested to learn more about that air conditioning system. not so much the sewage part but the general concept.

 

then again i would also liek to know about the sewage filtration, as i plan to build something like that into our house soon.

 

thanks for the link!

[Michaelangelica]

that is pretty cool! i am very interested to learn more about that air conditioning system. not so much the sewage part but the general concept. !

Write to the ABC and ask for more info. I am sure they will help (eventually-they are woefully underfunded by the government.).

 

Did you manage to see pics/video of the air con units in the ceilings?

 

I can't see video as I don't have broadband

[Ganoderma]

the video was pretty bad. it was more like a slideshow :)

 

they had a circulating pipe system in teh ceiling, did not see much of it. just looked like coper tubing to me. although pretty damned ugly, its a cool building for sure!!!

[TheBigDog]

My favorite green home is located in Crawford, Texas. I have been trying to find an article about it that is not a political barb and it is nearly impossible. All I am left with is Wiki...

The land includes seven canyons and three miles (5 km) of frontage along Rainey Creek and the Middle Bosque River. It is a part of land settled in the mid-19th century by German immigrant Heinrich Englebrecht, who raised turkeys and hogs there and donated some of it to found the Canaan Baptist Church (the "Prairie Chapel").

 

Buildings on the land built by the Englebrechts were refurbished for new uses, such as Secret Service quarters and guest houses. Bush and his wife had David Heymann, then an associate professor of architecture at the University of Texas at Austin, designed a 4,000 ft² (372 m²) honey-colored native limestone single-level home on the site. In addition there is an open 10 foot (3 m) wide limestone porch that encircles the house. The house was built by members of a religious community from nearby Elm Mott, Texas and wasn't finally completed until after his inauguration because of needed accommodations for security, meeting space, etc.

 

The passive-solar house is positioned to absorb winter sunlight, warming the interior walkways and walls of the residence. Geothermal heat pumps circulate water through pipes buried 300 feet (100 m) deep in the ground. A 25,000 US gallon (151 m³) underground cistern collects rainwater gathered from roof urns; wastewater from sinks, toilets, and showers cascades into underground purifying tanks and is also funneled into the cistern. The water from the cistern is then used to irrigate the landscaping around the four-bedroom home. Photographs of the interior of the house indicate a sophisticated take on rough-hewn living, with generous English-style club chairs covered in what appears to be printed Fortuny linen.[citation needed]

 

Bush added an 11 acre (45,000 m²) man-made pond that he stocked with 600 largemouth bass and 30,000 bait fish. There are also bluegill and red ear sunfish. The pond has a maximum depth of 17 feet.

 

Bush also manages his property as protected habitat for the endangered Golden-cheeked Warbler (Dendroica chrysoparia).

Bill

[Michaelangelica]

the video was pretty bad. it was more like a slideshow :shrug:

 

they had a circulating pipe system in teh ceiling, did not see much of it. just looked like coper tubing to me. although pretty damned ugly, its a cool building for sure!!!

It looked a bit better than that on the TV. I wonder if the building has a web site?

The ceiling was also concavely curved in a wave sort of formation.

 

The people who worked in it loved it;

and said they were getting a lot less sickness from flu etc

 

Bill

Who owns the hose now?

I just need to know what religion or political party I need to join for a holiday Sounds like a beautiful spot.

[TheBigDog]

Bill

Who owns the hose now?

I just need to know what religion or political party I need to join for a holiday Sounds like a beautiful spot.

It is the Texas Ranch of President Bush. No religion or political party required, but you need an invitation to get past the Secret Service.

 

Bill

[Michaelangelica]

Maybe not green, but some fascinating photos

 

thecoolhunter.net - architecture

[freeztar]

Maybe not green, but some fascinating photos

 

thecoolhunter.net - architecture

 

Cool link!

