Dutch Aquatic Center Pushes Green Wall Envelope

Somewhere behind the mass of plants is an actual fitness facility. Image via VenhoevenCS.

With nearly every square inch covered in live vegetation, Amsterdam’s SportsPlaza Mercator complex takes the green roof/green wall trend to its logical extreme. Read more →

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Stockholm Traffic To Be Managed Under Green Roof

The planned Park 1 building in Stockholm. Image via White Arkitectur.

Stockholm's sustainable new traffic and emergency center will include a green roof to absorb stormwater, add insulation, provide solar energy and reduce the heat island effect. Read more →

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Sustainable Urban Living In Olympic Proportions

With subtle gold, silver and bronze tints, the Square 3 towers echo their Olympic Training Facility neighbors. Image via Moritz Gruppe.

A planned mixed-use high-rise in Berlin mimics the look of an Olympic medals podium and integrates its green spaces with adjacent athletic fields and urban nature reserves. Read more →

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Bulgarian Equinox Passive House Bows Before The Sun

This passive house in Bulgaria is built with its windows on a tilt to parallel the noon-time sun on the summer solstice. Image via Ignatov Architects.

The windows on the passive Equinox House in Bulgaria are angled outward to ensure that the noontime sun on the summer solstice is exactly parallel to the glazing to lessen solar gain. Read more →

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Two Daring Designs Compete For Belgian Apartment Block

Option 1: A large block of units in one U-shaped tower wrapped around a central courtyard providing dozens of balconies. Image via JDS Architects.

An urban plot in Ghent, Belgium, is the scene of two competing ideas for a green apartment block that emphasizes city views, green roofs and natural ventilation and daylight. Read more →

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Aliah Hotel To Be Draped In Green For Brazil’s Games

Artist's rendering of the central atrium of Brazil's Aliah Hotel, to be completed in 2014. Image via Hiperstudio.

The planned Aliah Hotel near Sao Paulo will feature green roofs, green walls, open-air atriums and rainwater harvesting systems just in time for Brazil to host both the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics. Read more →

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Texas House Digs Deep To Heal Old Wounds

Austin's Edgeland House is part bunker, part hillside, part modern residence all in one. Image via Bercy Chen Studio.

Located on an old brownfield site, Austin's Edgeland House is a gesture towards healing old environmental wounds and merging of modern and traditional designs. Read more →

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Museum’s Green Roof Unites New, Ancient Themes

Old meets new in this winning design for the Musée de la Romanité in Nîmes, France. Image via Elizabeth de Portzamparc.

Designer Elizabeth de Portzamparc uses a green roof in her design for the new Musée de la Romanité in France, to contrast with 2,000-year-old Roman ruins. Read more →

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New York’s Javits Center Installing Green Roof

Artist's rendering of the completed Javits Center renovations, including 292,000 square foot green roof. Image via FXFOWLE.

New York's largest convention center has chosen Xero Flor America to roll out a 292,000-square-foot green roof that will absorb 6.8 million gallons of runoff annually. Read more →

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Win Or Lose, Super Bowl’s 49ers Will LEED NFL

A conceptual view of the new 49ers home on a game day in 2014, with green roof and solar panels visible atop the vertical wall at right. Image by Legends Sales & Marketing via Santa Clara Stadium Authority.

The San Francisco 49ers, playing in tomorrow’s Super Bowl XLVII, may become the NFL’s new symbol of sustainability as their new stadium vies for LEED certification. Read more →

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