Here is a great video of a wind turbine self destructing during a wind storm. The strong wind causes the turbine to spin very quickly and eventually bends the blades backward, hitting the support structure. The result is a frightening example of what a poorly designed or malfunctioning wind turbine can do. Turbines are actually [...]
Svalbard Global Seed Vault
The long sighted Scandinavians have done it again. In an effort to plan for major global food crises, planetary catastrophe, or species extinction, the Nordic ministries have built the Svalbard Global Seed Vault to safeguard specimens of the world’s seeds. A Noah’s Ark for plant species. The Vault is located on the extremely secluded Spitsbergen [...]
Bottled Water Gets the Boot
On March 13, 2008, the mayor of Seattle signed executive order #02-08, banning the use of city funds to pay for bottled water. Seattle wasn’t the first to ban the bottle either: San Francisco, Los Angeles and Ann Arbor have all restricted city spending on bottled water. Numerous other cities, such as [...]
The Great Crisco Debacle: Baltimore 2007
The fall/winter of 2007 was a trying time for the Baltimore Biodiesel Co-op. Started just one year earlier as a way to help the biodiesel fans of Baltimore find a fuel source, the group had experienced no major problems and membership was booming! (in biodiesel terms) Things are reported to have gone smoothly within the [...]
House of Representatives Eats Green
The New York Times reported today under the cheeky headline, “More House Salads, Whether the House Likes It or Not,” on recent efforts at the national capitol cafeterias to go green. Like just about everything else in our nation’s capitol, food service within the congressional office buildings seems to move with the political whims of [...]
Historic Renovation in Raleigh Hits LEED Platinum
ZigerSnead has a 25 year history of making some of the Baltimore region’s finest architecture. That also means that many talented people have come through the office at one point or another. All in all we are fortunate to work with some of the most creative, intelligent and dedicated designers to be found anywhere.
It is [...]
Consumers want Sustainable Communities!
A recent report by the AIA highlights trends in the housing market. The report, written by Kermit Baker and published in AIArchitect, concludes that:
With rising energy costs and longer commutes, community and neighborhood design trends are favoring greater diversity of land uses and increased accessibility to transportation and commercial opportunities. Homes are being designed to [...]
Farmadelphia
The “Urban Voids Grounds for Change” competition in 2006 (sponsored by the Philadelphia City Parks Association and the Van Allen Institute) sought to find a “compelling long-term vision for developing [Philadelphia's] vacant lots. This particular entry, named Farmadelphia, was submitted by Yen Ha and Michi Yanagisita of Front Studio. They describe their project as:
Farmadelphia proposes [...]
One Park: A Vision for Baltimore
One Park is a visionary master plan for creating a network of interconnected parks, boulevards, bike paths, and pedestrian ways throughout the city of Baltimore. The plan was conceived by the Parks and People Foundation of Baltimore as a way to “(allow every citizen) to benefit from a green network of open space.” Their [...]
Brownfield: Definition
What is a Brownfield?
The question came up in a meeting I attended last week while discussing the reasons behind the lack of LEED Certification. Here is the fruit of my research regarding the definition of a Brownfield.
General Definition:
According to Wikipedia, brownfields “are abandoned, idled, or under-used industrial and commercial facilities where expansion or [...]
Times Publishes "7th Annual Year In Ideas"
For the 7th year straight, the fine folks at the New York Times Magazine have gathered together their favorite ideas of the year. The collected wisdom ranges from the esoteric (the martini cased in a pickle or the science of lap dance tips) to the potentially world altering (how to deflect a killer asteroid or [...]
Historic Preservation Organization Promoting Sustainability
When the largest historic preservation organization in the United States starts it’s own sustainability initiative, others take notice. Founded in 1949 as a national organization dedicated to the preservation of historic buildings and communities, The National Trust for Historic Preservation is now 270,000 members strong. Started in 2006, the Trust’s Sustainability Initiative [...]
Jean Nouvel’s New York Tower: A Question of Structure
A recent NYTimes story by Nicolai Ouroussoff discusses the appearance of a dramatic new tower design on the skyline of New York City. The new 75-story tower, designed by world renowned architect Jean Nouvel for the developer Hines, will house an extension of MoMA (adjacent to the site), a hotel, and luxury condominiums. The [...]
Chicago’s Pervious Pavement Alleys
A recent article in the New York Times describes the challenges posed to Chicago by the thousands of small alleys snaking through the city. The nearly 2,000 miles of back alley service streets are an important part of the city infrastructure because they alleviate trash and parking problems on the main, frontage, streets. The [...]
Clinton Library Gets LEED-EB Platinum
The William J. Clinton Presidential Library & Museum was recently re-certified the USGBCs highest honor of Platinum as LEED-EB (previously the building was rated LEED-NC Silver). The original building by Polshek Partnership was upgraded with the help of The Leonardo Academy, The Rocky Mountain Institute, and Powers of Arkansas to meet the Platinum standards of [...]