M:OFA Unveils Air-Filtering Green Office for the Delhi Pollution Control Committee

When the Delhi Pollution Control Committee set out to build a new office, they wanted it to be an expression of the work they do to clean the environment. The winner of their design competition was Manifestation: Of Fluid Architecture (M:OFA), whose proposed building is a giant urban filter that soaks up pollution through its pores and pumps out clean air and water. The new office complex will use both passive and active strategies to reduce energy use, and it will soak up polluted air through the walls, generate its own energy through photovoltaics, collect rainwater from the roof and process black and grey water for further use.

The Delhi Pollution Control Committee’s design brief for their new building called for an affirmation of the organization’s purpose, which is to improve environmental quality through sustainability. M:OFA responded to this brief with a building that acts like a sponge – soaking up pollution and spitting back out clean air and water. The design for the six-story office begins with the building’s orientation to provide natural daylighting and encourage breezes from the prevailing winds. Walls and the large overhanging roof were arranged to shield the interior from the sun and prevent overheating.

The building itself is made from bentonite clay-lined foam concrete with micro cavities that acts as a filter to clean out polluted air. Living walls and gardens interspersed throughout the building work to pump out fresh and clean oxygen into the space. During the winter, underground mechanical filters force polluted hot air from the basement through the hollow walls, which acts as a heater and reduces pollution at the same time. In the summer, rooftop mechanical filters pump in fresh air and continue to help keep the pollution in check.

The parasol roof acts like a basin to collect rainwater, which is stored in cisterns underneath the building. Photovoltaic panels generate electricity for use in the building and are stored in batteries to power outdoor lighting at night. Sewage and grey water from the building is processed through an on site reed bed and koi pond. An anaerobic digester produces methane that is used in a co-generation gas engine for more electricity. Leftover waste is used as fertilizer in the gardens and landscaping and the clean water is used in a chilled beam system to provide cooling. The new office for the Delhi Pollution Control Committee in New Delhi is underway and is expected to be complete in 2014.

Via ArchDaily

Less is More at Norway’s Minimalist Juvet Landscape Hotel

We're excited to share yet another study in classic minimalist design, this time from Jensen & Skodvin. Their Juvet landscape hotel in West Norway features 10 tiny rooms that fit snuggly into their picturesque surroundings with virtually no environmental footprint - like these adorable pods from France and this incredible treehouse studio. Intrinsically respectful of its mind-blowing natural surroundings and light on materials, this boutique hotel comprises the epitome in eco-architecture. But beware! It costs a hefty €300 to spend a night.

An award-winning design, Juvet became a reality when Knut Slinning, its owner, discovered that the Norwegian government was spending a boatload of money to renovate portions of the country’s National Tourist Route. He then commissioned Jensen & Skodvin to construct ten mini-rooms out of soft, fast-growing pine on what was an old farm property, each with at least one wall of glass to emphasize connectedness with nature.

The hotel explores whether it is possible to build in nature without a huge footprint, and the rooms are practically bare on the inside save for a lamp, bed, and a couple of chairs. Although the bathrooms are painted canary-yellow, there are no wall hangings or other objects that detract from the spectacular scenery. Finally, the cabins are built on stilts to enable easy removal should that need arise, since, as Mr. Slinning notes, “we are only guests of nature.”

BIG's Connecting Greenland: AIR + PORT Exhibit Proposes a New Future for Greenland

Dream it and they shall come. That's the premise of the POSSIBLE GREENLAND exhibit at the 13^th Annual Architecture Exhibition of the Venice Biennale, headed by the Danish Architecture Centre and curated by Minik Rosing and Nord Architects. This exhibit seeks to explore the huge potential and some of the challenges that face Greenland, a place that has gotten global attention of late due to its natural resources and its position on climate change. BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group) in collaboration with TENU, Julie Hardenberg and Inuk Silas Hogh created the Connecting Greenland: AIR + PORT portion of the POSSIBLE GREENLAND exhibit. The architects propose creating a multi-modal transportation hub for domestic and international travel just south of Nuuk, the capital.

Currently, Greenland residents rely heavily on air travel to get around, but are plagued by empty flights and staggering prices. BIG and its cohorts are proposing to address this domestic problem with a global solution. The Greenland Transport Commission identified the island of Augisunnguaq, south of Nuuk, as a potential new hub for connecting Greenland domestically and internationally by air and by water. But Connecting Greenland: AIR + PORT isn’t just about creating a new piece of transportation infrastructure. It proposes a variety of programs and mixed uses for the area as the genesis of a new paradigm of efficient transportation and vibrant public programs that would benefit the whole country. This holistic solution is what Bjarke Ingels calls Social Infrastructure.

This vision is part of Greenland’s attempt to position itself at the center of major world economies like Europe, Asia and America. Instead of positioning itself as a back-water in harsh and inaccessible part of the world, Greenland wants to explore its potential as a transit hub between Europe and America – increasing potential transit tourism while at the same time cutting costs for local commuters.

Other parts of the POSSIBLE GREENLAND exhibit include Cultivating Greenland, Inhabiting Greenland and Migrating Greenland, exploring the multiple aspects of the country as a way to work towards a more prosperous and connectedglobal future.

CLOUD Treehouse in Japan is a Relaxing Space Perched High in the Treetops!

 Hidden amidst the branches of a lush tree in Kanagawa, Japan is CLOUD, a unique tree house structure by SABAOARCH. Designed to be a room that floats like a cloud, the rounded structure gives the client a serene moment of seclusion, high above the world. Accessible by a silver ladder, CLOUD has three adjoining “rooms” for relaxation among the tree tops.

