February 27, 2017
The trend toward integrating solar into homes and buildings seems to be taking off. First Tesla CEO Elon Musk unveiled his rooftop solar shingles that are invisible when viewed from the street. Now, researchers at the University of Minnesota and University of Milano-Bicocca have developed technology that could usher in a future with photovoltaic windows harvesting renewable energy from the sun. The research, published Tuesday in the journal Nature Photonics, demonstrates that high-tech silicon nanoparticles embedded into luminescent solar concentrators (LSCs) can make the performance of solar windows more efficient, comparable to flat solar concentrators.
“In our lab, we ‘trick’ nature by shinking the dimension of silicon crystals to a few nanometers, that is about one ten-thousandths of the diameter of human hair,” said University of Minnesota mechanical engineering professor Uwe Kortshagen, one of the senior authors of the study. “At this size, silicon’s properties change and it becomes an efficient light emitter, with the important property not to re-absorb its own luminescence. This is the key feature that makes silicon nanoparticles ideally suited for LSC applications.”
Photovoltaic windows could be a game changer in the race to power cities with renewable energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions causing climate change. Modern glass office towers could be retrofitted with photovoltaic windows that wouldn’t change the aesthetics of the building and yet would be able to meet the structure’s electricity needs. According to the US Department of Energy, turning the windows at One World Trade Center into solar collectors could power more than 350 apartments.
The researchers say that silicon nanoparticles could make solar windows commercially viable for the building-integrated photovoltaic market. The silicon nanoparticles, which are produced using a plasma reactor and formed into a powder, could realize flexible LSCs that efficiently capture more than five percent of the sun’s energy. One day soon the sun shining on skyscrapers in cities around the world could also be the source of their energy.
Posted by Blue Designs - Architectural Designers. Posted In : Renewable Energy
February 23, 2017
Just weeks after Stefano Boeri announced plans for China’s first vertical forest, the Italian architect unveiled an even more ambitious vision: Forest Cities. Scaling up from his tree-clad Bosco Verticale skyscraper, Boeri created a blueprint for new cities in China that will be blanketed in greenery to fight air pollution. The first implementation of the nature-filled city will start in the city of Liuzhou, with construction expected to begin later this year.
Stefano Boeri’s Forest City m...
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Posted by Blue Designs - Architectural Designers. Posted In : Green Building
February 21, 2017
A study by the Solar Energy and Building Physics Laboratory in Lausanne, Switzerland finds that straw bale buildings are carbon neutral. Engineer Adrien Chaussinand conducted extensive testing of ECO-46, a straw bale building that houses the Department of Parks and Gardens in Lausanne.
He conducted a life cycle analysis of the building, which accounted for all the energy that went into its construction — from planting the grass to the eventual destruction of the structure. “If all of the b...
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Posted by Blue Designs - Architectural Designers. Posted In : Green Building
February 20, 2017
A solar-powered purification system could slake the thirsts of rural India with clean drinking water for the first time. This would be no ordinary feat. Tens of millions of people in India lack access to potable water, and roughly 600,000 Indian children die every year from water- and sanitation-related diseases like diarrhea or pneumonia, according to UNICEF. In the country’s most far-flung regions, where 70 percent of India’s population lives, toxic bacteria routinely fouls at least hal...
Posted by Blue Designs - Architectural Designers. Posted In : Sustainability
February 17, 2017
Emergency shelter design is becoming increasingly important due to the various refugee situations occurring around the world. Although some designs have already been awarded for their crucial role in providing emergency housing, other forward-thinking designers such as Haresh Lalvani are actively working to create a biomimicry-based system where shelter structures would be able to assemble themselves.This type of installation could be a potential game changer for shelter design considering so...
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Posted by Blue Designs - Architectural Designers. Posted In : Green Building
February 16, 2017
The Polish city of Krakow has some of the worst air pollution in the world. In hopes of improving the city’s air quality, FAAB Architektura proposed a smog-fighting music academy fitted with a German air purification system that they say works effectively as 33,000 city trees. The music academy was designed as part of a larger “Krakow Music City” masterplan that envisions a largely car-free and environmentally friendly development atop a former military base.Located between Krakow and t...
