Sustainable

Until recently LED light bulb manufacturers have struggled to find a solution in the 75 to 100-watt range which successfully replaces the soon-to-be redundant, energy crunching 100 W incandescent bulb in terms of size and brightness. Three friends from the University of Toronto are the latest to offer a feasible product to match the classic 100 W bulb without compromising on electricity consumption with their proposed NanoLight LED light bulbs.  Read More

Hydrogen has been hailed as the fuel of the future, but producing it cleanly using platinum as a catalyst is simply too costly to service the world's energy needs. On the flipside, producing hydrogen with fossil fuels not only releases CO2 as a byproduct, but is unsustainable, negating hydrogen's green potential. However, hydrogen may yet make good on its promise thanks to a group of scientists at the University of Cambridge.  Read More

A streetscape that includes natural landscaping, bicycle lanes, wind powered lighting, storm water diversion for irrigation, drought-resistant native plants and innovative “smog-eating” concrete has earned Cermak road in Chicago the title of “greenest Street in America” according to the Chicago Department of Transport (CDOT). Opened in October 2012, the first phase two mile stretch is part of the Blue Island/Cermak Sustainable Streetscape project which was introduced in 2009 with the aim of reducing overall energy usage by 42 percent.  Read More

The PNC Financial Services Group hopes to exceed LEED Platinum requirements along with promoting a healthy indoor workplace with its latest development – the Tower at PNC Plaza. Located in downtown Pittsburgh on the corner of Fifth and Wood Streets, the building will be approximately 800,00 gross sq.ft (74,322 sq.mt) in size with a construction budget of approximately US$240 million. The "breathing" design created by architecture firm Gensler moves away from the traditional closed air-conditioned environment and has the lofty aim of becoming the greenest skyscraper in the world.  Read More

Tornadoes generally evoke the destructive force of nature at its most awesome. However, what if all that power could be harnessed to produce cheaper and more efficient electricity? This is just what Canadian engineer Louis Michaud proposes to achieve, with an invention dubbed the “Atmospheric Vortex Engine” (or AVE).  Read More

Fashion designer Pierre Cardin has proposed a controversial high-rise complex to be built in Venice – a UNESCO World Heritage city that also has a long and distinguished history of innovative architecture. Dubbed Palais Lumiere or "Light Palace" due to its abundance of transparent walls, the design was conceived by the 90 year old Cardin with the help of architect nephew Rodrigo Basilicati has been approved by the Mayor of Venice, Giorgio Orsoni.  Read More

Researchers have found an eco-friendly alternative to the metal ores currently favored in the electrodes of lithium-ion batteries. The new non-toxic and sustainable battery uses purpurin, a red/yellow dye extracted from the root of the madder plant that has been used for dying cloth for at least 3,500 years – meaning the substance can simply be grown rather than mined.  Read More

Designed by a group of young French architects from Studio 1984, the “Nest” is a compact home concept that is reminiscent of a traditional barn. The eco-home, which was conceived as part of the Archi<20 competition for low-cost, environmentally-friendly architecture in France, incorporates a simple quadratic structure that has been built using pastoral materials such as straw and wood.  Read More

Fancy brainstorming and attending work conferences in a modern treehouse set among the treetops of a pristine forest landscape? Well, four Belgian companies Sappi, The Flemish Forest and Nature Agency, Hechtel-Eksel and Proximity have made it possible by commissioning the construction of a modern treehouse conference center. The “Treehouse” was built by German architectural studio Baumraum, who created the Entre Cielos Treehotel we covered earlier this year and while we also loved the British Eco-Perch, this treehouse project has given us some serious office envy!  Read More