Cooling Off Is A Breeze In Ibiza With Green Wall A/C

Terracotta Eco.bin wall keeps guests cool at Hotel Ushuaia in Spain's island of Ibiza. Image via Urbanarbolismo.

On the Spanish island of Ibiza, a hotel uses an ingenious method to keep its guests cool using a living vertical garden and the magical properties of evaporation. Read more →

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Green-Walled World Court Breaks Ground In The Hague

Artist's conception of the new International Criminal Court outside the Hague. Image via Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects.

To convey “openness and transparency,” the design for the new International Criminal Court includes green walls and a generous use glazing for ventilation and daylighting. Read more →

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Can A McDonald’s/Gas Station Be Green? Ask Georgia

The wrap-around glazed surface conceals the dual nature of this fast-food restaurant/gas station. Image via Giorgi Khmaladze.

A new McDonald's/gas station combo in the Republic of Georgia is unlike rest-stop structure in the U.S., with a sweeping vegetated wall separating food service from car service. Read more →

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First Algae-Powered Apartments Open In Germany

The glass panels of the BIQ House contain bio-reactors powered by algal growth. Image via Arup.

The Bio Intelligent Quotient House in Hamburg included glass bio-reactors in its walls to produce algae for biogas fuel and to provide passive cooling via a series of louvered panels. Read more →

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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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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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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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Spanish Tech Park Sheds Light On Research

The new Pitagoras and Tecnova science buildings in Alameria, Spain, were recently completed with sustainability in mind. Image by David Frutos via Ferrer Arquitectos.

A new sustainable science park in Alameria, Spain, dedicated to research and technology, uses high-tech facades to manager solar gain and provide ventilation. Read more →

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Milan’s Vertical Forest Will Help Clear The Air

Artist's rendering of the completed Bosco Verticale. Image via Stafano Boeri Architetti.

Two residential towers in Milan are nearing completion that will be covered in CO2-eating, oxygen-producing trees that may help clear the smoggy city's air and reduce energy costs.. Read more →

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A Slice Of (Green) Life In The Azores

Image of Relva House via Sala2 Arquitectos.

Hemmed in by neighbors and tough zoning laws, a house in The Azores brought air and light into its small envelope by removing a small slice of the volume and adding a green wall. Read more →

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