Building Design
Bill Nye the Science Guy Interviews Bill McDonough the Cradle to Cradle Designer
Bill McDonough, the architect and designer, has formulated a design principle which he lays out in his book Cradle to Cradle. He demonstrates that our current production systems are based on a ‘cradle to grave’ design model that dates to the Industrial Revolution. This process casts off as much as 90 percent of the materials it […]
Carbon Footprint of Household Energy Use in the US
This study uses data on ∼93 million individual homes to perform the most comprehensive study of greenhouse gases from residential energy use in the United States. We provide nationwide rankings of carbon intensity of homes in states and ZIP codes and offer correlations between affluence, floor space, and emissions. Scenarios demonstrate this sector cannot achieve […]
The Super-Cool Materials that Send Heat to Space
When businessman Howard Bisla was tasked with saving a local shop from financial ruin, one of his first concerns was energy efficiency. In June 2018, he approached his local electricity provider in Sacramento, California, about upgrading the lights. The provider had another idea. It offered to install an experimental cooling system: panels that could stay […]
Toronto’s Newest Skyscraper Covered in Trees
Toronto’s urban canopy is already home to over 10 million trees, which currently envelops 26% of the city’s surface area. Mayor John Tory, however, has bigger plans for Ontario’s capital; he wants to transform Toronto into a waking ecological metropolis. A local architecture firm, Brisbin Brook Beynon, is helping Tory achieve his goal, in a […]
The City Within a Garden
Some cities are restoring nature and tapping the power of ecosystems to enhance and protect urban life. Cities such as Melbourne, Portland, Oslo, San Francisco and Singapore are embracing a far-reaching shift in their mental models about the city’s relationship to nature. Read the entire article at NextCity. In modern times, the city has […]
Sustainable Development Has Taken Root Nationwide
From New York City to San Francisco, architects and city planners are going green to address the housing crisis. Read the entire article at The Atlantic. Nearly a decade ago, New York’s city and state agencies held an architectural competition to transform a former South Bronx freight yard. Architects were challenged to team up […]
Cities Experiment with “Climate Positive” Design
Advocates say we could design city buildings and neighborhoods that cancel out more carbon than they emit, with the right policies and mindset. Cities are crucial to fighting climate change. They occupy only two percent of global land area but have an enormous climate impact, consuming more than two-thirds of global energy and accounting for 70 […]
Cal Polytech Students Prototype CO2 “Sponge”
The team, called CO2 extrACTION, is working to combat climate change through a device that extracts carbon dioxide from the air. Since Winter 2017, they have been working to create a carbon dioxide extraction panel to reduce greenhouse gases and mitigate climate change. The product is now in the prototyping phase, with the goal of an […]
New Florida Neighborhood has Zero Emissions, Embedded Tech and is Hurricane-Proof
In a fishing village south of Tampa called Cortez, a new community of small homes will run on solar power to reach a “net zero” energy footprint – using Google Home to help optimize how the power is used. Read the entire article at Fast Company. “It’s going to be a grid-interactive, grid-optimized virtual […]
Storm-proof Affordable Housing for Florida Keys Workers
After the destruction of Hurricane Irma, the Florida Keys Community Land Trust started building affordable cottages that can withstand the next storm. Like other tourist destinations, the Keys — a string of islands off the southern tip of Florida — require workers to staff their restaurants, hotels, and glass-bottom boats. Read the entire article at CityLab. […]
