Emotional Branding

As we move further into the early years of the 21st century, there is a growing consciousness of the need to create more sustainable systems to maintain our society.

Natural resources have for too long been exploited and utilized with little regard for posterity. Our cities and towns require large amounts of outside support, but there are many minds coming together to develop new plans and techniques to revitalize our civilization and reduce our environmental impact. One of the major trends leading this movement is to create change from the top down, and make our rooftops pull their weight ecologically and economically.

Via Lauren Moss

A new breed of high-rise architecture is in the process of being born, thanks to the collaborative efforts of modern design pioneers. Envisioned as the best sustainable option for meeting world housing demands and decreasing global carbon emissions, wooden mega-structures are now one step closer to becoming a reality.

“Big Wood,” a conceptual project to the eVolo 2013 Skyscraper Competition, builds on the premise that wood, when harvested responsibly, is one of the best tools architects and engineers have for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and creating healthy communities. Aspiring to become one of the greenest skyscrapers in the world, Big Wood challenges the way we build our cities and promotes timber as a reliable platform to support tomorrow’s office and residential towers...

Via Lauren Moss

While action toward building ‘greener’ more sustainable structures is gaining momentum in Europe and America, an office tower from down-under is putting Australia on the green buildings map.

A 30 story high-rise office tower in Sydney, Australia’s central business district, 1 Bligh Street a treasure trove of sustainable innovation and design.Designed by Architectus and Ingenhoven Architects, this environmentally responsible office tower is set to create a benchmark in Australia for sustainable high-rise buildings and provide an enduring presence on the city skyline.

“The dramatic, naturally-ventilated central atrium connects the office workers with nature at the inner depths of the plan, giving a sense of openness for the entire building. The series of communal spaces throughout the building, and especially the fantastic rooftop garden, add greatly to the quality of life for the tenants.”

Read further and view more images at the article link...

Via Lauren Moss

Light Park is a skyscraper that hovers over the streets of Beijing like a giant airship. Architects Ting Xu and Yiming Chen have conceived the future of high-rises to be a conglomerate of mega-structures that make up for the shortage of urban open spaces on the ground by lifting them up in the air.

The Light Park skyscraper is lifted off the ground with a helium-filled balloon, and it uses solar energy for propulsion, enabling it to function as a non-polluting transportation deck as well as a floating urban park. The technology is based on existing helium balloon designs, using solar-powered propellers, airbags and atmospheric pressure for takeoff and cruise flight. Solar power is utilized to power the uses below, with translucent solar panels located on the top of the aircraft. In order to avoid additional weight and decrease wind resistance, the skyscraper uses a cable-suspended structure to attach the slabs to the mushroom-like cap. The planting slabs are irrigated with rainwater collected on the large cap surface and are distributed in a way which allows maximum exposure to sunlight on each level...

Via Lauren Moss

The next golden age of growth will depend on whether we are able to innovate sufficiently to face environmental challenges, according to Carlota Perez, Visiting Scholar, London School of Economics

 

"The planet is no longer a place to store our waste. It must be protected to guarantee healthy lives if we want to be able to incorporate hundreds of millions of new consumers. That is the new space race. Growth will depend on whether we are able to stretch the frontiers of knowledge to successfully face the environmental limits," she said, speaking at the Economist's Technology Frontiers conference.

This means we need to increase the productivity of all resources "enormously", eliminate waste and pollution, build closed-loop systems, design for durability and rethink our built environment. "This will be essential for healthy lives and economic development," she added.... http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-03/05/sustainability-space-race

Via pdjmoo

Taipei just broke ground on a twisting skyscraper that is wrapped with a jungle of vertical gardens...

Designed by Vincent Callebaut Architecture, the 455,000-square-foot Agora Tower will have an orchard, a vegetable garden, space for aromatic and medicinal plants, and a compost and rainwater capture system.

Designed to mimic two encircling hands and the helical structure of DNA, the towers are organized a central core that allows for a “hyper-abundance of suspended gardens.” These will spill over with edible and decorative plants, enabling residents of 40 luxury apartments to harvest a great deal of their own food (except for protein.) Plus, the rainwater capture system alleviates pressure on the municipal water supply and gives the complex even greater independence.

Each 540 square meter apartment will have an interior green wall as well, ensuring optimum air quality and a great green aesthetics. A circular light funnel will push daylighting right down to the basement of the building, a solar roof will provide energy, and low E glass will mitigate excess solar gain and prevent thermal loss.

Complete with nanotechnology and a host of other high-tech features, this one-of-a-kind tower may well be the greenest of its kind when it is completed circa 2016....

Via Lauren Moss