 

The Loft House just seems ridiculous to me. I love how the flash video shows a couple playing volleyball over a cloths-line. I'd be fine with that I guess but I would not be the one getting the ball once it falls down 20 stories and lands in traffic. :shrug:

[freeztar]

More on topic, I've always thought Cob houses were pretty neat.

 

Green Home Building: Natural Building Techniques: Cob

cob house - Google Image Search

[Michaelangelica]

Courtesy of Care2

26,000 People Get Schooled On Green Buil... - Care2 News Network

26,000 People Get Schooled On “Green” Building Solutions

26,000 People Get Schooled On Green Building Solutions visit site

Environment (tags: AIA, architect, architecture, Architecture convention, builders, carbon emissions, carbon neutral, emissions, energy use, global warming, green, green building, LEED, environment )

 

 

The solution to climate change and global warming is now more apparent than ever. With a turnout of about 26,000 people, the AIA annual Architectural Convention in San Antonio, Texas concentrated on the theme of “Growing Beyond Green.”

 

and again

 

Clinton, Cities, Unveil $5 Bln Buildings Energy Plan visit site

Environment (tags: energy, climate, ClimateChange, government, globalwarming )

Clinton, cities, unveil $5 bln buildings... - Care2 News Network

Clinton, cities, unveil $5 bln buildings energy plan | Environment | Reuters

- 4 days ago - reuters.com

Five global banks will raise $5 billion in loans to make existing buildings up to 50 percent more energy efficient with New York, London, Tokyo, Sao Paulo and Johannesburg among the first 15 cities to take part.

[Michaelangelica]

This proposed new American building is about as green as it gets

SF Gate: Multimedia (image)

 

SF Gate: Multimedia (image)

 

A GARDEN IN THE SKY / S.F. museum's roof puts green building techniques to the test

[Buffy]

This proposed new American building is about as green as it gets...

I'm glad you posted this Mike as I was thinking about doing it this morning.

 

We're long-time members of the Cal Academy (I spent a ton of time there when I was a kid), and even now its fun to just go watch them build it! (Then we go to the Exploratorium across town...).

 

Stares at fishes,

Buffy

[Michaelangelica]

I'm glad you posted this Mike as I was thinking about doing it this morning.

 

We're long-time members of the Cal Academy (I spent a ton of time there when I was a kid), and even now its fun to just go watch them build it! (Then we go to the Exploratorium across town...).

 

Stares at fishes,

Buffy

Thanks Buffy

How lucky you are to be so close

Please take some photos.

 

They should make a programme like this on the building process:-

 

I have been watching this strangely compelling series from England on building

"Grand Designs". It should be boring;watching the hassles people have building unusual homes.

To-nights episode was about an "eco-house"

Cumbria, The underground house

Cumbria, The underground house from Channel4.com/4Homes

How ecologically sound it was is a moot point I think.

You also need a cool $1/2 mil.

You might be able to watch it online.

 

Since I was a kid I have wanted to live underground

(Too many "Phantom" and "Batman" Comics)

(but I married a woman with claustrophobia)

I want to go to Coober Pedy where the whole town is underground and they play Golf at night with glow-in-the dark golf balls. There is no grass of course as it is in the middle of the desert with temps from 40-50C

It has reciprocal membership rights with the very exclusive, up-market, Home-Of-Golf Club in Scotland. Only in Oz:doh: :eek_big:

Walkabout - Coober Pedy

CooberPedy - underground in Australia

I love opals too

 

But having built a few strange things in my time "Grand Designs" took me back:banghead:

I am sure there is a special place in hell reserved for Glaziers (glass-'working'-type people)

I remember we were putting in a 30' high glass waterfall and the glass took ages to get there. When they finally put it in ,

I said "Hey, that's got a huge crack in it"

O she wll' be right mate Yo'll never notice" (The crack was about a meter (3') long)

I NOTICE NOW GET THE B *&%^#$ out of here!!

 

A couple of things interested me in Cumbria, The underground house

 

One was an air exchanging system than took out stale air and replaced it with warm fresh air for "about 30P a week (80c?).