 

Each of the oval “rooms” in the treehouse are connected, but designed for separate activities – one for standing, one for sitting down, and one for sleeping al fresco. Each area is intersected by a tree trunk from the Japanese oak host  that coils around the platform, or jut through the floor, harmonizing each room within the tree.
The rooms are outlined with steel guardrails to protect visitors from stumbling off. A curved white couch, platform bed, and leaning support furnish each of the rooms. The floors are also slatted so that they naturally drain rain and spilled liquids, as well as filter light to the base of the tree. When the wind shakes the tree, the structure slowly rocks with it.
The surrounding branches and leaves act as a natural sun filter, shading the interior for relaxation, filtering rain, as well as giving bursts of oxygen with natural ventilation. The CLOUD structure is an idyllic place of contemplation and serenity high up in the trees.

Via Arch Daily

Escale Numérique is a Free, Green-Roofed WiFi Station in Paris

Mathieu Lehanneur recently unveiled a free WiFi station covered with a beautiful green roof in Paris! The designer worked in collaboration with outdoor advertiser JCDecaux to tap into an underground fiber optic network to create a haven of peace available to everyone. Escale Numérique (which translates to Digital Break) features concrete swivel seats with mini tables and plugs on their base and a large touch screen that provides updated information about services in the city for visitors or those without their devices. Totally free and available for anyone, Escale Numérique is a brilliant installation that offers up a free connection to the internet.

Mathieu Lehanneur and JCDecaux won the call for intelligent furniture projects by the Mairie de Paris Escale Numérique, to create a connected haven of peace available to everyone. The free WiFi station is on the Rond Point des Champs-Elysées and takes advantage of an underground fiber optic network which is now supplying the capital. Lehanneur likens the project to the “Wallace fountains, which since the end of the 19th century have offered Parisian the free drinking water which was circulating beneath their feet, Escale Numérique allows everyone to benefit, like a real public service, from a high-speed WiFi connection by raising it from beneath the ground.”
The digital service station features super durable swivel chairs made from concrete and mini tables connected to the seat are perfect for a laptop, smart phone, tablet or even just a book. Vertical logs, like tree trunks, are used to support the shade structure, which is topped off with a green roof. The living roof was designed to be attractive both from the ground as well as from a balcony above. Attached to the station is a large touch screen that provides information about the city, news and augmented reality for tourists and visitors who do not have a device with which to get online. Escale Numérique is certainly the prettiest WiFi stop we’ve seen and is at the intersection of great design and technology.

Lively Urban Cabin in Brazil Features Nest Beds and a Spherical Shelf Window

Fabio Galiezzo took a shabby shack in Brazil and transformed it into a colorful urban cabin decked out with nest beds and an awesome spherical shelf that frames views of the verdant surroundings. The original building was so dilapidated that Galeazzo propped it up with bamboo beams and columns and topped the whole place off with a series of green thermal tiles.

The Urban Cabin’s interior flooring is comprised of a combination of FSC-certified timber and brown granite. Since the structure sits amidst a shaded woody area, it was treated as a work of art – a la modernist painter Tarsila do Amaral. The bright colored stripes and irregular forms give the youthful home an attractive lift.
The spherical window doubles as an awesome bookshelf that draws a distinct connection between the interior and exterior, while the lovely hanging nest beds round off the project’s overall sensitivity to and celebration of nature. Outside, nautical, stretchy fabric is used to shelter the owner’s tiny vehicle and the outdoor barbecue is decked out in beautiful tiles. Although this might be a bit bright for some, we absolutely love this home.

Brasília’s Remodeled National Stadium Will Be a Solar Showcase For The 2014 World Cup !

Brasília, Brazil’s mid-century capital, will have a new football stadium by the end of this year that will showcase several green building features. With the 2014 World Cup not far off, Brazil has much work to do as it proves to the world that it can host two major international sporting events. To that end, the remodeled Estádio Nacional de Brasília (Brasília National Stadium) and its lead architect, Castro Mello, will show that Brazil is more than ready to shine on the global sporting stage.

Built in 1974, the former Estádio Mané Garrincha Stadium has been almost completely dismantled and will see its capacity increase from 42,000 to over 70,000 seats. Brazil’s Green Building Council is keen to award platinum certification to the stadium upon completion. From the training of workers to the latest in clean energy technology, The new National Stadium, according to Brazil’s World Cup hosting committee, will not disappoint, starting with its futuristic feel and generous amounts of natural light that will fill the grandstands and concourses. Solar panels will line the perimeter of the stadium’s roof, providing up to 2.5 million megawatts of energy once the remodel is complete. One less-than-green result of the stadium’s expansion and rebuilding is that 80 trees were felled, but one of the construction companies involved with the project said it will donate 5000 tree seedlings to be planted all over Brasília.
To reduce fuel consumption and therefore carbon emissions, the pre-molded concrete parts that will support the stadium’s upper stands are molded at building site. A rainwater capture system will help irrigate landscaping and team with low-flow water fixtures in the stadium to reduce the facility’s water footprint. The on-site prefabricated concrete pieces, of which eight to 10 massive are built daily, increase workers’ safety while ensuring that the concrete will last longer that it would had the cast parts been hauled over a far distance.
As far as mobility and accessibility goes, the new stadium will be close to Brasília’s collection of ultramodern architecture that has earned the 52-year-old city status as a UNESCO heritage site. But a future metro station is still a healthy two kilometer (1.2 miles) walk from the stadium, though at least Brasília’s cool winters will make for a brisk and comfortable stroll. Oscar Neimeyer, Brasília’s lead architect who is still designing at age 104, would surely approve as the new stadium perfectly complements the city’s landscape.