Daily Magazine

Passive Houses are built according to a rigorous series of design principles that promote efficiency.

The basic building block of a certified Passive House is a virtually airtight, superinsulated envelope that prevents the infiltration of outside air and the loss of conditioned air. Because joints and cracks aren’t a sufficient source of fresh air, Passive Houses are equipped with a ventilator that takes heat from the stale exhaust air and transfers it to the air that is being drawn in from the outside. (In summer, the process reverses, with the cool inside air pretreating the hot intake air before being vented outside.) Passive Houses also are positioned to capture the sun’s natural heating capabilities in the winter while minimizing solar gain in the summer.

Via Lauren Moss

As populations continue to move to urban areas, architects must address how their designs will impact the cities they are trying to improve— and those inhabitants whose access to clean air is determined by their proposals. How can architects best use design to repair the health of our cities?

Visit the article link for project links and an overview of some of the innovative ways architecture addresses climate change, air quality, emissions and is rethinking our cities through design, technology and new approaches to sustainable urbanism...

Via Lauren Moss

Architects Anton Pramstrahler and Alex Niederkofler have unveiled their proposal for a wooden viewing tower near Bruneck, northern Italy, with a twisted body shaped like a tree trunk .

The structure's spiralling form is intended to look like a tree that spreads out at its base and canopy – the result of a hexagonal section that rotates gradually as the tower ascends.

Via Lauren Moss, association concert urbain

The Solar Decathlon China 2013 is a competition that challenges collegiate teams to design, build, and operate solar-powered houses that are Net Zero, affordable, energy-efficient and attractive.

Summer 2013 will be the first year that a team from Israel will participate in the competition, and their design incorporates passive design features, creating an improved thermal envelope to maintain a comfortable interior environment. Windows, walls, and floors collect, store, and distribute solar energy as heat in the winter and reject heat in the summer...

Since 2002, the Solar Decathlon has involved over 90 teams and influenced thousands of collegiate participants in interdisciplinary research, design and construction of energy-efficient, solar-powered houses.

Via Lauren Moss