Maybe we would need the cool air to come in; in most of Australia

 

The other was the solar tiles

Sundog-Energy

and

The light 'columns' or "Light pipes"

http://www.coxbp.com

 

Also this throw away comment

"Making one tonne of cement, makes one tonne of CO2."

 

The pics are of Coobar Pedy & the golf course & the house.

[Michaelangelica]

Christie Walk: Paul Downton, Adelaide, SA

Architect Paul Downton believes that since cities are a central cause of the global climate problem, they should also be part of the solution. Involved in climate change action since the Eighties, Paul’s ecologically friendly building designs have culminated in Adelaide’s “Christie Walk” - 20 inner-city dwellings on a half-acre block designed to test his vision of an “Eco-city”.

Catalyst: Catalyst Extra: “People Power” - ABC TV Science

More pics and info here

Christie Walk: Paul Downton, Adelaide - Google Image Search

[Michaelangelica]

Think I'm a fanatic?

look at this

Vertical Grass Art.

 

Farewell, horizontal!

 

British artists Heather Ackroyd and Dan Harvey are creating transient, green masterpieces, by making grass grow on vertical surfaces. They've been doing it since 1990, and this site shows a few examples of their work.

 

First they seeded the wall of a rustic cabin on a hilltop medieval village in Northern Italy: The Other Side project. After figuring out how to grow grass vertically up the walls of a room, then moved on the walls of a cathedral - their next project was Dilston Grove church in London.

 

Artsadmin | Dilston Grove | Project Details

Very slow to load

Dark Roasted Blend: Vertical Grass Art

Wearing Green

Green Island

[Michaelangelica]

THE HEMP HOUSE

They had everything they needed -- except straw.

 

Construction on the 1,760-square-foot house was to start in 2003, the same year Alberta's drought made headlines across the country. The couple found that Alberta farmers, unable to grow their own bedding for their livestock, had gone shopping in B.C. That meant regular straw-bale sources were sold out.

The Rokeby-Thomas house on Saltspring Island was built with hemp-bale walls on the main floor, providing an insulating value of R30. Large windows run along the south side of the house, helping it to gain solar heat throughout the day.

The Rokeby-Thomas house on Saltspring Island was built with hemp-bale walls on the main floor, providing an insulating value of R30. Large windows run along the south side of the house, helping it to gain solar heat throughout the day.

Ray Smith,

More pictures:

"We started calling family and friends in the Kootenays," says Drew, an inventor, "looking everywhere and anywhere for straw."

 

They never found it, but they did find a rancher with 2,000 hemp bales -- and snapped them up.

Local art adorns the home, including some of Drew's wrought-iron work from his blacksmithing days. A botanical weave of iron twists up the staircase, depicting flower petals and seaweed in the same frame.

 

"I don't pay much attention to the rules when I'm creating something," Drew says of the seabed and garden mix. "I just decide on the form as I go."

 

The artistry extends outside, with garden borders fashioned from bent rebar. A spring-fed pond, rose vines and iris gardens surround the house.

 

A bohemian atmosphere pervades the home in stained-glass frames, felt tapestries and vivid wall colourings in contrasting purple and yellow tones, chosen by Jaime.

 

"A lot of people are tired by the time they're finished building a home, and they end up with beige or white walls," says Drew. "I told Jaime to go wild, be daring."

 

Looking at the brilliant walls in his wife's studio, Drew laughs and says, "Perhaps I shouldn't have said that."

 

- - -

 

SALTSPRING ISLAND HOMES TOUR

 

What: Saltspring Island Conservancy Eco-Home Tour

 

Where: Ten Saltspring-Island homes, which highlight strategies for reducing energy consumption. Solar power, hemp- and straw-bale construction, masonry heating, energy-efficient appliances, water-catchment and grey-water systems are featured on the tour.

 

When: Sunday, June 17, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

 

Admission:

The house that hemp built