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

China's Green-Roofed Samaranch Memorial Museum Was Inspired by the Olympic Rings

While the 2012 Olympic Games are taking place in London, construction of a new green-roofed Olympic museum in Tianjin, China is also underway. Dedicated to former International Olympic Committee (IOC) chairman Juan Antonio Samaranch, the new Samaranch Memorial Museum will feature exhibits to commemorate his legacy as well as the influence of the Olympics in China. Dutch firm HAO and Beijing firm Archiland International designed the museum, which will be surrounded by a lush new park and will feature 5 Olympic-inspired rings, a rooftop photovoltaic system, and geothermal heating and cooling.

HAO and Archiland International won first place earlier this year with their Olympic-themed museum. Working with the concept of the 5 Olympic rings, the firms formulated a plan composed of a two-ring figure eight-like building surrounded by 3 sunken ringed buildings. The first ring of the main building is slightly raised so visitors can walk through the entrance courtyard and into an exhibition space dedicated to the influence of the Olympics on China. The second ring is dedicated to the work of Juan Antonio Samaranch, who was a strong supporter of the Beijing Olympics.
Surrounding the main building are three sunken spaces that provide more space for events and rotating exhibitions as well as administration and research. The museum will be located in a newly constructed park with other symbolic rings representing the 204 IOC members. To minimize impact, the figure eight-shaped museum will topped off with photovoltaic panels to generate up to 76% of the building’s energy needs. Additionally, a geothermal heating and cooling system will reduce energy used for hot water and climate control. Construction began this summer in Tianjin and the project is expected to be completed in 2013.

Erlebnest is a Breezy Open-Air Treehouse Retreat in Germany.

Treehouses come in all shapes and sizes, ranging from a simple platform suspended in a tree to a home with full plumbing and electrical services. On the broad spectrum of treehouse design, the Erlebnest by German company Cambium GmBH falls somewhere in the middle. Spotted by our friends over at Treehugger, the minimalist structure consists of a large, round, open-air covered platform for dining and lounging and a smaller tube-shaped sleeping area that floats next to the main platform. Together, they combine to form one of the most inviting treehouse retreats we've seen.

Cambium is a company based in German’s Allgäu region that specializes in treehouse construction, suspended rope and bridge courses, and forest climbing equipment. The Erlebnest is made of a steel frame with strips of larch wood forming the structure, and it blends into its wooded surroundings. The lounge area is big enough for a party of four, and the “cocoon” sleeping area features a king-size bed. If the weather turns while you’re in there, a large rain flap can be pulled down to protect you from the elements.
Because it has no walls, the 9-square-meter Erlebnest platform affords spectacular views of the surrounding forest. The first Erlebnest has been installed in Bingen am Rhein, and Cambium plans to build six more of them next year in Lake Constance. And if you’d like to build one of these unique treehouses on your own property, the company also offers kits for sale and provides help setting them up.

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.

Dubai Pearl is Another Massive and Dubious “Green Building” Project in The Gulf

 We've brought you a lot of rather dubious green building projects in Dubai, but we're hoping that the newest, the Dubai Pearl, is an exception. The $6 billion mixed-use city within a city is being planned for an area near Dubai’s new business centers, and according to the developers, the program will boast energy efficiency, “smart technology”, a column-free design, and a walkable environment that will enable community living. But we really wonder whether Dubai needs and can even support another massive residential, hotel and office complex of the Dubai Pearl’s scale.

Emerging on the site of a project that went bust several years ago, construction has been charging along on what will eventually be 20 million square feet of a “fully integrated” sustainable development. Six luxury hotels, including the MGM and the Bellagio, will anchor a “holistic luxury lifestyle” development that will include residences and offices. According to Dubai Pearl’s press office, the 40 acre (16 hectares) site will include 1 million square feet of open spaces and landscaped areas, with 15,500 parking spaces, 1500 residential units, 1400 offices and a retail zone that will eventually support a population of 30,000 people.
So how will this be a sustainable development? Dubai Pearl’s contractors have designed the master plan to ensure energy efficiency that they hope will score the complex LEED Gold certification. Recycling facilities for paper, glass and food waste will be part of the complex’s guarantee for effective waste diversion. Smart lighting features and water conservation will also supposedly minimize Dubai Pearl’s impact on the local environment.
All of this at first sounds great, but the details are rather thin. Dubai still has a glut of office and residential space despite the city’s recovery from the 2008 financial crisis, due in part to more businesses relocating in the wake of the Arab Spring. And while the local government has implemented pilot recycling programs, “sustainability” in Dubai still has a ways to go.
Like much of the Gulf, Dubai and the rest of the United Arab Emirates still rely on desalination, and it’s pretty clear that massive amounts of water will be required to keep Dubai Pearl thriving. While Dubai’s Metro is an impressive rail system, there are no stops near this complex. And information on what sustainable materials for the buildings’ interiors and exteriors is lacking. For now, Dubai Pearl’s claims to be sustainable are the classic case of a company saying, “We say we are green, therefore we are.” Until we see more details, and view evidence that responsible building practices are core to Dubai Pearl’s construction and after opening, everyday operations, we view this “sustainable development” with suspicion.

Green-Roofed Twitter Headquarters in San Francisco Also Has a Yoga Studio!

We've seen the inside of several funky corporate offices, including Google and Facebook, but Twitter might have outdone them all with their new green-roofed headquarters in San Francisco. Part of the city's plan to revitalize a seedy neighborhood, Twitter was given a tax reprieve for moving into BCV Architects' renovated 11-story art deco office building on 10th and Market street. But the new headquarters for 800 employees also reflects something of a sustainability ethos. Hit the jump for the deets and flip through the gallery for a closer look.

 In addition to the swanky green roof, which is already populated by rows of leafy vegetables and provides a nice lunch spot for the company’s jubilant employees, the new headquarters boasts a micro health kitchen stocked with wholesome food and a tranquil-looking yoga studio. Either working for Twitter is so stressful that it’s necessary to offer such calming spaces or this is just one really progressive company.
We are going to err towards the latter given the 9th floor reception desk, which looks suspiciously like it is made of recycled materials, and Twitter’s insistence that the city provide better public transportation links to the area in addition to more dedicated bike lanes. Also included in the 80,000 square feet building, parts of which are being leased out, are cafes, restaurants and a very “cool” local grocery store.