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Posted by Blue Designs - Architectural Designers. Posted In : Green Building
February 3, 2017
Stefano Boeri Architetti is bringing the vertical forest concept popularized in Milan to Nanjing, China with the Nanjing Towers. The two green towers could provide the city with a breath of fresh air, producing around 132 pounds of oxygen every day as they absorb carbon dioxide. They’ll accomplish this air-cleaning feat with 1,100 flourishing trees from 23 local species and 2,500 cascading shrubs and plants.http://inhabitat.com/chinas-first-vertical-forest-is-rising-in-nanjing/ Continue reading...
Posted by Blue Designs - Architectural Designers. Posted In : Green Building
February 1, 2017
Spend five minutes in humid Ho Chi Minh City and you'll probably be running for cover into the nearest air-conditioned refuge.
In the Vietnamese city -- and many developing subtropical countries across Asia, such as Indonesia and the Philippines -- air conditioning (AC) is increasingly being considered a necessity.
But one architecture firm is advocating a different way to keep cool.
T3 Architecture Asia, which has offices in Vietnam and France, specializes in back-to-basics "bioclimatic archite...
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Posted by Blue Designs - Architectural Designers. Posted In : Green Building
January 31, 2017
IKEA Foundation and UNHCR's refugee shelter has been named the 2016 Beazley Design of the Year by the Design Museum in London, selected as the winner of Architecture category. Designed by Johan Karlsson, Dennis Kanter, Christian Gustafsson, John van Leer, Tim de Haas, Nicolò Barlera, temporary refugee shelter gives a response towards the global issue of population displacement.
Better Shelter pipped the 5 other category winners to claim the overall prize. Better Shelter is a social enterprise... Continue reading...
Posted by Blue Designs - Architectural Designers. Posted In : Sustainability
January 28, 2017
Our climate is changing. A shift in the number of wildfires, tsunamis, earthquakes, droughts, and heavy rainfalls has been attributed to climate change. These changes have had an impact on agriculture and wildlife, including the introduction of new pests and depleting habitats.
Humans and our current life style practices remain the leading contributors to climate change, with carbon being the main culprit.
To read more go to :- https://www.bebee.com/producer/@claire-cardwell/green-building-and-...
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Posted by Blue Designs - Architectural Designers. Posted In : Green Building
January 28, 2017
If would If money were no object, what would be the ideal city of the future look like? Laboratory for Visionary Architecture (LAVA) answered that question with a spectacular design for the Forest City, a proposed masterplan for a new city in Malaysia. This 20Km2 green smart city will be built around a central rainforest and mimic the forest’s ecosystem by adopting a closed loop system that reuses all its resources and controls out-flow.
Winner of the second place prizeinternational design... Continue reading...
Posted by Blue Designs - Architectural Designers. Posted In : Green Building
January 26, 2017
Right before Donald Trump’s inauguration last Friday, more than four hundred American architecture firms—such as Leers Weinzapfel Associates, Smith-Miller + Hawkinson Architects, Lorcan O’Herlihy Architects, Lake Flato, and ZGF Architects LLP—signed an open letter addressed to the incoming president regarding climate change, writes Allison Meier of Hyperallergic. The campaign was organized by the Chicago-based organization Architects Advocate, which formed in September.
The letter asks...
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Posted by Blue Designs - Architectural Designers. Posted In : Climate Change
January 25, 2017
A group of graduate students at Grand Valley State University recently created devices that provide solar power when electricity fails at a rural hospital in Malawi. They then made the 22-hour trip to southeastern Africa to deliver and install the devices, according to a press release. Embangweni Mission Hospital is in an area where electricity is often disconnected, and the results can be fatal.
Martha Sommers, an American physician currently working in Madagascar, frequently experienced th...
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Posted by Blue Designs - Architectural Designers. Posted In : Renewable Energy
January 24, 2017
Will these houses make you dizzy? Architects build rotating homes. Imagine living in a house that follows the direction of the sun when it's hot. Or one that offers a different view out of your bedroom window every day of the week. For some bold homeowners this is becoming a reality, thanks to an innovative wave of architects who are re-imagining the concept of the house. Once something firmly routed to the ground, homes are now becoming moving entities that can rotate, change shape, and eve... Continue reading...
Posted by Blue Designs - Architectural Designers. Posted In : Green Building
January 16, 2017
NEXT Solar Window Coating Generates Free Electricity From Sunlight - they have developed a scalable solar window coating that allows commercial glass products to produce clean energy from the sun. The product pays for itself in a year and provides clean energy for up to 30 years. - http://greenbuildingelements.com/2016/06/29/next-solar-window-coating-generates-free-electricity-sunlight/Close
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Posted by Blue Designs - Architectural Designers. Posted In : Renewable Energy
December 18, 2016
Improved light, ventilation and heat control can boost workers’ productivity by thousands of dollars a year and reduce instances of sick building syndrome
People working in green buildings think better in the office and sleep better when they get home, a new study has revealed.
The research indicates that better ventilation, lighting and heat control improves workers’ performance and could boost their productivity by thousands of dollars a year. It also suggests that more subjective aspects...
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Posted by Blue Designs - Architectural Designers. Posted In : Green Building
December 17, 2016
New recycled plastic sidewalk harvests energy from the sun -Imagine a colorful modular paving system that snaps together “like LEGO bricks” replacing dull pavements currently populating today’s concrete jungles. Hungarian startup Platio designed that paving system to make our sidewalks do more for us. Their paving system, made with recycled plastic, offers firm ground while harvesting clean energy from the sun.Platio’s paving system harvests power from the sun via monocrystalline sili...
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Posted by Blue Designs - Architectural Designers. Posted In : Renewable Energy
December 14, 2016
Google just announced that it will be fully powered by renewables before the end of 2017. The tech giant has been growing its solar and wind investments over the years, and is now making a final push to achieve 100 percent renewable energy through additional purchases. Google initially announced its 100-percent goal in 2012, and this week’s announcement confirms the company will hit the target next year. http://inhabitat.com/google-says-it-will-run-entirely-on-renewable-energy-by-next-year/
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Posted by Blue Designs - Architectural Designers. Posted In : Renewable Energy
December 12, 2016
Sweden’s famed ICEHOTEL, perhaps the “coolest” hotel in the world, has just unveiled a permanent luxury lodge made entirely of ice. The newly-designed ICEHOTEL365 has all of the chilly charm of its sister hotel, but will be open 365 days a year thanks to state-of-the-art solar-powered cooling technology that will keep the structure frozen during summer months. http://inhabitat.com/swedens-new-icehotel-365-uses-solar-cooling-to-stay-open-all-year-round/
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Posted by Blue Designs - Architectural Designers. Posted In : Green Building
December 10, 2016
I have long been a fan of Zaha Hadid and was saddened by her untimely death earlier this year. Her eye catching, thought provoking futuristic designs inspired many debates. The latest project completed in the UK since her death is a new permanent mathematics gallery at the Science Museum in London. It's the first permanent public exhibition space designed by the architect. Mathematics also defined the design of the gallery. Zaha Hadid Architects took inspiration from the historic 1929 Hand... Continue reading...
Posted by Blue Designs - Architectural Designers. Posted In : Architect
December 7, 2016
You are about to build your dream home - but have you thought everything through? Poor design choices can make your home uncomfortable and sometimes unhealthy. Good pre-planning can help you avoid these common mistakes .https://www.bebee.com/producer/@claire-cardwell/common-mistakes-people-make-when-designing-a-house
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Posted by Blue Designs - Architectural Designers. Posted In : House Plans
December 6, 2016
Scientists blend photosynthesis and quantum physics to improve solar cells. Four physicists at the University of California, Riverside decided to blend photosynthesis and quantum physics to work towards greener solar cells. Plants effectively regulate energy flow from the sun, but since current affordable man-made solar cells hover around just 20 percent efficiency, the scientists decided to take cues from vegetation.
Current solar cells require feedback controllers and voltage converters to m... Continue reading...
Posted by Blue Designs - Architectural Designers. Posted In : Sustainability
December 5, 2016
French biochemist Pierre Calleja has designed a fascinating eco-friendly lamp that could light up streets and parking garages while cutting CO2 emissions. It runs completely free of electricity, powered solely by a tube filled with glowing green algae. The lamp uses the energy created by the algae’s own photosynthesis process to power the light within, while the algae itself lives on CO2 in the air outside.
The lamp is designed so it can store the energy from photosynthesis for later use. Th...
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Posted by Blue Designs - Architectural Designers. Posted In : Sustainability
December 3, 2016
Mushrooms are good for so much more than just eating. Ecovative, the company behind Mushroom Packaging, has teamed up with cement-growing company bioMASON to create classy furniture grown entirely from microorganisms and mushrooms. Living organisms are put to work to create the sustainable mushroom furniture in radically innovative processes. Ecovative and bioMASON’s furniture is grown – with mushrooms, microorganisms, and agricultural waste – and consumes far less energy than traditi... Continue reading...
Posted by Blue Designs - Architectural Designers. Posted In : Sustainability
December 2, 2016
Heating and cooling accounts for up to 50-70 percent of the energy used in an average home. Installing Insulation in your house is the most practical and cost effective way of making your home more energy efficient keeping it warmer in winter and cooler in summer and can save up to 50% on your energy bill. In addition Insulation can also reduce condensation in your home and some types of insulation can make your home more soundproof. A well insulated house is very energy efficient and will ne... Continue reading...
Posted by Blue Designs - Architectural Designers. Posted In : Sustainability
December 2, 2016
How stone can help you create a more sustainable home
From the pyramids at Giza, to Stonehenge, to Machu Picchu, it is no coincidence that all of the longest lasting human structures are made from stone. Stone lasts forever, is natural, and is readily available in the environment. When it comes to outdoor landscaping or interior applications that see a lot of use and moisture (i.e. kitchens and bathrooms), natural stone is often the most durable and lowest-maintenance choice for surfaces. Unli...
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Posted by Blue Designs - Architectural Designers. Posted In : Green Building
December 1, 2016
Many people dream of building their own home, but the financial cost and environmental toll of starting from scratch can often seem overwhelming. It doesn't have to be. By stepping outside the box and using natural methods, almost anyone can afford to build their own green home out of sustainable materials. "Earth homes" utilize surrounding terrain or other natural elements such as dirt, bamboo, wood, and clay to create a space with a negligible environmental impact. These homes are very well... Continue reading...
Posted by Blue Designs - Architectural Designers. Posted In : Green Building
November 28, 2016
Water is vital to life and is such a precious natural resource that it makes sense to collect every drop of rain and re-cycle grey water and back-washed pool water. In fact you can reduce your water bill by as much as 90% by harvesting rain water & grey water. To read more go to : - https://www.bebee.com/producer/@claire-cardwell/what-you-need-to-know-before-installing-a-rainwater-harvest-system
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Posted by Blue Designs - Architectural Designers. Posted In : Sustainability
November 28, 2016
Elon Musk says Tesla’s solar roof will be cheaper than ordinary roofs. He also says the energy-generating roofs will last longer than typical roofs, so, said the real-life Iron Man, “Why would you get anything else?”
At first Tesla solar roofs will be a premium product, according to Bloomberg, as the company’s slate and terra cotta tiles are 20 times more expensive than asphalt singles. But that factor could become irrelevant because of reduced shipping costs. It’s expensive to ship ... Continue reading...
Posted by Blue Designs - Architectural Designers. Posted In : Renewable Energy
November 17, 2016
Are there alternatives to foam when it comes tp packaging and insulation? Absolutely yes. contends Evocotive Design, a Green Island, NY company engaged in the design, development, and testing of new products and biomaterial applications. The company has launched two extremely green mushroom-based products. Start with the packaging material, said to perform in customized shapes like foam does. This high-performance alternative to molded or fabricated EPS, EPP, EPE is renewable, compostable,... Continue reading...
Posted by Blue Designs - Architectural Designers. Posted In : Green Building
